This chapter discusses persuasive speaking, including developing a persuasive topic and thesis, evaluating listeners, and choosing an organizational strategy. It explains that the goals of persuasive speaking are to influence attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors by using rhetorical proofs like ethos, logos, and pathos. It also discusses understanding the audience, avoiding logical fallacies, and common organizational patterns like problem-solution for structuring a persuasive speech.

1. Chapter 16
Persuasive Speaking

2. • Define the goals of persuasive
speaking
• Develop a persuasive topic and
thesis
• Evaluate your listeners and tailor
your speech to them
Chapter Outcomes

3. • Explain three forms of rhetorical
proof: ethos, logos, and pathos
• Identify the logical fallacies,
deceptive forms of reasoning
• Choose an appropriate
organizational strategy for your
speech
Chapter Outcomes
(cont.)

4. Persuasion
The process of
influencing
attitudes, beliefs,
and behaviors on a
given topic

5. The Goals of
Persuasive Speaking
• Influencing attitudes, beliefs, and
behaviors of your audience
– Attitudes are evaluations of people,
objects, ideas, or events.
– Beliefs are how people perceive reality.
– Behavior is how people act or function.

6. Developing a
Persuasive
Topic and Thesis• Your topic should…
– be somewhat controversial
– allow you to develop a message to bring
about change in the audience

7. Developing a
Persuasive
Topic and Thesis (cont.)
• A persuasive thesis may be
stated as a...
– proposition of fact
– proposition of value
– proposition of policy

8. Developing a
Persuasive
Topic and Thesis (cont.)• Propositions of Fact
– Claim what something is or what
something is not
– Involve issues that have conflicting
evidence or beliefs
• Goal: Align your audience’s perception
or opinion of the fact with your own.

9. Developing a
Persuasive
Topic and Thesis (cont.)• Propositions of Value
– Claim that something meets or does not
meet a specific standard of goodness
or quality or right or wrong
– Value statements reflect your opinion
• Goal: Align your audience’s beliefs and
attitudes with your own.

10. Developing a
Persuasive
Topic and Thesis (cont.)• Propositions of Policy
– Make claims about what goal, policy, or
course of action should be pursued
– Commonly used during election
campaigns
• Goal: Persuade your audience that a
current policy is or is not working.

11. Persuading Your
Audience
• Understanding Your Audience’s
Disposition
– Receptive audience
– Hostile audience
– Neutral audience

12. Persuading Your
Audience (cont.)
• Consider what you would like your
audience to do at the speech’s
conclusion.
– What is their anchor position at the
beginning of the speech?
– This determines their latitude of
acceptance and rejection.

13. Persuading Your
Audience (cont.)
• Understanding Your Audience’s Needs

14. Persuading Your
Audience (cont.)
• Understanding What Is Relevant to
Your Audience
– Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)
• Central processing (longer lasting)
• Peripheral processing

15. Persuading Your
Audience (cont.)
• Determining relevance:
– Is your message relevant to listeners?
– Did you present the topic at the correct
level?
– Did you establish your credibility?
– Did you create a common bond?

16. Strategies for
Persuasive Speaking
• Forms of rhetorical proof
– Ethos
• Speaker’s qualifications and personality
– Logos
• Nature of speech’s message
– Pathos
• Audience’s feelings

17. Strategies for
Persuasive Speaking
(cont.)
• Ethos (moral character)
– Credibility
– Character
– Trustworthiness
– Goodwill

18. Strategies for
Persuasive Speaking
(cont.)
• Logos (reasoning)
– Inductive reasoning draws general
conclusions based on evidence.
– Deductive reasoning proceeds from
the general to the specific.
• syllogism: major premise, minor premise,
conclusion

19. Strategies for
Persuasive Speaking
(cont.)
• Pathos (appeal to listener's
emotions)
– Should be combined with
logical appeals for lasting
effect

20. Strategies for
Persuasive Speaking
(cont.)
• Avoiding logical fallacies
– Bandwagoning
– Reduction to the absurd
– Red herring fallacy
– Personal attacks (ad hominem fallacy)
– Begging the question
– Either-or fallacy (false dilemma
fallacy)
– Appeal to tradition
– Slippery slope fallacy

21. Organizing Patterns
in Persuasive
Speaking
• Problem-solution pattern
– Alternative: problem-cause-solution
• Refutational organizational pattern
– Show points opposed to your own
• Comparative advantage pattern
– Effective when listeners know the issue

22. Organizing Patterns in
Persuasive Speaking
(cont.)
• Monroe’s Motivated Sequence
– Attention
– Need
– Satisfaction
– Visualization
– Action