390 17.3 Using PersUasive strategies
that if listeners feel pleasure and are also aroused by something, such as a politi-
cal candidate or a product, they will tend to form a favorable view of the can-
didate or product. A listener’s feeling of being dominant has to do with being
in control and having permission to behave as he or she wishes. A listener who
feels dominant is more likely to respond to the message.
As a public speaker trying to sway your listeners to your viewpoint, your
job is to ethically use emotional appeals to achieve your goal. If you wanted
to persuade your listeners that capital punishment should be banned, you
would try to arouse feelings of displeasure to turn the listeners against capital
punishment. Advertisers selling soft drinks typically strive to arouse feelings of
pleasure in those who think of their product. Smiling people, upbeat music, and
good times are usually part of the formula for selling soda pop.Tips for Using Emotion to Persuade
Although emotional response theory may help you to understand how emotions
work, as a public speaker your key concern is “How can I ethically use emotional
appeals to achieve my persuasive purpose?” Let’s consider several methods.
use ConCrete examples that help your lIsteners to vIsualIze
what you DesCrIbe This speaker used a vivid description of the devas-
tation caused by a tornado in Saragosa, Texas, to evoke strong emotions and
persuade listeners to take proper precautions when a storm warning is sounded.
The town is no more. No homes in the western Texas town remain stand-
ing. The church where twenty-one people perished looks like a heap of
twisted metal and mortar. A child’s doll can be seen in the street. The
owner, four-year-old Maria, will no longer play with her favorite toy;
she was killed along with five of her playmates when the twister roared
through the elementary school.use emotIon-arousIng worDs Words and phrases can trigger emo-
tional responses in your listeners. Mother, f lag, freedom, and slavery are among
a large number of emotionally loaded words. Patriotic slogans, such as “Re-
member Pearl Harbor” and “Remember 9/11,” can produce strong emotional
responses.^24
use nonverbal behavIor to CommunICate your emotIonal
response The great Roman orator Cicero believed that if you want your lis-
teners to experience a certain emotion, you should first model that emotion for
them. If you want an audience to feel anger at a particular law or event, you
must display anger and indignation in your voice, movement, and gesture. As
we have noted, delivery plays the key role in communicating your emotional
responses. When you want your audience to become excited about and inter-
ested in your message, you must communicate that excitement and interest
through your delivery.