Public Speaking

Question 1

attacking the opposing person’s character instead of his or her argument

Answer 1

ad hominem

Question 2

an appeal to authority; This fallacy asserts that positional authority, such as being a parent or a boss, makes someone’s argument correct and accurate

Answer 2

ad vericundiam

Question 3

This fallacy relies on the belief that once a course of action is taken, other unavoidable events will inevitably occur

Answer 3

the slippery slope

Question 4

the fallacy thus refers to making an unjustified move from one idea to another

Answer 4

non sequitur

Question 5

the speaker distorts the actual position of an opponent; the speaker misrepresents the opponent’s position by oversimplifying that position, taking the opponent’s comments out of context so that they don’t represent the opponent’s position at all, or representing an entire group’s position with really bad arguments from one person in that group (who might be real or fictitious)

Answer 5

straw man

Question 6

drawing conclusions about broad principles or categories based upon a small sample of evidence

Answer 6

hasty generalization

Question 7

when we assume there are only two alternatives, when in actuality there are more

Answer 7

either-or

Question 8

assumes that one event causes another unrelated event to occur

Answer 8

false cause

Question 9

which happens when the speaker introduces irrelevant ideas to focus attention away from the real issue

Answer 9

red herring

Question 10

we assume certain facts that have not been proven

Answer 10

begging the question