Page 310 - Essentials of Human Communication

Guidelines for Persuasive Speaking 289

Our college athletic program is absorbing money that we can more profitably use Communication
for the library and computer labs. Let me explain how the excessive money now go- Choice Point
ing to athletic programs could be better spent in these other areas. Countering Selective
But if you want to persuade an audience that holds attitudes different from those exposure
you’re advocating, you’ll need to anticipate selective exposure and proceed inductively; You’re planning to give a per-
that is, hold back on your thesis until you’ve given your evidence and argument, then suasive speech advocating a position you
relate this evidence and argument to your thesis. If you present your listeners with know your audience is opposed to and you
know that selective exposure will be operat-
your thesis first, they may tune you out without giving your position a fair hearing. ing. What are some of the things you might
say to counteract this tendency?
AdAPT TO The CulTure OF YOur AudienCe
Cultural distinctions become especially important in persuasion; the appeals you would use
to influence one cultural group would not be the same you would use for a different group
(Singh & Pereira, 2005; Hofstede, Hofstede, & Minkov, 2010). Here are a few examples of the
kinds of cultural adaptations you’ll find useful to consider.
● If addressing members of a collectivist culture (such as Guatemala, Panama, Venezuela,
Pakistan, and China, where the group is more important than the individual), you’ll need
to emphasize the importance of family, loyalty (to brand names or local organizations),
and national identity and pride. On the other hand, if addressing members of individual-
istic cultures (such as the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Italy, and Sweden, where
the individual is more important than the group), you’d emphasize such themes as
independence, nonconformity, and uniqueness.
● With audience members from high-power-distance cultures (such as Malaysia, the Philip-
pines, Russia, Suriname, and Mexico, where there are great differences in power among
groups of the population), references to important and prominent people and to what
they believe and advocate will prove effective. In contrast, in a low-power-distance cul-
ture (such as Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Norway, and Great Britain, where there is little
distance in power between people), these appeals will prove less effective than would, say,
references to or testimonials from people much like the people you want to influence.
● With audience members from cultures high in uncertainty avoidance (such as Greece,
Portugal, Russia, Poland, and Japan, where they’re uncomfortable with ambiguity and uncer-
tainty), you would present information from experts (or supported by experts) that would
explain very clearly where everyone can go for information and guidance. Because these au-
diences also value tradition, appeals to the past will prove effective. Audiences low in uncer-
tainty avoidance (from countries such as Singapore, Jamaica, Denmark, Hong Kong, and In-
dia) can tolerate more ambiguity, and appeals to the new and different will be more effective.
● With audience members from cultures teaching a long-term orientation (such as South Korea,
China, Ukraine, Germany, and Russia, where the importance of future rewards is stressed),
appeals to delayed rewards (for example, the values of working hard to get a promotion) will “Mimicry, Persuasion, and Pro-social
Behavior” at tcbdevito.blogspot
prove more effective than they would to short-term oriented cultures (such as Puerto Rico, .com discusses the persuasive
Ghana, Egypt, Dominican Republic, and Iran, where immediate rewards are valued). value of mimicry.

FOllOw A MOTivATed SequenCe
One time-honored principle of persuasion is the motivated sequence, an organizational
pattern in which the persuasive speaker must do five things: (1) gain attention, (2) establish a Watch the Video
“Courting Responsibility” at
need for a change, (3) advance a proposal to satisfy the need, (4) visualize for the audience MyCommunicationLab
what things would be like were they to do what you suggest, and (5) move them to action
(German, Gronbeck, Ehninger, & Monroe, 2013).
Let’s say you want to persuade your audience to boycott a local restaurant because of its
discriminatory policy toward immigrants. You might develop a speech something like this:
● Attention: How would you like it if you earned only 50 percent of what other people earn
for the exact same work? . . .
● Need: Discrimination infects the entire community; it needs to be stopped. . . .