METHODS OF PERSUASION

BUILDING CREDIBILITY, USING EVIDENCE, &

REASONING
Oral Communication:
Small Group 3 Project
Table of Contents

 Building Credibility s.3-7



 Using Evidence s.8-10



 Reasoning s.11-27


 Appealing to Emotion s.28-31

Building Credibility
 Factors of Credibility
 Competence – a speaker’s intelligence
and expertise on the subject.
 Character – a speaker’s sincerity and
trustworthiness on the well-being of the
audience.
Types of Credibility
 Initial Credibility – the credibility of the
speaker before she or he starts to
speak.


 Derived Credibility – the credibility of the

speaker produced by everything she or
he says and does during the speech
itself.


 Terminal Credibility – the credibility of the

speaker at the end of the speech.
Enhancing Your Credibility
 Explaining Your Competence
 Ask yourself, “Did I investigate the topic
thoroughly? Do I have the experience
that gives me special knowledge or
insight?”
 Ex. “Before returning to school last year, I
spent three years working at local
assisting centers. I worked in every part of
the city and with every kind of person.”
 Youcan set your qualifications based on
your study or research or your
background and personal experience.
Enhancing Your Credibility
(Cont’d)

 Establish Common Ground with Your

Audience
 Always show respect for you listeners.
 Your speech becomes more appealing
when you identifying with the audience.
 Showingthat your point-of-view in lines with
what they believe. Show that you share
the same values and attitudes, and
experiences.

Enhancing Your Credibility
(Cont’d)

 The Delivery
 Faster speakers are better accepted that slow
speakers.
 Good speakers DO NOT lose their place,
hesitate frequently, or pepper talk(“uh”,
“er”, “um”).
 This is why speakers need to practice way
ahead of time.
 Genuine conviction will also help strengthen
your credibility.
 “sincerity, honesty, and straightforward manner
are more important than special talent or
polish.”
 - President Harry S. Truman
Using Evidence
 When using evidence, you must have a
good persuasive speed in
 how evidence works: A Case Study
 the tips for using evidence


 “To be a good persuasive speaker, you must

present reliable evidence to solidify your
credibility”
Evidence
 Strong supporting materials consist of:
 Examples
 Statistical
measures to support your
message.


ØWhen speaking to persuade, your evidence

must prove your view point and supports
your idea.
Ø
ØTherefore, you must make your point of
evidence clear by using credibility and logic.

Evidence: Self-Examination
 When using evidence to persuade your
audience, ask yourself the following:
1.Are all my major claims supported by
evidence?
2.Is my evidence from a creditable source?
3.Have I gathered and done enough
research to support my information?
Reasoning

Ø the process of drawing a conclusion

based on evidence.
Ø No matter how strong your evidence,
you will not be very persuasive unless
listeners gasp you reasoning.
Ø Many think it is only for philosophers.
Ø What are some examples of reasoning?
Concerns in Reasoning

 Your reasoning must be

sound.
 Must get listeners to agree

with your reasoning.

 Four methods of reasoning:
Specific Instances

Reasoning from Specific
Reasoning
Ø A number of particular facts to a
general conclusion
ØFact 1: My physical education
course last term was easy.
ØFact 2: My roommate’s physical
No matter how education course was easy.
many specific ØFact 3: My brother’s physical
instances you give,
specific instances
education class was easy.
conclusions are ØConclusion: Physical education
never foolproof.
courses are easy.
Ø
Guidelines for Reasoning from
Specific Instances
Ø First, avoid generalizing too rapidly.
Ø Don’t jump to conclusions
Ø Be fair, unbiased, and representative in your
instances
Ø Second, be careful with your wording.
Ø Discuss specific instances:
Ø Ex. Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Everglades, etc…
Ø Third, reinforce your argument with statistics
or testimony.
Ø Testimony the statistics will better
demonstrate that the instances are in fact
representative.
Ø It doesn’t matter which order you use as long as
your facts support your conclusion
Concerns in Reasoning

 Your reasoning must be sound.

 Must get listeners to agree with your

reasoning.
 Four methods of reasoning:
Specific Instances
Principle



Principle
Ømoves from the general to the
specific.
1 . T h e U n ite d S ta te s C o n stitu tio n
1.Allg upeople
a ra n te eare
s a mortal
llU . S . citize n s th e rig h t to
vo te .
2.Socrates
2 . W o m e n ais reaUperson
. S . citize n s.

3.Therefore,
3 . T h e re fo re , Socrates
th e U n iteis
d mortal
S ta te s
C o n stitu tio n g u a ra n te e s w o m e n th e
ri
Øg h t to vo te .
 Guidelines for Reasoning from
Principle
Ø Give evidence to ØE xce ssive co n su m p tio n
support it before o f re fin e d su g a r is
moving to your u n h e a lth y.
ØS o ft d rin ks , d e sse rts ,
minor argument.
ca n d ie s, a n d sw e e te n e d
Ø You might also need d a iry p ro d u cts co n ta in
to support your exce ssive a m o u n ts o f
minor argument su g a r.
with evidence. ØT h e re fo re , exce ssive

co n su m p tio n o f so ft
d rin ks, d e sse rts,
ca n d ie s, a n d sw e e te n e d
d a iry p ro d u cts is
u n h e a lth y.
Concerns in Reasoning

 Your reasoning must be sound.

 Must get listeners to agree with your

reasoning.
Four methods of reasoning:
Specific Instances
Principle
Casual Reasoning



Casual Reasoning
Ø The establishment of the relationships
between causes and effects.
Ø We use casual reasoning daily.
Ø
Ø “Because of the patch of ice, I fell and
broke my leg.”
ØEx. Terrorism, football games, roommate’s
habits.

Guidelines for Casual
Reasoning
 The two common errors to avoid when
using casual reasoning.
1.Fallacy of false cause (after this, therefore
because of this)
 Ex. Just because a black cat crosses your
path and five minutes later you fall and
break your arm, you cannot blame the
cat for your broken arm.
2.Assuming that events have only one
cause
 Ex. What causes the economy to boom or
burst? Interest rates, gas prices, tax
policies, labor cost, consumer
confidence, etc…
Concerns in Reasoning
 Your reasoning must be sound.
 Must get listeners to agree with your

reasoning.
Four methods of reasoning:
Specific Instances
Principle
Casual Reasoning
Analogical



Guidelines for Analogical
Analogical Reasoning
Reasoning
ØThe twoØComparing
cases being twocompared are inferring
similar cases essentially
that
alike when assessing
what is true to analogical
one statementreasoning
is also true
ØReasoning with
fromthe other. is used most often in
analogy
Ø persuasive speeches on questions of policy
ØEx. When arguing for a new policy, you
should find out whether a similar
policy has been tried somewhere else.
Fallacies
Previous Øan error in reasoning.
Fallacies:
Hasty
Generalizatio
Ø Red Herring
n Ø Introducing an irrelevant issue
False Cause
Invalid in order to divert attention
Analogy
from the subject under
discussion.
ØEx. “How dare my opponents
accuse me of political
corruption at a time when we
are working to improve the
quality of life for all people in
the United States.
Fallacies (cont’d)

Ø Ad Hominem
Ø Refers to the attacking the
person rather than dealing
with the real issue in dispute.
ØEx. “The governor has a number
of interest economic
proposals, but let’s not forget
that she comes from a very
wealthy family.”
Ø However, sometimes a person’s
character can be called into
question.
Fallacies (cont’d)

Ø Either-Or
Ø Sometimes referred to as a
false dilemma, which forces
listeners to choose between
two alternatives.
ØEx. “Either we build a new high
school or children in this
community will never get into
college.
Ø Either-or’s fallacy opens up
questions you may not have.
ØEx. “What does a new building
got to do with the education of
our children?”
Fallacies (cont’d)

Ø Bandwagon
Ø The assumption about
something that is popular is
good, correct, or desirable.
ØEx. Just because more people
use Alieve than Advil does not
mean Alieve is a better
product.
Ø The bandwagon speakers are
usually followers.
Fallacies (cont’d)

Ø Slippery Slope
Ø A speaker that assumes that
taking a first step will lead to
the next step and so on.
ØEx. “If the government begin to
control the amount of violence
on television…then they will
gain absolute control of the
media and censorship.”
Ø If a speaker uses the slippery
slope fallacy then they will
need to supply the listeners
with evidence to support the
claim.
What are Emotional Appeals

 Fear – of serious illness

 Compassion – for the physical
disabled
 Pride – in one’s country
 Anger – at terrorist and their
supporters
 Guilt – about not doing one’s
best
 Reverence – for an admired
person
Generating Emotional
Appeals
 Often
make a persuasive speech
compelling.
 To generate an emotional
appeal you should use
emotional language.
 For example, when giving a
speech to a graduate college
class, you want to use words
like property, opportunity,
strong leadership, continue, to
learn and succeed and so
forth….
Ethics and Emotional Appeal

 Some people have taken the

position that ethical speakers
should avoid emotional appeal
entirely.
 Why? Because emotional
appeals can sometimes fan
the flames of hatred, religious
bigotry, and political
fanaticism.
 Who are the ethical speakers
that also had emotional
Ethics and Emotional Appeal

 In many cases ethics and

emotional appeal works hand
in hand.
 What is an example?
 On the other hand, emotional
appeals can also be
inappropriate.
 What is an example?
