Chapter 15 Persuasive Speaking

Persuasion

The act of motivating a listener, through communication, to change a particular belief, attitude, value, Or behavior

Social judgment theory

Theory that opinions will change only in small increments, and only when the target opinions lie within the receiver’s latitudes of acceptance and non commitment

Anchor

The position supported by audience members before a persuasion attempt

Latitude of acceptance

Statements that a receiver would not reject

Latitude of rejection

Statements that a receiver would not accept

Latitude of no commitment

Statements that a receiver would not care strongly about one way or another

Ethical persuasion

Persuasion in a audience best interest that does not depend on false or misleading information to induce change in that audience

Proposition of fact

A claim bearing on issue in which there are two or more sides of conflicting factual evidence

Proposition of value

an issue involving the worth of some idea, person, or object

Proposition of policy

Involves adopting or rejecting a specific course of action

Convincing

A speech goal that aims at changing audience members beliefs, values, or attitudes

Actuate

To move members of an audience toward a specific behavior

Direct persuasion

Persuasion that does not try to hide or disguise the speaker’s persuasive purpose

Indirect persuasion

Persuasion that disguises or deemphasizes the speakers persuasive goal

Ethos

Appeals based on the credibility of the speaker

Pathos

Appeals based on emotion

Logos

Appeals based on logical reasoning

Fallacy

An error in logic

Ad hominem fallacy

A fallacious argument that attacks the integrity of a person to weaken the person’s position

Reductio ad absurdum fallacy

Unfairly attacks an argument by extending it to such extreme lengths that it looks ridiculous

Either or fallacy

Sets up false alternatives, suggesting that if the inferior one must be rejected, then the other must be accepted

Post hoc fallacy

Mistakenly assumes that one event causes another because they occur sequentially

Argumentum ad verecundiam fallacy

Tried to support a belief by relying on the testimony of someone who is not an authority on the issue being argued

Argumentum ad populum fallacy

The dubious notion that because many people favor an idea, you should,too

Target audience

Part of an audience that must be influenced to achieve a persuasive goal

Credibility

The believability of a speaker or other source of information

Confirmation bias

The emotional tendency to interpret new information as reinforcing of one’s existing beliefs