The Language of Persuasion

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The Language of Persuasion

The goal of most media messages is to persuade the audience to believe or do something. Hollywood movies

use expensive special effects to make us believe that what we're seeing is real. News stories use several

techniques - such as direct quotation of identified sources - to make us believe that the story is accurate.

The media messages most concerned with persuading us are found in advertising, public relations and

advocacy. Commercial advertising tries to persuade us to buy a product or service. Public relations (PR) "sells"

us a positive image of a corporation, government or organization. Politicians and advocacy groups (groups that

support a particular belief, point of view, policy, or action) try to persuade us to vote for or support them, using

ads, speeches, newsletters, websites, and other means.

These "persuaders" use a variety of techniques to grab our attention, to establish credibility and trust, to

stimulate desire for the product or policy, and to motivate us to act (buy, vote, give money, etc.)

We call these techniques the "language of persuasion." They're not new; Aristotle wrote about persuasion

techniques more than 2000 years ago, and they've been used by speakers, writers, and media makers for

even longer than that.

Learning the language of persuasion is an important media literacy skill. Once you know how media messages

try to persuade you to believe or do something, you'll be better able to make your own decisions.

Advertising is the easiest starting point: most ads are relatively simple in structure, easily available, and in their

original format. Media literacy beginners are encouraged to learn the language of persuasion by examining

ads. Keep in mind that many media messages, such as television commercials, use several techniques

simultaneously. Others selectively employ one or two.

Political rhetoric - whether used by politicians, government officials, lobbyists, or activists - is more difficult to

analyze, not only because it involves more emotional issues, but also because it is more likely to be seen in

bits and fragments, often filtered or edited by others. Identifying the persuasion techniques in public discourse

is important because the consequences of that discourse are so significant - war and peace, justice and

injustice, freedom and oppression, and the future of our planet. Learning the language of persuasion can help

us sort out complex emotional arguments, define the key issues, and make up our own minds about the

problems facing us.

NOTE: We've divided our list of persuasion techniques into three levels: Basic, Intermediate and Advanced.

Basic techniques are easily identified in many media examples, and they are a good starting point for all

learners. Identifying many intermediate techniques may require more critical distance, and they should usually

be investigated after learners have mastered the basics. More abstraction and judgment may be required to

identify the advanced techniques, and some learners may find them difficult to understand. However, even

media literacy beginners may be able to spot some of the intermediate or advanced techniques, so feel free to

examine any of the persuasion techniques with your group. Media Literacy Project

medialiteracyproject.org

Created by the Media Literacy Project. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0

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Basic persuasion techniques

1. Association. This persuasion technique tries to link a product, service, or idea with something already liked

or desired by the target audience, such as fun, pleasure, beauty, security, intimacy, success, wealth, etc. The

media message doesn't make explicit claims that you'll get these things; the association is implied. Association

can be a very powerful technique. A good ad can create a strong emotional response and then associate that

feeling with a brand (family = Coke, victory = Nike). This process is known as emotional transfer. Several of

the persuasion techniques below, like Beautiful people, Warm & fuzzy, Symbols and Nostalgia, are specific

types of association.

2. Bandwagon. Many ads show lots of people using the product, implying that "everyone is doing it" (or at

least, "all the cool people are doing it"). No one likes to be left out or left behind, and these ads urge us to

"jump on the bandwagon." Politicians use the same technique when they say, "The American

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