Unit 8

1. Unit 8 Research and Credibility

2. Library and Online Research The Internet Indexes Databases and search engines Print reference works

3. Personal Knowledge Enhances credibility Increases comfort, may reduce speech anxiety

4. Interviews • Gather information • Check accuracy • Understand others’ perspectives • Plan ahead • During your speech • explain credentials • credit your sources

5. Surveys • Useful in two situations • lack of published research • to learn about your audience’s knowledge and attitudes regarding your topic

6. Supporting Materials • To be effective and ethical, supporting materials should be • sufficient • accurate • relevant • timely • free of biases

7. Statistics Numbers that summarize many individual cases or demonstrate relationships between phenomena

8. When Using Statistics ... Limit the number used in a speech Round off numbers Use current statistics Make statistics meaningful

9. Pillars of Persuasion • Ethos • Pathos • Logos

10. Ethos • Perceived personal character of the speaker • Dimensions of ethos • goodwill • expertise • trustworthiness • dynamism

11. Pathos • Emotional proofs or reasons to believe in something • Ways to enhance pathos • personalize the issue, problem, topic • appeal to listeners’ needs and values • bring material alive

12. Logos • Rational or logical proofs • Forms of reasoning • Inductive • Uses specific examples to draw a general conclusion • Deductive • Shows how a general conclusion applies to specific examples

13. Types of Credibility • Initial • expertise, trustworthiness recognized before a presentation begins • Derived • gain credibility during the presentation • Terminal • credibility at the end of the presentation

14. Ad Hominem Arguments • Go to the person instead of the idea • “You can’t believe what Jane Smith says about voting because she doesn’t vote.” • “We shouldn’t stay here and listen to an ex-con and a confessed criminal tell us how to restore values to our teens.” • Bush and Obama

15. Bandwagon Appeal • Argue that because many people believe or act in a particular way, you should too. • “Carpooling to cut down on the campus parking problem is a stupid idea. Look around – nobody carpools.” • “You need to try using Brand X; 10,000 satisfied customers can’t be wrong.”

16. Slippery Slope • Argue that once we take the first step, more and more steps inevitably will follow • “Restrictions on logging is only the first step. Next, the environmentalists will want to prohibit any timber cutting. Pretty soon, we won’t be able to build homes or furniture.”

17. Hasty Generalization • A broad claim based on too few examples or too limited evidence • “Three congressional representatives have had affairs. Therefore, members of Congress are unethical.” • “Brand X worked for me! Therefore, everyone should buy Brand X.”

18. Red Herring • Arguments that attempt to deflect listeners from relevant issues • Victor confronted his boss about recent wage cutbacks. His boss responded, “Well, you could be making $35 a week as I did when I was your age.”

19. Either-Or Logic • An argument that wrongly suggests there are only two options • “Either abolish fraternities on our campus or accept the fact that this is a party school where drinking is more important than learning.” • “America, love it or leave it.”

20. Halo Effect • Generalize a person's authority or expertise in a particular area to other areas that are irrelevant to the person’s experience and knowledge • “World-famous athlete Michael Jordan urges us to buy a particular brand of underwear.” • We Love Apple! 