Persuasion Speaking to Persuade Persuasion Definition the communication

Persuasion Speaking to Persuade

Persuasion Definition: the communication process of changing a listener’s beliefs or moving a listener to action Some people are easily persuaded, while some are not Persuasive speaking includes: Selecting a persuasive topic Adapting to your audience Making yourself believable (credibility) Using reasoning (win over your listeners) Organizing a persuasive speech

Ethical Issue Ethics – the decisions that have to do with questions of right and wrong UNETHICAL SPEAKERS Tempted to only discuss one side of an issue in order to persuade Ignore or avoid information that does not support your point of view ETHICAL SPEAKERS Consider both sides Acknowledge valid points on opposing side Argue that your position is still stronger

ACTIVITY TIME! What would you REALLY do? (Not what you think you should do!) 1. You are walking down the street behind someone who is eating from a fast food bag. He finishes eating and tosses the bag onto the sidewalk and keeps walking.

2. You are not doing well in a certain class and need to pass the class to graduate. You go in after school to turn in some late work. The teacher is not there, the room is empty, and the test that will be given tomorrow is on the teacher’s desk.

3. You are romantically interested in someone who hasn’t paid very much attention to you, but you still have high hopes. Three weeks before Homecoming, a friend asks you to go with him/her.

4. Two kids for whom you babysit (ages 5 and 7) have begun to use racial and ethnic slurs in their everyday speech.

5. Your mother tells you that she isn’t happy anymore and has fallen in love with someone else. She tells you she plans to leave your father after the holidays.

Adapting to your audience All humans have the same basic needs Figure out which needs you should appeal to Appeal to your audiences emotions Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Physical – food, clothing, shelter Safety – security and protection for self and loved ones Belonging – affection and feeling of belonging to family and friends Self-Esteem – need and desire to feel good about yourself; accomplishments, helping others Self-Actualization – need to be the best person you can be

Make yourself believable ESABLISH YOUR CREDIBILITY Knowledge of the topic –a MUST Connection to the topic – for you and your audience Interest in the topic – use your voice and gestures to sound appear enthusiastic rather than bored

Reasoning Use credible evidence to support your ideas (recall the lesson on finding quality information) What is wrong with the following two statements? “There are 32 reasons why this school needs a swimming pool. I don’t have time to list them, but I hope you will support the swimming pool campaign. ” “Senior citizens are lonely. We need to create a new senior-citizen center in town. ”

Two Types of Reasoning Inductive Reasoning: using specific pieces of information to reach a general conclusion. Ask 1. 2. 3. the following questions: Are there enough examples? Are the examples typical? Are there important exceptions or special cases Examine the following examples: “ 14 children in our school received state writing awards. Our school trains good writers. ” “In our class, Sam, Brent, and Kimberly have the chicken pox. Chicken pox is becoming an epidemic in our school. “I met 5 unfriendly people in Lewistown is a very unfriendly town. ”

Two Types of Reasoning (cont. ) Deductive Reasoning: using a general idea to reach conclusions about specific instances. Ask yourself the following questions: 1. Is the general statement true? 2. Is the specific statement true? 3. Does the specific example apply to the general statement? Examine the following examples: “ People in Advanced Algebra are smart. Tom is in Advanced Algebra. Tom must be an excellent student. ” “Debaters like to argue. Sherry is a good debater. Let’s ask Sherry to argue for an extension on the test. ”

Faulty Reasoning Faulty reasoning –incorrect information or poor evidence As audience members, you need to be able to recognize these Emotional appeal – stressing emotion over logic “If we don’t play games in class, we will all get cancer. ” Glittering generalities – vague statements “Women are bad drivers. ” “Mary Alexander is an excellent mother. She should be the PTO president. ”

Faulty Reasoning (cont. ) Card stacking – giving many examples or reasons without explaining them carefully. “Join the speech team! You will make friends, learn new skills, get to know the teachers, and become smarter! Sign up today” Bandwagon appeal – suggesting the audience do something because everyone else is doing it. “You should not go to the meeting. No one else is. ” Unrelated testimonials – linking things that are not related Lebron James states, “You should eat Cookie Crisp cereal!” Name calling – attacking a person/people rather than the idea

Organizing a persuasive speech Monroe’s motivated sequence – when you want to sell something or want your audience to take a specific action 1. Attention – grab audiences attention in introduction 2. Need – show your audience there is serious problem that needs attention 3. Satisfaction – present a solution to the problem and show it will work 4. Visualization – paint a picture of results (either positive or negative) 5. Action – specifically tell your audience what they can do

Organizing (cont. ) Problem-Solution – show that a problem exists, then present a solution Main points of speech will be “A. Problem” and “B. Solution” Be specific with your solution or call to action: What can the audience really do? Ask, but do NOT pressure! Sign a petition? Raise hands in support? Donate to a cause? Make a phone call or write a letter?

Activity -Application In a group of 3 -4, come up with brief television commercial to present to the class. Use Monroe’s Motivated sequence to organize your speech. Examples: Buying a certain brand of a product Exercising at a specific gym Donating to a charity Voting for a certain person