Question 1

The act of convincing an audience, through verbal and nonverbal communication, to adopt or change an attitude, belief, or value, or to take an action is called

Accepted Answer

Persuasion involves convincing an audience to adopt or change an attitude, belief, or value, or to take an action through effective communication strategies such as using evidence, logic, and emotional appeals. Motivation involves providing a reason or incentive for someone to take action, while refutation and argumentation involve presenting counterarguments and defending one's own position, respectively.

Question 2

What is the minister doing when he tries to convince the congregation to contribute 10 percent of their income to the church? What is the salesperson doing when she tells a customer to forgo buying a used car and instead purchase a brand new Ford Focus Hybrid?

Accepted Answer

Both the minister and salesperson are using persuasive techniques to influence their audience's decisions.

Question 3

Anna Jane is trying to decide the best way to organize her persuasive speech. She wants to show her audience that many college students rely too heavily on energy drinks to stay awake. She then wants to offer her audience alternatives to these overly caffeinated and sugary drinks. In order for Anna Jane to illustrate these points, how should she organize her speech?

Accepted Answer

The problem/solution organizational approach is the best choice for Anna Jane's persuasive speech as she aims to highlight the problem of college students relying too much on energy drinks and then offer alternative solutions. This approach would allow her to present the problem clearly and then transition to presenting solutions to the problem.

Question 4

Which organizational style suggests putting your strongest ideas either first or last but not in the middle?

Accepted Answer

The topical sequence organizational style suggests placing the strongest ideas at the beginning or end to make a more significant impact, avoiding the middle where they might be less memorable.

Question 5

At a town hall meeting, Yone spoke about the number of children in their community whose families could not afford to buy their children presents this holiday season. Capitalizing on her audience's attention and concern, Yone challenged her audience to donate a new toy to the "Toys For Tots" organization. Urging the audience to act satisfies what step in Monroe's motivated sequence?

Accepted Answer

Yone is directly calling for action from her audience to donate a new toy to the "Toys For Tots" organization. This satisfies the final step in Monroe's motivated sequence, which is to call for action.

Question 6

According to Monroe, visualizing the results means you want to do what?

Accepted Answer

According to Monroe, visualizing the results means creating an image in your audience's minds that illustrates what will happen if they embrace or reject your proposal. This helps them understand the potential consequences of their decision and can motivate them to take action.

Question 7

Henry is horrified by the escalation of hazing at his school. He wants to persuade his classmates to attend a protest on Friday night in front of the student union building. As he works on his speech, Henry is trying to decide whether he should anger his audience into action or appeal to their sense of compassion for the hazing victims. What is Henry trying to construct?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Henry is horrified by the escalation of...

Question 8

Competence is the

Accepted Answer

Competence refers to the demonstrated ability, quality, or special knowledge of the speaker on the topic they are addressing. It is not about character, integrity, excitement, or energy.

Question 9

Alameda was excited, energetic, and very involved in her topic when she delivered her persuasive speech about planting a garden. Her credibility was increased because she demonstrated

Accepted Answer

Alameda's excitement and energy while delivering her persuasive speech about planting a garden demonstrated dynamism, which increased her credibility as a speaker. Trustworthiness, ethics, and competence were not explicitly demonstrated in the given information.

Question 10

Bill knows his audience drives to school. Therefore, in his speech about improving the parking situation, he spends a moment talking about where he parks and the problems he encounters. Bill is

Accepted Answer

By sharing his own experiences and problems with parking, Bill is establishing a common ground with the audience. This helps him to connect with his audience and makes it easier for them to relate to his message.

Question 11

What are the rules that govern moral behavior?

Accepted Answer

Ethics refer to the principles and values that guide individuals and society in determining right and wrong behavior. These principles include things like honesty, respect for others, and justice. The rules that govern moral behavior are rooted in ethics and vary depending on cultural, religious, and societal norms. However, some basic principles of ethical behavior are universally accepted, such as the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Question 12

A(n) _____________ argument helps your audience understand your ideas and increases the likelihood that they will be persuaded.

Accepted Answer

A logical argument presents information and evidence in a clear, coherent, and reasoned manner. This type of argument helps the audience understand your ideas and increases the likelihood of persuading them because it appeals to their sense of reason and rationality, rather than emotions or faulty reasoning.

Question 13

During a fundraiser in May, 2012, Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney stated, "There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims … " Romney received criticism for this comment because his explanation was a fallacy known as a(n)

Accepted Answer

Romney's statement is an overgeneralization because he is making a sweeping statement about a large group of people (47 percent) without considering individual differences and circumstances. He is assuming that everyone in this group is dependent on the government and believes they are victims, which is not necessarily true for every individual in the group.

Question 14

Deductive reasoning is

Accepted Answer

Deductive reasoning involves starting with a general principle or premise and using it to draw conclusions about specific instances.

Question 15

Inductive reasoning is

Accepted Answer

Inductive reasoning moves from specific instances to generalizations. It involves drawing conclusions based on patterns observed in specific examples. This is in contrast to deductive reasoning, which starts with general principles and applies them to specific cases.

Question 16

"As parents, we need to stop our children from having premarital sex! Network and cable stations are piping profane shows into our living rooms that are filled with an extraordinary amount of sexual activity. Similarly, the Internet is filled with filth! Eliminating cable and the Internet from our homes will reduce the sexual activity of our kids!" What type of fallacy does this argument represent?

Accepted Answer

The conclusion that eliminating cable and the Internet will reduce sexual activity does not logically follow from the premises, making it a non sequitur fallacy.

Question 17

What are flawed arguments called?

Accepted Answer

Flawed arguments are called fallacies.

Question 18

During election season, mudslinging and making negative comments about an opponent's character is a common political strategy. What type of argument fallacy does this describe?

Accepted Answer

This describes an ad hominem fallacy, where instead of attacking the opponent's argument, the focus is on attacking their character or personal traits.

Question 19

In her speech, Cisela is trying to convince her audience not to take antibiotics when they are sick. She states, "Taking antibiotics is willingly ingesting poison." Cisela's comparison is considered what type of fallacy?

Accepted Answer

Cisela's comparison of antibiotics to poison is a faulty analogy. While antibiotics may have negative side effects and should not be overused, they are not the same as ingesting actual poison. This comparison is illogical and misleading.

Question 20

When minor points do not relate to the major points of a speech, you have which kind of fallacy?

Accepted Answer

A non sequitur is a logical fallacy where a conclusion does not follow logically from the premises. In this case, the minor points do not logically relate to the major points of the speech, making it a non sequitur. Ad hominem refers to attacking an opponent's character instead of their argument, faulty cause-and-effect assumes a causal relationship without sufficient evidence, and faulty analogy makes an inaccurate or inappropriate comparison.

Quiz 16: The Persuasive Speech