Persuasive Appeals l Techniques for Persuading An Audience

Persuasive Appeals l Techniques for Persuading An Audience

What is a Persuasive Appeal? An argument that a speaker/writer directs toward a certain belief/feeling/attitude that his/her audience holds l Allows speaker/writer to tailor his/her argument in the best possible way according to his/her audience’s needs/desires l

Three Types of Persuasive Appeals: l Appeal to ETHOS l Appeal to PATHOS l Appeal to LOGOS

Appeals to ETHOS: -Based on the authority/credibility of the writer l -Writer must convince the audience of his/her good character, good sense, and good motives l -Created through known experience, expertise, credentials/certificiation, polished presentation of material l

Appeals to Pathos: -use emotions to persuade -attempt to persuade by making reader/listener feel guilt, love, security, greed, pity, humor, etc. l -shown through vivid, emotional language, and sensory details l -are sometimes dangerous—when used as the main support for an argument, they may be masking weak arguments l l

Appeals to Logos: -normally considered most effective appeal l -based on the logic, facts, and evidence, which is usually considered to be most important to readers/listeners l -shown through details, statistics, expert testimony of a credible source, facts, definitions, witness statements l

l Persuasive Appeals Gone Bad= Logical Fallacies/Propaganda Techniques Sometimes writers use propaganda techniques to intentionally mislead their audience, OR logical fallacies because they use faulty reasoning when forming their argument. Either way, these are NOT effective ways to support an argument.

8 Types of propaganda Techniques/Logical Fallacies Name Calling Bandwagon/Appeal to numbers Red-herring Strictly emotional appeal Testimonial Repetition Sweeping Generalization (stereotyping) Circular Argument

Logical Fallacy/propaganda Technique #1= Name Calling Name calling= attacking a person instead of an issue l Used frequently in political campaigns l

Logical Fallacy/propaganda Technique #2= Bandwagon l A bandwagon appeal tries to persuade the reader to think, do, or buy something because it is popular or because “everyone” is doing it.

Logical Fallacy/propaganda Technique #3= Red Herring A red herring is an attempt to distract the reader with details not relevant to the argument. l Example: The lawyer of a young man accused of assaulting his girlfriend described the case as a "very minor matter". The lawyer stated that “ninety people died in Iraq today, most of them kids, " making his client’s actions “a very minor matter. " l

Logical Fallacy/propaganda Technique #4= Emotional Appeal An emotional appeal tries to persuade the reader by using words that appeal only to the reader’s emotions instead of to logic or reason. l As previously mentioned, emotional appeals are not always bad, they just should not be the SOLE basis of an argument l

Logical Fallacy/propaganda Technique #5= Testimonial l A testimonial attempts to persuade the reader by using a famous person to endorse a product or idea

Logical Fallacy/propaganda Technique #6= Repetition attempts to persuade the reader by repeating a message over and over again. l Repetition CAN be an effective persuasive technique when combined with other elements of a solid argument, but relying ONLY on repeating an idea is never very convincing l

Logical Fallacy/propaganda Technique #7= Sweeping Generalization l A sweeping generalization (stereotyping) makes an oversimplified statement about a group based on limited information.

Logical Fallacy/propaganda Technique #8= Circular Argument A circular argument states a conclusion as part of the proof of the argument l Also sometimes called “begging the question” l

Let’s Review!!!! What type of PERSUASIVE APPEAL is used in the example below? All parents should consider taking their children fishing because: l # Fishing is an activity at which all kids can succeed at some level. l # Fishing encourages problem-solving and decision-making. l # Fishing links kids and the natural world in a way that can generate caring, responsibility and action.

What type of PERSUASIVE APPEAL is used in the example below? l Celebrating Halloween is a barbaric practice. Anyone who has seen a child after a post Trick-or-Treating candy binge would attest to the horrifying, damaging effects that this holiday has on young ones.