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?