SPC 2608 Final

fallacy

an error in reasoning

invalid analogy

analogy in which 2 cases being compared aren't essentially alike; Ex: employees are like nails. Just as nails must be hit on the head to get them to work, so must employees". "in great Britain, the general election campaign for prime minister lasts less than 3 weeks. Surely we can do the same with the US presidential election"

pathos

Aristotle's name for what is considered emotion appeal by todays communication students

Ways to enhance credibility

Explain your competence Establish common ground with your audience deliver speech fluently, expressively and with conviction

burden of proof

Obligation facing a persuasive speaker to prove that a change is necessary

Immediate action

Persuasive speech in which the speaker's goal is to convince the audience to take action in support of the policy; ex: "to persuade my audience to give time to Big Brothers of Big Sisters" "to persuade my audience to establish retirement accounts early in their career"

Persuasion

The process of creating, reinforcing, or changing people's beliefs or actions

introduction speech

a speech that introduces the main speaker to the audience; has 3 main purposes: (1) build enthusiasm for upcoming speaker (2) build enthusiasm for speaker's topic (3) establish a welcoming climate to boost credibility

bandwagon

assumes that because something is popular, it is therefore good, correct, or desirable; ex: I think the governor has excellent ideas for prison reform. After all, polls show that 70 percent of the state supports his position.

appeal to novelty

assumes that something new is automatically better than something old; "our church should adopt the 2011 new international version of the Bible because it is 400 years newer than the King James version"

appeal to tradition

assumes that something old is automatically better than something new; "I don't see any reason to abolish the electoral college. It has been around since the adoption of the US constitution in 1787, and we should keep it as long as the US continues to exist"

slippery slope

assumes that taking a first step will lead to subsequent steps that cannot be prevented; "now that the TSA is allowed to use full body scanners and invasive downs before letting us through security, its only a matter of time before they strip-search every man, woman, and child who wants to fly on a plane"

Ad hominem

attacks the person rather than dealing with the real issue in dispute; "the head of the commerce commission has a number of interesting economic proposals, but lets not forget that she comes from a very wealthy family"

Credibility

audience's perception of whether a speaker is qualified to speak on a given topic

Mental dialogue with the audience

mental give-and-take between the speaker and the listener during a persuasive speech

factors that affect credibility

competence character

Action step

fifth step in Monroe's; say exactly what you want your audience to do

need

first issue in analyzing question of policy: is there a serious problem/need that requires a change from the current policy?; ex: "is there a need for more student parking on campus?" "Is there a need for a national ID card in the US?"

Attention Step

first step in Monroe's; like an intro; attention getter, establish central idea, relate the topic, establish credibility and preview the body

either-or (false dilemma)

forces the listener to choose between 2 alternatives when more than 2 exist; ex: Our company has only two options—either to cut employee benefits or to lay off large numbers of workers

Visualization step

fourth step in Monroe's; give the benefits of your plan using vivid imagery; restates the plan

2 goals of questions of policy

gain passive agreement gain immediate action

3 types of credibility

initial credibility derived credibility terminal credibility

red herring

introduces and irrelevant issue to divert attention from the subject under discussion; ex: "I don't know why we are wasting time debating campaign finance reform when more and more international terrorists are focusing their attacks on the United States." "how dare my opponent accuse me of political corruption at a time when we are working to improve the quality of life for all people in the US"

logos

logical appeal of a speaker; elements are evidence and reasoning

reasoning from principle

moves from a general principle to a specific conclusion; make sure audience agrees with major premise first; ex: "Taking a life is morally justified only if it is necessary to save the life of another per-son. Capital punishment is not necessary to save anyone's life, because a sentence of life without parole can prevent convicted murderers from ever killing again. Therefore, capital punishment is not morally justified." "all people are mortal. Socrates is a person. Therefore, Socrates is mortal"

ethos

name used by Aristotle for what modern communication students refer to as credibility

3 issues when discussing questions of policy

need plan practicality

passive agreement

persuasive speech in which the speaker's goal is to convince the audience that a given policy is desirable without encouraging them to take action in support of the policy; ex: ""To persuade my audience that our state should impose stricter regulations governing the safety of amusement park rides" "to persuade my audience that the balanced-budget amendment should be added to the U.S constitution"

Target audience

portion of the whole audience that the speaker most wants to persuade

ways of organizing persuasive speeches

problem-solution order comparative advantage problem-cause-solution order Monroe's motivated sequence

reasoning

process of drawing a conclusion on the basis of evidence; 4 types

Question of fact

question about the truth or falsity of an assertion; tries to persuade audience that your interpretation of a fact is correct; topically organized; speaker acts as lecturer or teacher; ex: "To persuade my audience that changes occurring in the earth's climate are caused primarily by human activities" "To persuade my audience that Shakespeare did not write the plays attributed to him" "to persuade my audience that an earthquake of 9.0 or above on the Richter scale will hit California in the next 10 years"

Question of value

questions about the worth, rightness, morality, etc. of and idea or action; they're value judgements; organized topically; ex: "To persuade my audience that the use of torture is never ethically justifiable" "to persuade my audience that bicycle riding is the ideal form of land transportation"

Questions of policy

questions about whether a specific course of action should or should not be taken; covers rules, regulations, laws that should be repealed or passed; ex: "To persuade my audience that public officials should act now to upgrade the 911 emergency phone system" "To persuade my audience that our state should impose stricter regulations governing the safety of amusement park rides" "to persuade my audience that they should participate in alternate spring break"

reasoning from specific instances

reasoning that moves from particular facts to a general conclusion; happens daily; needs reinforcement; ex: fact 1. my physical education course last term was easy. fact2. my roommate's physical education course was easy. fact3. my brother's physical education course was easy. Conclusion: physical education courses are easy

Plan

second issue in analyzing question of policy: if there is a problem with the current policy, does the speaker have the plan to solve it?; ex: "how much will e-textbooks cost?" "what devices will students be allowed to read on?"

need step

second step in Monroe's; establishes that there is a serious problem; explain with details using varying sources

causal reasoning

seeks to establish the relationship between causes and effects; happens daily; avoid false cause; ex: "because that patch of ice was there, I fell and broke my arm"

analogical reasoning

speaker compares 2 similar cases and infers what is true for one case is also true for the second; especially used with questions of policy; ex: "if you're good at tennis, you will probably be good at ping-pong"

hasty generalization

speaker jumps to a general conclusions on the basis of insufficient evidence; ex: "My friends and I use our cell phones in the car all the time, and we've never had an accident. I don't believe cell phones cause accidents". "Throughout american history, military leaders have always made excellent presidents. Look at the example of Washington, Jackson, and Eisenhower"

false cause (post hoc)

speaker mistakenly assumes that because one event follows another, the first caused the second; ex: Whenever the number of ice cream sales increase in a coastal area, so does the number of shark attacks. If we want to keep our beaches safe, we have to close our ice cream stands.

comparative advantage

speech in which each main point explains why a speaker's solution to a problem is preferable to other proposed solutions; used when the audience already agrees a problem exists; seeks passive agreement; ex: I. research models show that we will save a million dollars if we build a rapid bus system instead of a new highway. II. research models also show that a rapid bus system will reduce traffic congestion more than a new highway"

problem-solution order

speech in which the first main point deals with a problem and the point presents a solution; seeks passive agreement; ex: "I. The shortage of nurses has become a serious national problem. II. The problem can be solved by offering nurses better salaries and working conditions." "I. the spread of phony pharmaceuticals is a serious problem. II. the problem can be solved by requiring direct action by the federal government"

problem-cause-solution order

speech in which the first main point identifies a problem, the second analyzes the causes of the problem and the third presents a solution; seeks passive agreement; ex: I. Violent crime on college campuses is a problem throughout the United States. II. There are three major causes of the problem that are specific to college life. III. An effective solution must deal with all three of these causes

acceptance speech

speech that gives thanks for a gift, award, or some other form of public recognition; acknowledge those who helped

Commemorative speech

speech that pays tribute to a person, group, institution or idea; speeches of praise or celebration; purpose is to inspire audience; ex: Bill Clinton's speech dedicating the Monument to the Struggle against World Ter-rorism at the site of the 9/11 attack in New York City

presentation speech

speech that presents someone a gift, award, pr some other form of public recognition; purpose is to tell the audience why the recipient is receiving the award; ex: At a comedy awards show, Adam Sandler gave a splendid speech explaining why David Letterman was receiving a special award for his achievements in television comedy.

Monroe's motivated sequence

speech which seeks immediate action and includes 5 steps: attention, need, satisfaction,visualization and action; seeks immediate action

evidence

supporting material used to prove or disprove something

creating common ground

technique in which a speaker connects themselves with the values, attitudes or experiences of the audience

practicality

third issue in analyzing question of policy: will the speaker's plan solve the problem? will it create new and more serious problems?; ex: "building a multilevel parking garage on campus would provide more student parking, but the cost would require a sharp increase in tuition"

Satisfaction step

third step in Monroe's; clearly states the solution using theoretical and practical evidence; when objections are overcome

generating emotional appeal

use emotional language develop vivid examples - real world examples speak with sincerity and conviction

tips for evidence

use specific types -stats, examples, testimony make it a novel use credible sources make point clear