GHUM 1025    SPEAKING WITH CONFIDENCE

Persuasion: Attitudes, Beliefs, & Behaviours (Week 4)

In making a speech you may want to strengthen or change attitudes or beliefs. You may also have the secondary goal of getting your audience to do something. (influence behaviour)

ATTITUDE: The tendency to behave a certain way shows your attitude. For example, if you are favourable to art, you may take an art course or you may like to talk about art.

BELIEF: A conviction in the existence/reality of something. It may be a belief in the truth of some assertion. For example a person may believe in life after death or UFO's.

BEHAVIOUR: Overt observable actions. For example a person buys a Toyota.


PRINCIPLES OF PERSUASION

THE CREDIBILITY PRINCIPLE: Are you seen as credible, competent, knowledgeable, of good character, charismatic or dynamic. These establish credibility

SELECTIVE EXPOSURE PRINCIPLE: Listeners seek out information that supports their opinions, beliefs, values, decisions and behaviours. Listeners will actively avoid information that contradicts their existing opinions, beliefs, attitudes, values and behaviours. If you have an audience that is against your point of view, you must build your case with an inductive method--end with your thesis after you have presented your points. If your audience is for your point of view use deductive method, beginning with thesis.

CULTURAL DIFFERENCE PRINCIPLE: Not all cultures value the same things. For example some cultures value religious leaders opinions; others are skeptical. North Americans tend to want logical reliable evidence. Some cultures prefer an open approach where the thesis is clearly stated first.

PROCESS OF PERSUASION

1. AWARENESS

know about the problem, raise consciousness, pay attention 
ask how the problem affects our lives-first step inform then persuade  demonstrate importance of problem 

2. UNDERSTANDING