1. PERSUASIVE COMMUNICATION

2. Have you ever persuaded someone to do something ? What was it about?
How did you go about it?
Cite examples of persuasion that we come across daily.

3. Think about these statements
You don’t have to, but it is for your own good.
If you don’t....,you will face the consequences.
It just takes a few minutes .

4. What is persuasion?
Persuasion is a symbolic process in which communicators try to convince other people to change their attitudes or behaviors regarding an issue through the transmission of a message in an atmosphere of free choice. (Perloff ,2003)

5. Persuasion is symbolic, utilizing words, images, sounds, etc
It involves a deliberate attempt to influence others.
Self-persuasion is key. People are not coerced.
Methods of transmitting persuasive messages can be verbal and nonverbally via television, radio, Internet, books or face-to-face communication.

6. Why do we persuade? To create attitudes and behaviour.
Adoption
To change attitudes behaviour.
Discontinuance
To reinforce attitudes and behaviour.
Continuance
Deterrence

7. Pesuasion involves The pursuit of: The best ideas.
Most workable solutions.
Most effective support for an idea through effective speaking.

8. Persuasion is not Coercion or Manipulation
The above are not persuasion because they undermine a person’s ability to make a decision based on sound information and ideas.

9. Audience Goals
Persuasive communication is designed to change the audience in some way. However small the change, effective communicators want something to be different by the time their communication is done.

10. Therefore, an effective communicator must have audience goals
Therefore, an effective communicator must have audience goals. What is it that you want the audience to do after the communication is presented?

11. Do you want them to start doing something?
Do you want them to stop doing something?
Do you want them to continue doing something?

12. For example: A speech on the value of entrepreneurship.
Possible audience goals: After the presentation, I would like my audience to Understand three reasons why engaging in entrepreneurship is important.
Developing financial independence.
Meeting new people.
Improving the standard of life.

13. What are possible audience goals in the following?
A speech persuading ladies to attend the “Networking in Heels Forum that will be held at the Safari Park Hotel”

14. To give fine persuasion
Create or identify a need.
Know your audience.
Select your topic carefully.
Adapt it to your audience.
Make yourself believable.

15. What does one need to consider?
When designing, during delivery and after delivering a piece of persuasive communication, consider the following:
Situation
Purpose
Audience
Method

16. How do you persuade an audience?

17. Logical Appeals
An effective communicator uses reasoning to show the listeners the logical connection between ideas.
There are three types of reasoning: inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning, cause-effect

18. Facts are an important element in communication that affects attitudes, because people believe what they accept as fact.
Fact make statements about something real.
They can be proven correct or incorrect.

19. Argumentation based on claims of fact relies on the claim’s accuracy.
The validity of many claims of fact is not obvious and requires support from other facts, statistics and comparisons.
If you argue from only one side, your opponents will refute your claim.

20. Inductive reasoning involves using specific pieces of information to reach a general conclusion.
Examples: Twenty students in our university received state writing awards. Our university trains good writers.
Suzie is a smart student. She is in medical school People in medical school are smart.

21. It is important to test inductive reasoning by looking at the connection between the evidence and the conclusion.
For example:
I met five unfriendly people in Nairobi.
Nairobi is a very unfriendly town.

22. Deductive reasoning
This involves using a general idea to reach conclusions about specific instances. A speaker lists a conclusion from which more facts are drawn.

23. For example:
Debaters like to argue. Caroline is a debater. Get Caroline to argue for permission to hand in our assignment after two weeks instead of after one week.
Students in medical school are smart. Suzie is in medical school. Suzie is smart.

24. Cause-Effect Reasoning
This kind of reasoning suggests that one event produces second event.
For example: the government has cut its contribution towards free primary education; therefore, children from poor families have dropped out of school.
To test cause-effect reasoning, you need to look carefully at the relationship between the first and second events.

25. Consider the following:
Evidence: Paul studied for four hours
Conclusion: He will get a good grade in the Critical Thinking examination.
Questions: is the cause connected to the effect?

26. Is the cause capable of producing the effect by itself
Is the cause capable of producing the effect by itself? Studying may not be enough.
Paul needs to attend school regularly and pay attention in class.
Could some other factors produce the same effect? Did he work with a tutor outside
the school?

27. Motivational Appeals
Regardless of your specific purpose as a persuasive communicator, you must give your audience reason to accept your arguments.
Note that, people will act agree with you as long as there is something in it for them.

28. The most common way to motivate someone is to appeal to a basic human need. ( Maslow’s hierarchy of needs).

29. Physiological needs are those things that keep someone alive
Physiological needs are those things that keep someone alive. They include food, water and shelter.
Safety needs involves one’s well-being or sense of security. Advertisements for smoke detectors, security companies or insurance appeal to these needs.

30. Need to belong. This involves wanting to have friends or be loved by others. Everyone needs human contact to live a healthy, well-adjusted life. Everyone needs to be accepted by others.

31. Self-esteem refers to the feelings that people have about themselves
Self-esteem refers to the feelings that people have about themselves. People need to like themselves and feel good about themselves.
Self Actualization is the final level of need. It means realizing your full potential.

32. Appeals based on emotions
Fear appeals
Humour
Pride
Compassion
Colour

33. Appeals based on the speaker’s credibility
Why should anyone listen to you? What qualifies you to speak about a certain topic? How well do you know the topic? How well do you connect with the topic? What kind of evidence do you present? Are you familiar with what authorities on the subject say about the topic?

34. Order of arguments
The arguments at the beginning and at the end of a piece of communication tend to have more impact than those at in the middle as audience pay more attention at the beginning and at the end.
So, put your strongest arguments in those positions.

35. When the arguments and evidence at the beginning have a huge impact on the audience, there is a primacy effect.
When those placed at the end are more persuasive, there is a recency effect.
Primacy effects are likely when the audience is already highly interested, while primacy effects are likely when an audience is unfamiliar with the topic.

36. One -sided versus two –sided argument
Should I present one side of the issue, both or many?
When the audience is friendly.
When the audience disagrees/ is hostile.

37. Techniques used in social persuasion
A persuasive speaker must choose evidence and types of reasoning carefully. The use of incorrect or false reasoning amounts to faulty reasoning.
Persuasive communicators as well audiences should be prepared to recognize poor evidence and faulty reasoning so as not to be misled by it.

38. Glittering generalities-vague general statement they are generalities that are not supported with specific information and are not linked to the main point.
General statement: Mary is a wonderful mother. Vote her for PTA president.

39. Card stacking-This refers to piling up information in favour of an idea with very little backing.
For example:
“Join the Strathmore University Peace Corps. You will make friends, learn new skills, get to know the continent and make money. It is a great way to spend your holiday. Sign up at the Dean’s office.”

40. Bandwagon appeal- suggests that you do something because everyone else is doing it.
You may hear arguments with statements such as, “Everyone has one.” “Everyone is going and you don’t want to be left out.”
Ask yourself, am I being pushed into something even before I think about it? Going along with the crowd should be a personal choice and no one should be pushed into it.

41. unrelated testimonials and name calling.
Testimonials try to persuade people by linking positive feelings for one person, thing, idea or event.
Example is where advertisements use prominent entertainment or sports figures. Unrelated testimonials link things that are not related.

42. As a communicator, you must be concerned about connections and believability of these testimonials. When there is no obvious connection between the person and the thing that receives the testimonial, then you need to be careful. Not all testimonials involve faulty reasoning, but you need to recognize those that do.

43. Name calling - Attacking a person rather than a person’s ideas by using unpopular names or labels.
For example: “How can you listen to someone who never got university education to tell you about leadership?”
Note: Faulty reasoning can be used to persuade an audience, especially those who are uninformed about the topic. An ethical persuader avoids using faulty reasoning

44. Bottlenecks to effective persuasion
Poor timing
Lack of clear goals
Failing to respect and empathise with the audience
Poor preparation

45. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN PERSUASION
Ethics-a set of principles of right conduct
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN PERSUASION

46. Accurately cite the sources
Respect sources of information
Respect your audience
Respect your opponent.

47. Resisting persuasion Avoidance Healthy scepticism
On serious matters, check claims with other unbiased sources
Check the credibility of the source
Don’t be in a hurry to accept a persuasive appeal
Question the ethical basis of proposed actions

48. Use your knowledge and experience to analyse persuasive claims
Check what the persuaders say against what they do
Use your freedom of choice and expression as
protection against unethical persuaders.

49. REMEMBER
Persuasion takes place within the frame of reference of the recipient (Knowledge, perception, age, gender, religion, lifestyle e.t.c). Therefore, understand your audience very well

50. Persuasion relies on a well constructed message, which has to be delivered in a professional way.

51. Recognize that most issues have two sides
Recognize that most issues have two sides. There is another side of the story.
Persuasion relies on the credibility of the speaker