Chapter 15 Speaking Persuasively
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Chapter 15—Speaking Persuasively
At a Glance
The Meaning and Art of Persuasion
Creating a Persuasive Message
Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter you should be able to:
2. Summarize and identify examples of ways to support a persuasive argument.
4. Explain the ways to organize a persuasive message.
6. Describe how to adapt to an audience.
8. Summarize strategies for establishing credibility with an audience.
9. Analyze persuasive speeches.
Chapter 15 Speaking Persuasively
Lecture Outline
I. The Meaning and Art of Persuasion
A. Persuasive speaking and persuasion
2. Persuasion is an attempt to motivate others, through communication, to adopt
or to maintain a specific manner of thinking or doing.
B. What it means to persuade
1. Some persuasion affects beliefs.
a. Our beliefs are perceptions about what is true or false, accurate or
2. Some persuasion affects opinions.
a. Our opinions are our evaluations about what is good and bad.
3. Some persuasion affects actions.
a. Actions are the behaviors we undertake.
b. Many persuasive messages attempt to influence our actions.
C. Aristotle’s three forms of rhetorical proof
1. Ethos
a. Aristotle recognized that, to be persuaded, people needed to have positive
regard for the person whose message they were considering.
b. Aristotle used the term ethos to refer to a speaker’s respectability,
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i. Knowledge, experience, and wisdom with respect to the topic
ii. Integrity and virtue
iii. Goodwill toward the audience
d. Listeners decide for themselves how much experience, integrity, and
goodwill a speaker has.
2. Pathos
a. When people are emotionally aroused, their receptivity to new ideas is
enhanced.
3. Logos
a. If a particular belief, opinion, or behavior makes good sense, then people
will be inclined to accept it if they have the capacity to do so.
b. Aristotle used the term logos to refer to listeners’ ability to reason.
II. Creating a Persuasive Message
A. Types of persuasive propositions
1. In persuasive speaking we sometimes call a thesis statement a proposition
because we are proposing something that we want our audience to accept.
2. We influence beliefs with propositions of fact.
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© 2018 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any
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a. When we ask people to believe a statement, we are also asserting that the
statement is true.
b. To achieve our persuasive goal, we use a proposition of fact, a claim that
a particular argument is supported by the best available evidence and
should therefore be taken as factual.
c. Propositions of facts are claims about reality.
3. We influence opinions with propositions of value.
a. Propositions of value are claims that evaluate the worth of a person, an
4. We influence actions with propositions of policy.
a. Propositions of policy are claims about what we should do.
5. Some persuasive speeches include more than one type of proposition.
a. In a face-to-face speech, you can incorporate propositions of fact, value,
B. Four ways to organize a persuasive message
1. Problem-solving pattern
a. One way to organize a persuasive speech is to use a problem-solving
pattern, in which you establish the existence of a problem and then
2. Refutational approach
a. Sometimes your audience may be predisposed toward a certain position
you plan to refute.
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b. In this instance, you might use a refutational approach, whereby you
begin presenting the main points against your position and immediately
refute them.
c. In the refuational method, after you’ve acknowledged and responded to
the main arguments against your position, you then state your own
position and argue for it.
3. Comparative advantage method
a. On occasion, you may find yourself speaking to people who agree that a
problem exists; they just can’t agree on the best way to solve it.
4. Monroe’s motivated sequence
a. Monroe’s motivated sequence is a problem-oriented structure for
persuasive arguments.
b. The sequence has proved to be particularly effective at motivating
listeners to adopt a specific action, such as buying a product or giving
C. Avoiding logical fallacies
2. The most common logical fallacies are these:
a. An ad hominem fallacy implies that if a person has shortcomings, his or
her arguments are therefore deficient.
Chapter 15 Speaking Persuasively
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b. A slippery slope fallacy—also called a reduction to the absurd—unfairly
tries to shoot down an argument by taking it to such an extreme that it
appears ludicrous.
c. An either/or fallacy identifies two alternatives and falsely suggests that if
we reject one, we must accept the other.
3. Arguments supported by logical fallacies may still be true.
4. Even though they are illogical, fallacies can still be persuasive.
III. Honing Your Persuasive Speaking Skills
A. Adapt to your audience.
2. Before presenting a persuasive speech, you should know how your audience is
likely to react.
3. Connecting with each type of audience requires a different presentational
style.
a. A receptive audience is composed of people who already accept and
agree with all or most of what you plan to say.
b. A neutral audience doesn’t have strong feelings for or against the topic of
your speech.
i. Perhaps such listeners don’t know enough about your topic to have
formed a strong opinion on it.
Chapter 15 Speaking Persuasively
c. A hostile audience is made up of listeners who are predisposed to
disagree with you.
5. Neutralize hostility.
a. If a portion of an audience already is disapproving of a speaker, his or her
B. Build rapport with your listeners.
1. To build rapport is to create the perception that your listeners and you see
things similarly.
3. Several behaviors can help you build rapport with your audience:
a. Interact with listeners before your speech.
i. When you’re speaking to people you don’t know well, spend time
talking to them—and listening to them—before your speech.
C. Establish your credibility.
1. Credibility means believability.
2. Demonstrate your competence.
a. People have competence when they have the required skills, knowledge,
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b. Describing the experience and knowledge you have of your topic, and
speaking in a polished, well-organized manner, will demonstrate your
competence.
3. Accent your character.
a. A person’s character is his or her degree of honesty.
4. Communicate with charisma.
a. Charisma is a speaker’s enthusiasm.
5. When people take actions that damage their credibility, one of the most
effective ways to repair that damage is to issue an apology.
6. The bottom line: Credibility matters.
a. In the business world, a company’s credibility often directly affects its
profits.
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Key Terms
persuasive speaking
persuasion
refutational approach
comparative advantage method
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1. “Group Sales Pitch Day.” Divide your class into groups of 3-5 students. As a group
speech project, have each group select a product or service that they would like to
research and market to the class. Assign a 5-minute “sales pitch” in which they walk
2. Communication and Politics. Expose students to political rhetoric by taking a field trip to
a campaign debate. If that is not feasible, watch a live or pre-recorded political speech or
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Classroom Discussion and Activity Topics
1. As a homework assignment, have students bring in magazine ads that use at least one of
2. In-class, have students pair with a classmate to prepare for persuasive speeches. Create
“prep sheets” that ask students to think about the following:
• Potential topic? _________________
• Type of proposition? ______________
3. To practice the refutational approach and comparative advantage method, hold an in-class
debate on current world issues. Assign a timekeeper to help keep students on track.
4. The Dark Side of Communication—Misleading to Persuade: A Threat to Credibility.
Discuss the Honda case in which the company was accused of false advertising by
exaggerating claims about its hybrid car’s fuel efficiency. Ask these questions to get the
discussion rolling:
• Do you agree with the outcome of the lawsuit?
• How was Honda’s credibility affected?
5. Have students complete the “Name That Fallacy” exercise in Chapter 15. After you have
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The Competent Communicator
Name That Fallacy!
It’s time to put your understanding of logical fallacies to the test. Match each of the fallacies
listed below with the statement that exemplifies it.
Fallacy
Statement
_____ 1. bandwagon
appeal
_____ 2. either/or
argument
_____ 3. ad hominem
attack
_____ 4. red herring
_____ 5. slippery
slope
_____ 6. hasty
generalization
_____ 7. appeal to
false authority
_____ 8. false cause
A. If we restrict oil drilling in Alaska, then eventually we won’t be
able to drill for oil anywhere and we’ll be back in the Stone Age.
B. You should get an LCD television because that’s the type 9 of 10
consumers prefer.
C. Joining a fraternity made my son an alcoholic. He never drank
before he moved into that frat house.
D. My pediatrician overcharged me for some tests last year. Doctors
are crooks!
E. Richard Jones would make a terrible mayor; his daughter’s in
rehab, for goodness’ sake!
F. You should try acupuncture; Michael Phelps swears by it, and
he’s won 22 Olympic medals.
G. Grading on a curve is unfair because teaching shouldn’t be a
popularity contest; it’s about educating our students.
H. If you’re not pro-life, then you’re in favor of killing millions of
innocent babies.
Chapter 15 Speaking Persuasively
For Review
1. What does it mean to persuade?
2. In what ways can we craft a persuasive message?
3. Through what strategies can we hone our persuasive-speaking skills?
Chapter 15 Speaking Persuasively
Pop Quiz
Multiple Choice
1. Kellie tries to convince her instructor that she did her homework but left it in her car. Kellie
is trying to influence her instructor’s
a. belief.
b. opinion.
c. evaluation.
d. action.
2. Which statement constitutes a proposition of fact?
a. English should be the official language of the United States.
b. College tuition should be made fully tax-deductible.
c. National security is more important than individual rights.
d. Platinum is three times as heavy as gold.
3. In Monroe’s motivated sequence, the message “consider the benefits” would occur at the
stage called
a. need.
b. satisfaction.
c. visualization.
d. action.
4. Mac suggests that you should accept his argument because many other people already have.
Mac is using the logical fallacy known as
a. false cause.
b. straw man.
c. red herring.
d. bandwagon appeal.
5. The aspect of credibility that reflects a speaker’s honesty is
a. competence.
b. character.
c. charisma.
d. enthusiasm.
Fill in the Blanks
6. Aristotle used the term _____ to refer to listeners’ emotions.
7. _____ reasoning starts with a general conclusion and then applies it to individual cases.
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8. A _____ approach to persuasion begins by presenting, and then arguing against, the main
objections to your position.
9. A “reduction to the absurd” is also called a _____.
10. When you build _____, you create the perception that you and your listeners see things
similarly.