chapter twenty-four the persuasive speech. chapter twenty-four table of contents zwhat is a...

Chapter Twenty-Four

The Persuasive Speech

Chapter Twenty-Four

Table of ContentsWhat Is a Persuasive Speech?The Process of PersuasionClassical Persuasive AppealsContemporary Persuasive AppealsA Plan for Organizing Persuasive

Speeches: Monroe’s Motivated Sequence*

What Is a Persuasive Speech?

Persuasion The process of influencing attitudes,

beliefs, values, and behaviorPersuasive speaking

Speech that is intended to influence the beliefs, attitudes, values, and acts of others*

What Is a Persuasive Speech?

Persuasive speeches: Attempt to influence audience choices Limit alternatives Seek a response*

What Is a Persuasive Speech?

Persuasive Speeches Attempt to Influence Audience Choices

Unlike informative speeches, the goal of a persuasive speech is not to increase understanding and awareness; it is to influence audience choices.

This influence can vary from slight shifts in opinion to wholesale changes in behavior.*

What is a Persuasive Speech?

Persuasive Speeches Limit Alternatives

Issues that call for a persuasive speech will have at least two viewpoints.

Rather than ignoring other viewpoints, persuasion seeks to weigh the alternatives to demonstrate that one alternative is ultimately preferable.*

What is a Persuasive Speech?

Persuasive Speeches Seek a Response

“Perspective taking” Leading the audience to a

perspective that is the speaker’s*

The Process of Persuasion

When you speak persuasively, you try to guide the audience to adopt a particular attitude, belief, or behavior that you favor.*

The Process of Persuasion

To influence your listeners you must understand how their attitudes, beliefs, and values might affect the way they view your position.

No matter how well you analyze your audience or present your ideas, audiences seldom respond immediately or completely to a persuasive speech.*

The Process of Persuasion

Make your message personally relevant to the audience.

Show how the change will benefit them.Have a strong attitude.Speakers who seek minor changes are

more effective than those who seek major ones.

Present yourself as truthful.*

The Process of Persuasion

Convince your audience that a change will make them feel satisfied and competent.

Be moderate in your position.Listeners must be assured they will be

rewarded if they listen to you.*

Classical Persuasive Appeals

According to Aristotle, persuasion could be brought about by the speaker’s use of rhetorical proof.

Rhetorical proof Three modes of persuasion: the nature

of the message, the audience’s feelings, and the personality of the speaker*

Classical Persuasive Appeals

Logos: Appeals to Audience ReasonPathos: Appeals to Audience EmotionEthos: Appeals to Speaker Character*

Classical Persuasive Appeals:

Logos: Appeals to Audience Reason

Many persuasive speeches focus on serious issues requiring considerable thought.

Logos Refers to persuasive appeals directed at

the audience’s reasoning on a topic*

Classical Persuasive Appeals:

Logos: Appeals to Audience Reason

Syllogism A three-part argument consisting of a

major premise or general case, a minor premise or specific case, and a conclusion

Enthymeme A syllogism stated as a probability

instead of an absolute; states either a major or minor premise but not both*

Classical Persuasive Appeals:

Pathos: Appeals to Audience Emotion

Pathos involves an appeal to audience emotion.*

Classical Persuasive Appeals:

Pathos: Appeals to Audience Emotion

Successful public speakers should be able to identify and appeal to the following emotions in their listeners: Anger and meekness Love and hatred Fear and boldness Shame and shamelessness*

Classical Persuasive Appeals:

Ethos: Appeals to Speaker Character

Ethos The nature of the

speaker’s character plays an important role in how well the audience listens to and accepts the message*

Classical Persuasive Appeals:

Ethos: Appeals to Speaker Character

Elements of an appeal based on ethos: Good sense or competence

The speaker’s knowledge of and experience with the subject matter

Moral characterReflected in the manner in which a speaker

presents an argument

GoodwillAn interest and concern for the welfare of the

audience*

Contemporary Persuasive Appeals

While classical modes of persuasion are as useful today as they were two thousand years ago, current theories expand upon Aristotle by considering audience needs, rationales for choice, and ways of processing information.*

Contemporary Persuasive Appeals

Motivating Listeners: By Appealing to Their Needs By Appealing to the Rationales for

Their Behavior By Making the Message Relevant to

Their Concerns Through Speaker Credibility*

Contemporary Persuasive Appeals:

Motivating Listeners by Appealing to Their Needs

Appealing to audience needs is one of the most commonly used strategies for motivating people.

Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs A set of five basic needs ranging from the

essential life-sustaining ones to the less critical self-improvement ones*

Contemporary Persuasive Appeals:

Motivating Listeners by Appealing to the Rationales for Their Behavior

Maslow’s Hierarchy: Physiological needs include needs for

water, food, and air. Safety needs relate to feelings of

security. Social needs refer to the desire for

meaningful relationships with others. Self-esteem needs reflect our desire to

feel good about ourselves. Self-actualization needs refer to

reaching your highest potential.*

Contemporary Persuasive Appeals:

Motivating Listeners by Appealing to the Rationales for Their Behavior

Expectancy-Outcome Values Theory Maintains that people consciously evaluate the

potential costs and benefits (or value) associated with taking a particular action*

Contemporary Persuasive Appeals:

Motivating Listeners by Appealing to the Rationales for Their Behavior

To put the theory into practice you must seek out the listener’s: Attitude about the behavior you are

proposing to change. Feelings about the consequences

associated with the behavior. Belief of what other people think of

the behavior, and the listener’s willingness to comply with those beliefs.*

Contemporary Persuasive Appeals:

Motivating Listeners by Making the Message Relevant to Their Concerns

Elaboration Likelihood Model A theory that suggests people

process persuasive messages by one of two mental routes (central processing or peripheral processing), depending on their degree of involvement in the message*

Contemporary Persuasive Appeals:

Motivating Listeners by Making the Message Relevant to Their Concerns

Central Processing Listeners who are

influenced primarily by the strength and quality of a speaker’s argument

Peripheral Processing Listeners who are more

likely to be influenced by non-content issues, because they find the message too complex or irrelevant*

Contemporary Persuasive Appeals:

Motivating Listeners through Speaker Credibility

These speaker-based factors (referred to as credibility) have been identified as affecting the outcome of persuasive speeches: Expertise Trustworthiness Speaker similarity Physical attractiveness*

Contemporary Persuasive Appeals:

Motivating Listeners through Speaker Credibility

Although expertise does not necessarily mean you are an authority, you need a sufficient amount of knowledge and experience to be able to help an audience better understand and accept an idea.*

Contemporary Persuasive Appeals:

Motivating Listeners through Speaker Credibility

Audiences who perceive a speaker as trustworthy regard the communication as more credible.*

Contemporary Persuasive Appeals:

Motivating Listeners through Speaker Credibility

Speaker Similarity

Involves listeners’ perceptions of how similar the speaker is to themselves

Generally, audience members are more likely to respond to a speaker they perceive to be like them, but there are exceptions.*

Contemporary Persuasive Appeals:

Motivating Listeners through Speaker Credibility

Use these guidelines to determine how much “speaker similarity” you should convey in your speech:

For speeches that involve a lot of facts and analysis, play on whatever amount of expertise you can summon up.

For those that concern matters of a more personal nature, it is best to emphasize your commonality with the audience.*

Contemporary Persuasive Appeals:

Motivating Listeners Through Speaker Credibility

Physical attractiveness of the speaker can both help and hurt an argument.

Either way, a fully developed persuasive speech should succeed with or without the need for the speaker to look a certain way.*

A Plan for Organizing Persuasive Speeches: Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

Developed by Alan Monroe, Monroe’s Motivated Sequence provides an organizational pattern for planning and presenting persuasive speeches.*

A Plan for Organizing Persuasive Speeches: Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

Step 1: AttentionStep 2: NeedStep 3: SatisfactionStep 4: VisualizationStep 5: Action*

A Plan for Organizing Persuasive Speeches:Monroe’s Motivated Sequence:

Step 1: Attention

A persuasive speech should begin by getting the audience’s attention.

This step addresses core concerns of the audience, making the speech highly relevant to them.*

A Plan for Organizing Persuasive Speeches:Monroe’s Motivated Sequence:

Step 2: Need

The need step isolates and describes the issue to be addressed in the speech.

If you can show the audience that they have an important need that must be satisfied or a problem that must be solved, they have a reason to listen to your propositions.*

A Plan for Organizing Persuasive Speeches:Monroe’s Motivated Sequence:

Step 3: Satisfaction

The satisfaction step identifies the solution.

This step offers the audience a proposal to reinforce or change their attitudes, beliefs, and values regarding the need at hand.*

A Plan for Organizing Persuasive Speeches:Monroe’s Motivated Sequence:

Step 4: Visualization

The purpose of the visualization step is to carry the audience from accepting the feasibility of your proposal to seeing how it will actually benefit them.

This step invokes needs of self-esteem and self-actualization.*

A Plan for Organizing Persuasive Speeches:Monroe’s Motivated Sequence:

Step 5: Action

The action step involves making a direct request of the audience to act according to their acceptance of the message.*