TOOLS

PERSUASION

OF

There are many different ways in which persuasion is used in writing, commercials, magazine advertisements, newscasts, etc.

They are called: Name Calling Endorsement Repetition Air and Rebut the Other Side’s Point of View Plain Folks Association Intertextual Reference Stereotypes Slanted Words Card Stacking Tabloid Thinking Shock Tactics and Fear Bandwagon

THE TOOLS OF PERSUASION

NAME CALLING Points out the negative so another

product/idea seems better

EX: Smoothie Joe’s peanut butter contains added fat. Buy Peanuttier Peanut Butter instead!

ENDORSEMENT Using Celebrities or Experts to help

influence your decision

EX: Michael Jordan drinks Gatorade and if you do, your jumpshot will improve!

REPETITION Repeats the information to make the

audience remember it

EX:Who can you trust? Bill Adams, because he can get the job done! Why can you trust Bill Adams? Because Bill Adams can get the job done

AIR AND REBUT THE OTHER SIDE’S POINT OF VIEW

Restating an opposing viewpoint and then showing why it’s wrong

EX: At Progressive, we show the other company’s policy, then ours. We want to be sure that you get the best deal.

PLAIN FOLKS Connects ideas to simple down to

earth people

EX: Like a good neighbor State Farm is there

ASSOCIATION connection of a positive image with a

candidate or idea to create a positive feeling

EX: THESE DO-IT-YOURSELF HAIR HI-LIGHTS ARE AS EASLY AS PIE

INTERTEXTUAL REFERENCE Using another reference that agrees

with your views or opinions

EX: Nine out of ten teachers agree with me: You must work hard to achieve success

STEREOTYPES Uses unfair images of a group to make a

point

EX: All boys love video games. Buy a playstation 3 for your son today!

SLANTED WORDS Outrageous words are used with

other carefully selected words such as “Maybe,” “Might,” or “Could” to change the meaning of things.

EX: Replacing two meals a day with Slimming M cereal could result in losing as much as four pounds in one week

CARD STACKING Selecting facts (Usually out of

context) so that they give a false and/or misleading impression- telling only part of the story

EX: “I lost 50 pounds on the Nutri-Sweet diet. You can too!”(Results not typical. Used with a program of diet and exercise.)

TABLOID THINKING Makes you think something is simple

because it keeps people from looking at the complicated details

EX: We don’t have lockers because the teachers are mean! They have plenty of places to keep their books. What about ours?

SHOCK TACTICS AND FEAR Makes people react out of fear

instead of reason

EX: If you don’t purchase our alarm system, a burglar can easily break into your house.

BANDWAGON Suggests that mostly everyone else

supports the idea

EX: All of your friends have the new Razor phone! What are you waiting for?

WHICH TOOL OF PERSUASION MATCHES EACH OF THESE ADS/PICTURES?

ASSOCIATION Why?

This ad is making a comparison between the leaping animal and the brand of shoe. Otherwise, the two wouldn’t have anything to do with each other.

TABLOID THINKING

Why?

This ad says three words: “reform,” “prosperity,” and “peace” to represent this candidate. However, this person’s goals are more complicated than that.

PLAIN FOLKS Why?

It shows normal people having an emotion to prove a point.

I think the debt isn’t that bad…It will be easy to fix.

Obama thinks the debt isn’t a big deal. Actually, Obama, the debt is horrendous. It’s

not going to be easy to repay.

AIR AND REBUT THE OTHER SIDE’S POINT OF VIEW Why?

Obama stated his opinion, then his opponent restated it and told his own opinion.

I think the debt isn’t that bad…It will be easy to

fix.

Obama thinks the debt isn’t a big deal.

Actually, Obama, the debt is horrendous. It’s not going to be easy

to repay.

TABLOID THINKING Why?This ad doesn’t tell us any details about how Obama is going to help our country progress. It just puts one positive word with his name to convince us to vote for him.

Vietnamese girls do the best work to your toenails and fingernails!

FIFI’S NAIL SALON

STEREOTYPING This ad is making a

generalization or assumption about Vietnamese girls and their jobs.

It is suggesting that this group of people are known for a certain thing. This is stereotyping.

Vietnamese girls do the best work to your toenails and fingernails!

FIFI’S NAIL SALON

(Note: taking Hypergain alone may not grow muscle. Must work out extensively.)

“I used Hypergain and gained this much muscle! You could too!”

SLANTED WORDS This ad is trying to

convince people who want to gain muscle to buy the product. It is trying to make them think they will look like this. Then the word “could” is used to make it more doubtful.

(Note: taking Hypergain alone may not grow muscle. Must work out extensively.)

“I used Hypergain and gained this much muscle! You could too!”

SHOCK TACTICS AND FEAR Why?

The ad is attempting to scare the viewers into “joining” whatever the cause is. Either join it, or you’ll die is the message.

BANDWAGON Why?The sign tells how many people eat McDonald’s. Everyone else is doing it… so should you.

EDORSEMENT Why?

The add is using Justin Bieber’s familiar face to sell the nail polish to people who like and recognize Justin.

INTERTEXTUAL REFERENCE Why?

This man is using that book to support his opinion.

Herbal Essences helped me me go from this… to this!

CARD STACKING

Why?

This ad only tells half of the story. The first picture is bad and she is making an awful face. Shampoo didn’t change that.

REPETITION Why?

The sale sign is repeated over and over to get it into the buyer’s head