Homeless men and women have long used signs to request help from passersby, which are essentially a form of persuasive communication. Often, homeless people use emotional appeals to catch people’s attention and move them to help. The following site shows a handful of humorous signs used by homeless people. As you look through them, think about what kind of emotional appeals they make and what these signs say about how these individuals have analyzed their audience (i.e., passersby). It is important to remember that these are individuals like anyone else, and their need for help is requested humorously but is actually quite serious.
The visual and aural powers of persuasion cannot be underestimated. Guns, tanks, and bombs were the principal weapons of World War II, but there were other, more subtle forms of warfare as well. Words, posters, and films waged a constant battle for the hearts and minds of the American citizenry just as surely as military weapons engaged the enemy. Enter the National Archives Powers of Persuasion website to see and hear how persuasive images and messages were used during WWII.
Activities
Gullibility, a word with a negative connotation, essentially means the ability to be persuaded to believe ideas that may not be true. The gullibility test tests your gullibility to commonly held beliefs in society. Take the quiz to see where you fall. Once you’ve completed the quiz, you will be taken to a page that answers the claims made in the quiz from the perspective of the author. Equally as important as the quiz, read the response page carefully to determine how persuaded you are by the arguments made by the author of the quiz. How credible is the author of the quiz? How credible are the sources the author cites?
