Sunday, April 29, 2012
Discussion Question 3
Understanding argument: Using Evidence Effectively.
The evidence one presents in a speech is the foundation for justifying the
claims that have been made. The introduction of evidence is essential for the
audience to understand and begin to accept the presenter’s assertions. In
presentation of evidence the speaker relies on the four varieties appeals: Logos:
Appeals to Logic, Ethos: Appeals to Speaker Credibility, Pathos: Appeals to
Emotion, and Mythos: Appeals to Cultural Beliefs. The appeal to logic is often a very effective structure for
presenting evidence. “Logical appeals rely on appearing reasonable and rational
to influence an audience” (Coopman 307). This form of evidence is often easily
verifiable, therefore, very receptive by the audience. Commonly this type of
appeal is in the form of current statistical data, facts, definitions, or
expert opinions. One thing to consider when presenting this type of evidence it
is important NOT to present a “Long lists of facts and statistics that can
overwhelm your listeners and cause them to lose interest”(Coopman 308).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
You are right in saying that presenting evidence is the first step in providing justification or clarification for any given topic. Without evidence, the audience has no way of understanding why the presenter feels the way they do on a topic or why the majority should also agree with them. It is interesting when we look as the relationship between logic and rational behavior and how important these factors are to an audience. I think there is a very good reason that every introduction in a speech should have an establishing credibility section. This sections becomes even more important in persuasive speeches as an audience is less likely to consider a speaker credible if they are not presented with hard evidence.
ReplyDelete