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Persuasive Techniques
The good, the bad, and the ugly
What is a persuasive technique?
• Something done in order to persuade a reader/listener/viewer
• Used in order to convince someone of something, or to join a
specific cause
• Present in most advertising, speeches, propaganda
Ethos, Logos and Pathos
• Aristotle divided persuasive techniques into three categories:
• Ethos (Greek for character)
• Logos (Greek for word)
• Pathos (Greek for suffering or experience)
Ethos = Credibility
• Ethos is known as the appeal to ethics or credibility
• When using this approach, the person doing the persuading tried to appeal the to
audience by playing up the fact that the argument is coming from a credible source:
• Ex: Dr.’s recommend Bayer asprin, dermotlogists recommend Neutogina
Logos = Logic
• Logos is known as the appeal to reason. The person doing the persuading
tends to rely on facts more than anything to get his or her point across
• Ex: referring to facts, figures, statistics; providing data or percentages
Pathos = Emotions
• Pathos is the persuasive technique that primarily plays with the audiences
emotions. The person making the argument tries to manipulate how the
members of the audience feel in order to get people on board
• Ex: SPCA commercials
But wait, there’s more!
Bandwagon
• The idea that you should do/believe something because everyone
else does
• If you don’t you’ll be the only one not doing it
• People want to fit in, so they fall for it
• If everyone else is doing it, it must be good
Bait and Switch
• People are convinced they are getting a better deal or bargain
• Dishonest tactic used by sales people
• Consumers are persuaded to buy a more expensive item
• Normally the item is expensive, but at this rate it becomes
more attainable and seems like a good deal
Celebrity Spokesperson
• Celebrity or famous person endorses a product
• Celebrity status transfers consumers affection or respect for
the celebrity to the product
• Makes product/belief seem more reliable
Emotional Appeals
• Evoke certain emotions such as excitement, sadness, or fear
• Audience transfers this feeling and associates this feeling with
the product/belief
Glittering Generalities
• Emphasizes highly valued beliefs
• Ex: Patriotism, freedom, peace, etc
• Consumers accept this information, often without information
supporting the claim
• No evidence is offered, you’re lured in because you believe
in these values
Humor
• Used to make the audience laugh
• Provides little information about the product or service
• Consumers remember what was funny about the ad, and have
positive feelings about the product
Individuality
• Appeals to the consumers’ desire to be an individual, unique
• Opposite of bandwagon appeal
• Consumers celebrate their own style and rebel against what
everyone else is doing
• Consumers perceive the product as cool, stylish, the next big
thing, and they want to be the trend setters
Loaded Language
• Uses words with positive or negative connotations to describe a
product
• Can be used to describe a product of a competitor
• Words are meant to appeal to the consumers emotions rather
than their research
• Certain words make a product seem more/less desirable
depending on the intended effect
Name-Calling
• Attacks people or groups to discredit their ideas
• Focuses the consumer on the attack, rather than the actual
issue
Plain Folk
• Shows ordinary people using or supporting a product or candidate
• Creates a sense/feeling of trust because the product is being
used by ordinary people
• Creates a feeling of similarity
Product Comparison
• Compares a product with the “inferior” competition
• Creates the idea that the featured product is superior
Identifying Persuasive Techniques
• Watch the following commercials. For each commercial identify:
• Are ethos, pathos, or logos being used? How?
• Which persuasive techniques do you see? What is the effect on the audience?
• Listen to the language and words being used. What words or phrases have positive or
negative connotations?