Rationale

This course is designed to provide an understanding of persuasion theories and techniques as well as, the necessary skills to produce compelling persuasive arguments and share information. The students will also gain an understanding on how to effectively communicate and support their messages in order to make an impact on the audience they wish to address by exploring its needs, desires, intentions and main characteristics. Throughout the course, the students will also be encouraged to assess various communicative strategies both written and oral that they will need to employ in public relations environments. The course will focus on the application of persuasion techniques in the areas of: advertising, news media, digital social interactions and public relations.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course students will be expected to:
(i)    Define the various theories of persuasion and apply the relevant techniques in both interpersonal and professional settings.
(ii)   Explain when a persuasive technique is effective enough for the relevant context and when it doesn’t.
(iii)  Incorporate the knowledge gained in order to plan successful public relations campaigns to convey the desired messages.
(iv)  Apply ethical principles for the creation and distribution of persuasive messages.
(v)   Describe how the human mind perceives these messages.
(vi)  Describe the different psychological factors that underpin communication with and attraction of an audience.
(vii) Discuss the process of persuasion in written and oral forms, as well as through the visual portrayals as presented in media.
(viii) Evaluate a variety of persuasive media messages using the relevant theory and research.