Aristotle’s Methods of Convincing

You Can Convince the Audience if… They perceive the speaker as having high credibility They are won over by the speaker’s evidence They are convinced by the speaker’s reasoning Their emotions are touched by the speaker’s ideas or language

Ethics (ethos) Convince your audience you are fair, honest and well informed They will come to trust you Avoid overuse of negatively charged words

Which Statement Do You Believe? “The U.S. State Department needs major changes in organization to fulfill its mission in the 21st century.” (Colin Powell) “The U.S. state department does not need any major organizational changes in the foreseeable future.” (Stephen King)

Which Statement Do You Believe? “The horror novel is entering a more sophisticated stage as writers develop new character types and plot devices.” (Stephen King) The horror novel is declining in popularity compared with other forms of popular fiction.” (Colon Powell)

Types of Credibility Initial Credibility: The credibility a speaker has before he or she starts to speak Derived Credibility: The credibility of the speaker produced by everything he or she says and does during the speech itself Terminal Credibility: The credibility of the speaker at the end of the speech

Establishing Credibility Explain your competence Establish common ground with your audience Deliver your speech fluently, expressively, and with conviction

Reason (logos) Support your claims with concrete specific data Specific to general is known as inductive General to specific is known as deductive Support with evidence

Types of Evidence Facts can be proven Expert opinions or quotations Definitions Statistics Examples Anecdote: Lesson learned from experience Present opposition

Emotion (pathos) Emotional appeal adds to your argument Use description, or narrate an example Careful word choice

Types of Emotional Appeals Fear Compassion Pride Anger Guilt Reverence