The Art of Persuasion

1. The Art of Persuasion

2. Introduction • How do you persuade your parents to let you go to an activity they do not approve of? • How do you convince a friend to join you for a movie they don’t really feel like seeing? • How do you convince a teacher to give you more time on an assignment?

3. Analysis • In the previous questions, did you use the same or different methods of persuasion? • Why? What was different about each situation? • That’s right; you had a different audience.

4. Audience • Knowing your audience is one part of persuasion. • Why do you need to know the audience? • Knowing the audience will help you • decide the tone • select appropriate vocabulary • select the best possible supporting evidence

5. Audience is only one of traits in the acronym SOAPS. SOAPS should be considered while preparing any presentation • Subject– the topic you are addressing • Occasion – what prompted the speech or essay besides being assigned • Audience – to whom you are addressing the piece • Purpose – in this case to persuade • Speaker – who is presenting the information (Are you writing as a student? As a citizen of the U.S.? Etc.)

6. Methods of writing • There are three main ways to address your audience. • Formal speech • Informal speech • Familiar speech

7. Formal writing/speech • Purpose: to inform, instruct, or convince • Tone: dignified and impersonal • 3rd person • Language: formal diction and tightly structured syntax • uses full sentences • contains no slang • contains no colloquial expressions • What are some uses?

8. Informal writing/speech • Purpose: to entertain (more than to inform) • Tone: less serious and lighter than a formal essay • Language: less formal diction with more flexible syntax • What are some uses?

9. Familiar writing/ speech • Purpose: often used to express innermost thoughts and feelings (reflections) • Tone: use of first person may create a warmer, more confidential tone rather than impersonal style • Language: less formal diction and relaxed syntax (may be more like a journal, for example) • What are some uses?

10. Examples • Think of an example of when you would write formally in the classroom. • When might you write informally in the classroom? • When might you write in the familiar in the classroom?

11. What next? • Considering your audience is only one of the key ingredients to a good argument. • You also need to consider your rhetorical approach. • There are three main rhetorical styles • Pathos – an appeal to emotion • Ethos – an appeal to the credibility of the writer / speaker • Logos – an appeal to logic

12. Pathos • Uses emotion to get the reader to respond • Ex. Senator X has no sense of patriotism since s/he wants to cut back on military spending. • The author is trying to upset the reader into agreement against voting for Senator X.

13. Ethos • Emphasis is placed on why a person should believe the writer/speaker. • Ex. 4 out of 5 doctors agree on X brand medicine. • Since they are doctors, they want you to feel you should agree with them since they know medicine. • Beware of this one – there may be fallacies afoot. Can you see the possible fallacy here? • That’s right – it does not say what type of doctor to whom they are referring.

14. Logos • This is the strongest of the appeals overall because it is based on logic. (This does not mean that it is the most influential, but rather that it is the most solid.) • Ex. All cats are mammals.Fluffy is a cat.Therefore, Fluffy is a mammal.

15. Uses • So when might each appeal be used? • Actually, you need to consider each of the three for any argument. You will probably focus on one main style, but all three need to be considered and there is usually a mixing of at least two. • The one you should focus on for essays for English, however, is LOGOS.

16. Wrap it up • What does SOAPS stand for? • When do you need to consider SOAPS? • What are the three ways to address an audience? • What are the three different rhetorical appeals?