Oratory—Persuasive Speaking Techniques The Age of Reason American Revolutionaries English III

Oratory—The Art of Public Speaking 1. To spread message—Presidential, candidate speeches 2. To gain support—get audience to agree with speaker, to think like the speaker 3. To sway opinions—get an undecided voter or audience member to choose a side *each designed to persuade a person to think or act a certain way

Oratorical Devices Rhetorical questions—a question that is asked, not intending a verbal answer, but is asked to make the listener think Restatement—saying the same idea in various, many different, ways Repetition—the restatement of an idea, using the exact same words and phrases  “Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty we are free at last!” Martin Luther King, Jr. I Have a Dream speech

Oratorical Devices Parallelism—repeating the same grammatical structure; all sentences follow the same pattern  “…government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.” Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address Exclamation—the use of highly emotional or provocative statements  “Give me liberty or give me death!”, from Patrick Henry’s Speech to the Virginia Convention

Oratorical Devices Antithesis—when contrasting ideas are expressed in a grammatically balanced statement  “I call not upon a few, but upon all,” Thomas Paine’s “The Crisis”.

Argument—Pro and Con Your THESIS, your arguable statement that can be supported or proven with evidence or sound reasons Pro: in favor of Con: against Three items of support, evidence, or reasons create a strong argument Order of Importance—place your most important item last so that it remains in the audiences’ memory

Counter-Argument An argument opposed to your thesis, or part of your thesis It expresses the view of a person who disagrees with your position Can be used to your advantage because it gives you the chance to respond to your audiences’ objections before they have finished reading/listening It also shows that you are a reasonable person who has considered both sides of the argument

Counter-Argument Should be expressed thoroughly, fairly and objectively Give reasons why someone might actually hold that view Then, use the counter-argument to STRENGTHEN your own argument by pointing out the flaw or lack of truth or irrelevancy of the counter-argument

Writers Development of Argument Deductively—beginning with a generalization, or premise, and proceeding to examples and supporting facts  Example: A break from England is necessary, here’s why… Inductively—beginning with examples or facts and proceeding to a conclusion  Example: Lack of rights, taxation without representation, the build up of British troops on our shores are all reasons why it is necessary for the colonies to break from England.

Persuasive Techniques, 3 Types Logical appeals—reason and facts to support a claim (dates, statistics, require intellect) Emotional appeals—present ideas that elicit strong feelings (plays on fears or bias, national security concerns, need to nurture or protect, one’s sense of patriotism) Ethical appeals—use values or moral standards to persuade an audience (one’s sense of right vs. wrong, moral compass)

Logical Fallacies, Chart pg. 227 Circular Reasoning—supporting a statement by repeating the statement using different words  Liberty is essential to humankind. Free people must have it.

Logical Fallacies, Chart pg. 227 Hasty Generalization—a conclusion drawn from too little evidence or from evidence that is biased  Candidate Smith voted against my bill. He is an enemy to freedom.

Logical Fallacies, Chart pg. 227 Non sequitur—a conclusion that does not follow logically from the “proof” offered to support it  The incumbent candidate is hugely popular. He must be the best qualified for office.

It’s Up to You… Rhetorical devices and persuasive techniques can be used to create arguments that are VALID and SINCERE or ARTIFICAL and INSINCERE It is up to the reader/listener to evaluate whether the argument is based on sound reasoning, credible and convincing evidence, or whether the words and appeals are the sole strength of the argument