Chapter 8. Communicating Persuasively © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 1

Consider your audience’sfour broader goals:

• security

• recognition

• professional growth

• connectedness

Chapter 8. Communicating Persuasively © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 2

Work within eight constraints:

• ethical

• legal

• political

• informational

• personnel

• financial

• time

• format and tone

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Follow six steps tocraft a persuasive argument:

• Identify the elements of a persuasive argument.

• Use the right kinds of evidence.

• Consider opposing viewpoints.

• Appeal to emotions responsibly.

• Decide where to present the claim.

• Understand the role of culture in persuasion.

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Understand the three elementsof a persuasive argument:

• The claim—the idea you are communicating.

• The evidence—the facts and judgments that support your claim.

• The reasoning—the logic that you use to derive the claim from the evidence.

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Use the right kinds of evidence:

• “commonsense” arguments

• numerical data

• examples

• expert testimony

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Consider three ways of meeting possible objections to your argument:

• Show that the opposing argument is based on illogical reasoning or on inaccurate or incomplete facts.

• Show that the opposing argument is valid but less powerful than your own.

• Show how the two arguments can be reconciled.

Understand the role of culture in persuasion:

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• Know what each culture regards as a persuasive argument.

• Know how each culture structures a persuasive argument.

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Avoid ten common logical fallacies:

• ad hominem argument, or argument against the speaker

• argument from ignorance• appeal to pity• argument from authority• circular argument, or begging the question

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Avoid ten common logical fallacies (cont.):

• either-or argument• ad populum argument, or bandwagon

argument• hasty generalization, or inadequate sampling• post hoc reasoning• oversimplifying

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Demonstrate four characteristicswhen creating a professional persona:

• cooperativeness• moderation• fair-mindedness• modesty

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An example of using words and imagesto create a persuasive argument

Caption: “A young boy works 12-hour days packing mud bricks in Liberia.”

Source: U.S. Department of State, 2009 <www.state.gov/documents/organization/123360.pdf>.

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An example of using an imageto convey technical evidence

Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 2008 <www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id5867>.