The Psychology of Persuasion

The Psychology of Persuasion Finding a Topic, Developing a Proposition

STARTING POINT: Persuasive writing and speaking begins with a strong feeling you have about an important issue, one about which there are differing opinions. You all have strong opinions about life. The trick is to pick one that really means something to you and to your audience.

• What issues are you passionate about? • What will you try to persuade your audience to think? to do? • Do you think you can be persuasive if you have no passion about the issue?

The starting point for persuasion, then, is to identify a current issue that is highly relevant to you and your audience (this class.) The issue must also hold for you a passion or intensity of interest that will come through in your speaking. Without that passion, you have lost the persuasive challenge before you have begun.

Before you decide on your topic, be aware that you have three basic choices with persuasion, or three basic kinds of “propositions” that can be made. A proposition is a statement of opinion or an assertion. In persuasion, this serves as your thesis statement. 1) You may persuade us to accept a PROPOSITION OF FACT – something is true or false. You are dealing with the truth or falsity of an event or situation, past or present. Emphasis is on facts. Examples: Big Foot exists. / A college education is no longer necessary to make money. / The assassination of President Kennedy was the result of a conspiracy, not the work of a single, demented killer. 2) You may persuade us to accept a PROPOSITION OF VALUE – You either like or dislike a thing. Something is either good or bad, right or wrong. You are dealing with qualities such as the worth of an object, an institution, a way of life. Emphasis is on approval or disapproval. Examples: The best place for a woman is in the home. / Men make the best cooks. / Teaching is the most important profession to the success of our nation. 3) You may persuade us to accept a PROPOSITION OF POLICY – something should or should not be done. You are dealing with the future and the emphasis is on facts and values. Use the word “should” or “must” in the thesis. (Write the thesis in the positive, without using the word “not.”) Examples: The driving age should be raised to 18. / Capital punishment should be mandatory for all mass murderers. / All presidential primaries throughout the nation should occur on the same day.

Using Qualifiers: As you move from general topic to specific proposition, you should understand how qualifiers can help you craft a more manageable and effective speech. Qualifiers are terms that make a claim more flexible. Note the difference between the claims below.

The policies regulating illegal immigration need reform. Some policies regulating illegal immigration need reform.

“Some” makes a qualified claim, rather than an all-or-nothing claim. Here are some useful qualifiers: almost of . . . then . . . maybe probably often in most cases might usually

Write a proposition with your top 3 topics and explain why you think each is suitable for a persuasive speech. Then explain YOUR personal connection to each topic. You must turn in three ideas.