Speeches and Persuasion
How persuasive are you?
Persuasive Definitions You Need To Know!
Persuasion--Speaking or writing to get an audience to agree with your point of view
Bias--An unfair preference for or against something based on personal views
Counter-argument--a statement made against the argument being made
Stereotype--an oversimplified opinion, prejudice, or judgment to categorize a group of people.
Exaggeration--to expand something beyond the truth
Fallacy--something that is believed to be true, but isn't.
Logical and Rhetorical Fallacies--used in debates to mislead or distract people from the real issue.
Ad hominem-- Latin term meaning "to the man" an argument made personally against an opponent instead of their argument.
Appeal to Emotion-- Fallacy also known as "Ad populum" Means "to the people" Argument built on emotions instead of evidence.
Appeal to Reason--to call upon a reader's ability to think in a rational way in order to cause a change in his/her thoughts.
Loaded Terms--(it's about connotation) eliciting an emotional response beyond the literal meaning of the words to persuade others to adopt a point of view. Examples-- plant: flower v. weed, age: old v. vintage, No Child Left Behind, Patriot Act
Argument by Cause/Effect: Transition Words (since, caused by, as might be expected, made possible, consequently, if...then)
Bait and Switch--a tactic where the customer is attracted by an advertisement for a low price item but then is encouraged to buy the higher priced one.
The Science of Persuasion
Commercial with bias
Negative Disney Stereotypes
Exaggeration
Logical Fallacies
Ad hominem
Appeal to Emotion
Appeal to Reason
Loaded Term Examples
Bait and Switch
Remarks at the Dedication of the Aerospace Medical Health Center John F. Kennedy
http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/JFK-Speeches/San-Antonio-TX_19631121.aspx
Read an example of a policy speech with persuasive techniques here.
Read the following excerpt from Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech
Taken from "I Have a Dream"
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
delivered 28 August 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."2
This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.
With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!3
The Assignments
Read the two speeches. Note the techniques the speakers use to persuade their audiences.
Read and annotate the poem. How does the poem connect to the two speeches? Write a response (2-3 paragraphs) explaining how the poem connects to the message of the two speeches. Use text evidence! (Due November 12)
Write your own speech using techniques you observed in the speeches you read. Your speech should address something you would like to see changed at Watauga Middle School. It should be 3-4 paragraphs long and include a clear thesis statement. (Due November 10) Extra points if you give the speech to the class!
"Hope" is the thing with feathers
"Hope" is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I've heard it in the chilliest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
--Emily Dickinson
Annotation Marks
? Put this symbol by anything where you are unsure, do not understand, or have a question.
! Put this symbol by anything interesting, exciting, or catches your interest.
Underline any words you do not know how to pronounce or understand. Define them.
* Put this symbol along with a brief summary of the section.
Circle the element we are focusing on (given to you by your teacher.)