subject: Persuasion In Public Speaking - Cognitive Dissonance - Passionate Power Presentations - Range 9 [print this page] Cognitive dissonance is a powerful argument structure to use in persuading an audience. Cognitive dissonance occurs when you are presented with info that's inconsistent along with your attitudes, values or beliefs. This causes an uncomfortable emotional feeling as you consider or hold 2 contradictory ideas. Cognitive dissonance theory states that individuals are motivated to reduce dissonance by changing or rationalizing their attitudes, beliefs or behaviors when presented with a facts or a situation that violates their current attitudes, beliefs or behaviors.
Dissonance in Argument Structure
Making dissonance in a very speech will be a good method to influence your audience to vary their attitudes, beliefs and/or behaviors.
Illustrate Audience Pain -> Then Introduce Safety or Relief
To use cognitive dissonance in an argument, first introduce a problem or need that you recognize is most likely in violation or opposition to an perspective, belief or price held by the audience. This creates cognitive dissonance in the minds of your audience. You are doing this to make discomfort inside the person to urge their attention and to get them motivated to alter the uncomfortable internal situation.
You then introduce further info, a solution or various to the dissonant info that restores cognitive balance or equilibrium for the audience. By doing this, you create a logical and emotional road for the audience to travel down towards the answer you introduce.
An example of constructive use of dissonance would be to introduce the audience to the concept of private failure. Show them, through a vivid story, the fact that if they continue with their current limiting thoughts and behaviors and their justifications for personal inaction, that they might reach the top of their life having actualized but a fraction of their dreams and potential.
This should create dissonance in your audience. Most individuals hope to appreciate their dreams and to actualize to their greatest potential in life. If you share a vivid story viscerally highlighting the truth that the majority people never realize anywhere close to their full potential, you will create dissonance in those audience members that have high expectations of themselves and their lives.
Now, you'll introduce tools that teach the audence, personal empowerment, time management or any alternative activity that will allow them to require greater control over their lives and their results. By doing this, you will close the gap between the pain of dissonance they feel and their dream of where they would really like to be.
You have used dissonance to serve the audience. If you merely "tell" the audience: 'I have these tools that you'll be able to use" they're less possible to feel the motivation to act on their own behalf than they can be if you say "see, hear and feel this story of failure. This could be, and most likely will be you, statistically speaking. Doesn't this hurt? Well I've got tools that can enable you to avoid this pain AND gain the immense pleasure of non-public success."
