The Power of Persuasion Part One

1. The Power of Persuasion Part One Created by Cindy Farnum

2. What is Persuasive Writing? Students use persuasive writing toarguelogically with reasons, to present another viewpoint, to swayopinions, and toconvincesomeone to their way of thinking. It is crucial that students have a clear sense ofaudienceand that they adapt the writing and reasoning they use to their audience. Forms of persuasive writing include essays, letters, letters to the editor, advertisements, and commercials. Created by Cindy Farnum Created by Cindy Farnum

3. Ways to Persuade • Based on reason. Use facts, strong possibilities, cause and effect conclusions. (for example: healthy living would be supported by medical research) • Appeal to character. Make your audience trust you and your facts. • Appeal to emotions. Appeal to your audience’s concern for the well-being and rights of others. Created by Cindy Farnum

4. Ways to Persuade 4. Repetition. The more your audience hears the argument, the better the chance they will remember it. 5.Tell stories. Anecdotes. Make your topic interesting. 6. Refute your opposition. Make sure your audience knows that you understand both sides. 7. State the benefits of your argument. Teach your audience about how they will benefit or gain from siding with you. Created by Cindy Farnum

5. Ways to Persuade • Be clear, simple and direct. Don’t confuse your topic trying to use intimidating vocabulary. • 9. Order your argument most effectively. Do you want to use your best argument first? Or last? Think about the amount of material you’re sharing. • 10. Give lots of evidence. Share details that will support your argument. • 11. Make your audience feel privileged to receive your information. Created by Cindy Farnum

6. Propaganda vs. Persuasion • Propaganda . . . . • Suggests something shady or underhanded • Uses techniques to distort, conceal, exaggerate the facts, or confuse the audience. • Uses deceptive language • Persuasion . . . . • Tells the truth • Uses legitimate facts • Reasoned or logical appeal • Both . . . . • The purpose of both is to influence • The difference is . . . . • ethics/ values Buy my product and live forever! Buy our genuine imitation leather products! Guaranteed! Created by Cindy Farnum

7. Persuasive/Propaganda Techniques in Advertising • Loaded Words: Using words that appeal to the emotions, rather than facts. The sporty new design of our car will make you feel like a teenager again. • Plain Folks Approach: Using words that appeal to common people instead of the rich or privileged. As a homemaker like you, I want a product like Easy Glow that makes my floors shine. • Testimonial: Using a famous person to endorse a product. Michael Jordan uses it … so should you! • Bandwagon: Trying to persuade someone to join the group. Don’t be the last person in your neighborhood to get a Lawn Happy Mower. • Opinions as Facts: Using the personal opinion of the speaker or writer as fact. Vita Vitamins is the best brand on the market. • Unsupported Generalities: Making bold claims and empty promises without supporting them with facts. We are the best at what we do! Created by Cindy Farnum Created by Cindy Farnum

8. Propaganda Techniques • What are they? • The methods and approaches used to further a cause • Examples • Political • Commercial • Religious • Civil

9. Are you Mc-convinced? Created by Cindy Farnum

10. Propaganda Techniques • Why are they used? • To manipulate reason and emotion • To persuade you to • Believe in someone • Buy an item • Vote a certain way

11. Most Commonly Used Propaganda Techniques • Name Calling • Used to attack a person, not the topic/idea • Glittering Generalities • General statements that cannot be proved or disproved • Transfer • Attempt to convey the prestige of a positive symbol to a person or idea • Faulty Cause and Effect • B follows A, so A must cause B

12. Most Commonly Used Propaganda Techniques (cont.) • False Analogy • Two things are portrayed as being similar • Testimonial • “Big Name” personalities are used to endorse a product or idea • Card Stacking • Words may be omitted in an ad or commercial, leading to a series of half-truths

13. Errors of Faulty Logic • Contradiction • Information presented is in direct opposition to other information within the same argument • False Cause • Temporal order of events is confused with causality • Evading the issue • Someone sidesteps an issue by changing the subject • Begging the Question • A person makes a claim and then argues for it by using the same statements or arguments • AKA “Circular Reasoning”

14. Errors of Weak Reference • Appeal to Authority • Authority is evoked as the last word on an issue • Appeal to the People • Someone attempts to justify a claim on the basis of popularity • Appealing to Force • Someone uses threats to establish the validity of the claim • Appeal to Emotion • An emotion-laden “sob” story is used as proof for a claim

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