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Chapter 15

Persuasive Communications

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Goals•Reinforce attitudes, beliefs,

and values•Inoculate against counter

persuasion•Change attitudes•Prompt action

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Focusing on your Audience• Attitudes toward the topic• Attitudes toward you• Behavioral intentions toward the topic• Rhetorical constraints• Involvement in the topic

Highly involved will contrast opposing views and are more likely to reject them

Less involved will assimilate other views and less are likely to reject them

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High Involvement in Topic

Narrow latitude of noncommitment

Wide latitude of rejection

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Low Involvement in Topic

Wide latitude of noncommitment

Narrow latitude of rejection

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Information Processing: Elaborated Likelihood

Model

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Elaborated Likelihood Model

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Elaborated Likelihood Model

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Elaborated Likelihood Model

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How to Encourage Elaborated Thinking

•Emphasize personal relevance for audience

•Say you not he or she•Use questions not assertions•Use multiple sources

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Factors that Discourage Elaborated Thinking

•Audience not motivated•Message is too complex•Distractions•Speaking too fast

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Persuasive Speaking in Practice

• Ethos/credibility--the degree to which the audience finds the speaker believable Expertise/competence Trustworthiness/character

• Before the Speech• During the Speech• After the Speech

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Persuasive Speaking in Practice continued

• Perceived Similarity Appearance Background Attitudes, beliefs and values

• Consequent Attraction Appearance Appropriate dress

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Constructing Messages• Logos: The content of the message• Evidence

Personal testimony Expert testimony Facts and statistics

• Message sidedness Your side only--one-sided The other side+refutation--two-sided

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Peripheral Cues to Persuasion

• Pathos--appealing to audience emotions

• The special case of fear appeals

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Fear Appeal

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Peripheral Cues to Persuasion• Pathos--appealing to audience

emotions• The special case of fear appeals• Primitive beliefs

ReciprocityLikingAuthoritySocial SupportScarcityCommitment

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Rules for the Road• Adapt your goals to your audience,

including rhetorical constraints• Organize your arguments wisely• Balance your appeals

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Problem-Solution

I. ProblemA. HarmB. SignificanceC. Causes

II. SolutionA. DescriptionB. FeasibilityC. Advantages

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Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

I. AttentionII. NeedIII. SatisfactionIV. VisualizationV. Action

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Stock Issues

I. IllII. BlameIII. CureIV. Cost

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Other Organizational Factors

•Order of arguments•Two-sided messages