“Persuasive Speaking” by Sarah Stone Watt, Ph.D., Joshua Trey Barnett, Public Speaking Project is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
review questions
1. Early in the chapter the prevalence of persuasion was discussed. Think of an instance in which you knew you were being persuaded. What were you being persuaded to do? Was the persuader focused on changing your beliefs, attitudes, values, or actions? How do you know?
2. Imagine you are giving a persuasive speech on ______________ [you fill in the blank]. Draft a specific purpose statement on this topic for a speech to convince. Next, draft a specific purpose statement on the same topic for a speech to actuate.
3. Draft a proposition of fact, proposition of value, and proposition of policy for one or more of the following topics: a. Shortening class time
b. Pro-anorexia images on social networking sites c. Airline fees
4. You have been invited to speak to administrators about increasing alumni support for the school. What steps will you take to build your ethos for this audience? What logical appeals will you make? How will you appeal to their emotions?
5. Identify the following fallacies (adapted from Labossiere, 1995):
a. If those actions were not illegal, they would not be prohibited by law.
b. Our team had a losing record until we won the last three games. I wore blue socks in the last three games. Blue socks are lucky, and if I keep wearing them, we can’t lose!
c. The store Joe works at changed the dress code, requiring him to buy all new work clothes. When he went to the manager to complain, she told him that no one else voiced concern, so he must be the only one who had that problem.
d. Your roommate has invited his classmate, Annie, over to work on a project. Before Annie arrives, your roommate explains that she will probably be late because she never helps with the work and always leaves him to take care of everything.
Answers can be found on the bottom of page 16-16
6. Imagine you are giving a speech in which you hope to convince audience members to begin retirement planning while they are still in their twenties. Which of the organizational patterns described above best fits this topic? Why? Describe its advantages over the other organization styles for the specific purpose.
