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The Persuasive Process

 Objectives:

• Define persuasion and describe the persuasive process
• Analyze listeners’ needs and positions
• Create logical, emotional, and credibility appeals
• Demonstrate ethical standards
• Identify false persuasive strategies
• Construct and deliver a persuasive message
• Evaluate persuasive messages
• Discuss the ethics of persuasion

Terms:

• Cause-effect reasoning- type of reasoning that suggests one event produces a second event.
• Credibility- quality or power of inspiring belief.
• Credibility appeals- quality that make a speaker believable.
• Deductive reasoning- reasoning that uses a general idea to reach conclusions about a specific case.
• Emotional appeals- appeals that use listeners’ feeling to persuade them.
• Faulty appeals- incorrect or misleading strategies.
• Hierarchy of human needs- Maslow’s list of five basic human needs; physical, safety, belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization.
• Inductive reasoning- reasoning that uses specific pieces of information to draw a general conclusion.
• Logical appeals- appeals that use solid evidence and sound reasoning to support ideas.
• Persuasion- a communication process with a goal of influencing other people.

 Outline:

• What Is Persuasion?
• The Ethics of Persuasion
• The Impact of Persuasion
• Steps in the Persuasive Process
• Decide on an Audience Goal
• Analyze the Listeners
• Listener Needs
• Listener Position
• Supportive Listeners
• Uncommitted Listeners
• Indifferent Listeners
• Opposed Listeners
• Create Logical, Emotional, and Credibility Appeals: logos, pathos, and ethos
• Inductive reasoning
• Deductive reasoning
• Cause-effect reasoning
• Emotional Appeals
• Guilt
• Fear
• Freedom
• Justice
• Greed
• Patriotism
• Belonging
• Anger
• Happiness
• Credibility Appeals
• Ethical Standards
• Identify False Persuasive Strategies
• Defective Evidence
• Slippery Slope
• Name-Calling
• Organize and Deliver the Persuasive Message
• Statement of Reasons
• Problem-Solution
• Delivering the Message
• Evaluate the Message’s effectiveness

 Review Questions

1. What does persuasion mean? What is a persuasive message? Persuasion is a communication process with a goal of influencing other people. A persuasive message is a communication strategy designed to change a listener’s belief or behavior to move the listener’s to action.

2. What are the five steps in the persuasive process? Decide on an audience goal, analyze the listeners to create logical, emotional, and credibility appeals, organize and deliver the persuasive message, and evaluate your effectiveness.

3. What two factors must you know about your audience before you can select a persuasive strategy? The audience’s needs and their positions on your topic.

4. According to Abraham Maslow, what does every human need? People need to do what fulfills them and makes them feel good about themselves.

5. How does the persuasive speaker convince the uncommitted listener? They must adapt your message to make it a real event to their lives in terms they can understand.  Look at the problem their view.

6. What is one strategy that speakers use with opposing listeners? Show the willingness to find a compromise or to find a middle ground to satisfy all needs.  Suggest that you might be wrong and are willing to listen to other views as well.  Avoid direct confrontations.

7. What types of supporting material would be considered logical arguments? Inductive, deductive, and cause-effect.

8. What types of supporting material would be considered emotional appeals? They use quotes, stories, personal examples, or images.

9. Describe inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning, and cause-effect- reasoning. Give one example of each.  Inductive reasoning involves using specific pieces of information to make a general conclusion. An example is “Last week, every fourth customer ordered a vegetarian meal in our restaurant.” Deductive reasoning involves using general ideas to reach conclusions about the specific case.  It moves a generalization to a specific situation.  An example is “Employees who work at the Harvest Store are paid very well.” Cause-effect-reasoning suggest that one event provides a second.  It suggests that on effect can be tied to a specific cause.  For example “If you buy this car, your social life will improve.” 

10. How does a speaker demonstrate credibility? They pick controversial topics.  They must demonstrate an understanding of the topic.