Four main reasons or methods a speaker uses to persuade an audience
credibility, evidence, reasoning, and emotion.
Credibility (Ethos)
Are you qualified/trustworthy source of info. Aristotle referred to this as ethos
Two key components to credibility
Competence: how an audience regards a speakers intelligence, expertise and knowledge of the subject.
Character: how the audience regards the speakers sincerity, trustworthiness and concern for the wellbeing of the audience.
Different types of Credibility
Initial credibility: the credibility of the speaker before he or she starts to speak.
Derived credibility: the credibility produced by everything they say or do during the speech.
Terminal credibility: the credibility of the speaker at the end of the spee
Tips for enhancing credibility
Explain your competence: advertise your expertise
establish common grounds with audience: connecting values, attitudes, and experiences of the audience.
Deliver speech fluently, expressively and with conviction.
Show you care.
Evidence(logos)
supporting materials used to prove or disprove something.
Three types: examples, statistics, and testimony
Tips for Evidence
Use the specific evidence
State it in specific, not general terms (relate to the audience)
Credible sources
Make clear the point of your evidence
Reasoning
another way to use evidence to draw conclusions on a topic
Types of Reasoning
Reasoning from specific instances: reasoning that moves from particular facts to a general conclusion.
Reasoning from principle: using a general principle to make a specific conclusion.
Casual Reasoning: describes relationship between cause/effect
Analogi
Errors in Reasoning (fallacies)
Hasty Generalizations:speaker jumps to a general conclusion on the basis of a insufficient evidence.
False Cause: error in casual reasoning
Invalid Analogy: two cases being compared are not essentially alike.
Band Wagon: Because it's popular its desirable
Appeal to Emotions (pathos
Name Aristotle used for what modern students refer to as emotional appeal
How to use Appeal to Emotions
Emotion-laden language: words that generate strong emotional power.
Vivid, richly textured examples: for emotional appeal.
Speak with sincerity and conviction.
Guidelines to Appeal in Emotions
Appeal ethically to make sure it's appropriate to your speech topic
Never substitute for evidence and reasoning.
The presenter must feel the emotion and deliver it with sincerity and conviction (have to believe you).