Language and Persuasion

Communication in its basic form is simply passing on undisputed information or sharing ideas to develop an understanding of events and experiences. However, we can also communicate in such a way as to get others to believe things, value things, buy things or influence their attitudes or behaviour. Many of these ideas and beliefs are shaped and developed by our engagement with a particular message or campaign crafted by groups that include corporate advertisers, the Government and even Charities.

Language and Persuasion provides readers with a practical toolkit to recognise and explain the role of message design and delivery in constructing persuasive messages in private and public sector marketing. It is divided into two parts with the first examining persuasive messages in product and brand advertising and the second applying ideas from social psychology linguistic, rhetorical and multimodal mechanisms. Examples are drawn from genres and cover issues that include anti-knife crime, road safety, alcohol consumption reduction, cancer awareness and environmental action.

This book will provide the ideal resource for English Language students studying modules on persuasive language but will also be of interest to students in communication studies; psychology and business studies who wish to look at this subject from a language perspective.