Communication 265G Persuasion Paper

Select a situation where persuasion is desired; using a personal example with your family or with an organization that you belong to would be best. Drawing from the relevant sections of Chapter 15 and especially from the detailed discussion in the commentary to Chapter 15 (remember to click), identify, define and apply how you could use Cialdini’s six peripheral methods of persuasion and Burke’s notion of Consubstantiation (Identification).

Your paper should:

1) Describe the situation where persuasion was necessary. The best thing to do is choose a persuasive situation that you are personally involved in.

2) Explain the general idea behind Cialdini’s theory and how it works on the peripheral level rather than the central path to bring about persuasion; then show how you would specifically apply Cialdini’s six strategies to the situation.

3) When applying those, remember to first identify and define each of the strategies (reciprocation, commitment and consistency, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity).

4) Explain for each strategy, what mechanism was at play that would be working to cause persuasion.

5) Identify, define and show how Burke’s concept of Identification could be applied to the situation.

Paper should be 2-3 pages long, proof-read, standard font size and style, have a standard essay format: introduction (attention getter, thesis statement, preview), body (main points and supporting material), and conclusion (summary and memorable reinforcement of central idea). If you just use definitions from my commentary, no additional citation is necessary.