Essay Sample on Media and Persuasion Speech

Introduction

Persuasion refers to the collective term for influence. Persuasion attempts to influence the beliefs, motivations, behaviors, intentions and attitudes of an individual. Persuasion is a process that is aimed at changing the attitude and behavior of a person towards an idea, person, event or object (Michael & Thorson, 2016). The spoken words and visual effects used convey the intended information, reasoning, feelings, or the combination of all.

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Brief History: Aristotle

Persuasion is thought to have begun with the Greeks as they give more emphasis on elocution and Rhetoric to being the most important elements for being a successful politician.

Rhetoric

Rhetoric is the ultimate art of persuasion and is one of the three important ancient arts of disclosure together with logic and grammar. Rhetoric studies the speaker's need to persuade, inform and motivate audiences in specific situations. Rhetoric offers heuristics for discovering, understanding and the development of arguments that are meant for particular situations. Aristotle came up with the three audience appeals that include; ethos, pathos and logos (Walton, 2007).

Ethos, Pathos and Logos in Persuasion

The most important elements of persuasion provided by Aristotle are the proofs which he called; logos, ethos, and pathos. These proofs of persuasion are used to support and defend one's ideas. Ethos is proofs that make the speaker's argument credible and believable. Pathos is usually designed so as to affect the feelings of the audience. Logos uses reasoning in convincing the audience (Michael & Thorson, 2016).

Canons of Rhetoric

These canons of rhetoric include:

• Style - Presenting ideas and arguments in a manner that stirs emotions.
• Invention - Finding new ways of persuading the audience.
• Arrangement - Assembling the structures of a coherent argument.
• Memory - Presenting an argument without preparing or memorizing a speech.
• Delivery - Use of elements of speech such as voice and gestures to convey the message (Dunn & Goodnight, 2016).

The five canons of rhetoric are the phases of developing and delivering a persuasive speech. For the purpose of this discussion; we will choose two of these elements (Invention and Delivery) and show how two media examples illustrate them.

Concepts of Rhetoric

Concept 1: Invention

This refers to the ability of the speaker to find new and interesting ways to persuade the audience. The invention is a central element as it is the main method in discovering arguments. The invention is used in the thought process to develop an effective idea and argument that is compelling and convincing. The invention is able to help the speaker with ideas and instructions that help in composing arguments appropriate for the given rhetorical setting. This helps to add depth in the message that is being communicated.

Concept 2: Delivery

Delivery refers to the capacity of the speaker to make effective use of voices, gestures and other forms of speech to convey the message to the recipients. This cannon also involves pronunciation, tone as well as the pace that is used in presenting a persuasive argument (Walton, 2007). The message to be conveyed should be made easy to comprehend as well as short so as to catch the attention of the audience.

Media Examples

The above two concepts of persuasion will be utilized in demonstrating how the cannons of rhetoric are applied in day to day activities by various media of communication. The two chosen media examples are television commercials that are also available on YouTube. Nair Shaving Commercial and Clapper and Clapper plus 60 are two commercials that illustrate the two persuasive concepts discussed above (Invention and Delivery).

This being the era of technological advancements, large numbers of people watch the television and videos in other media platforms such as YouTube. Many companies have opted to use these avenues to advertise their products by persuading their targeted audience to buy their products due to the increase in competition. The discussion below will show how these companies use invention and delivery which are cannons of rhetoric in persuading their potential customers.

Media Example 1: Nair Shaving Commercial

The developers of this ad by Nair utilized the canon of the invention to come up with a new idea and a new way of persuading their potential customers through showing the customer how to use their products and the outcome (Internet Lurker, 2008). The smooth shave is the central argument that the ad presents so as to lure customers in buying the product.

The mode of delivery of the message is also unique and creative. The tone in the voice is soft hence goes hand in hand with the smooth shave after using the product. The use of music, dancing, colourful bikinis and other gestures also makes the commercial enjoyable hence catching the attention of the potential buyer.

Media Example 2: Clapper and Clapper plus 60

This commercial is able to use the concept of Invention as it is able to come up with the argument that people would love to switch of light and other gadgets with just a clap and not actually going to the switch. This argument targets the elderly population who would love to do everything on the comfort of their chair hence the claim is persuasive (JeiTV, 2008).

The ad also applies various features of delivery such as the use of music, the sound effect of clapping, and the actual demonstration of what happens. These gestures sound effects and dramatization persuades the potential client to try their product as it seems cool.

References

Dunn, D. M., & Goodnight, L. J. (2016). Communication: Embracing Difference. Routledge.

Internet Lurker, (2008). Nair Shaving Commercial. Retrieved from; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJAj5pJ8oqM&feature=youtu.be/

JeiTV, (2008). Clapper and Clapper Plus 60. Retrieved from; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0viUrw0hEKg&feature=youtu.be/

Michael Korcok , Thorson, (2016). Contemporary Argumentation and Rhetoric Second Edition. Kendall Hunt Publishers

Walton, D. (2007). Media Argumentation: Dialectic, Persuasion and Rhetoric. Cambridge University Press.