Ch 17 Flashcards
Reasons listeners will be persuaded
- Credibility–They perceive the speaker as having high credibility
- Evidence–They are won over by speaker’s evidence
- Reasoning–They are convinced by the speaker’s reasoning
- Emotions –Their emotions are touched
Ethos
Name used by Aristotle for what modern students of communication refer to as credibility
Credibility
Exists in…
May change based on…
If youre audience sees you as…
- exists in the mind of the audience
- may change based on audience
- If your audience sees you as sincere and competent they will be more receptive to your ideas
Factors of credibility
- Competence
- Character
Competence
Factor of credibility
How an audience regards a speaker’s intelligence, expertise, and knowledge of the subject.
Character
Factor of credibility
How an audience regards a speaker’s sincerity, trustworthiness, and concern for the well being of others
Types of credibility
- Initial credibility
- Derived credibility
- Terminal credibility
Initial credibility
Credibility of a speaker before they start to speak
Derived credibility
Credibility of a speaker produced by everything they say and do during the speech
Terminal credibility
Credibility of a speaker at the end of the speech.
Enhancing your credibility
Say and do everything in a way to make you appear capable and trustworthy.
1. Explain your competence
2. Establish common grounds
3. Deliver speech fluently
Explain your competence
Explain how you thoroughly researched your topic or have experience that gives you special knowledge/insight.
Establish common ground with the audience
Connect with values, attitudes, or experiences of the audience.
Deliver the speech fluently, expressively, and with conviction
- Moderately fast speakers and speakers who use vocal variety are seen as more intelligent and confident (rather than slow speakers)
- Speakers who lose their place, hesitate, or say filler words “uh” “um” “er” are seen as less competent
- Deliver speech genuinely and enthusiastically
Logos
Name used by Aristotle for logical appeal of a speaker.
Evidence
- Important in classrooms because few students are recognized as experts on their speech topics
- Speakers with very high initial credibility don’t need as much evidence as speakers with lower credibility need
- Success of speech depends on how well you anticipate internal responses and give evidence to refute them.
Effects of strong evidence
- Enhances credibility
- Increases immediate and long-term persuasiveness
- Inoculates listeners against counter-persuasion
Tips for evidence
- Use specific evidence
- Using novel evidence
- Using evidence from credible sources
- Make clear the point of your evidence
Using evidence from credible sources
Evidence from competent, credible sources are more persuasive than evidence from less qualified sources. Suspicious of evidence from sources that could be biased or self-interested.
- Best way to be persuasive is to rely on evidence from objective, nonpartisan sources.
Make clear the point of your evidence
Use evidence to prove a point. You can’t count on listeners to draw conclusions on their own.
Reasoning
Process of drawing a conclusion on the basis of evidence.
- Superstitions are instances of faulty reasoning
Major concerns with respect to reasoning
- Your reasoning is sound
- Try to get listeners to agree with your reasoning
Reasoning from specific instances
Reasoning from particular facts to a general conclusion
- Use this reasoning daily
- Beware of jumping to conclusions on the basis of insufficient evidence
- Make sure sample of specific instances is large enough to justify your conclusion
- Make sure instances are fair, unbiased, and representative
- Does this specific instance represent a majority of instances?
- Reinforce argument with stats or testimonies
Reasoning from principle
Reasoning that moves from general principle to a specific principle
- General statement to minor premise and end with specific conclusion
- Ex: All people are mortal→Socrates is a person→ Socrates is moral
- Need to know if you need evidence for your general statement to convince the audience or if they will accept it without evidence. May need to support minor premise with evidence too.
Causal reasoning
Reasoning that seeks to establish a relationship between causes and effects.
- Can be tricky because the relationship isn’t always clear. Could be coincidental.
- Could have multiple causes. Not just one cause→one effect.
Analogical reasoning
Reasoning where the speaker compares two similar cases and infers what is true for the first case is also true for the second.
- Commonly used when persuasive speech with question of policy
- Best when the situations are extremely similar
- Ex: If you’re good at tennis you’re probably good at ping-pong
Fallacies
An error in reasoning
- Avoid fallacies
- More than 125 fallacies, here are 10
Fallacies Types
- Hasty generalization
- False cause
- Invalid analogy
- Bandwagon
- Red herring
- Ad Hominem
- Either-or
- Slippery slope
- Appeal to tradition
- Appeal to novelty
Hasty generalizations
A fallacy in which a speaker jumps to a general conclusion on the basis of insufficient evidence.
- Most common type of fallacy in reasoning from specific instances
False cause
A fallacy where a speaker mistakenly assumes that one event follows another
- Correlation isn’t causation
Invalid analogy
A fallacy where there is an analogy that isn’t essentially alike
Bandwagon
A fallacy where it is assumed that because something is popular that it is good, correct, or desirable
Red herring
A fallacy that introduces an irrelevant issue to divert attention from the subject under discussion.
- Named because old farmers in England used to drag smoked herring along edge of fields to keep hounds off track of fox
Ad Hominem
A fallacy that attacks the person rather than dealing with the real issue in dispute, where the attacks aren’t relevant.
- Latin for “against the man”
- A person’s lack of integrity/character can be an issue and speakers can still raise questions about a person without being guilt of ad hominem fallacy
Either-Or
A fallacy that forces listeners to choose between two alternatives when more options exist.
- Referred to as false dilemma
- Oversimplifies a complex issue
Slippery Slope
A fallacy that assumes that taking a first step will lead to subsequent steps that cannot be prevented
- Ex: Now that this is happening, it isn’t long before ____.
Appeal to tradition
A fallacy that assumes that something old is better than something new.
Appeal to novelty
A fallacy that assumes that something new is better than something old.
Pathos
Name used by aristotle for what is referred to as emotional appeal
Appealing to emotions
- Adding feeling or force of imagination can make speech more persuasive
- Good for question of policy or value
Most common emotions
- Fear–of serious illness, natural disasters, sexual assault, personal rejection, economic hardship.
- Compassion–for war refugees, battered women, victims of cancer
- Pride–In one’s country, family, school, ethnic heritage
- Anger–At terrorists, unethical business leaders.
- Guilt–About not helping people less fortunate than ourselves
- Reverence–for an admired person, traditions and institutions
Generating emotional appeal
- Use emotional language
- Develop vivid examples
- Speak with sincerity and conviction
Use emotional language
Emotion rests in …
but not too much (can call attention to emotional language itself and not its impact)
- Emotion rests in your audience, not your words
Develop vivid examples
Lets emotional appeal naturally grow out of the content of the speech
- More compelling
Speak with sincerity and conviction
- You have to feel the emotion too
- Through tone, rate of speech, gestures, facial expressions
Ethics and emotional appeal
- Emotional appeals can be abused by increasing hatred, bigotry, and fanaticism
- Hard to separate reason and emotional appeal
(If it’s reasonable to feel a certain way) - Make sure emotional appeal appropriate to the speech topic
Make sure emotional appeal appropriate to the speech topic
- Good for questions of policy
- Not good for question of fact
- Only use specific information and logic for questions of fact - Never substitute emotional appeal for evidence or reasoning
- Always build speech on facts and logic
Elements of logos
Evidence and reasoning
Most common type of fallacy in reasoning from specific instances
Hasty generalizations
Hasty generalizations: Most common type of fallacy in reasoning from…
…specific instances.
