Chapter 16 Persuasive Speaking 485The Naturalistic Fallacy
The naturalistic fallacy originates from G. E. Moore, a British philosopher, in
his book Principia Ethica (1903); it is an appeal to (or having an inherent bias
for) nature saying that what is natural is right or good and that anything unnatu-
ral (for example, synthetic or human-made) is wrong or bad. For example, advo-
cating that vaccines are unnecessary on the basis that the human immune system
can conquer disease naturally (without medical assistance) fails to regard the fact
that vaccines have saved innumerable lives from diseases like polio.
Avoiding these logical fallacies goes a long way toward building ethos with
your audience—particularly if the audience is hostile toward your speech topic.
You want to rely on facts, research, honest emotion, and your own well-rehearsed
presentation to persuade your audience. If you’re finding yourself slipping into
any logical fallacy to persuade your listeners, you are lacking solid, compelling
evidence in that area of your speech.
Organizing Patterns in Persuasive Speaking
Once you have a topic, audience research, and thoughts about how to deal with
logic, emotion, and competence in your presentation, it’s time to organize all
of this information. As you will recall from Chapter 13, there are a number of
organizational strategies available for your speech; the choice you make depends
on your objective, your audience, and your available time. When it comes to
persuasive speeches, certain organizational strategies can be particularly helpful,
including the problem–solution pattern, the refutational organizational pattern,
the comparative advantage pattern, and Monroe’s motivated sequence.
Problem–Solution Pattern
As discussed in Chapter 13, when you use a problem–solution pattern for your
speech, you establish and prove the existence of a problem and then present a
solution. When your objective is to persuade, you also need to add a set of argu-
ments for your proposed solution. This format is valuable because it allows you
to establish common ground with your audience about the existence of a prob-
lem before moving to more delicate matters (your solution). Although audience
members may disagree with the evidence and reasoning you use to build your
case, your presentation allows for the possibility that they will find the informa-
tion interesting and plausible. In some cases, an audience may reject a solution
that you present but at least leave convinced that “something has to be done.”
For example, note in the following outline that the first two main points
consider the problem and the third main point offers a solution:
Thesis: Present methods for recycling in our community are inadequate.
Main point 1: The current system for recycling generates low participation
by citizens.
Main point 2: Each community in our area has its own recycling plan and system.
Main point 3: Recycling should be a regional, not a local, responsibility.What kinds of logical falla-
cies do you regularly see
used in the media? What is
your reaction when advertis-
ers, political campaigns, or
pundits try to persuade you
using faulty logic?AND YOU?