Ashford Courses

COM 323 Week 1 DQ 1 Defining Persuasion

Defining Persuasion. Choose what you consider to be the three best definitions for persuasion found in Chapter Two of Perspectives on Persuasion, Social Influence and Compliance Gaining. How has the definition of persuasion changed over the past thirty years? Predict future changes to the definition of “persuasion.”

COM 323 Week 1 DQ 2 Trends in Persuasion Research

Trends in Persuasion Research. Advertising can be viewed as a leading form of persuasion that people confront on a daily basis. List and explain at least two other forms of persuasion you engage in or are confronted by on a regular basis. Are your experiences in this area positive or negative? How do morals and ethics affect the persuasion situations you choose to describe?

COM 323 Week 2 DQ 1 Persuasion Theories

Persuasion Theories. Chapter Four of Perspectives on Persuasion, Social Influence and Compliance Gaining provides multiple persuasion theories; choose three theories and explain the strengths and weaknesses of each. Which theory do you think best explains the purposes for persuasion?

COM 323 Week 2 DQ 2 Credibility

COM 323 Week 2 Persuasion, Manipulation, and Seduction

Persuasion, Manipulation, and Seduction. Prepare a paper detailing the difference between the terms persuasion, manipulation and seduction as they relate to human communication. Please provide modern-day examples of the varying types of persuasive devices, and describe which audiences respond best to which sorts of techniques.

COM 323 Week 3 DQ 1 Argumentative/Verbal Persuasion

Argumentative/Verbal Persuasion. Discuss both the constructive and destructive traits of aggressive communications. What types of audience responds best to these persuasion tactics and which respond most negatively? Provide examples to support your findings.

COM 323 Week 3 DQ 2 Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal Communication. Segrin advances that “nonverbal behaviors are as powerful, in some cases more powerful, than some of the message strategies that have been studied in producing compliance from others” (Seiter & Gass 165). Do you agree that non-verbal persuasion can be more effective in gaining compliance than the words used to persuade? Provide at least one, scholarly outside source to support your opinion.

COM 323 Week 3 Ethics and Persuasion

Ethics and Persuasion. Prepare a paper detailing the importance of ethical behavior and its significance in persuasion. Define at least two ethical theories in your paper, and explore the impact that ethical practices have on persuasion. You may choose to examine a current event issue to illustrate your viewpoints.

The paper must be three to five pages in length. Use at least three scholarly resources found in the Ashford Online Library to support your claims and subclaims. The paper must be formatted according to APA style, and all resources must be properly cited in text as well as on the reference page. For information regarding APA samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center, within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar, in your online course.

COM 323 Week 4 DQ 1 Compliance Tactics

Compliance Tactics. Choose the three “compliance tactics” from Chapter Twelve that you feel are the most effective. Explain the basis for the persuasiveness of these tactics and provide examples of how these tactics could be improved. Describe which groups of people are most susceptible to the tactics you analyze.

COM 323 Week 4 DQ 2 Gender

COM 323 Week 4 Humor and Persuasion

Humor and Persuasion. Prepare a paper detailing the effectiveness of humor in persuasion. You may use the above two, scholarly articles as a basis for your observations. Your paper should not only detail the effectiveness of humor, but also indicate the risks with attempting to use humor in persuasion. Your paper should include previous theories of persuasion and how the technique of humor can support or limit the effectiveness of persuasion.

COM 323 Week 5 DQ 1 Superior – Subordinate Influence in Organizations

Superior – Subordinate Influence in Organizations. Present a “best practices” approach toward superior-subordinate influence in organizations for the field you hope to be involved in upon graduation, or the field that you are currently working within. Which persuasion practices are the most effective and why?

COM 323 Week 5 DQ 2 Course Review

Course Review. Provide a three- to five-paragraph summary of the thesis and your main ideas for support for your Final Paper. Detail the major points of your final presentation and allow your classmates to understand the major points of your paper. Review at least three of your classmates’ primary postings and provide feedback concerning your opinions on their findings. Respond to at least three of your classmates’ postings by Day 7.

COM 323 Week 5 Final Paper

Focus of the Final Project

The Final Project has two parts:

A six- to eight-page Final Paper

A PowerPoint Presentation

Throughout this course we are examining methods of persuasion. The great issues of our day are far from being resolved, but effective persuasion can begin to build consensus. Your final project requires you to tackle a current, controversial issue and use persuasion to convince your audience that your position(s) on the issue is (are) correct. Your final paper must be six- to eight-pages of content (exclusive of the APA title and reference pages), and you can include multi-media, interactive video, pictures, commercials, movie scenes, web links, etc. to bolster your opinion(s). Your paper should incorporate the latest methods of persuasion in the hopes of “proving your point” to your instructor.

You are encouraged to find a topic which you feel passionate about. The list provided is just to help you with the sorts of ideas which may be appropriate for your project. You are not limited to these topics; please consult your instructor if you have any questions about a proper topic for this assignment. Some topics to consider could be the following: