Discussion Prompt: Strategies of Persuasion
Television commercials have the goal to influence viewers behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs toward the product or services being sold. Chapters 13 and 14 in your textbook review various types of persuasion strategies. In this discussion, you will examine commercials for evidence of a few common tactics.
Search the internet for a video of a commercial. Post the link to the commercial and then respond to the following:
Provide a brief description of the commercial.
Are the rhetorical appeals used by the advertisers effective?
Why or why not?
Are the rhetorical appeals ethical and/or credible?
How is ethos conveyed?
How is logos conveyed?
How is pathos conveyed?
How do you plan to convey ethos, logos, and pathos in your persuasive speeches?
(Assignment topic adapted from Afifi, T., & Stucky, J. (2005). Instructors resource manual for Sellnows confident public speaking (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.)