McGraw-Hill©Stephen E. Lucas 2001 All rights reserved. CHAPTER SIXTEEN Methods of Persuasion.

McGraw-Hill ©Stephen E. Lucas 2001 All rights reserved.

CH

AP

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SIXTEENMethods of Persuasion


Credibility

The audience’s perception of howbelievable a speaker is. The two majorfactors influencing a speaker’s credibilityare competence and character.


Ethos

The name used by Aristotle for whatmodern students of communicationrefer to as credibility.


Types of Credibility

• Initial – the credibility of a speaker before she or he starts to speak

• Derived – the credibility of a speaker produced by everything she or he says and does during the speech

• Terminal – The credibility of a speaker at the end of the speech.


Tips for Enhancing Credibility

• Explain your competence

• Establish common ground

• Deliver speeches fluently and with

conviction


Logos

The name used by Aristotle for the logical appeal of a speaker. The twomajor elements of logos are evidenceand reasoning.


Evidence

Supporting materials used to prove or disprove something.


Tips for Using Evidence

• Use specific evidence

• Use novel evidence

• Use evidence from credible sources

• Clarify the point of your evidence


Reasoning

The process of drawing a conclusionon the basis of evidence.


Four Types of Reasoning

• Reasoning from specific instances

• Reasoning from principle

• Causal reasoning

• Analogical reasoning


Reasoning from Specific Instances

Reasoning that moves from particularfacts to a general conclusion.


Reasoning from Principle

Reasoning that moves from a generalprinciple to a specific conclusion.


Causal Reasoning

Reasoning that seeks to establish therelationship between causes and effects.


Analogical Reasoning

Reasoning in which a speaker comparestwo similar cases and infers that what istrue for the first case is also true for thesecond.


Fallacies

• Hasty

Generalization

• False Cause

(Post Hoc, Ergo

Propter Hoc)

• Faulty Analogy

• Red Herring

• Ad Hominem

• Either-Or

• Bandwagon

• Slippery Slope


Hasty Generalization

An error in reasoning from specificinstances, in which a speaker jumps to a general conclusion on the basis of insufficient evidence.


False Cause

An error in causal reasoning in which a speaker mistakenly assumes that becauseone event follows another, the first eventis the cause of the second. This error is often know by its Latin name, post hoc, ergo propter hoc, meaning “after this, therefore because of this.”


Invalid Analogy

An analogy in which the two cases being compared are not essentially alike.


Red Herring

A fallacy that introduces an irrelevantissue to divert attention from the subjectunder discussion.


Ad Hominem

A fallacy that attacks the personrather 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.


Bandwagon

A fallacy which assumes that becausesomething is popular, it is thereforegood, correct, or desirable.


Slippery Slope

A fallacy which assumes that takinga first step will lead to subsequent steps that cannot be prevented.


Pathos

The name used by Aristotle for what modern students of communicationrefer to as emotional appeal.


Tips for Generating Emotional Appeal

• Use emotional language

• Develop vivid examples

• Speak with sincerity and conviction


McGraw-Hill©Stephen E. Lucas 2001 All rights reserved. CHAPTER SIXTEEN Methods of Persuasion.

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