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C. Be responsive: show care about the audience by acknowledging feedback from the audience,
especially subtle negative cues.
D. Conveying competence and credibility
1. Explain your competence.
2. Use evidence from respected sources.
3. Use nonverbal delivery to enhance your credibility.
4. Use vocal expression to enhance your credibility.
V. Rhetorical Appeals to Pathos
A. Evoking negative emotions
1. Fear
2. Guilt
3. Shame
4. Anger
5. Sadness
B. Evoking positive emotions
1. Happiness and joy
2. Pride
3. Relief
4. Hope
5. Compassion
Discussion and Assignment Ideas
I. Write a list of popular speech topic areas on the board, such as increasing gun control, legalizing
marijuana, legalizing gay marriage, assessing higher penalties for drunk driving, or eliminating
performance enhancing drugs in sports. Go over each topic, asking the following questions:
1. Why is this such a popular topic choice?
2. Are your classmates likely to be interested in this topic?
3. Are they more likely to process the speech through the central route or through the peripheral
route?
4. What kind of attitude do you think this class has on this topic: opposed, neutral, or in favor?
5. How should a speaker take the information gained from asking questions 1-4 into account
when preparing a persuasive speech?
II. Quotes: These can be used to introduce topics, question perspectives, or gain individual opinion.
Providing students with a quote and prompting them to write or reflect on their personal feelings
about the quote can help to spark discussion and interest. Suggested prompts may include “Define this
concept in your own words”; “Do you agree with this statement? Explain”; “What text material can be
used to support or refute this idea?”
There is nothing in the world like a persuasive speech to fuddle the mental apparatus.
—Mark Twain
By persuading others, we convince ourselves.
—Junius
Nothing is as frustrating as arguing with someone who knows what he’s talking about.
—Sam Ewing
III. Pass out several magazines or newspapers and direct students to the letters to the editor and
editorial sections. Ask students to get into groups and find examples of the hasty generalization, false
cause, and ad hominem fallacies in the editorial material. Was it easy or hard to find these fallacies?
Do these fallacies ever serve the purpose of persuasion? If so, can they be supported as ethical? If
not, why do speakers use such fallacious reasoning?
IV. Speakers can use both positive and negative emotional appeals to increase audience involvement.
What kinds of topics do you think lend themselves to negative emotional appeals? Which are more
likely to involve positive appeals? Which do you think is more effective overall, a negative or a
positive emotional appeal? Why?
Technology Resources
Access cengagebrain.com and locate Web Link: Evoking Negative and Positive Emotions. What
emotions will you attempt to arouse in your speech, positive or negative? How?
Movies
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Rated: N/A
Synopsis: A very jolly Kris Kringle is attending the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade when he notices
that the actor cast as Santa Claus is drunk. Indignant, he confronts the events coordinator, who in
turn convinces Kringle to play the part in a pinch. He does such a good job that she hires him on the
spot to be the store Santa for Macy’s in New York City. Once there, his belief that he is the real Santa
starts to become more obvious, and his sanity comes into question. An argument with the Macy store
psychologist leads to further problems, and after getting himself committed to mental hospital, Kringle
finds himself in the unlikely position of being put on trial to prove that he is actually the real Santa
Claus.
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Rated: N/A
Synopsis: A lawyer agrees to defend a young black man accused of raping a white woman. The trial
takes place in a racially divided town in Alabama during the 1930s.
Questions for discussion
Additional suggested movies: Ethics (Speaking with Confidence) (1997) (ethics, credibility);
Mastery of Speaking as a Leader (1994) (persuasive techniques, call to action); Public Speaking
(2000).(persuasion, apprehension management); Using Logic and Reasoning (1999) (types of
reasoning, fallacies); The Girl in the Café (2005) (Gina’s response to the Prime Minister during dinner:
emotional appeals)
Other Media Resources
Chapter Activities
17.1: Junk Mail Analysis
Purpose: To give students an opportunity to apply the ELM method to persuasive appeals while
working in a group
17.2: Testing Evidence
Purpose: To enable students to differentiate among types of reasoning
Time: 20 minutes
17.3: Inductive Fallacy and Fallacious Reasoning Scavenger Hunt
Purpose: To enable students to apply their knowledge of inductive fallacies
17.4: Pre-Speech Feedback
Purpose: To enable students to use pre-speech feedback to improve their persuasive speeches
Time: 30 minutes
Process: After you have given a persuasive speech assignment, divide the class into small
groups of three or four. Ask the groups to discuss possible topics for their speeches,
their speech goals, their theses, kinds of supporting material or visual aids, and so on.
Remind students that there is no such thing as a perfect speech, and that they will help
each other most if they give constructive criticism.
17.5: Speech Drill
Purpose: To provide students with an opportunity to practice speaking persuasively in small
groups
Time: 15 minutes
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Journal Assignments
A. Interpersonal Persuasion
Compare and contrast persuasion in interpersonal and public speaking contexts. How do you persuade
differently based on the situation? Do you use different methods with friends than with family? How would
you ask your boss for an extra vacation day as opposed to persuading your significant other to take a
vacation day to spend time with you?
B. Editorial Persuasion
Using your local newspaper as a source, find a letter to the editor that takes a strong point of view on a
controversial subject. Identify the reasons and evidence presented on this topic. What types of
arguments do you notice? Does the writer commit any common fallacies?
C. Persuasive Poetry
Read and study the poem “Good Morning,” delivered by poet Maya Angelou at the first inauguration of Bill
Clinton (available on the Internet). Write an analysis of the persuasive intent and potential impact of the
poem. Consider her audience, her method, and her credibility.
D. Persuasive Commercials
Choose a modern commercial and analyze the persuasive methods used. Are there any distinct
examples of emotional appeals or use of incentives? Would you consider the commercial to be
persuasive? Why or why not?
Part Four
SKILL EVALUATION FORMS
For the instructor who wants to teach specific communication skills through classroom practice,
assessment of those skills may be desirable. The following instruments can be used for direct
evaluation and assessment. These instruments may be introduced as a follow-up to related course
concepts, in conjunction with conceptual testing, or both. This manual includes the following
assessment instruments:
Conversational Skills Checklist
For each of the following questions, rate the participant on a scale of 1 to 5:
1 = poor 2 = fair 3 = average
Conversational Characteristics
In my conversation, I
Conversational Maxims
4 = good 5 = excellent
1 2 3 4 5
Crediting and Turn Taking
1 2 3 4 5
When I spoke, I
Listening Assessment
Reflect on your current listening skill. Think about your personal listening practices, and
indicate yes or no for each of the following statements:
If you answered yes to the odd-numbered items and no to the even-numbered items, you are
most likely practicing effective listening skills. If you answered yes to any of the
evennumbered items and/or no to any of the odd-numbered items, you may want to set a few
goals to improve your listening effectiveness.
Group Decision Analysis
Did the group arrive at a decision? Explain.
What action was taken as a result of that discussion? Explain.
Was the group decision a good one? Explain.
Was quality information presented and thoroughly discussed?
Did interim conclusions reflect group discussion?
Were conclusions measured against some set criteria?
Did the group arrive at the decision by consensus?
Did the group agree to support the decision?
Individual Group Participation Checklist
For each of the following questions, rate the group participant on a scale of 1 to 5:
1 = poor 2 = fair 3 = average 4 = good
Preparation
Carrying Out Roles
Avoiding Negative Roles
5=excellent
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
Write a brief analysis (two to three paragraphs) of the person’s group participation based on this
checklist.
Evaluation of Group Communication
Decision Making Ability
Member Participation
Leadership Effectiveness
Additional comments:
( - )
( + )
Total ________
Total ________
Total ________
Overall effectiveness score ________
Group Leadership Checklist
For each of the following questions, rate the participant on a scale of 1 to 5:
1 = poor 2 = fair 3 = average 4 = good
Preparation to Lead
Leading the Group
5 = excellent
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
Write a brief analysis (two to four paragraphs) of the group leader’s performance based on this
checklist.
137
Informative Speech Checklist
Speaker ______________________________ Evaluator
___________________________
Circle (Y)es or (N)o for each question below. Be sure to add positive feedback and constructive
criticism at the bottom of this sheet.
Overall rating: excellent good average fair poor
Informative Speech Critique
Speaker ______________________________ Evaluator ___________________________
1 = poor 2 = fair 3 = average 4 = good 5 = excellent
Message preparation and development
Audience adaptation and awareness
Additional comments and suggestions:
Total ________
Total ________
Total ________
Overall Score ________
Persuasive Speech Checklist
Speaker ______________________________ Evaluator
___________________________
Circle (Y)es or (N)o for each question below. Be sure to add positive feedback and constructive
criticism at the bottom of this sheet.
Specific Goal
Overall rating: excellent good average fair poor
Use the information from your checklist to support your evaluation by providing positive feedback and
constructive criticism below. (If you need more room, use the back of this handout.)
Persuasive Speech Critique
Speaker ______________________________ Evaluator ___________________________
1 = poor 2 = fair 3 = average 4 = good 5 = excellent
Speaker credibility and presentation
Message preparation and development
Audience adaptation and awareness
Additional comments and suggestions:
Total ________
Total ________
Total ________
Overall Score ________
General Speech Critique
Name __________________________ Topic ___________________ Grade _____
Underline the items/areas below that need improvement. Circle the appropriate overall
score for each section, 5 being the lowest and 25 being the highest.
Overall score _______________
