Fear Appeals and Figures of Speech

Fear Appeals (Negative Motivation)

• Fear appeals use fear to motivate behavioral change, highlighting negative consequences.
• Effective fear appeals require the audience to perceive the threat as severe, the solution as effective and attainable, and personal vulnerability.

Five Types of Figures of Speech

• Metaphor: Implied comparison between unlike things (e.g., "Time is a thief").
• Simile: Comparison using "like" or "as" (e.g., "She's as brave as a lion").
• Hyperbole: Deliberate exaggeration (e.g., "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse").
• Personification: Attributing human qualities to inanimate objects (e.g., "The wind whispered").
• Alliteration: Repetition of initial consonant sounds (e.g., "She sells seashells").

Specific Purpose Statement

• A specific purpose statement defines the speaker's aims in a speech, addressing audience needs.
• Example: "To inform my audience about the benefits of renewable energy."

Four Parts of an Introduction

• Attention Getter: Hooks the audience (story, quote, question).
• Credibility Statement: Establishes the speaker's qualifications.
• Thesis Statement: Clearly states the main idea.
• Preview: Outlines the main points.

Social Judgment Theory

• Social Judgment Theory explains how audiences evaluate messages based on pre-existing attitudes.
• Audiences categorize messages into latitudes of acceptance, rejection, and non-commitment.
• Messages closer to current beliefs are more likely to be accepted.

Overcoming Nervousness and Anxiety

• Five techniques for managing speaking anxiety include: thorough practice, visualization, focusing on the message, adopting relaxation exercises, and starting with familiar content.

The Model of Public Speaking as Communication

• Key components of public speaking include the sender (speaker), message, and channel (medium).

Logical Fallacies

• Ad Hominem: Attacking the person instead of the argument.
• Straw Man: Misrepresenting an argument to make it easier to attack.
• Red Herring: Distracting from the main issue.
• Appeal to Ignorance: Claiming something is true because it hasn't been proven false.
• False Dichotomy: Presenting only two options.
• Hasty Generalization: Drawing conclusions from insufficient evidence.
• Circular Reasoning: The conclusion is included in the premise.
• Slippery Slope: Claiming one event will lead to a chain of events.

Ethos, Pathos, Logos

• Ethos: Speaker's credibility.
• Pathos: Emotional appeal.
• Logos: Logical argument and evidence.

Extemporaneous Speaking

• Extemporaneous speaking involves limited preparation, using notes but not reading verbatim.

Rules of Visual Aids

• Visual aids should be simple, relevant, and visible to the entire audience.

Speech Patterns

• Chronological: Organised by time sequence.
• Spatial: Arranged based on location or direction.
• Cause-Effect: Showing cause-and-effect relationships.
• Problem-Solution: Presenting problems and solutions.
• Topical: Dividing topics into subtopics.
• Comparative: Comparing and contrasting.

The CRAAP Model

• Currency: Is the information up-to-date?
• Relevance: Does it relate to the topic?
• Authority: Who is the author?
• Accuracy: Is the information accurate and supported?
• Purpose: Why does this information exist?

Motivated Sequence

• Attention: Capture the audience's attention.
• Need: Establish the problem or need.
• Satisfaction: Offer a solution.
• Visualization: Show the benefits of the solution.
• Action: Encourage the audience to act.