Chapter 16 details on speech
to persuade
What modern
scholars of persuasion refer to as credibility, Aristotle referred to as ethos
. According to your
textbook, the two most important factors affecting the credibility of a
persuasive speaker are competence and
character . Above all, a your credibility is
affected by these two factors: competence and
character .
Initial credibility
describes your credibility before you begin to speak; in the persuasive speech
listeners will recall your previous displays of credibility— or not. Derived
credibility is the credibility
produced by everything you say and do during the speech. Your terminal
credibility describes your
credibility status at the end of your speech. Use Logos
(the name used by Aristotle for the logical appeal of a speaker) and Pathos
( the name used by Aristotle for
the emotional appeal of a speaker) throughout — you are appealing to our
hearts and minds, figuratively speaking.
When used in any
speech, supporting materials such as examples, statistics, and testimony are
referred to as evidence .
Your textbook presents four tips for using evidence in a persuasive speech.
They
are as follows:
a. Use
specific evidence
b. Use novel evidence.
c. Use
evidence from credible sources.
d. Make clear
the point of your evidence.
Reasoning is a process of
drawing a conclusion based on evidence. According to your textbook, the
following statement is an example of causal reasoning
that hedges the claim and narrowly avoids what type of logical fallacy?
President John Kennedy was assassinated on
November 22, 1963. The Beatles hit the top of the charts for the first time
less than a month later. Can there be any doubt that the BeatlesÕ rise to
popularity was brought about partly by KennedyÕs death, which left a void in
the hearts of AmericaÕs youth that was quickly filled by the dynamic singing
group?
According to your textbook, the following
statement is an example of the slippery slope fallacy: You will be sorry if you allow
employees to take time off to aid sick family members. First they will want
time off to help spouses and children. Then they will skip work to help parents
and grandparents. Before you know it, they will be gone for nephews and
cousins, and you wonÕt have anyone around to do their jobs.
According
to your textbook, the following statement is an example of analogical reasoning
:School administrators in Long Beach, California, report that school uniforms
have reduced school crime by 36 percent, increased attendance by 22 percent,
and decreased student suspensions by 32 percent. If such a policy works in Long
Beach, it can work in our school district.
According to your textbook, the following statement is an
example of the
red herring fallacy:
I donÕt know why we are wasting time debating campaign
finance reform when more
and more international terrorists are focusing
their attacks on the United
States.
According to your textbook, the
following statement is an example of reasoning from specific instances . In Montana an infantÕs under active
thyroid went undiagnosed for three months because of a medical laboratory
testing error. In Louisiana a 26-year-old woman died because a medical
laboratory inaccurately analyzed a mole that had been removed from her neck as
non cancerous. And in California a teacher lost his life to a rare form of
pneumonia when a medical laboratory confused his test results with those of
another person. We can see, then, that inaccurate medical lab tests are a
problem throughout the US.
According to your textbook, the following
statement is an example of the either-or fallacy: Our company has only two options—either
to cut employee benefits or to lay off large numbers of workers.
According to your textbook, the following statement is an
example of the
bandwagon fallacy: I think the governor has
excellent ideas for prison reform. After all, polls show that 70 percent of the
state supports his position.
Your textbook discusses three methods
of generating emotional appeal in a persuasive speech. The three methods are as
follows:
a. Use emotional language.
b. Develop vivid examples.
c. Speak with sincerity and
conviction.