Persuasion According to Perloff and Campaigns - Essay Example

Persuasive websites are used to persuade the Internet audience about anything that one can think of. Companies are in business simply because they focus on how best to persuade an audience. The messages that are broadcast on the Internet, television, in print, etc., use all sorts of persuasive techniques, from flattery, empathy, nonverbal communication and likeability appeals. Symbols are used, such as symbols of wealth and prestige, or symbols of social consciousness – entering a Nordstrom and seeing a fashionable man playing the piano is an example of the former, a Benetton ad featuring a dying AIDS patient is an example of the latter.

Some persuasive appeals are disguised as news. Whatever is being persuaded, there is a theory behind how it works, and this is the focus of this particular essay. Along with the focus on how it works will be analysis of how persuasion is employed in campaigns, as well as how persuasion is used to shape and mold public opinion.How Persuasion WorksPerloff (2008) states that persuasion first involves the persuader’s awareness that he or she is trying to influence somebody else (p. 15). Therefore, a dog or a cat who curries favor from their owners, in order to get foods or treats, would not be considered to be persuading, because they do not have the awareness that their owner wants to change.

Persuasion is symbolic and is really a step-by-step process. The symbols that might be used might be symbols with cultural meanings, such as the flag, a Star of David, or a Holy Cross. It may be attained by images, such as the Nike swoop or the McDonald’s golden arches (Perloff, 2008). Moreover, persuaders do not really operate by persuading others to do something that they really don’t want to do, but, really, persuadable people really persuade themselves to change. The communicators just provide the argument for them to do so (Perloff, 2008).

Brock & Green (2005) state that there are different domains of persuasion. One of the domains is attitude.