A Handbook of Persuasive Tactics

A Practical Language Guide

Joan Mulholland

• Editorial: Routledge
• Año: 2003
• ISBN:
  9781134878741
• Edición: 1
• Categoría: Didattica
• Categoría: Didattica generale

Most people have to communicate with colleagues every day and persuade them to understand their opinions or to accept their views. This handbook is intended for anyone who is interested in such goal-oriented language. It extracts 300 persuasive tactics from research findings in communication, linguistics, pragmatics and related fields, and presents them in a clear, concise and consistent manner. Such tactics as analogy, argument presentation, humour and metaphor are included. Each tactic is presented on a separate page with an analysis of its persuasive value. Two indexes - one by persuasive need and the other by tactic - allow readers full flexibility to use the handbook in their own way. This work should be of interest in courses which deal with the management of interaction, pragmatics, discourse analysis and communications.

Collection of tactics

ACCOMMODATION

Task

To create and maintain bonding.

Description

When people communicate they often accommodate themselves in some degree to the language and associated communicative behaviors of the other, adjusting their words and grammar, pace, pronunciation, pauses and turn length to resemble the way the other participants act. There is a strong need for accommodation when communicating with children, people from other cultures, members of the other sex, superiors or inferiors, etc. All communicators should be able to adjust their communication in this way; it is a sign of a wish to be cooperative and help others understand.

Persuasive value

Accommodation occurs because there is a perceived need to decrease any discrepancies between people if good communication (and persuasion) are to take place. There is a lot of evidence that people dislike divergence, as witness such critical phrases as ‘She doesn’t talk like people round here,’ ‘He’s always trying to be different,’ or ‘We never seem to be on the same wave length.’ It can be based on differences in grammatical usage, in sentence structure, the use of technical or lay language, the wrong tone, and an unspecified sense of difference.

Accommodating one’s communicating style to the other person improves an interaction because C.s try to put themselves in the other’s place, and use the language in ways the other is likeliest to understand.

Persuasion can occur because C.s can show they ‘belong’ to the same world of experience as A. Consequently A. will be attracted to them as persons, and more inclined to heed what they say. The more A. is attracted by the general familiarity of what they say or how they say it the more likely he or she is to agree with it. ‘He’s just like me and he says the book is good so I’ll read it.’

Though the similarities that are created by accommodation may only reside in the superficial aspects of language—word choice, pronunciations, etc., their depth of effect belies this.

Contrary tactic Sometimes people can be persuaded not by similarity but by difference, because it is exciting, glamorous, or startlingly new. In such cases their awareness of difference prepares them to listen attentively, and this can result in a fuller adherence to what C. offers.

Further reading Giles and Smith (1979)

ACCOUNT: CHOOSE

Tasks

To have an interpretation of an event accepted as true.

To present a communication as if C.’s goal is only to inform.

Description

An account presents information about an event. It differs from explanation in that C.s do not always understand everything about the material, do not vouch for its validity, but, as far as it is within their power to do so, give an honest account of something they have experienced. C.s can present themselves as merely a conduit through which information is passed: ‘It’s no use asking me what it means, I am just telling you what I experienced.’ C.’s understanding of the material of the account can range from total certainty to puzzlement—so C. could give an account of a meal eaten, accurately, detail by detail, or could speak of a car accident: ‘All I know is one minute I was driving along and then wham, and I woke up in hospital. I think the brakes must have failed, or perhaps the steering went.’

C.s can indicate their own involvement in what is being stated, that is, how far they are prepared to vouch for the account material, or they can leave the material to stand by itself.

Persuasive value

Since an account should be informative it will be well received the more it is organized. Its various parts should each be signalled as they begin and end, and any matters which are to be foregrounded should be clearly shown as such.

If it appears to have no other goal than to have A.s know what C. has experienced, then it is likely to be accepted. It will help if it does not seem too unusual or unlike what the A.s already know, either personally or through previous communications.

An account can persuade since it just appears to call for acceptance, and not full agreement. All that it seems to ask of A.s is that they understand that something happened as C. tells it. Yet in fact to do this is to add the matter of the account to A.s’ experience where it will form part of their ‘knowledge’ and as such perhaps cause them to resist a later communication because it does not fit with the present account.

An account can also be persuasive if C.s show signs of thoughtful choice in language, for example, by hesitating before selecting a word, or using a word then explicitly rejecting it in favor of another, as in

Ex. 1 ‘It was, er a joint activity. Well no, I suppose it was more of a shared activity, with Bill in control.’

If C.s overtly express their concern to be accurate: ‘as far as I could tell, it was…’ and if they already have a truthful reputation, the account is likely to be accepted.

However, it should be noted that an account does not validate what happened; all that it does is supply a truthful representation of C.’s interpretation of the event. As information, therefore, accounts should be taken very carefully, and A.s should carefully examine any possibility that C. might have any persuasive goals beyond that of just passing on information.

See also Explain ; Express personal involvement

Further reading Chaffee (1991); Dillon (1981); Freadman and Macdonald (1992); Nash (1980)

ACCUMULATION

Task

To persuade by sheer weight of evidence.

Description

C. can supply a vast number of details to support a view.

Persuasive value

1 By presenting so many details C. shows him or herself to be thoroughly prepared, knowledgeable, and a good researcher. All of these constitute a C. worth attending to, and being persuaded by.

2 The details themselves can present overwhelming evidence that the matter should be accepted.

3 While absorbing so many details, particularly if they follow closely on one another, A. has little time to find any item problematic, or to find any counterevidence to it.

The presentation of the items may take several forms.

1. It may be a list which assumes all items are of equivalent value; but A. might find it hard to understand what constitutes equivalence and so be unable to object that any single item lacks it.
2. It may be a list with the items in some order, for example, where the last item is a grand amalgam of the whole set.

Ex. 1 We have a problem with…, we have a difficulty about…, in short, our whole operation is at grave risk of failure.

but A.s could fail to note that the last matter is not the sum of the others.

4 If it seems probable that one item may be noticed as out of place in the list, C. could explicitly recognize this, as in

Ex. 2 There is X, and there is Y, and we could include here Z as well, though it is not quite the same as the others.

This could prevent someone else from objecting to the item. It also shows C. is taking care when claiming similarity for the items, and knows when one is different from the others. Such apparent care and fair-mindedness can be persuasive.

See also Link material tactics

Further reading Sonnino (1968)

ACCURACY: SHOW DEGREE OF

Task

To make explicit the degree of accuracy with which C. presents the material.

Description

In both speech and writing, when C.s are not absolutely sure they have got the right term for what they wish to represent, they can indicate this by using a ‘hedging’ term, for example, ‘sort of,’ ‘kind of,’ ‘more or less,’ or ‘roughly.’

Persuasive value

1 In speech, because of the swiftness with which it is produced, C.s know errors can happen when they present material. They often therefore overtly show the extent to which they assess themselves as accurate, and so avoid attack if others know more than they do. Or they may show their commitment to the accuracy of what they present, and so make it hard for A. to quarrel with it. In the first case, there may well be a large number of ‘hedges’ used, as in

Ex. 1 It was sort of pink.

Ex. 2 We were kind of relieved when we heard.

In informal speech it is also possible to add ‘-ish’ to a term C. wishes to hedge, as in

Ex. 3 She looked sad-ish.

Such terms may or may not be accompanied by a qualification like ‘I thought,’ as in

Ex. 4 She looked happy, I thought.

Where C. is firmly convinced of the accuracy of his or her representation this can be indicated by such terms as ‘absolutely,’ ‘positively,’ as in

Ex. 5 She was positively radiant.

Ex. 6 It was an absolutely disastrous evening.

A.s should note these indications of C.’s commitment, and be wary of objecting if they do not wish to quarrel.

2 In written communications it is also possible to represent degrees of accuracy, but different ‘hedges’ must be used. In the most formal kinds of writing any uncertainty about accuracy is supposed to be edited out before the text is produced. Writing assumes that C.s have carefully presented the material to include only what they can vouch for. However, if it is still necessary to imply a reservation about accuracy; the acceptable hedges include ‘more or less,’ ‘roughly’ or ‘to a degree,’ as in

Ex. 7 The problem is one of, roughly, personnel.

Ex. 8 The lecture was more of a self-indulgence than anything.

Ex. 9 We found it was what one could call a personnel problem.

In the written form, such hedges would be more noticeable than in speech, and their existence will draw attention to the worry about accuracy. If this focus is not in C.’s interest hedges should not be used; A. may well interpret their presence to mean C. wants to put the accuracy on the interactional agenda.

Further reading Antaki (1988); Sonnino (1968)

ACCUSATION: CHOOSE

Task

To raise a matter of wrongdoing.

Description

In choosing accusation, a C. raises matters of guilt, blame, judgment, and standards. Once these are on the agenda they may have divisive effects, and can create oppositions. A useful accusation seeks not only to have blame attributed to the guilty, but also to begin the process of putting the situation right.

Persuasive value

Making an accusation, whether deserved or not, has several important persuasive consequences.

1 It risks interpersonal cooperation, not only between C. and the accused, but also with any others who might have a negative response to the accusation, so this act should be worth the risk.

2 It reveals C.’s attitudes to the matter under judgment (e.g. to lateness, to inefficiency) and shows how strongly these are held.

3 If made too strongly it can rebound on C. by causing others to sympathize with the accused.

N.B. If C. makes the accusation claiming that it is on behalf of others as well as him- or herself, the others must have agreed to it beforehand, or they may disclaim involvement and make C.’s position weak.

N.B. Accusation can be a useful mode of self-defense, as in ‘You say I should stick to the point, but it is you who keep digressing from it.’

See also Accuse

Further reading Mulholland (1991)

ACCUSE

Task

To bring a claim of wrongdoing against someone.

Description

To accuse is to say that someone has done something which C. feels is wrong. In making an accusation C. should intend not only to have blame attributed to the guilty one, but also to begin the process of putting the situation right.

Persuasive value

An accusation is often made without proof, and may be improper or inaccurate in detail or attribution of blame; it should therefore include a quality of tentativeness, and begin in general terms, so that C. can withdraw it if necessary with little loss of face.

The following examples show how selecting different modes of tentativeness can vary the strength of an accusation, beginning with the weakest version.

1 Allow that there may be no fault, and so provide a loophole in case withdrawal of the accusation is necessary:

Ex. 1 I notice there’s no sign of your report yet.

(i.e. there may be some problem in report delivery or it may be that you have not done it—if the first is true, no accusation would follow).

2 Do not directly name the accused:

Ex. 2 Someone has left the door open

3 Be non-specific about the nature of the fault:

Ex. 3 This report has not been done well.

4 Show only mild feeling about the matter that is wrong, and the accused’s role in it, as in both Examples 2 and 3.

5 Accuse the group of which A. is a member, rather than A. in person:

Ex. 4 Your service division has been slack about deliveries lately.

6 Name a consequence of the fault, which heightens it:

Ex. 5 Your section of the report is late, and has delayed the whole program.

7 Directly address the accused, show strong feeling, be specific, note that it is not a first offense, and name the consequences:

Ex. 6 Bill, your damned report is a week late, again, so ...