speech-chapter 17 Flashcards
Ethos
The name used by Aristotle for what modern students of communication refer to as credibility.
Credibility
The audience’s perception of whether a speaker is qualified to speak on a given topic. The two major factors influencing a speaker’s credibility are competence and character.
Initial Credibility
The credibility of a speaker before she or he starts to speak.
Derived Credibility
The credibility of a speaker produced by everything she or he says and does during the speech.
Terminal Credibility
The credibility of a speaker at the end of the speech.
Creating Common Ground
A technique in which a speaker connects himself or herself with the values, attitudes, or experiences of the audience.
Evidence
Supporting materials used to prove or disprove something.
Logos
The name used by Aristotle for the logical appeal of a speaker. The two major elements of logos are evidence and reasoning.
Reasoning
The process of drawing a conclusion on the basis of evidence.
Reasoning from specific instances
Reasoning that moves from particular facts to a general conclusion.
Reasoning from Principle
Reasoning that moves from a general principle to a specific conclusion.
Causal Reasoning
Reasoning that seeks to establish the relationship between causes and effects.
Analogical reasoning
Reasoning in which a speaker compares two similar cases and infers that what is true for the first case is also true for the second.
Fallacy
An error in reasoning.
Hasty Generalization
A fallacy in which a speaker jumps to a general conclusion on the basis of insufficient evidence.
False Cause
A fallacy in which a speaker mistakenly assumes that because one event follows another, the first event is the cause of the second.
Invalid analogy
An analogy in which the two cases being compared are not essentially alike.
Bandwagon
A fallacy which assumes that because something is popular, it is therefore good, correct, or desirable.
Red Herring
A fallacy that introduces an irrelevant issue to divert attention from the subject under discussion.
Ad hominem
A fallacy that attacks the person rather than dealing with the real issue in dispute.
Either-or
A fallacy that forces listeners to choose between two alternatives when more than two alternatives exist.
Slippery-slope
A fallacy which assumes that taking a first step will lead to subsequent steps that cannot be prevented.
Appeal to Tradition
A fallacy which assumes that something old is automatically better than something new.
Appeal to Novelty
A fallacy which assumes that something new is automatically better than something old.
