Effective Communication: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos in Persuasive Messages - Prof. Christoph, Study notes of Introduction to Business Management

Download Effective Communication: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos in Persuasive Messages - Prof. Christoph and more Study notes Introduction to Business Management in PDF only on Docsity! Fall 2007 MGT 3304 Test 2 Study Guide Test 2 Thursday, October 04, 2007 4:42 PM Chapter 2 I. Introduction a. defining feature of communication: sharing information with other people b. Communication also requires that people reach a common understanding c. For communication to work: i. Listeners need to understand what is being said to them and interpret that information in a similar way to the person making to original statement d. Strong positive link between a leader's communication ability and worker innovativeness ii. The better a manager communicates with employees, the more likely people are to come up with new and creative ideas to help the organization e. Communication myths iii. If you have a strong case, everyone will be convinced 1. People are moved not just by evidence, but by who presents that evidence and how it is presented 2. Single well-told story or anecdote can often be as effective as a pile of hard evidence ii. Words mean what they mean 2. Ensuring mutual understanding is the primary challenge of communication iii. Powerpoint presentations are always the best way to persuade iv. Assertive communication means being a jerk 3. Not being hostile or aggressive 2. You are standing up for your rights without hurting or diminishing anyone else v. Listening is a passive activity 4. Hearing is a passive activity 2. Good listening is hard work and an active, not passive skill II. Creating persuasive messages b. Audience analysis i. First rule is to analyze your audience ii. Key to persuasion is to develop an argument that speaks to your listeners iii. More persuaded by issues that directly affect them iv. Align your appeals with the values and beliefs of your audience, to "hit them where they live" v. Aristotle's 3 elements of persuasion 1. Ethos - persuaded by the personal credibility of a speaker 2. Pathos - respond to emotional appeals of a speaker 3. Logos - moved by the logical arguments b. Ethos: Persuasion based on personal credibility ii. Ethos - accept what people say simply because we believe they know what they are talking about ii. Belief in someone's ethical and professional character or belief that the speaker shares your values iii. Ways to enhance ethos: 1. Emphasize ways you are similar to your audience a. Find a bond and reinforce it early in the relationship 2. Establishing your authority or expertise iv. Expertise or relationships 2. Expertise - knowledge and history of sound judgment 2. Relationships - demonstrating you can be trusted to listen and to work in the best interests of others c. Pathos: Arousing others' emotions iii. Most effective when speakers use stories and examples that are highly relevant to their listeners 1. When listeners' emotions are aroused in a way that prompts their compliance with the message ii. Robert Cialdini, Regents' prof of psychology at Arizona State 2. To move audience to action a. Fairness - relies on the universal human tendency for people to treat others as they are themselves treated b. Storytelling - one of the oldest, most powerful modes of communication i. Stories are more convincing ii. Make information more relevant and "richer" to the listener d. Logos: using evidence iv. Logos - logical arguments presented by speaker ii. Help listeners believe they are making an informed, rational choice iii. 2 obligations as a speaker 1. Construct logically sound argument in support of your position 2. Find evidence in support of those claims iv. Arguments 2. Deductive - moves from the general to specific a. Make an assertion, and then provide evidence in support of that assertion b. Widely accepted 2. Inductive - moves from specific to general b. Present evidence and then draw conclusions from it v. Other arguments 3. Argue from experience that what has been done in the past should continue a. Similar actions will produce similar results 2. Persuade form a shared identity b. Action is consistent with currently stated values 3. Argue from cause and effect c. Public speaking requires a different kind of talking iii. Volume must be sufficient for everyone in the room to hear clearly ii. Soft-spoken voices damage credibility vii. Supplement - supplement with informed responses to questions 5. Need to be prepared to handle questions after your presentations 2. How you handle the questions and concerns raised by your audience can make or break your persuasive appeal 3. Ways to prepare for and handle the Q&A a. Gather additional evidence to support your claim b. Answer "obvious" questions before hand in your presentation c. Paraphrase difficult questions to be sure you understand what the audience members wants to know d. Listen- carefully e. Specify when you want the Q&A session viii. Using visual aids 6. Visual support of your message is often essential for success 2. Listeners are more visually oriented 3. Help your audience track where you are going and feel more comfortable that they understand 4. Keep people more alert and focused by stimulating their senses 5. Help your audience remember what you said a. Information we absorb in a day, only 13% comes from hearing alone 6. Significantly more persuasive than those without them 7. Key points to remember when designing visuals: b. Color - use color in your visuals i. Attracts attention, adds vitality, and increases people's willingness to pay attention b. Consistency - keep your general color scheme and design consistent throughout your presentation c. Simplicity - visuals should be easy to read and absorb d. Balance - design visuals in the way people naturally think e. Visibility - everyone on your visual aid should be easily seen from every point in the room f. Evaluation - slip into an audience member's shoes, and evaluate your visuals before your presentation 8. Visual aid misconceptions c. Presentations require a magic number of visual aids b. Audience cannot read c. Graphical displays are obvious IV. Special communication skills and contexts a. Persuasive messages are important not just in formal speeches or presentations but in every interaction as well b. Choosing your communication medium i. Information richness - potential information-carrying capacity of a communication channel, and the extent to which it facilitates developing a common understanding between people 1. Feedback 2. Audio/visual 3. Personal/impersonal ii. Face-to-face communication 2. Immediate feedback 2. Audio/visual 3. Personal 4. High information richness iii. Telephone 3. Fast feedback rate 2. Audio 3. Personal 4. Moderately high information richness iv. Personally written missive (i.e. email) 4. Moderate feedback rate 2. No audio or visual 3. Personal and impersonal 4. Moderately low information richness v. Formal letter 5. Slow feedback rate 2. No audio or visual 3. Impersonal 4. Low information richness vi. Complexity of topic 6. Low-complexity situations a. Routine b. Minor matters where each party has its won ready access to information 2. High-complexity b. Don’t' happen every day b. Usually involve several people to adequately address the problem or opportunity c. High information richness c. Choosing your medium: written vs verbal ii. Put in writing when 1. Number of people must receive consistent instructions or information 2. Concerned about legal, regulatory, or other documentation requirements 3. Want your position on something to be perceived as formal 4. Recipient has a history of problems with verbal instructions ii. Communicate verbally when 2. Want immediate and direct feedback and input 2. Don’t' want or need a written record of the communication 3. Delivering the message in person will enhance its sense of urgency 4. Message may spark an emotional reaction that you need to acknowledge d. Assertive communication iii. Being clear about your needs and expressing them respectfully to others ii. Seek to achieve objectives through direct, clear, specific statements iii. Assertive communication means acting with confidence, assurance, and a positive attitude iv. Builds stronger relationships because you are clear, respectful, and honest in your communication v. Lessons for positive, assertive exchanges 1. Empathy/validation - say something that conveys to the other person you understand their position a. Not entirely self-focused and are sincere in trying to understand his perspective 2. Unambiguous statement of the problem and of what you want b. Describe your difficulty or dissatisfaction, giving your reasons you need to change something 3. Use "I" statements c. Keep the focus on the problem you're having, not accusing or blaming the other person 4. Use facts, not judgments 5. Take ownership of your thoughts, feelings, and opinions 6. Make clear, direct, requests d. Don’t invite the person to say no e. Crisis communication iv. Crisis - negative incidents that can harm or even cause the demise of an organization ii. Guidelines: 1. Choose language that is clear and accurate a. Be as up front and honest as you can 2. Know your audience b. Target audience will change based on the nature of your crisis 3. Be prepared to talk about emotions 4. Communicate consistently V. Active listening b. The paradox and importance of active listening i. The paradox - despite that we spend more waking hours listening than in any other activity, we are typically not very good at it ii. Hearing - physical reality of receiving sounds 1. Passive act that happens even when we are sleeping iii. Listening - active process that means a conscious effort to hear and understanding iv. Active listening - interaction and good questioning