PERSUASIVE

COMMUNICATIONCase Study of Sue and Jhonsy P. 130-132, BCPP

Study, brainstorm and analyze from the perspective of managerial communication. Study

the three fundamental factors of persuasion propounded by the philosopher Aristotle:

‘Ethos, Pathos and Logos’.

Persuasion Strategies:

Getting others – Bosses, subordinates, peers and clients – to accept our ideas and to do

what we want them is the objective of a large part of our managerial communication.

The problem with micromanaging is that it severely limits our scope for growth because a

significant part of our resources is spent on monitoring others. Persuasion is the best way

to get people to do want because once convinced, people don’t need to be prodded

constantly or monitored extensively.

•Persuasion is so central to managing people that philosophers, social scientists and social

scientists and other scholars have dealt with it from the perspective of their disciplines. The

most influential among the philosophers has undoubtedly been Aristotle, who more than a

millennia ago identified three fundamental factors of persuasion: Ethos, Pathos and Logos.

•Persuasion Factor 1: Ethos

•When some people ask us to do certain things, we don’t resist. Yet, when some others ask

us to do the same thing and offer the same reasons or the same incentives, we refuse.

Why this difference? The difference in our response can be traced to differences in the way

we perceive the persuaders. Some are persuasive, others are not.

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“I will pay more for the ability to deal with people than for any other

ability under the sun.” John D.

Rockfeller If we perceive a person as fair-minded, knowledgeable and trust-

worthy, we are likely believe and follow their suggestions. Eg. A doctor’s/ legal / financial experts advice we follow without much of the resistance, because we have to rely on them, we do not possess the knowledge and expertise they possess.

People such as parents, school teachers, and religious leaders generally exert tremendous influence on our decision-making even we become financially independent, because we believe in them a lot.

We should include in ethos other characteristics such as physical attractiveness, self-confidence, and likeability as well.

Aristotle rightly considered ethos to be the most important persuasion factor. It is difficult for most of us to say no to those we respect, admire, love or fear; it is particularly so if that person also has ligitimate authority over us.

We often we come across in news papers about managers and officers violating certain laws of the land to oblige their superiors. In such instances even indirect suggestions are inferred as orders and carried out.

We need to recognize the role of personal power in persuasion and cultivate it because it is this power that makes us persuasive managers.

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Persuasion Factor 2: Pathos Pathos refers to emotions. We can persuade others to do many things by

appealing to or playing on their emotions. Reason and emotions may work

together, but there are also occasions when they act opposite to each other.

If there is contest, it is usually emotions that win because they are more

fundamental than reason and work at the subconscious level of instincts.

There are two categories of emotions: positive and negative.

Positive emotions include pride, joy, hope, sympathy and love.

Negative emotions include fear, anger, guilt and envy.

The way some leaders of terrorist outfits indoctrinate young men and women to

become human bombs and cause destruction of life and property around them

shows the extent of the power of inspirational appeal.

If a person notices you, cares for you, supports your initiatives, or compliments

you on your achievements that you are very proud of, you are likely to be

influenced positively. Yuki and Tracey refer to this as ‘ingratiation.’ Appreciation,

praise, even flattery contribute to ingratiation.

Related to the above Yuki and Tracey (1992) call ‘exchange’, you give something

that some one values, he feels obliged to return something that you consider

valuable. This is the reason why many customers who accept free samples of

food items generally buy something from the shop before they leave. This also

the reason why you can generally persuade an official who accepts an expensive

gift from you, apparently without any hesitation would like to extend undeserved or

out-of-turn services. Eg. Mahabharatha epic ela.. dis..3

Persuasion Factor 3:

Logos “If you would persuade, you must appeal to interest rather

than intellect.” Benjamin Franklin

Logos refer to reasoning and rational persuasion. When persuade someone to do something because you prove, with the help of evidence and reasoning, the validity and desirability of your proposal, you are using logos.

E.g You may persuade your company to increase the selling price (vice-versa) the selling price of a product by showing that the higher unit price would more than compensate for the reduction of sales, generate better profits than current or lower prices can manage, and improve the brand positioning.

There are two approaches to reasoning: Inductive and Deductive. Both of these are regularly used in persuasion.

When you gather and analyze the representative data but arrive at some conclusions about the whole population based on the patterns you observe in the data you have collected, you engage in inductive reasoning. E.g of the master chef trying masala dosa with lamb or chicken filling p. 138 ela.. / dis…

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Persuasion Factor 3:

continuedDeductive Reasoning: Deductive Reasoning works in the opposite direction –

You move from general to particular. When certain cause-effect relationships

are observed without any exception over a long period, you reach a level of

certainty about the behaviour of a class. You can then use it to make predictions

about individual members of that class. Here is an example of German

Shepherd or Alsatian is 10-12 years. An exceptionally healthy member of this

particular breed may have lived for 13 or 14 years. You can look at any healthy

Alsatian and say that it will die in less than 15 years. Here you are using

deductive reasoning:

All Alsatian dogs die before they reach their 15th birthday. (major premise)

This dog is an Alsatian (minor premise)

Therefore this dog will die in less than fifteen years. (deduction)

The beauty of this type of reasoning is that once you accept the major premise

and minor premise, you have no choice but to accept the deduction or the

conclusion.

Discuss the illustrations on page 139 & 140.

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The Act of Persuasion:

The discussion so far in this chapter may give the impression that each of the three factors –ethos, pathos and logos – functions independently. It is not so. All three factors come together in most instances of persuasion. One or two factors may be predominant; that is all.

Let us discuss the illustrations of Ekalavya, the tribal boy………The Last Leaf by O. Henry

Discuss in elaborate…………

Finally, a student will conclude the topic by analyzing the points given in Quick Review.

Assignment: Read thoroughly ‘Framing – The Heart of Persuasion’ p.141 to 143, prepare an analysis and submit.

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