Public Oral Communications Lecture 7 – Flashcards

common grounds you locate between yourself and your composite audience that will allow you to build conviction toward your conclusion Empirical Starting points: Dealing in certainty, concrete evidence Topical Starting points: Are able to establish a consensus to build on in areas where there is no certainty

what motivates the leap from something familiar or acceptable that your audience feels comfortable with, to your claim that is unfamiliar, strange, or difficult to accept. Enthymematic warrants: Ethos (argue by example) Pathos (argue by implication) Syllogistic warrants: Logos (Argue by inference)

establishes common ground

certain, factual

These float around our communities, circulate through our lives, are picked up and used by all of us, and inform our judgments. They can be prejudicial and narrow minded, but they also index the values of community and provide resources for thinking.

brings a vivid picture to our eyes that makes the argument compelling

Can the sign be found without the thing

Answer to why something happened--we can't always determine the direct cause of things

Clarify an unfamiliar subject by comparing an unknown relationship with a known relationship

False or misleading arguments

1. Compare the relevant similarities of the relationship. 2. Compare the relevant dissimilarities of the relationship. 3. Weigh the strength of (1) against (2).

A good example brings a picture before our eyes that makes its inference compelling. Examples may not be statistically sound

unlike mathematical proofs, rhetorical proofs haves degrees of support ranging from strong to weak. As a result, both speakers and listeners must evaluate proofs critically, testing them rather than taking them for granted.