Page 423 - Between One and Many The Art and Science of Public Speaking

390 Part 4 Contexts for Public Speaking

Communicator Audience Route to Persuasion Result
and Message
Central route: If argument is
Motivated
and able to Audience receives accepted, audience
understand. and elaborates undergoes long-term
on message. attitude change.

Persuasive
Speech
Peripheral route:
Audience finds Audience uses Audience can
message irrelevant, peripheral cues easily be persuaded
or is unwilling or and is affected by other
unable to understand. communication.
by mood.

Exhibit 14.2
Two Routes to Persuasion in the Elaboration Likelihood Model

and relevant, there is no guarantee that the audience will accept them. If a mes-
sage is perceived as incompatible with what audience members already know or
believe in, it is likely to be rejected. For example, a speech on nuclear terrorism
that misstated well-known facts or proposed violating basic civil liberties would
likely be unacceptable to many audience members, even if they understood it
and saw its relevance.
If an audience member engages in central route processing, then the quality
of the message, in terms of evidence and reasoning, is the paramount basis for
either accepting or rejecting the message. If the message is poorly constructed or
presented, then even though the audience member engages in elaboration, the
result may be contrary to the speaker’s intent. Many times we have heard stu-
dents speak on important, relevant, and signifi cant topics only to discover that
their research was shoddy and their reasoning fl awed. Rather than being per-
suaded, we are in fact more likely to reject the message because we have thought
critically about it. So, if you choose a message that is designed for central route
processing, you must be sure to make a strong case for your position. If you do,
the audience will be more likely to believe and behave accordingly, and also be
resistant to subsequent persuasion to the contrary.
The boxes along the bottom of the model in Exhibit 14.2 illustrate the periph-
eral route process. In this case, the audience either fi nds the message irrelevant
or diffi cult to understand, or simply is uninterested in dealing with its complexi-
ties. Yet there is still the possibility of at least short-term persuasion taking place.
Suppose you are having a busy day and suddenly the doorbell rings. At your
door is a young girl in a soccer uniform with a box of chocolates for sale. It isn’t
likely you want to take the time to learn about the details of the local girl’s soc-
cer league. Perhaps you aren’t a parent and never participated in sports your-
self, so the message is largely irrelevant. Nevertheless, you might be hungry and