Persuasion And Communication In Communication

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The concept of persuasion has been present even since the ancient times where eminent scientists, like Aristotle or Plato, had their own contribution to defining it. In the contemporary world, however, many scholars extend the conception of this phenomenon. Kenneth Andersen (1971) gives a basic definition of persuasion, namely “a communication process in which the communicator seeks to elicit a desired response from his receiver” (p. 6). According to Daniel O’Keefe (1990), persuasion process is “a successful intentional effort at influencing another's mental state through communication in a circumstance in which the persuadee has some measure of freedom” (p. 17) However, Erwin Bettinghaus and Michael Cody (1987) describes persuasion as “a…show more content…
8). Persuasion is a slow process which demands time. It can be compared to teaching. Hardly ever is there a situation where a student may learn effectively in a matter of seconds. It takes time and some steps to achieve desired results. What is more, persuasion contains symbols. It can be some words, non-verbal signs or images. They serve as tools to influence thinking and change opinions (Perloff, 2003). Moreover, one has to be aware of having an impact on people while using persuasion. It is connected with the term of social influence which might be defined as process in which all actions of a person modify the behaviour and opinions of another. This person may create various measures to urge and they do not have to be originally destined specifically for their use. In persuasion, these messages have to be sent on purpose (Perloff,…show more content…
The elements of persuasive messages Messages play the main role in persuasion. They are tools by which people may influence and convince others. In order to understand the process of persuasion, it is necessary to analyse messages. According to Richard Perloff (2003), there are three types of message dimension: the structure of a message, its content and language, that is how words and signs are used while persuading. The first type is about the organization and preparation of a message. It seems that the one-sided message, that stands for only one point of view, is more appropriate for persuasion because a person may focus to introduce arguments for only one side. However, “(…) two-sided messages influence attitudes more than one-sided messages, provided one very important condition is met: the message refutes opposition arguments” (Perloff, 2003, p. 178). Two-sided messages inform the receiver that the persuader has nothing to hide and is aware of different views on the particular topic. Discussing the structure of message, it is significant to mention the presence of conclusion. Due to this adjunct, the message becomes more coherent to a persuaded person and thus, the viewpoint of sender is more clear to this

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