Notes on Persuasive Speaking
Chapter 24: Persuasive Speaking
Goal: reach desired ends through an honest means
I. Persuasion ‘the art’ –faculty of observing in a given case the available means of persuasion. Persuasion is symbolic, non-coercive (not forced) influence
3 factors:
Context—social, cultural, political climate
Agent—persuader
Receiver—audience
**Equal opp. To persuade, Complete revelation of agendas—let audience know complete list of goals and how you intend to get audience there, Critical receivers—have to understand what’s being said
Responsible agent—takes communication seriously
1. Take responsibility for what is said and deal with consequences
2. Fosters informed choice—gives all sides
3. Appeals to the best in people—not the worst
Consider receiver— 1. Aware of attempts to influence—be aware of motives 2. Informed about important topics 3. Know their own biases—know what predisposes us—careful not to engage in defensive listening 4. Aware of methods of persuasion
*Influence the beliefs, attitude, and acts of others
Focus on motivation: What motivates listeners?
Make your message personally relevant
Demonstrate the benefit of change
Set modest goals
Target issues the audience feels strongly about
Establish credibility
II. Speeches built upon argument, 3 forms of appeals: Logos, Ethos, Pathos 1. Logos—appeal to reason or logic, *Aristotle wished that all appealing done through LOGOS
*Our ability to articulate rationality, appealing to logic and using reasoning to persuade
2. Ethos—credibility, moral character.
To establish speaker credibility: * Present topics honestly, establish identification, commonality, and goodwill, use personal knowledge 3. Pathos—emotional states of audience. Pride, love, anger etc. drive our actions--Done through vivid imagery
**Aristotle said: Two main sources of immediate emotion= LOVE AND FEAR
Syllogism—
Major premise obvious statement
Minor premiseextension
Goal: reach desired ends through an honest means
I. Persuasion ‘the art’ –faculty of observing in a given case the available means of persuasion. Persuasion is symbolic, non-coercive (not forced) influence
3 factors:
Context—social, cultural, political climate
Agent—persuader
Receiver—audience
**Equal opp. To persuade, Complete revelation of agendas—let audience know complete list of goals and how you intend to get audience there, Critical receivers—have to understand what’s being said
Responsible agent—takes communication seriously
1. Take responsibility for what is said and deal with consequences
2. Fosters informed choice—gives all sides
3. Appeals to the best in people—not the worst
Consider receiver— 1. Aware of attempts to influence—be aware of motives 2. Informed about important topics 3. Know their own biases—know what predisposes us—careful not to engage in defensive listening 4. Aware of methods of persuasion
*Influence the beliefs, attitude, and acts of others
Focus on motivation: What motivates listeners?
Make your message personally relevant
Demonstrate the benefit of change
Set modest goals
Target issues the audience feels strongly about
Establish credibility
II. Speeches built upon argument, 3 forms of appeals: Logos, Ethos, Pathos 1. Logos—appeal to reason or logic, *Aristotle wished that all appealing done through LOGOS
*Our ability to articulate rationality, appealing to logic and using reasoning to persuade
2. Ethos—credibility, moral character.
To establish speaker credibility: * Present topics honestly, establish identification, commonality, and goodwill, use personal knowledge 3. Pathos—emotional states of audience. Pride, love, anger etc. drive our actions--Done through vivid imagery
**Aristotle said: Two main sources of immediate emotion= LOVE AND FEAR
Syllogism—
Major premise obvious statement
Minor premiseextension