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CHAPTER 13
PERSUASIVE MESSAGES
CHAPTER SUMMARY
This chapter focuses on understanding persuasive messages. It begins by describing
the nature of persuasive messages and the rhetorical strategies used in them. Then it
CHAPTER OUTLINE
Introduction (p. 235): Persuasion is the process of influencing people’s attitudes,
beliefs, values, or behaviors. Persuasive speaking is the process of doing so in a public
speech, and its success depends on effectively employing rhetorical strategies.
I. The nature of persuasion (p. 235).
A. Rhetoric: all available means of persuasion.
B. Argument means articulating a position with the support of logos, ethos,
and pathos.
2.
Ethos is a persuasive strategy in which you highlight your
competence, credibility, and good character.
C. Processing persuasive messages.
1.
the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) explains how people spend
more or less time evaluating information.
2.
People process information in two ways
D. Route is determined by perceived importance of the issue.
II. The rhetorical strategy of logos (p. 237).
A. Forming arguments: Toulmin’s model to explain the form of everyday
arguments.
1.
The claim is the conclusion the speaker wants others to agree with.
3.
The warrant is the reasoning process that connects the support to the
1.
Inductive reasoning is arriving at a general conclusion based on
several pieces of specific evidence.
C. Types of logical arguments.
1.
Arguing from sign: happens when you support a claim by providing
evidence that certain events that signal the claim have occurred. Do
not confuse with causes.
a.
Do these signs usually or always accompany the conclusion
2.
Arguing from example: occurs when examples of the claim you are
making are the evidence you use support.
a.
Are enough examples cited?
3.
Arguing from analogy: when you support a claim with a single
comparable example that is so significantly similar to the subject of the
claim as to be strong proof.
a.
Are the subjects being compared similar in every important way?
4.
Arguing from causation: when you support a claim by citing events
that always bring about or lead to a predictable effect or set of effects.
a.
Are the events alone sufficient to cause the stated effect?
D. Reasoning fallacies: make sure that your reasoning is solid to avoid
fallacies.
2.
A false cause fallacy occurs when the alleged cause fails to produce
the effect.
4.
A straw man fallacy is when a speaker weakens the opposing position
5.
An ad hominem fallacy attacks or praises the person making the
argument rather than addressing the argument itself.
III. The rhetorical strategy of ethos (p. 241).
A. Demonstrating good character: credibility is dependent on the audience’s
perception of the speaker’s goodwill, which is the perception the audience
forms of a speaker who they believe understands them, empathizes with
them, and is responsive to them.
1.
Audience members who believe in the speaker’s goodwill are more
willing to believe what the speaker says.
B. Conveying competence and credibility: The result of strategies to increase
terminal credibility is that the audience’s perception of your expertise at
the end of your speech is greater than your initial credibility, their
perception of your expertise at the beginning of your speech.
1.
Explain your competence. Tell your audience about your expertise to
achieve a level of derived credibility.
IV. The rhetorical strategy of pathos (p. 243).
A. Evoking negative emotions, disquieting feelings people experience.
1.
Fear: create fear in your audience and they will be more involved in
hearing how your proposal can eliminate the source of their fear or
allow them to escape.
to comfort them.
B. Evoking positive emotions: positive emotions are feelings that people enjoy
experiencing.
1.
Happiness and joy: show how your proposal will lead your audience
members to be happy or joyful, then they are likely to listen and to
think carefully about your proposal.
C. Guidelines for appealing to emotions.
1.
Tell vivid stories.
2.
Use startling statistics.
LECTURE IDEAS
1.
According to the Elaboration Likelihood Model, if a message’s content is important to
an individual, if there is an emotional stake, then he/she will process using the
2.
Show a newsclip on a social movement. Ask students to analyze the ethical
3.
Collect and show the class an evening news program. Discuss if and how the stories
were persuasive. What was the program’s persuasive goal, and how did they
accomplish it?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1.
First, ask students to identify a persuasive speech or communication episode they
have heard in the last week. At first they may be thinking only of formal orations or
2.
Ask students to generate a list of controversial topics or issues that students may be
CLASS ACTIVITIES
Activity 13.1: Writing Persuasive Specific Goals
Some students have a difficult time distinguishing what is informative and what is
persuasive. In order to help students, divide class into groups of 3–4 and provide them
Activity 13.2: Toulmin Model and Types of Arguments
Collect persuasive writing, such as editorials or some newspaper articles. Divide
students into groups of 3–4 and have each group identify the claim, support, warrant,
and type of argument in each example.
persuasive articles and have them identify the claim, support, and warrant.
Activity 13.3: Writing Persuasive Specific Goals
Divide class into groups of 3–4. Provide the groups with a list of charities. Have each
This activity is for individual students. Give the class the following scenario: If we walked
into the class and found a winning multimillion-dollar lottery ticket and only one person
Activity 13.5: Organizing the Persuasive Speech
Divide students into groups of 3–4 and provide them with several persuasive speech
topics such as elect someone to office, donate money to a charity, or persuade people
Activity 13.6: Persuasive Messages in the Real World
As a homework assignment, have students keep a log of all of the persuasive
messages they encounter for a day or a week. Discuss with them the types of
As a homework assignment, have students search the InfoTrac database for
Activity 13.8: Sell an Item
Pair off students and give them a card with a useless item on it. They are given five
minutes to come up with an ad campaign to “sell” the item. Possible items could include:
• A table with only one leg
GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS
ad hominem: occurs when one attacks or praises the person making an argument
rather than the argument itself
argue from sign: support a claim by providing evidence that certain events that signal
the claim have occurred
argument: articulating a position with the support of logos, ethos, and pathos
claim (C): conclusion the persuader wants others to agree with
compassion: feeling of selfless concern for the suffering of another
deductive reasoning: arriving at a conclusion based on a major premise and minor
guilt: feeling experienced when we personally violate a moral, ethical, or religious code
that we hold dear
happiness or joy: the buildup of positive energy
hasty generalization: a generalization that is either not supported with evidence or is
supported with only one weak example
hope: feeling that stems from believing something desirable is likely to happen
inductive reasoning: arriving at a conclusion based on a series of pieces of specific
evidence
persuasion: the process of influencing people’s attitudes, beliefs, values, or behaviors
positive emotions: feelings that people enjoy experiencing
pride: feeling of self-satisfaction as the result of an accomplishment
reasoning fallacy: flawed reasoning
relief: positive emotion felt when a threatening situation has been alleviated
responsive: when speakers show that they care about the audience by acknowledging
feedback
TEST QUESTIONS
CHAPTER 13
Multiple Choice
1.
The way in which we process information, where we listen carefully, reflect
thoughtfully, and mentally elaborate on a message before making a decision, is
called the:
a.
logos
b.
central route
c.
peripheral route
d.
pathos
ANS: b SEE PAGE 236
2.
The three-part form of deductive reasoning is known as a(an) .
a.
syllogism
b.
major premise
c.
minor premise
d.
claim
3.
The means of persuasion in which you construct logical arguments that support your
competence, credibility, and good character is called .
a.
logos
b.
ethos
c.
pathos
d.
debate
4.
Speaker should use the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) to develop persuasive
speeches because it can be used .
a.
to explain how likely people are to spend more or less time evaluating
information
b.
to base our decision primarily on appeals to logic and reasoning
c.
to help us choose a route based on how important we perceive the issue to be
for us
d.
all of these
5.
When you reason with an audience by arriving at a general conclusion based on
several pieces of specific evidence, you are using reasoning.
a.
deductive
b.
inductive
c.
specific
d.
general
6.
The general warrant for reasoning from sign can be stated that .
a.
what is true in the examples provided is (or will be) true in general or in other
instances
b.
what is true of A will be true of B which is similar to A
c.
when phenomena that usually or always accompany a specific situation occur,
then we can expect that specific situation is occurring
d.
if A, which is known to bring about B, has been observed, then we can expect B
to occur
7.
When you support a claim by citing events that always (or usually) bring about or
lead to a predictable effect or set of effects, you are using argument from
.
a.
sign
b.
causation
c.
analogy
d.
example
ANS: b SEE PAGE 239
8.
When arguing from example, it is important to .
a.
use the most recent examples
b.
make sure negative examples are accounted for
c.
use frequent examples
d.
make sure examples are similar
9.
A fallacy occurs when the alleged cause fails to produce the effect.
a.
hasty generalization
b.
false cause
c.
either/or
d.
ad hominem
10.
In part of an address to a Joint Session of Congress following the 9/11 attacks,
President George W. Bush states “every nation, in every region, now has a decision
to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.” This portion of the
statement commits the fallacy of .
a.
hasty generalization
b.
false cause
c.
either-or
d.
straw man
11.
Today, we define goodwill as a perception the audience forms of a speaker they
believe:
a.
understands them
b.
empathizes with them
c.
is responsive to them
d.
all of these
12.
A claim is defined as the .
a.
reasoning process that connects the support to the claim
b.
evidence offered as grounds for accepting the conclusion
c.
conclusion the persuader wants others to agree with
d.
general principle that most people agree upon
13.
A general principle that most people agree upon is known as a .
a.
claim
b.
warrant
c.
major premise
d.
minor premise
14.
The evidence offered as grounds for accepting the conclusion is the
.
a.
claim
b.
warrant
c.
support
d.
proposition
15.
When you support a claim with a single comparable example that is significantly
similar to the subject of the claim, you are arguing from .
a.
sign
b.
analogy
c.
causation
d.
example
16.
When we feel selfless concern for the suffering of another person and that concern
energizes us to try to relieve that suffering, we feel:
a.
hope
b.
relief
c.
compassion
d.
pride
17.
The fallacy of reasoning occurs when a speaker weakens the
opposing position by misrepresenting it and then attacks that weaker position.
a.hasty generalization
b.false cause
c. either-or
d.straw man
18.
The perception of a speaker’s expertise at the end of the speech is known
as credibility.
a.
derived
b.
terminal
c.
initial
d.
experiential
19.
You can convey competence and credibility by .
a.
explaining your competence
b.
using nonverbal elements of delivery
c.
using evidence from respectable sources
d.
all of these
20.
When we perceive that we have no control over a situation that threatens us we are
experiencing:
a.
happiness
b.
shame
c.
pride
d.
fear
True-False
21.
T F The five most common negative emotions are fear, guilt, shame, anger, and
sadness.
22.
T F The warrant of an argument must always be verbalized to be persuasive.
23.
T F Audiences do not assess your physical appearance in developing its initial
assessment about your credibility.
24.
T F Sadness is the feeling experienced when we fail to achieve a goal or
experience a loss or separation.
25.
T F We experience guilt when we personally violate a moral, ethical, or religious
code that we hold dear.
26.
T F Evoking positive emotions in a persuasive speech motivates the audience to
hear how your proposal can eliminate the sources of the emotions.
27.
T F Anger is the feeling we experience when we violate a moral code and our
violation is revealed to someone we think highly of.
28.
T F Shame is the feeling experienced when we are faced with an obstacle in the
way of something we want.
29.
T F Ad hominem arguments attack or praise the person making the
argument, rather than addressing the argument itself.
30.
T F The fallacy of reasoning that occurs when a speaker weakens the
opposing position by misrepresenting it and then attacks that weaker
position is the false cause fallacy.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Cros, A. (2001). Teaching by convincing: Strategies of argumentation in lectures.
Argumentation, 15(2), 191–207.
Graham, J. R. (2001, August 27). Focus your pitch on your
audience not yourself. Providence Business News, p. 11C.
