thos of others as they appeal to emotion

Chapter 13

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Alicia Philip Tri2_15/16

CHAPTER 13: UNDERSTANDING PERSUASIVE

What is persuasion: process of influencing people’s belief, attitude, values or behavior.

Persuasive speaking: process of doing so in public.

The Nature of Persuasion

Persuasion: Greek & Romans define as logical & well supported argument developed through rhetorical

appeal to logos, ethos and pathos

How People process persuasive messages.

Central route: intense and time consuming (logos)

Peripheral route: short cuts that relies on simple cues, competence, credibility and character (ethos) gut

check about what the listener feels (pathos)

What determines whether we use central / peripheral route is how important we perceive the issue to

be for us? When we feel involved- central route. When we feel the issue is less important we take

peripheral route.

Eg: serious chronic illness that is expensive to treat

Logo

s •logical argument to support your points

Eth

os •use your

competence, credibility & good character to persuade others to accept your points

Pat

ho

s •appeal to emotion of others as they accept your point of view

You are likely to pay attention if you are unhealthy and

evaluate for yourself any proposal to change your

health care benefits.

I am

sick

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The

Rhetorical Strategy of logos

Two types of reasoning

Inductive: general conclusion based on several pieces of specific evidence to reach a general

conclusion

When we reason inductively, how much of our audience agrees with our conclusion depends on the

number, quality and typicality of each piece of evidence you offer

Eg:

Evidence: Jim’s car is missing at slow speed

: Jim’s car is stalling at stoplights

Logical conclusion: Jim’s car needs a tune up.

Deductive: if something is true for everything that belongs to certain class (major premise) and

specific instances is part of that class (minor premise) then we must conclude that what is true

for all members of the class must be true in the specific instances (logical conclusion)

Eg:

Major Premises: Cars needs a tune up when the engine misses consistently at slow

speeds.

Minor premises: Jim’s car is missing at slow speeds.

Conclusion: Jim’s car needs a tune up.

How these types of reasoning is used to form arguments?

Forming arguments

1. Claim

The conclusion the speaker wants the audience to believe. Claim in both inductive & deductive

arguments is “ Jim’s car needs a tune up”

A claim may ask the audience to accept what the speaker is saying as a fact or as best policy

You quickly to agree with whatever someone you

perceive as credible or go along with a proposal that

seems more compassionate

I am

healthy

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2. Support

Reason of evidence the speaker offers as the ground for accepting the conclusion.

You can support the claim with facts, opinion, experience and observation

Inductive: missing at slow speed Reasons

Stalling at stoplight

Specific goal

I want Jim to believe that his car needs a tune-up because it fits the criteria for cars that

need tune-ups. (claim)

I. The car misses at slow speeds. (reason and claim)

A. On Tuesday, it was missing when driven below 20 mph. (evidence)

B. On Wednesday, it did the same thing. (evidence)

II. The car stalls at stoplights. (reason and claim)

A. It stalled three times at lights on Monday. (evidence)

B. It stalled each time I stopped at a light yesterday. (evidence)

3. Warrant

Logical statement that connects the support to the claim. Sometimes, the warrant of an

argument is verbalized, but other times, it is simply implied.

C I want Jim to believe that the car needs a tune-up.

S I. The engine misses at slow speeds.

S II. The car stalls at stoplights.

W (I believe this reasoning is sound because missing and stalling are major indicators—

signs—of the need for a tune-up.) (The warrant is written in parentheses because it may

not be verbalized when the speech is given.)

Types and test of Arguments

4 types

1. Arguing from a sign: supports a claim by providing evidence that events that signal the claim

have occurred

C: You have had an allergic reaction.

S: A. You have hives.

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B. You have a slight fever.

W: (Hives and a slight fever are signs of an allergic reaction.

Signs may actually be the effects of the phenomenon. A rash and fever don’t cause an allergic

reaction; they are indications, or effects, of a reaction.

When arguing from sign, you can make sure that your argument is valid by answering the following

questions.

a) Do the signs cited always or usually indicate the conclusion drawn?

b) Are a sufficient number of signs present? Are campaign workers and buttons enough to

indicate a victory?

c) Are contradictory signs in evidence?

2. Arguing from examples

Argue from example when the support statements you use are examples of the claim

you are making.

C Juanita Martinez is electable.

S Juanita has won previous elections.

A. Juanita won the election for treasurer of her high school junior class.

B. Juanita won the election for chairperson of her church youth group.

C. Juanita won the election for president of her sorority.

W (Because Juanita Martinez was elected to previous offices, she is electable

for this office.)

When arguing from example, you can make sure your argument is valid by answering the following

questions:

a) Are enough examples cited?

b) Are the examples typical?

c) Are negative examples accounted for?

3. Arguing from analogy.

You argue from analogy when you support a claim with a single comparable example that is so

significantly similar to the subject of the claim as to be strong proof. The general statement of a

warrant for an argument from analogy is, “What is true for situation A will also be true in

situation B, which is similar to situation A” or “What is true for situation A will be true in all

similar situations.”

When arguing from analogy, you can make sure that your argument is valid by answering the

following questions.

a) Are the subjects being compared similar in every important way?

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b) Are any of the ways in which the subjects are dissimilar important to the outcome?

4. Arguing from causation.

You argue from causation when you support a claim by citing events that have occurred that

result in the claim. Reasoning from causation says that one or more of the events cited always

(or almost always) brings about, leads to, or creates or prevents a predictable effect or set of

effects.

Let’s look at this type of argument in outline form:

C Home sales will increase.

S Mortgage interest rates have dropped.

W (Lower interest rates generally lead to higher home sales.)

When arguing from causation, you can make sure that your argument is valid by answering the following

questions.

a) Are the events alone sufficient to cause the stated effect?

b) Do other events accompanying the cited events actually cause the effect?

c) Is the relationship between the causal events and the effect consistent?

COMBINING ARGUMENTS IN A SPEECH

Speech with the goal “I want my audience to believe that Juanita is electable,” you might choose to

present three of the reasons we’ve been working with. Suppose you selected the following:

I. Juanita has run successful campaigns in the past. (argued by example)

A. Juanita was successful in her campaign for treasurer of her high school class.

B. Juanita was successful in her campaign for chairperson of her church youth group.

C. Juanita was successful in her campaign for president of her sorority.

II. Juanita has engaged in procedures that result in campaign victory. (argued by cause)

A. Juanita has campaigned intelligently.

B. Juanita has key endorsements.

III. Juanita is a strong leader. (argued by sign)

A. Juanita has more campaign workers than all other candidates combined.

B. Juanita has a greater number of community members wearing her campaign buttons.

Reasoning fallacies to avoid (avoiding errors in reasoning)

5 common fallacies to avoid:

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1. Hasty generalization.

Generalization that is either not supported with evidence or is supported with one weak

example

For example, someone who argued, “All Akitas are vicious dogs,” whose sole piece of evidence

was, “My neighbor had an Akita and it bit my best friend’s sister,” would be guilty of a hasty

generalization. It is hasty to generalize about the temperament of a whole breed of dogs based

on a single action of one dog.

2. False Cause

The alleged cause fails to be related to, or to produce, the effect. Just because two things

happen one after the other does not mean that the first necessarily caused the second.

An example of a false cause fallacy is when a speaker claims that school violence is caused by

television violence, the Internet, a certain song or musical group, or lack of parental

involvement. When one event follows another, there may be no connection at all, or the first

event might be just one of many causes that contribute to the second.

3. Either –or

The argument that there are only two alternatives when, in fact, others exist. Many such cases

are an oversimplification of a complex issue.

For example, when Robert argued that “we’ll either have to raise taxes or close the library,” he committed an either-or fallacy. He reduced a complex issue to one oversimplified solution when there were many other possible solutions.

4. A straw man

When a speaker weakens the opposing position by misrepresenting it in some way and then attacks that weaker (straw man) position.

For example, in her speech advocating a seven-day waiting period to purchase handguns, Colleen favored regulation, not prohibition, of gun ownership. Bob argued against that by claiming “it is our constitutional right to bear arms.” However, Colleen did not advocate abolishing the right to bear arms. Hence, Bob distorted Colleen’s position, making it easier for him to refute.

5. Ad hominem

Attacks or praises the person making the argument rather than addressing the argument itself.

For example, if Jamal’s support for his claim that his audience should buy an Apple computer is that Steve Jobs, the founder and current president of Apple Computer, is a genius, he is making an ad hominem argument. Jobs’s intelligence isn’t really a reason to buy a particular brand of computer.

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The Rhetorical Strategy of Ethos

Some may choose peripheral route for argument because they pay minimal attention to arguments.

Conveying Good Character Greek Philosopher Aristotle: Speakers credibility is dependent on the audience perception of the speakers’ goodwill

Conveying Competence & Credibility

Goodwill

Empathy

Responsive

Perception that audience

form of the speaker who

they believe

understands. them and

empathizes them and is

responsive.

Ability to see the

world through the

eyes of someone else

by putting aside our

feeling and ideas and

try to experience from

others point of view.

Acknowledging

feedback especially

subtle negative

cues.

May occur prior or

during the speech.

Explain your competence Establish common

ground

Use evidence from

respected sources

Inform your

audience about

your expertise to

achieve credibility

Can be interweaved

in your introductory

speech or

appropriately in the

body of the speech

Identify with audience

by talking about shared

beliefs and values

related to your speech

Establish common

ground by showing

empathy for your

audience position before

convincing them to

change

Increase your credibility-

audience respected and

understood

Supporting

materials from

well- organized,

unbiased &

respected sources

who are experts.

Use non-verbal

elements of delivery

to enhance your

image

How you look and

what you do in few

minutes before you

speak are

important

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The Rhetorical strategy of Pathos

Evoking negative emotions

Motivated to listen to you to see if you could give them a solution to their discomfort

Fear is reduced

when the threat is

eliminated or

when we escape.

As a speaker, you

can use examples,

stories, and

statistics that

create fear in your

audience

Will be more

involved in

hearing how your

proposal can

eliminate the

source of their

fear or allow them

to escape.

Fear

We experience

guilt as a gnawing

sensation that we

have done

something wrong.

When we feel

guilty, we are

energized or

motivated to

“make things

right” or to atone

for our

transgression.

As a speaker, you

can evoke feelings

of guilt in your

audience so that

they pay attention

to your

arguments.

To be effective,

your proposal

must provide a

way for the

audience to repair

or atone for the

damage they have

caused or to avoid

future violations.

Guilt

When we feel

shame, we are

motivated to

“redeem” ourselves

in the eyes of that

person and be

convinced to

refrain from doing

something to avoid

feelings of shame.

As a speaker, you

can evoke feelings

of shame and then

demonstrate how

your proposal can

either redeem

someone after a

violation has

occurred or prevent

feelings of shame,

then you can

motivate the

audience to

carefully consider

your arguments.

Shame

When we feel

anger, we want to

strike back at the

person or

overcome the

situation that is

thwarting our

goals or

demeaning us.

As a speaker, you

can rouse your

audience’s anger

and then show

how your proposal

will enable them

to achieve their

goals or stop or

prevent the

demeaning that

has occurred, you

can motivate them

to listen to you

and think about

what you have

said.

Anger

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Evoking negative emotions.

With positive emotions, our goal is to help the audience sustain or develop the feeling.

Happiness or joy is

the buildup of

positive energy we

experience when

we accomplish

something, when

we have a satisfying

interaction or

relationship, or

when we see or

possess objects that

appeal to us.

As a speaker, if you

can show how your

proposal will lead

your audience

members to be

happy or joyful,

then they are likely

to listen and to

think about your

proposal.

Happiness & Joy

When you

experience self-

satisfaction and

an increase to

your self-esteem

as the result of

something that

you have

accomplished or

that someone you

identify with has

accomplished

As a speaker, you

can demonstrate

how your

proposal will help

your audience

members to feel

good about

themselves, they

will be more

involved in

hearing what you

have to say.

Pride

The emotional

energy that stems

from believing

something

desirable is likely

to happen is

called hope.

When you yearn

for better things,

you are feeling

hope

So you can get

audience

members to listen

to you by showing

them how your

proposal provides

a plan for

overcoming a

difficult situation.

Hope

When we feel

selfless concern for

the suffering of

another person and

that concern

energizes us to try

to relieve that

suffering, we feel

compassion.

Speakers can evoke

audience members’

feelings of

compassion by

vividly describing

the suffering

endured by

someone.

The audience will

then be motivated

to listen to see how

the speaker’s

proposal plans to

end that suffering.

Compassion

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Guideline to appeal to emotions

Tell vivid stories.

Use startling statistics

Incorporate listener relevance links

Choose striking presentational aids

Use descriptive and provocative language.

Use nonverbal elements of delivery to reinforce your emotional appeal.

Use gestures and facial expressions that highlight the emotions you are conveying.

Documents

thos of others as they appeal to emotion