Persuasive Words

     I didn’t think I would learn that much from my class, Interpersonal Communication, but you know, I have learned something once again. I knew about people being persuasive through speech, but did you know that the Greek philosopher, Aristotle (384-322 B.C.), described three forms of rhetorical proof. Rhetorical proof are ways to support a persuasive argument. Aristotle explained that persuasive messages could be supported by appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos. Let me explain these three appeals.

1)      Appealing to Ethos:

      Don’t you think that a speaker who appears to be trustworthy and respectable is more persuasive than another speaker who is not? The term, ethos, was used by Aristotle to refer to a speaker’s trustworthiness, respectability, and moral personality. This is why speakers reinforce their ethos since they know it will enhance their abilities in persuasiveness.

2)      Appealing to Pathos:

      Don’t you agree that most people run on emotions? When people are emotionally aroused, then new ideas are raised and enhanced. Pathos was referred to listeners’ emotions since emotions are a major persuasive tool.

3)      Appealing to logos:

Don’t you agree that people use their ability of reasoning? Humans have the capability to sort out what’s right, what’s wrong, and what makes sense. People are more inclined to go towards reasoning in their particular belief, behavior, and opinion level. But, logical appeals aren’t always effective when it comes down to an addiction, which influences and alters a person’s behavior. As you may have guessed, logos refers to a listener’s ability to reason. But, what does reason really mean? Reason means to think, understand, and form judgments, which in all, is a process of logic.

     I knew that persuasiveness does involve a lot of work, but it involves a lot more than I thought. Well, at least I learned the three areas that it involves in. Maybe I’ll be better at persuading others now…..well, I’ll work on that. I’m too shy to even really talk. So the shyness needs to go first, then the persuading techniques will come next. 


     If you want to learn more about Aristotle's persuasion theory, here are a few websites to check out:


          http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/ethos-pathos-logos/

          http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-rhetoric/

Humans Need Social Interactions

     Could you live without your family and friends? Would you feel relieved to have no one to share memories with, or would you feel lonely and depressed? I know I would feel depressed if I had no human interaction. I would probably go insane.

     It is proven that humans need social interaction to survive. Have you heard of the German Emperor, Frederick II (1194 – 1250)? He was known for doing experiments on humans. One of his experiments was with infants. He took infants from their mothers and raised them without human interaction. His objective was to find out what language the infants would speak once they were old enough to speak, but instead all of the infants died because there was no human interaction.

     Why does social relationships matter? We form relationships because we need that human interaction. We need-to-belong. Need-to-belong is a hypothesis that says each of us is born with a fundamental drive to seek, form, maintain, and protect strong social relationships. With these relationships, it brings us rewards three rewards.

      1)      Emotionally:

         Friends provide us with emotional support and encouragement during times of emotional turmoil. Friends also bring us happiness.  

      2)      Materially:

         Relationships help us meet our material needs like food, shelter, money, and transportation. Humans love to share with others that they feel close with.

      3)      Medically:

         Relationships bring happiness and relaxation, which helps to deal with negative effects of stress, and helps us to deal with illnesses. Stress as we all know has many negative effects on the body such as sleep deprivation, unhealthy weight gain, and decrease in white cell counts.

     I for one do need human interaction and relationships. I know without my family, friends, and my loving boyfriend I would be depressed and lonely. During my first year of college, I didn’t have any friends, and my family was a few hours away. So I had no one, which caused me to have depression and loneliness. I became unhealthy; was getting sick quite a bit, and felt sluggish. When I moved back home, I became healthier, and full of energy because of that human interaction. Family and friends took the stress off of my back with laughter. Did you know that laughter gives you dopamine and endorphins? Health benefit right there!

     Here’s a good link to read about “touch” and human interactions:

          http://www.chisuk.org.uk/articles/result.php?key=63

Body Language

     Communication can come in two forms from what I have found out in my Interpersonal Communication class. There is verbal communication as in language, and then there is nonverbal communication as in gestures, facial expressions, and body language.

     

     Body language is a major form of communication. Humans use body language in there daily lives to communicate with others even when we don’t mean to. You can see if someone is bored with your conversation, sad, angry, confused, or even lying. Did you know that body language is studied by politicians? They use body language to communicate with voters. Voters look for someone energetic, which makes the voters energetic as well. I know, I don’t want to vote for a politician that is slouching, and unenthusiastic in their gestures. I want someone who passionate about what they are trying to say.

     Body language has been around for….well…ever, but it hasn’t really been studied to the full extent until Dr. Paul Ekman came around. He began his research on body language in 1945. As Dr. Ekman researched facial expressions of emotion, he found that facial expressions are not culturally determined, but is universal across human cultures. What this means is that facial expression are biological. The expressions he found that are universal are anger, disgust, shame, joy, sadness, and surprise. As of today, Dr. Ekman is still researching body language, and developing techniques to distinguish and measure facial muscular movements.

     To learn more about Dr. Ekman and his research, here are a few great links to check out:

          https://face.paulekman.com/face/default.aspx?override=1

          http://www.paulekman.com/research/currentprojects/

     Body language can be read even by you! Here are a few easy steps to get you started in reading body language.

      1)      Hands and fingers:

         Hands can have many expressions. If the palms are open, that means they are relaxed and not on defense. A pointing finger can mean a person is pointing to an object or a place, or it can indicate anger. Drumming or tapping fingers can indicate frustration and tension.   

      2)      Eyes and eyebrows:

         People who look to the sides a lot are nervous, distracted or lying. If someone is looking down at the floor a lot, they shy or timid. Dilated pupils mean that the person is interested. If their eyes seem far away, that usually indicates that a person is either not listening or just in deep thought. 

      3)      Arms:

         People with crossed arms are displaying defense, authority, or discomfort. If someone has their arms behind their neck or head, they are open to what is being discussed and comfortable.

     I'm not very good at reading body language. I think it has to do with the fact that I'm a very shy person. I shall try harder now since I know the basics in reading body language. You should try it as well. If you are interested in more ways to identify what body language means, here are a few educational links:

          http://www.wikihow.com/Read-Body-Language

          http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Read-Body-Language---Top-10-Tips&id=991635

Attraction Theory

     We all know that others are attracted to someone you may find not attractive. In high school and college I had friends that were attracted to this athlete that was popular and well, good looking. My friends were in aw of this fellow. He was physically attractive, but someone I wouldn’t go out with. He didn’t have humor, he didn’t have brains, and most of all, he was a player. I for one am attracted to a man who has brains, humor, respectful, cute in appearance and personality, and who loves to play video games as much as I do. I have found this man, my beloved Kenneth. He means everything to me. He’s not just my boyfriend, but my best friend in the world.

     What is “attraction theory”, although?  There is interpersonal attraction, which is any force that draws people together to make a relationship. There is physical attraction, which is attraction to a person’s physical appearance. There is social attraction, which is attraction to a person’s personality. Lastly, there is task attraction, which is someone’s abilities and dependability that is attractive.  However, there are four especially powerful factors of attraction that research suggests: personal appearance, proximity, similarity, and complementarity. 

      1)      Personal Appearance of Attraction:

       Humans are highly visually oriented, which motivates a person to get to know someone better they find physically attracted to. Humans have always valued and appreciate physical attractiveness. Throughout history, humans wanted mates that were more physically attractive.

      2)      Proximity of Attraction:

       Firstly, what does proximity mean? Proximity is how close/near people live or work and how they interact. Humans are more likely to form friendships and relationships with others that they see often.

      3)      Similarity of Attraction:

       Think about your friends or spouse. Think about their personalities, beliefs, experiences, and interests. Now think about yourself. You probably have a lot in common with them, don’t you. We often find people that are similar to us more comfortable and familiar to interact with. It almost seems as if we already know them from inside and out because of common interests. Humans find similarity to be attractive because of social validation to find people who are similar, and because of our genetic interests. Genetic interests? Yes, our primitive ancestors distinguished relatives from nonrelatives because of physical appearance and behavior.

      4)      Complementary of Attraction:

       There is a saying that says, “Opposites attract.” Why is this though? No one is going to be exactly the same. Everyone differs in one way or another. We attract others that are opposite because we see their differences as complementary. Complementary refers to as benefits to ourselves because others provide a quality that we lack. The key to this, although, is that the people involved have to see their differences as positive just to get along. Shy people may be attracted to someone outgoing because that way the shy person can be more sociable. Makes sense, right?

     I know Kenneth and I have similar interests, but we are also the opposite. I was never interested in computers until he taught me about them. I’m not interested in technology like he is. Kenneth is always, always looking up and researching new ideas for future technology, while I’m looking at new ways to bake a cake. *Giggles* We are different in others ways, and it makes a relationship VERY interesting.