4.2: Persuasive Strategies Related to the Source

Aristotle would probably be pretty gratified to know that the ethos he wrote about over 2500 years ago has very much withstood the test of time and is still very much relevant today. Research consistently demonstrates that source credibility is a big factor in persuasion. The communicator’s trustworthiness, expertise, attractiveness, likeability, similarity, and perceived closeness to the audience are some of the characteristics that have been tested by the researchers.

Perceived credibility consists of the judgements made by a message recipient concerning the believability of a communicator (O’Keefe 181).

So how does one establish or improve one's credibility?

Be knowledgeable, trustworthy and attractive. These three characteristics have been measured as positive features that significantly provoke receivers’ positive attitude and even purchasing action toward products (Hovland et al. 20). "Both expertise and trustworthiness emerge as basic dimensions of credibility because only when these two aspects exist together can we have reliable communication. A communicator who knows what is correct (has expertise) but who nevertheless misleads the audience (is untrustworthy, has a reporting bias) produces messages that are unreliable guides to belief and action, just as does the sincere (trustworthy) but uninformed (low-expertise, knowledge-biased) communicator" (O’Keefe 184). When advertisements say that "doctors recommend" a product, they are using expertise and trust as a persuasive strategy.

Not surprisingly, research indicates that physical attractiveness can significantly enhance communicator persuasiveness (Chaiken 1394). The use of attractive models and celebrities is most definitely a persuasive strategy! But what if you don't look like Margot Robbie or Regé-Jean Page? Fear not: attractiveness is not just about physical attractiveness. Being funny, authentic and kind makes folks attractive, too.

Be likeable. What does it mean to be likeable? In some communication research, subjects judged those who praise, give compliments, and offer affirming messages as more likeable (Chaiken 755, 757).

Bear in mind that, where judgments about people are concerned, we often run into the halo effect. "The halo effect is generally defined as the influence of a global evaluation on evaluations of individual attributes of a person" (Nisbett and Wilson 250). In other words, if we rate a person as nice - a global evaluation - we are likely to rate that person as more attractive or more intelligent or better informed, etc. If we rate a person as unpleasant, that negative evaluation is likely to negatively affect our ratings of other attributes of that person. This may help explain why people who are perceived as more attractive are more likely to be perceived as more likeable, more competent, more honest, etc.

Establish similarity with your audience. Perceived similarity between the source and the receiver is also associated with persuasion. This positive effect has been explained in several ways. One explanation is that similar others might have preferences similar with one’s own, which makes their advice more applicable or relevant (Hovland et al. 22). A second explanation is that similar others may be liked more, thus listeners might follow their advice to satisfy a need to maintain connectedness with them (Jiang et al. 788-789). A third explanation is that, when we believe we are similar to someone, we believe we understand their mental state, which in turn creates a degree of certainty. "The feeling of certainty subjectively validates the advice as decision input. Thus similar advisers are more persuasive" (Faraji-Rad 469).

Establish closeness with your audience. A relatively new source characteristic has emerged as more and more persuasion occurs over social media platforms: closeness. "Closeness, as many studies in audience and especially fandom studies have suggested, is commonly utilized by celebrities’ mediated images to fulfill fans’ psychological needs of constituting intimacy with the fan-object. Portraying a celebrity as a mundane and approachable person who shares similar lifestyle with the so-called 'common people' thus became sufficient strategy to communicate with fans" (Li and Yin 303). Posts that focus on off-staged life, including leisure time, connection with friends, and connection with family and spouse, etc. influence because audiences feel a sense of similarity and empathy for the person. A large quantity of literature in marketing domain suggest that perceived closeness between an endorser and the consumer can have a positive effect on source credibility" (Li and Yin 308). Closeness based on race, gender, sexual preference, and language can significantly affect source credibility, as can perceived closeness to the endorser in overall lifestyle, cultural background, and basic values. This is because closeness is usually significantly associated with endorsers’ attributes like competence, trustworthiness, and goodwill (again, we see the halo effect).

Use persuasive language. Appropriate, powerful, vivid, and inclusive language increases persuasiveness. Appropriate language is suitable or fitting for ourselves, as the speaker, our audience, the speaking context, and the speech itself. Powerful language can highlight emotive impact, particularly repetition, vivid language that helps listeners create strong mental images, and metaphors. Honed delivery and a respectful tone are also rated highly by listeners.