Techniques of Persuasion - Media Literacy Clearinghouse

Technique name Technique description Contemporary Examples

Glittering Generalities	an emotionally appealing phrase so closely associated with highly valued concepts and beliefs that it carries conviction without supporting information or reason.	Advertising Political Campaigns
Testimonial	an endorsement. These endorsements often come from regular people giving positive reviews of products or ideas
Appeal to Authority	refers to the use of an expert’s opinion to back up an argument.	Example
Card Stacking	Where an organization may use media to favorably show one side or an argument while simultaneously downplaying the other side	Advertising
Name Calling	techniques consists of attaching a negative label to a person or thing	Examples
Ad Hominem	an argument or reaction) directed against a person rather than the position they are maintaining.	Examples
Plain Folks	Convinces an audience that an idea is good because they are the same idea of the vast majority of people like yourself
Fear	anything that a person can read or look at and find fear.	Ad examples
Lies/Big Lie	a gross distortion or misrepresentation of the truth primarily used as a political propaganda technique.
Appeal to Prejudice	a strong feeling of dislike, or a preconceived judgment, usually against someone or something regarded as different.
Bandwagon	when the speaker tries to convince us to accept their point of view or else we will miss out on something really good.	Examples
Ad Nauseam	uses repetition to influence consumers into buying a particular product.	Example: Liberty Insurance commercial
Transfer	Carries the respect and authority of something respected to something else to make the latter accepted.
Stereotyping	generalizations about a population based on their membership in a social group.
Demonizing	dehumanizes the opposition and presents them as monstrous.