1. “…the power of speech, to stir men’s blood.” -- William Shakespeare
Unit 14: Understanding Principles of Persuasive Speaking (Chapter 16 & 17)
“…the power of speech, to stir men’s blood.”
-- William Shakespeare

2. Speeches to Persuade Influence listeners’ points of view or behavior.
Speaker asks audience to make a choice, does not simply inform the audience.
Speaker not only educates, but advocates.

3. Image from: http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/jmo1253l.jpg

4. Persuasion Defined
Process of changing or reinforcing attitudes, beliefs, values or behaviors.
Attitudes: likes or dislikes
Beliefs: what is regarded as true or false
Values: enduring ideas of right/wrong
Behaviors: actions displayed
Attitudes: Most likely to change
Values: Most difficult to change

5. How Persuasion Works THE CLASSICAL RHETORIC APPROACH
Artistotle’s Rhetoric -- earliest discussion of speechmaking
Rhetoric: process of discovering the available means of persuasion.
If the goal is to persuade: select symbols to change attitudes, beliefs, values, or behaviors.
Use ethos, logos, pathos.

6. Three Methods of Persuasion (Classical)
Ethos: creating audience trust and believability through ethics, character & concern for the audience.
Logos: rational & logical arguments, through sound evidence.
Pathos: emotions that may involve stories, pictures and music.
Ethos, logos & pathos motivate people.

7. Persuasion
Classical Rhetoric crafts persuasive message from standpoint of the speaker.
The Contemporary Approach describes how audience members interpret persuasive messages.

8. The Contemporary ELM Approach
Elaboration Likelihood Model
Explains how people interpret persuasive messages.
People focus (elaborate) on information given.
Process information directly (logos).
Process indirectly (ethos or pathos).

9. ELM APPROACH Direct Persuasion Route -- Logos
Audience considers the underlying logos or logic of the message.
Considers the facts and then makes a thoughtful decision.
Indirect Persuasion Route-- Ethos or Pathos
Persuasion by indirect factors -- music, reactions to salesperson.

10. How to Motivate Listeners
Dissonance
Listener Needs
Positive Motivation
Negative Motivation

11. Using Dissonance People seek consistency & balance.
When unhappy, people change attitudes, beliefs, values or behaviors.
Cognitive Dissonance: mental discomfort, lock of mental harmony or agreement
Speakers need to be ethical when choosing messages that create dissonance.

12. Dissonance
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13. How Listeners Cope with Dissonance
Discredit the source of information.
Refocus on parts of the message not creating dissonance. Reinterpret message to hear what they want to.
Seek new information to prove speaker’s ideas wrong.
Stop listening; tune out.
Change attitudes, beliefs, values or actions to reduce dissonance.

14. Cognitive Dissonance
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15. How to Motivate Listeners: Use Listener Needs
People change attitudes, beliefs, values or actions to restore needs.
Maslow: humans are motivated by a variety of needs.
Persuasion occurs when listeners become convinced that changes will satisfy their needs.

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17. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
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18. How to Motivate Listeners: Use Positive Motivation
Good things will happen if listeners follow speaker’s advice.
Emphasizes that positive values will be maintained or restored.
Emphasizes benefits & features.
Benefit: a good result that creates a positive feeling for listener; appealing to emotions.
Feature: a rational cognitive explanation appealing to logic.

19. How to Motivate Listeners: Use Negative Motivation
Bad things will happen if speaker’s advice not followed.
Fear appeals are common.
Threats to loved ones work better.
Fear appeals work better when speaker credibility is higher.
Fear appeals more successful if listeners believe the threat is real.
As fear appeals intensify, so do chances of success.

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22. How to Develop Your Persuasive Speech
Consider your audience
Select & narrow your topic
Determine your purpose
Develop your central and main ideas.

23. Consider the Audience
Consider audience diversity -- don’t design a persuasive message using strategies effective only for your culture.
Remember ethical responsibilities
Don’t fabricate evidence to frighten.
Don’t create dissonance using information that is not true.
Don’t tell people only what they want to hear.

24. Selecting & Narrowing Your Topic
Do you sincerely feel strongly about it?
Does it appeal to listeners’ passions?
Is it an important topic?

25. PERSUASIVE STRATEGIES
Establish Credibility
Use Logic & Evidence to Persuade

26. Develop Central & Main Ideas
Proposition -- statement with which you want the audience to agree.
Proposition of Fact -- focuses on whether something is true or false.
When women joined the military, the quality of the military improved.
Global warming is not occurring in our atmosphere.

27. Central & Main Ideas
Proposition of Value -- Listeners must judge the worth or importance of something.
It is wrong to turn away immigrants.
A private-school education is more valuable than a public school education.

28. Central & Main Ideas
Proposition of Policy -- Advocates a specific action
Senior citizens should pay for more of their medical costs.
The G&T Program should have a full-time coordinator.

29. END PERSUASION PART 1

30. Chapter 17

31. Types of Reasoning
INDUCTIVE -- Using specific examples to reach a general conclusion.
Example
Students are sneezing. (specific)
Professors are canceling classes. (specific)
The clinic has long waiting lines. (specific)
There must be a flu on campus. (general)

32. Types of Reasons ANALOGY Makes a comparison between two things.

33. Types of Reasoning DEDUCTIVE
Start with general claim and then move towards specific conclusion.
All tough drug laws introduced in medium-sized communities result in diminished drug-related crimes.
San Marcos, Texas is a medium-sized community.
San Marcos should institute tough drug laws.

34. Types of Reasoning CAUSAL Relating events to show connections.
Cause to effect or effect to cause.

35. Avoid Faulty Reasoning
FALLACIES
Casual -- no real connection
Bandwagon -- Everyone doing it.
Hasty Generalization -- Since my niece is failing, city schools are bad.
Ad Hominem -- Personal attach
Red Herring -- Changing the subject to distract
Misplaced Authority -- Jessica Simpson says McMillan trucks are best.
Non Sequitor -- Ideas do not follow.

36. Using Emotion to Persuade
Use details that help listeners visualize.
Use emotion-arousing words -- freedom, mommy.
Delivery should reflect emotions.
Use pictures or images.
Use appropriate similes & metaphors.

37. Strategies for Organizing Persuasive Messages
State your strongest arguments first.
Do not bury key arguments in the middle.
Save action calls for the end.
Consider presenting both sides of issue.
State and refute counterarguments.

38. Strategies for Organizing Persuasive Messages
Organizational Patterns
Problem-Solution
Refutation
Cause & Effect
Motivated Sequence
Attention
Need
Satisfaction
Visualization
Action