Persuasive Speaking The fourth and final speech in Rhetoric

Persuasive Speaking Goals  Convince your audience to believe something  Convince your audience to do something

3 Questions  Question of Policy Persuade your audience to take action  Question of Fact Persuade your audience that one thing or another is fact  Man landed on the moon  Bird flu will be a pandemic  Question of Value Persuade your audience something is good/bad, evil/humane  Ignoring poverty is wrong  The legal system is unfair to poor people

Audience Analysis  Who is your audience? (age, ethnicity, beliefs, etc.)  Supportive Audience :D Already agree with you but are looking for affirmation of their belief Keep them enthusiastic about your idea  Uncommitted Audience :/ Need information in order to decide whether to be for or against the issue Want to be convinced one way or the other and needs to be convinced It is very important to appeal to them

Audience cont.  Indifferent Audience :| Bored, apathetic– don’t care about the subject or you It’s hard to be enthusiastic with this group because they give you no feedback/encouragement  This audience might be a captive audience (forced to listen to you)  Opposed Audience >:0 Against your particular view– hostile audience Goal: compromise and convince this audience just to listen to your side. They don’t have to believe you. You just want them to understand you. Let them know: You know how they feel– opposition is worthy, avoid needless confrontation, no winner or loser

Persuasive Speech or Essay Topics  Good Topics  Something you feel strongly about  Something others may have differing views on  Something that can be backed by evidence/logical appeals

Bad Topics  Questionable/Inappropriate Topics (ie. what would be inappropriate for discussion at school)  Topics that cannot be supported logically  “Hot Button issues”

Choosing a topic  Your topic must be specific and offer a debatable solution to a controversial problem.  Example topics to evaluate together: People should not drink and drive The state should lower the alcohol level that determines it illegal to drive The dangers of smoking are exaggerated Smoking should be banned from all places.

Using Persuasive Techniques: 3 Aristotelian Elements of Persuasion  Logos – the logic of the argument (asking readers to believe something based on evidence and facts) Build an argument that is based on reasons supported by evidence. Reason – a statement that explains or justifies your thesis Evidence – material that establishes the soundness of each reason

Logos cont.  Find and evaluate reasons using the following sources your own knowledge outside sources such as the opinions of others, testimonials, and reference materials  Support reasons with evidence Each reason must be supported with at least two pieces of evidence

Logos cont.  Types of evidence Fact – an item of information or a statement that can be verified or checked by testing, observing, or consulting reference materials Expert Opinion – a statement of belief about a subject by a person recognized as an authority on that subject

Pathos  Pathos – the emotional appeal of the argument (making your argument feel right to your audience)  Emotional Appeal – a statement that arouses strong feelings in an audience that is extremely effective when urging people to action

Pathos cont.  Three ways to develop emotional appeals Citing Specifics – mentioning or referring to details or examples that clearly illustrate a point you want to make in order to remove any doubt your audience has about your meaning Using Vivid Language – enables listeners to picture situations that you are referring to Including Personal References – refer to the audience directly or relate the topic you are discussing to the audience’s direct experience in order to make your listeners feel that they have a personal stake in your topic

Ethos  Ethos – establishing your credibility as a speaker and establishing the credibility of your argument Credibility – the quality of being believable Competence – the state of being well qualified that comes from knowledge and preparation Sincerity – the unfakeable quality of being genuine that is conveyed by your tone of voice Dynamism – the (contagious) quality of being energetic and enthusiastic that is expressed by your tone of voice as well as by your nonverbal behavior

Ethos  Meeting ethical standards  Ethical Standards – society’s guidelines for right, just, and moral behavior  Violating ethical standards can destroy a speaker’s credibility  It is unethical for speakers to lie or deceive distort engage in name calling attack a person without evidence deny the opposition the right to reply

Your Goal  Your goal is persuasion, not manipulation (the shrewd, devious, management of facts for your own purpose based on the unethical distortion of information)

Assignment Details (both Informative & Persuasive)  You also must use some type of visual aid in your presentation. Please see the attached document explaining different types of visual aids and how to use them.  You may choose a topic of your choice provided it is approved by me.  Look at assignment sheet and rubric

Visual or Audio Aid  Visual and audio aids are used to help the audience better understand your speech. Aids include charts, maps, graphs, diagrams, outlines, pictures, handouts, cartoons, posters, slides, video clips, tape recordings, and objects. **These aids are particularly useful in teaching and in other types of informative speaking. A great deal of our conversations take place in sight of the object we are talking about. Television has an advantage over radio not only because speakers can be seen as well as heard, but because they can use visual aids to supplement the spoken word.

Here are the suggestions/rules for the use of aids:  Let the aids supplement your words  Ask yourself, “Will visual and auditory aids help me achieve my purpose?” If so, use them.  Decide on the best type of aid to use to get your point across. If the thing you want to show does not already exist, take the time to make it—it will be well worth the effort. Do not use too many or too few aids, and do not use your visual aids as “fillers”

Aids  Make sure that your audience can see your visual aids or hear your audio aids without straining their eyes or ears  An audience cannot be expected to take interest in an illustration that is too small or very minutely detailed or an audio example that is of poor quality. The thoughtful speaker will have aids that are easy for the audience to see and hear

Aids Cont.  Keep your aids simple and comprehensible An inventor created a wonderful machine that would do the work of five men, but it took six men to operate it. If it takes more time and energy for you to explain a chart than it would to explain the point, skip the chart. The point of your exhibit must emerge quickly and easily

Synchronize your aids with your remarks  This is extremely important. To be effective, audio/visual aids must become visible at exactly the moment they are needed. Many speakers make the mistake of showing an aid before it is needed. As a result, the audience’s attention is distracted from the speaker’s words.  Call attention to the aid at exactly the point it is needed.  Unless you have a very good reason, do not use visual aids after the conclusion—the audience is done listening at this point.

Organizing the Persuasive Speech  Introduction: Attention getter Thesis/proposition Explanation of the relevancy Preview of main points

Body Option 1  Present a history of the problem  Discuss the present day effects of the problem  Discuss the causes that brought about the effects  List possible solutions to the problem; show that they do not work  Give your solution  Show how your proposal will benefit your audience

Body Option 2  Present a history of the problem  Show that your proposal is needed  Show that your proposition is needed  Show that your proposition is practical  Show that your proposition is desirable

Conclusion  Restatement of thesis  Summary of main points  Clincher/lasting impression/round off