Humor and Persuasion free essay sample

Humor and Persuasion Jake Swenson 5/30/2011 The actor John Cleese once said, If I can get you to laugh with me, you like me better, which makes you more open to my ideas. And if I can persuade you to laugh at the particular point I make, by laughing at it you acknowledge its truth. † (Mortensen, 2004) Humor disarms an audience, making them more likely to open up to you. In a book by Kurt Mortensen, called â€Å"Maximum influence: the 12 universal laws of power persuasion†, he stated: †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦once your prospects feel comfortable with you, they will be more in tune to your message and more likely to remain attentive.Perhaps most powerful of all, in our fast-paced culture where most things are fleeting, they remember you and continue to hold you in a positive light long after the initial exchange. When you leverage the element of humor, any message coming from you receives more weight than one that comes from someone who has not created the audience rapport you have a chieved. We will write a custom essay sample on Humor and Persuasion or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page † (W. , 2004) The use of humor in persuasion is a technique that has been the source of many studies. A parallel between the humor and an audience’s influenced nature, however, has still yet to be quantifiably substantiated as a legitimate source of persuasive prowess.As stated in a publication written for the Journal of General Psychology by Jim Little, called â€Å"The effectiveness of humor in persuasion: The case of business ethics training,† he recognizes that, â€Å"Humor is presumed to aid in persuasion in both advertising (Heinecke, 1997) and education (Wallinger, 1997), but empirical research has rarely been able to demonstrate these effects (Bryant, Comisky, Crane, Zillmann, 1980; Gruner Freshley, 1979). It is not yet clear whether the investment of time and effort in the use of humor in persuasion is justified† (Lyttle, 2001).Modern day examples of persuasion are in advertisements. The main point of an advertisement is to supply varying detail s to the listener to convince them that their product, event etc. is worth their time, money, etc. Many advertisements use humor, which seems like a great asset to assist in persuasion. However, as stated by Dorothy Markiewicz written in an article named, â€Å"Effects of Humor on Persuasion†: â€Å"Those concerned with politics, advertising, or rhetoric often suggest that humor enhances the effectiveness of a persuasive message.Yet research considering the effects of humor on message effectiveness suggests that its contribution is questionable† (Markiewicz, 1974. ) However debated the effectiveness of the use of humor in persuasion may be the general psychology of its far reaching and unifying effects is much more easily recognized. In general, the more people involved in a situation, the more we laugh. For example, when a movie theater is packed, the laughter tends to be greater and last longer than when there are only four people in the audience. This is one of the reasons why TV producers use canned laughter in their programming.Often the scenario being acted out really isn’t even that funny, but studies show that the use of laugh tracks actually gets us to laugh more (Mortensen, 2010). Whether the material even registered as being funny or not, we are more inclined to laugh along if we hear others laughing. Thus, the affect had on the audience is a allowing them to feel persuaded to agree that what was being said was actually funny. This scenario of unifying an audience with laughter has a disarming effect. Humor can make a person feel warm and comfortable therefore kicking into gear the heuristic theory.This theory states that a person is bound to be influenced by past experiences and intrinsic desires rather that systematic processing. For example, if a consumer preferred to buy name brand products (heuristic cue) and then read an article in a computer magazine (systematic processing) arguing that name-brand computers were superior to generic â€Å"clones,† the two forms of processing would reinforce each other (Gass Seiter, pp. 58). Instead of consciously putting in the effort to find the best product, it’s easy to just go with what feels right. One way that humor might be effective in persuasion is by creating positive affect. People who are in a good mood are less likely to disagree with a persuasive message and more likely to rely on heuristic/peripheral cues† (Lyttle, 2001). Obviously an adverse affect would be that if humor happened to be at the expense of the target, making them feel uncomfortable and in a bad mood. Now, no longer trusting of the source and their feelings, the client may switch to a critical evaluation of the persuasion at hand. As a guest speaker I have the opportunity to put into practice these theories and techniques daily.I have also experienced that in an attempt to unify my audience in laughter so as to disarm and appeal to their accepting natures I comically singled out an individual. Drawing on their response to my comment I discovered that I was successful in alienating that person from my purposes and essentially lost their interest and trust. Other risks of the use of humor in persuasion include causing offense to be taken by your audience should they not agree with your brand of humor, its sexual nature, its racy content or simply the time of day, the lighting of the room or the size of the audience at the time of its delivery.In another article by Kurt Mortensen at PositiveArticles. com he offers; â€Å"There are many other less apparent factors that influence humor. Have you ever considered factors such as what time of day it is, the number of people in your audience or even the layout and li ghting of the room? All of these things can influence how your humor will come across. As far as time of day, mornings are typically more stressful, since it is then when most people are confronted with all the demands that await them.Under certain circumstances, this stressfulness may be precisely the type of mood you’re looking for. Other times, you may want an audience that’s a little more relaxed. When people are on a lunch break or winding down for the day and readying themselves to leave work, you may find that they are more receptive to a good joke† (K. Mortensen, 2010). References Lyttle, J. (2000). The effectiveness of humor in persuasion: the case of business ethics training. The Journal of General Psychology, 128(2), 206-217. Markiewicz, D. (1974).

Dulce Et Decorum Est Essays - Dulce Et Decorum Est, Wilfred Owen

Dulce Et Decorum Est Essays - Dulce Et Decorum Est, Wilfred Owen Dulce et Decorum Est Based on the Poem "Dulce et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owens The poem is one of the most powerful ways to convey an idea or opinion. Through vivid imagery and compelling metaphors, the poem gives the reader the exact feeling the author wanted. The poem "Dulce et Decorum Est," an anti-war poem by Wilfred Owen, makes great use of these devices. This poem is very effective because of its excellent manipulation of the mechanical and emotional parts of poetry. Owen's use of exact diction and vivid figurative language emphasizes his point, showing that war is terrible and devastating. Furthermore, the utilization of extremely graphic imagery adds even more to his argument. Through the effective use of all three of these tools, this poem conveys a strong meaning and persuasive argument. The poem's use of excellent diction helps to more clearly define what the author is saying. Words like "guttering", "choking", and "drowning" not only show how the man is suffering, but that he is in terrible pain that no human being should endure. Other words like writhing and froth-corrupted say precisely how the man is being tormented. Moreover, the phrase "blood shod" shows how the troops have been on their feet for days, never resting. Also, the fact that the gassed man was "flung" into the wagon reveals the urgency and occupation with fighting. The only thing they can do is toss him into a wagon. The fact one word can add to the meaning so much shows how the diction of this poem adds greatly to its effectiveness. Likewise, the use of figurative language in this poem also helps to emphasize the points that are being made. As Perrine says, people use metaphors because they say "...what we want to say more vividly and forcefully..." Owen capitalizes greatly on this by using strong metaphors and similes. Right off in the first line, he describes the troops as being "like old beggars under sacks." This not only says that they are tired, but that they are so tired they have been brought down to the level of beggars who have not slept in a bed for weeks on end. Owen also compares the victim's face to the devil, seeming corrupted and baneful. A metaphor even more effective is one that compares "...vile, incurable sores..." with the memories of the troops. It not only tells the reader how the troops will never forget the experience, but also how they are frightening tales, ones that will the troops will never be able to tell without remembering the extremely painful experience. These comparisons illustrate the point so vividly that they increase the effectiveness of the poem. The most important means of developing the effectiveness of the poem is the graphic imagery. They evoke such emotions so as to cause people to become sick. The images can draw such pictures that no other poetic means can, such as in line twenty-two: "Come gargling from the froth corrupted lungs." This can be disturbing to think about. It shows troops being brutally slaughtered very vividly, evoking images in the reader's mind. In the beginning of the poem the troops were portrayed as "drunk with fatigue." With this you can almost imagine large numbers of people dragging their boots through the mud, tripping over their own shadow. Later in the poem when the gas was dropped, it painted a psychological image that would disturb the mind. The troops were torn out of their nightmarish walk and surrounded by gas bombs. How everyone, in "an ecstasy of fumbling" was forced to run out into the mist, unaware of their fate. Anyone wanting to fight in a war would become nervous at the image of himself running out into a blood bath. The graphic images displayed here are profoundly affecting and can never be forgotten. The poem ties it all together in the last few lines. In Latin, the phrase "Dulce et decorum est pro partria mori" means: "It is sweet and becoming to die for one's country." Owen calls this a lie by using good diction, vivid comparisons, and graphic images to have the reader feel disgusted at what war is capable of. This poem is

See the topic Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

See the topic - Assignment Example She finds it difficult to find her identity in gender as she had female instincts with a male body. She narrates her family’s history and the beginning of her gene mutation that was aimed at transforming her DNA in order to fully exist in the female gender. In order to solve her gender confusion problem, she introduces her body to unique genetic make-up. On realizing Dr. Luce’s plan, Calliope runs away and changes her identity to Cal who is a boy. Cal relocates to San Francisco where he finds a job in a club that eventually gets raided by the police and he ends up being arrested for being an underage worker. Cal’s family comes to collect him in jail so as to attend his grandfather’s burial. This is where he finds out that his grandparents were siblings which resulted to his genital crisis but promises the grandmother to keep the secret till after her grandmother’s death. People with improper genetalia structure experience difficulties in the labour market as a result of their transsexual in gender. Many of these people are born with a gender type different from their mental perception of themselves (Nanda 114). They tend to change their gender to suit their mental comfort at a later stage in life. This forces them to change their original identity to suit their ultimate gender type. They are forced to change their names in all their legal documents which is a long process thus affecting their potential in the labour market as the transformation process (Agustà ­n 167). Slaughter uses the phrase ‘having it all’ in reference to Calliope’s gender confusion. The phrase summarizes the life of Calliope in both the male and female gender forms. This is portrayed in the first chapter of the novel Middle sex when Calliope begins her life story by saying, â€Å"I was born twice, first as a girl in 1960 and then again as a teenage boy† (Eugenides 3). Calliope Stephanides had improper genes which made her