Chapter 15: Persuasive Speaking

Quote: "To be persuasive, we must be believable. To be believable, we must be credible. To be credible, we must be truthful."
Edward Murrow:
- Founding father of broadcast journalism and mass communication.
- Born in the early 1900s, significant figure in radio broadcasting, later television.
- Known for opposing McCarthyism, challenging Senator John McCarthy's accusations against individuals in the US (calling them communists).
- Served as a watchdog of government actions.
Importance of credibility in persuasive speaking:
- Speak on issues you believe in, supported by reason, logic, character, and emotions.
- Focus of the lecture: Understanding persuasion and making persuasive appeals.

Definition:
- Persuasion is the process of influencing others.
- Goal is to motivate the audience to do, think, or believe something new or change existing beliefs.
Final speech component: Make an argument and appeals to your audience.
- Aim to influence your audience.

Building blocks of persuasive process:
1. Creating appeals
2. Constructing arguments
Appeals:
- Request made to influence individuals or groups.
- Example scenario: Requesting leniency from a professor due to a doctor's appointment.
Arguments:
- Utilize reason and logic; constructing a claim based on evidence to support it.
- Both appeals and arguments need to be incorporated in the final speech.
- Important distinction:
- All arguments are appeals, but not all appeals are arguments.

Importance of ethics in persuasion:
- Ethical considerations define the speaker's character and affect persuasive strategies.
Key ethical guidelines:
1. Be honest:
- Avoid shading the truth. Acknowledge statistics that don’t fully support your argument.
- Honesty fosters trust and respect.
1. Empower your audience:
- Persuasion should inspire rather than coerce.
- Coercion is defined by threats and deceptions, contrasting with effective persuasive techniques.

Recap on the psychology of persuasion and audience disposition:
- Use both reasoning and emotional appeals.
- Recognize the importance of inspiring emotions in the audience.
- Think about what emotions to invoke:
- Low emotions (shame, sadness) to high emotions (joy, hope).
Aristotle’s rhetorical triangle (ethos, pathos, logos):
- Ethos: Character and credibility of the speaker.
- Pathos: Emotional appeal.
- Logos: Logical reasoning, support through evidence (statistics, expert testimony).
Importance of combining logic and emotion in persuasion:
- Excessive reliance on emotional appeal can be ineffective or manipulative.

Definition of ethos: The audience's perception of the speaker’s wisdom and character.
Ways to build ethos:
- Presenting yourself well.
- Being organized, experienced, and sincere.
- Establishing goodwill towards the audience.
- Your demeanor and self-concept will impact audience perception.

Connect persuasive message to human needs using Maslow's hierarchy:
- Understand the audience's level of needs (physiological, safety, love/belonging, self-esteem, self-actualization).
- Example: Experiences shared about grandmother's understanding of children's needs.
- Importance of meeting basic needs before addressing higher-level needs.
Consider audience demographics and psychological states when designing speeches.

Importance of justified emotional appeals:
- Consider if it inspires trust or loyalty.
- Support emotional appeals with reasoning to counter distrust.
Various types of emotional appeals to caution against:
1. Fear appeals:
- Example: Tooth whiteners or security systems that exploit fear.
1. Propaganda:
- Stay clear of highly unethical approaches that manipulate audience emotions.
1. False advertising:
- Avoid making unfounded claims.