PERSUASION

Communication Applications

1. Argumentation & Reasoning:

According to Aristotle, ______, or the “art of persuasion” is "the ability, in each particular case, to see the available means of persuasion." He described three main forms of rhetoric:

2. Three Forms of Rhetoric:

  • ______: Appeal to ______. When the speaker is seen as trustworthy, knowledgeable, and ______in the audience, the audience will likely accept what the speaker says as true.

Example: Acme Gizmotronics

The company that you've trusted for over 100 years, has recently entered the World Wide Web! Now you can purchase our fine products through the internet. Our quality gizmos, widgets, and thingamabobs can be shipped to you within minutes. All come with the famous lifetime guarantee that makes Acme the company that the world depends on for it's gizmo needs.

  • ______: Appeal to ______. Pathetic or emotional appeals, persuades audiences by ______the emotions.

Example: Richard Nixon, “Checkers Speech”

"One other thing I probably should tell you because if we don't they'll probably be saying this about me too, we did get something — a gift — after the election.
A man down in Texas heard Pat on the radio mention the fact that our two youngsters would like to have a dog. And, believe it or not, the day before we left on this campaign trip we got a message from Union Station in Baltimore saying they had a package for us. We went down to get it. You know what it was?
It was a little cocker spaniel dog in a crate that he'd sent all the way from Texas. Black and white spotted. And our little girl — Tricia, the 6-year old — named it Checkers. And you know, the kids, like all kids, love the dog and I just want to say this right now, that regardless of what they say about it, we're gonna keep it."

  • ______: Appeal to ______. Logos refers to different systems of reasoning, working together to persuade an audience.

3. Three Types of Reasoning:

  • ______Reasoning: From general to specific.

These types of arguments are called ______and are proven by analyzing the claims:

A. All men or mortal _____

B. Socrates is a man_____

C. Therefore, Socrates is mortal_____

Not all syllogisms give true conclusions:

A. All cats are mortal _____

B. Socrates is mortal _____

C. Therefore, Socrates is a cat _____

When we use deductive reasoning in normal conversation, we usually use an ______. Enthymemes allow the audience to supply the ______evidence to support the claim.

Enthymemes simplify the syllogism to two steps:

Ex. Connie is a cheerleader, therefore Connie is very popular.

A. Connie is a cheerleader _____

B. ______

C. Connie is very popular _____

Questions to ask about Deductive arguments:

1. Is the General Statement true?

 Is Connie a Cheerleader?

2. Is the Specific Example true?

 Are Cheerleaders popular?

3. Does the Specific example apply to the General Statement?

 Is Connie popular? Is it because she is a cheerleader,

or for other reasons: friendliness, helpful, etc.

  • ______Reasoning: From specific to general.

We use inductive reasoning all the time, however, it does not provide ______but only ______.

Ex1. Evidence:I met 5 people from Conroe, they were all mean.

Conclusion:Therefore, ______

Questions:Are there enough examples? ______

Are the examples typical? ______

Are there exceptions or special cases? ______

______

Ex2. Evidence:The sun has risen every day for the past year.

Conclusion:Therefore, ______

Questions:Are there enough examples? ______

Are the examples typical? ______

Are there exceptions or special cases? ______

______

  • ______: All effects have a specific cause.

→ → → → → →

Ex1. Evidence:Jane studied for the math test for four hours.

Conclusion:Therefore, ______

Questions:Is the Cause connected to the Effect? ______

______

Ex2. Evidence:As the sale of ice cream increases, the murder rate goes up.

Conclusion:Therefore, ______

Questions:Is there another explanation? ______

______

4. Types of Faulty Reasoning (Logical Fallacies)

  • ______: Vague and general statements that cannot be ______or ______. Ex. “Pepsi is the best soda.”
  • ______: Pilling up information about an ______without much ______. Ex. “Join the Army. You’ll meet new people, go different places and can even get a college education.”
  • ______: Everyone else is doing it, ______should do it also. Ex. “We are all going to the party, you don’t want to be left out.”
  • ______: An endorsement by someone who is ______from the product / idea. Ex. George Foreman endorsing Meineke mufflers.
  • ______: Attacks the person rather than the idea. (______) Ex. “Oh yeah, well I have a better class average than you do.”