Public Speaking

Assess Your Audience’s Attitude (^239)
Warrants are the assumptions, justifications, or logical links you and your listeners
use to connect your evidence with your claim. Warrants come from cultural traditions
and institutional rules, laws, or principles.^12 For example, the Constitution lets police
officers search a suspect only after they get a warrant showing sufficient evidence to link
the suspect to the crime. If a fingerprint on a gun (evidence) matches the suspect’s print
(additional evidence), it is logical to conclude that the suspect fired the gun (claim of
fact) because our fingerprints are all unique (the warrant that links the evidence to the
claim).
In many cases, warrants are implicit. For example, ads for vitamins use words like
perkiness, power, and energy. The advertisers assume that buyers want those qualities and
will associate them with the product. An audience that disagrees with the warrant won’t
accept the argument.^13
Backing gives additional reasons to support or defend a warrant that is not broadly
understood or broadly accepted. For example, if blood were found on a defendant’s
jacket (evidence) but the jury doesn’t get the link (warrant) between the blood evidence
and the defendant, the prosecution brings in experts who explain the science of DNA
(backing) and testify that the blood must belong to the victim (backing). If buyers don’t
associate “perkiness” with vitamins, the ad makers might bring in scientific evidence or
testimonials to strengthen the link.
The rebuttal part of the model assumes your listeners have questions that begin
with the word But ... or the phrase But what about ...? As a “listening speaker,” you
should try to hear their potential counter arguments and then prepare to deal with
them directly. Demonstrating that you’ve considered arguments both for and against
your conclusions and that you still have good reasons for your claim enhances your
persuasiveness.
In summary, if you learn to recognize the type of claim you are making, qualify
it, provide evidence and backing to warrant it, and then confront potential audience
rebuttals, you will be more effective in presenting your ideas to others and having them
recognize your views as reasonable.

Assess Your Audience’s Attitude

Much persuasion-related research focuses on attitudes, which Chapter 6 described as

positive or negative evaluations of a topic, claims, and goals. Attitudes include both

mental (what we believe about it) and emotional (how we feel about it) components, and

warrants assumption that

justifies or logically links the

evidence to the claim

backing additional reasons

to support or defend a

warrant

rebuttal counterargument

the audience might have

Claim

Backing Qualifier

Warrant Rebuttal

Grounds

(Evidence)

Figure 17.1

Toulmin’s Model of

Reasoning

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