Rhetoric The Art of Persuasion Impress your significant other! Persuade your parents! Amaze small children! Manipulate your friends! Humiliate your enemies! Rhetoric The Art of Persuasion Parkland High School

When rhetoric goes wrong, receivers see the persuasive intent as propaganda. Propaganda is a one-sided method of persuasion that is intended to manipulate. It bypasses logic through faulty reasoning and emotional appeals. Let’s looks at some of the propaganda techniques in more detail. Some of these techniques are also known as logical fallacies. logical fallacies

name calling (ad hominem) An attack on a person instead of an issue. Insulting words are used in place of logical arguments. This appeals to emotions rather than reason. Examples: “right-wing conspirator” “bleeding-heart liberal” name calling (ad hominem)

Tries to persuade the receiver to do, think, or buy something because “everyone” is doing it. Examples: “Five million members and growing!” “Thousands of satisfied customers can’t be wrong!” “Join the digital revolution” bandwagon

An attempt to distract with details not relevant to the argument; sidetracking. Example: Mike: “It’s morally wrong to cheat on your spouse. Why would you do that, Ken?” Ken: “What is morality, exactly?” Mike: “A code of conduct.” Ken: “But who creates this code?” red herring

Attempting to persuade by using emotional words (Pathos) only and not appealing to logic (Logos) or providing credibility (Ethos) Example: “If you love your children, vote for Joe Smith.” Emotional appeal

Using a famous person to endorse a product or idea Using a famous person to endorse a product or idea. Testimonials take advantage of the fact that there are certain people we tend to trust, even if that trust is based on mere recognition, rather than true credibility. Example: A person might love Sean Penn’s movies and even agree with some of his political views, but that does not qualify him to pick out the ideal presidential candidate. testimonial

Repeating a message over and over again Repeating a message over and over again. Repetition works under the assumption that the more people hear something the more likely they are to believe it, even if on a subconscious level. Examples: In advertising: “Head On. Apply directly to the forehead.” In politics, repetition is used with “talking points.” The same topics and phrases are repeated on the media circuit. repetition

sweeping generalizations Making an oversimplified statement based on limited information Examples: “Every person should run a mile each day for optimum health.” “Children should be seen, not heard.” sweeping generalizations

Stating a conclusion as part of the proof of the argument; assuming what one is attempting to prove. Example: A confused student argues: “You can’t give me a C! I’m an A student!” circular argument

appeal to facts and statistics Shows how many people think something is true; using large numbers or misleading facts to confuse. Example: “Ninety percent of Americans believe in ghosts.” appeal to facts and statistics

persuading by appeals to simplistic black and white and either/or thinking. Used constantly by the media. Example: President Bush to Congress: “Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists.” Regarding abortion: “I am not pro-choice; I am pro- life.” either/or

offering a simple solution to an extremely complex problem. Examples: “If we want to end drug abuse, let’s send every drug user to prison for life.” General Curtis LeMay regarding Japan in WWII: “Let’s bomb them back to the stone age.” When vegans say that you don’t really love animals if you eat them. oversimplification

stacking the cards repressing one side of the argument. Example: Used car salesman listing all of the good qualities while disregarding all of the faults: “Great speakers, new paint job, low mileage.” [Never mind the missing transmission.] “My new boyfriend is handsome, loves kittens, and reads Shakespeare.” [Never mind he pushed an old woman into oncoming traffic.] stacking the cards