17. Strategies for Speaking Persuasively

Question 1

Establishing Credibility

Answer 1

ethos - speaker credibility (by Aristotle)
Aristotle thought that a PS should be ethical, possess good character, have common sense and be concerned for the well-being of the audience.
Quintilian also felt that he/she should be a person of good character.

1 clear factor in credibility is competence - the spk should be considered informed, skilled or knowledgeable about the subject.

You build credibility in 3 phases:
1. Initial credibility - before you speak. Giving careful thought to your appearance and establishing eye contact before you begin to talk.
2. Derived credibility - you establish common ground by indicating in your opening remarks that you share the values and concerns of you audience.
3. Terminal credibility - after you finish the speech.

Question 2

Using Logic and Evidence to Persuade

Answer 2

Understanding types of reasoning:
- Inductive Reasoning - reasoning that arrives at a general conclusion from specific instances or examples. Reasoning is used to reach a general conclusion or discover sth new.
-Deductive reasoning - from a general statement or principle to reach a specific conclusion. Reasoning is used to reach a specific conclusion by applying what is known.

Middle Eastern cultures usually do not use standard inductive or deductive structures. They are more likely to use narrative ,ethods to persuade an audience.

Fallacy = false reasoning that occurs when someone attempts to persuade without adequate evidence or with arguments that are irrelevant or inappropriate.

Question 3

Using Emotion to Persuade

Answer 3

Use concrete examples
Use emotion-arousing words
Use nonverbal behaviour to communicate your emotional response
Use visual images
Use appropriate fear appeals
Use appeals to a variety of emotions such as hope, pride, courage or reverence.

Question 4

Strategies for Adapting Ideas to People and People to Ideas

Answer 4

rhetoric - is the process of adjusting ideas to people and people to ideas (by Donald C. Bryant)

Persuasing the Receptive audience:
identify with your audience
Clearly state your speaking objective
Tell them exactly what you want them to do
Ask listeners for an immediate show of support

Persuasing the Neutral audience:
Captivate your listeners attention early in your speech
Refer to beliefs that many listeners share
relate your topic not only to your listeners but also to their families, friends, loved ones
Be realistic in what you can accomplish

Persuasing the Unreceptive audience:
Begin your speech by noting ares of agreement before you discuss those of disagreement - help your audience understand that there are issues on which you agree
establish your credibility

Question 5

Strategies for Organizing Persuasive Messages

Answer 5

Problem-solution - present the problem, then present the solution (e.g The national debt is too high. We need to raise taxes to lower the debt).

Refutation - anticipate your listeners key objections to your proposal and then address them (e.g Even though you may think we pay too much tax, we are really undertaxed.)

Cause-effect - present the cause of the problem, note how the problem affects the listeners (e.g The high national debt is caused by too little tax revenue and too much government spending)

Motivated sequence - 5-step pattern of organizing a speech: attention, need, satisfaction, visualization, action.