What two key elements make persuasion more ethical than manipulation and coercion?

Define persuasion, manipulation, and coercion. Your definitions should clearly distinguish the terms from one another. What two key elements make persuasion more ethical than manipulation and coercion?  Using specific examples from your experience, illustrate each of these three types of communication.

Persuasion is a non-violent way of making others believe what you want to communicate to them with the help of opening their hearts and minds with the help of facts and truth. This is one of the technique that is utilized by speakers in which they put forwards compelling arguments in front of the audience to carry them along. Persuasion has been reported to be more influential than any other forceful way (coercion) of influencing others in Africa to counter AIDS and create awareness among the people (Field, 2015).

Manipulation is also a way of influencing others to think or believe the way you want them to do. It is different from pure persuasion as you may employ non-ethical means to persuade others. For example the person who is trying to manipulate the opinions of other may use blunt lies to convince others. This is an effective way of influencing others but is not as long lasting as persuasion as manipulation techniques are identified sooner than later and may have adverse effects. This is what may happens in political speeches where the speakers may use jut anything to manipulate the public opinion. But when the time comes, the false promises that have been used to manipulate the public are not fulfilled and result in a backlash from the public.

Coercion is also a technique to influence others to act or think as desired but the use of force, oppression or mental torture may be utilized in this influencing process. Excessive power may be used to achieve obedience from others. For example an employer may threaten to fire employees if they do not sign a certain contract.

Manipulation and coercion are non-ethical when compared to persuasion. The main reasons are that lies and force are two factors that are utilized in manipulation and coercion while they are never used in persuasion. Persuasion is therefore, more desirable.

2. Discuss the concept of credibility. What is it? Why is it especially important in persuasive speeches? How can you establish credibility in the eyes of your audience? What behaviors should you avoid because they might detract from your credibility?

Credibility is a quality of a person who is trusted and believed in by others. This is a quality that most of the best leaders possess. Without credibility, the followers may doubt the capabilities of the leaders and may not opt to follow the leader.

Credibility is important in persuasive speeches. Research has suggested that if the source (person) of information is considered to be credible by the audience, they would be self-motivated to validate the information (Clark & Evans, 014). Therefore, I would argue here that credibility may also be used as a source of manipulation when trying to persuade the audience. But manipulation with the help of being a credible person is not a long term strategy as when the truth is revealed, the whole of credibility may be lost.

Credibility can be achieved in the eyes of the audience by putting forward facts to them in speeches and other communications. These facts should be in ways that are understandable and comprehendible by the audience. For example presenting statistical data could be one of the way to present facts to the audience. Being true is another way to create credibility. It might not be a good strategy in the short run but it would pay in the long run. Also it is important to have the required skills and knowledge that are expected of you by the audience.

Being deceitful, unprepared and manipulative could cause a person to detract from being credible. These behavior should be avoided to create a long lasting credibility.

3. Define “credibility” and explain why it’s important for a speaker to have credibility with the audience. Then select a specific topic and a specific audience. Explain how you would establish your own credibility as a speaker if you were presenting a speech about that topic to that audience.

Credibility is the quality of being trusted and believed by the audience for what you are delivering to them in a speech. In the field of marketing, the credibility of the endorser is important factor to get consumer’s attention (Sertoglu, Catl & Korkmaz, 2014). The credibility of the speaker is important because if the speaker is not credible, the audience may not believe what he/she is saying even if it is the truth and fact. The primary goal of a speaker is the audience along and successfully gain their attention. Can it be done without credibility? I seriously doubt it.

• I would select the topic of climate change to present to an audience. To establish my credibility I would utilize the following means.
• I would first let the audience know about my credentials that permit me to speak about the topic.
• I would then let them know about my true concerns about climate change and what it means for the humanity and our shared environment.
• I would then provide the audience statistical data that proves that climate change is affecting agriculture, forests, world temperature, human health and other areas.
• In the end, I would have a question answer session to engage the audience actively and effectively with my topic.

4. “Credibility exists in the mind of the audience, so there is nothing a speaker can do to change an audience’s perception of his/her credibility.” Agree or disagree with this statement. In your answer, refer to key elements that contribute to the credibility of a speaker.

I do not think that credibility always exists in the mind of the audience. If the statement that credibility exists in the mind of the audience is true, then the speaker would be left helpless and some people who have yet not got a change to create their credibility would be left helpless. In my opinion, credibility is a relevant term which can increase or decrease depending on circumstances. For example research has suggested that credibility can be increased with the help of effective eye contact with the audience (Beebe, 1994). The same way, if the speaker improves his/her speaking skills and becomes an authority on the topics that he/she speaks about, credibility could be increased with it. Making others trust you is a continuous process which positively influences their credibility. To strive to be credible should be considered as a process and not a static point in time.

5. Draw a diagram to illustrate social judgment theory. Include and explain the following terms: anchor, latitude of acceptance, latitude of rejection, latitude of non-commitment. How can knowledge of social judgment theory benefit you as a persuasive speaker?

Social judgment theory (SJT) is a self-persuasion theory proposed by Carolyn Sherif, Muzafer Sherif, and Carl Hovland according to which, when a person encounters new idea, they are compared to the present point of views of the person and a decision is made about where to place this idea on the attitude scale (Doherty & Kurz, 1996). Persuasion is the main theme of the theory. If the presenter of the idea is successful in persuading the receiver, the idea would be put at the highest level on the attitude scale on the subconscious level.

Figure 1: Social Judgment Process

I think that this theory can benefit me as a speaker as it would enable me to assess the quality of the message and also assess the level of acceptance or rejection among the listeners. I would then be able to make adjustments accordingly to increase the level of acceptance of the audience.

 

References

Beebe, S. A. (1994). Eye contact: A nonverbal determinant of speaker        credibility. Communication Education, 23(1), 21-25.

Clark, J. K., & Evans, A. T. (2014). Source Credibility and Persuasion The Role of Message         Position in Self-Validation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin,            0146167214534733.

Doherty, M. E., & Kurz, E. M. (1996). Social judgement theory. Thinking & Reasoning, 2(2-3),    109-140.

Field, M. A. (2015). Coercion as a tool in the Fight against AIDS: Persuasion is Preferable to        Force.

Sertoglu, A. E., Catl, O., & Korkmaz, S. (2014). Examining the effect of endorser credibility on   the consumers’ buying intentions: an empirical study in Turkey. International Review of           Management and Marketing, 4(1), 66.