Persuasive Speaking Flashcards
The goal(s) of persuasive speaking
Goal is to affect your audience member’s beliefs, attitudes or actions while also advocating fact, value or policy claims
Aims at changing or reinforcing audience beliefs and/or attitudes
3 key ways:
- Strengthen audience commitment
- Weaken audience commitment
- Advocate audience action
Definition of strategic discourse
The process of selecting supporting arguments that will best persuade the audience in an ethical manner.
Speakers select arguments having the most likely chance of achieving their rhetorical purpose in an ethical way.
You must understand your audience’s perspective on your topic in order to
- choose arguments wisely
- select the right blend of logos (logic), pathos (emotion), and ethos (credibility) for the most effective appeal
Selecting, adapting to audience
Latitude of acceptance
Audience members’ range of positions that are acceptable on a given issue.
-Very concerned about an issue have a narrower latitude of acceptance.
When we recommend a step that should be taken to action
Latitude of rejection
Audience members’ range of positions that are unacceptable on a given issue.
Everything outside what they’re willing to reject
Boomerang effect
Boomerang Effect = act of pushing listeners to oppose your idea even more vigorously than they already do
-Position falls within their latitude of rejection, strong viewpoints that differ from yours.
When you appeal to the latitude of rejection it does the exact opposite of what you want to do. Instead of them taking action, you’ve aggravated them so it’s the “boomerang effect”
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, know the order and know what they mean
Hierarchy of Needs = people’s most basic needs must be met before they will focus on less essential ones
- needs the objects an audience desires and the feelings that must be satisfied
- Focus on needs of main concern to audience members
Physiological = basics - food, drink, shelter, health.
Safety needs = economic security, protection from danger
Social Needs = love and friendship
Self-Esteem = respected and valued as a contributing member of society
Self-Actualization = opportunities for creativity, personal growth and self-fulfillment
Definition of a two-sided argument
Two-sided argument = addressing the reasons why listeners are opposed. Not just presenting 2 sides. Presenting your side, briefly note argument against thesis and then use evidence and reasoning to refute that argument.
-When you’re making a case to an audience, often you know that the audience is thinking more this one way, you explain it and refute it “you may think this but, how do I improve on this idea”
Definition of a peripheral versus core beliefs
Peripheral beliefs = do not hold closely as a core belief, if we want to target something, we want it to be this, new and able to adapt/
Focus your appeals on your audience’s peripheral beliefs, as members will not have held these beliefs for as long and are open to persuasion.
Core Belief = held for a long time, extremely difficult to change their commitment to this, relatively immune to persuasion, as your audience has probably is invested in them.
Definition of logos, pathos, and ethos as well as how to make that type of appeal and identify them
Ethos = Psychological principle that people tend to believe what they hear or read from a person in whom they have trust.
Ex) Be well prepared, properly attired, Use sources that the audience will find trustworthy, Establish common ground with audience through language, examples, shared values, Provide needed explanations, definitions, etc.. Employ sound reasoning
Logos = Psychological principle that the human mind is capable of perceiving logical relationships among ideas and of reaching conclusions based upon those relationships
Ex) Theoretical, abstract language, Denotative meanings/reasons, Literal and historical analogies, Definitions, Factual data and statistics, Quotations, Citations from experts and authorities, Informed opinions
Pathos = Psychological principle that people’s judgments about what they hear and read are affected by their emotions.
Ex) Vivid, concrete language, Emotionally loaded language, Connotative meanings, Emotional examples, Vivid descriptions, Narratives of emotional events, Emotional tone, Figurative language
