Communication allows people to keep in touch with others, make useful new acquaintances, achieve their goals and advance their careers. Communication is based on persuasion, so it is impossible, and not necessary, to separate them from each other. Some scholars, such as Kory Floyd, believe that communicating is to persuade (2017). People use persuasion functions both to raise children and to influence voters in presidential elections. In this critical writing the functions of persuasion and communication are examined, compared, and explored their role in social life.
It is necessary to examine what persuasion is in general. In the broadest sense, persuasion is one of the components of communication that a message addressed by one person to another induces the latter to change their views, behavior, or attitude toward a situation (Floyd, 2017). Persuasion should necessarily take place in an atmosphere of free choice so that the subject of influence, without pressure from others, may make an informed decision based on the facts presented to them.
Useful skills are the knowledge of what members of society need to do to communicate qualitatively. To do this, people need to know how to properly communicate messages to those who are our influence’s target. It requires the use of both verbal and nonverbal communication techniques. Babies who cannot speak already communicate their needs to their parents, e.g., by crying in different tones as a reaction to different situations: hunger, fatigue, or pain (“The 6 Communication Functions and AAC”, 2021). An adult, on the other hand, must choose the right style and tempo of voice for competent persuasion, one that inspires confidence. Because the primary function of effectiveness as communication is the need to influence a person’s views, nonverbal skills must also be addressed. Proper gestures and the ability to convey one’s feelings correctly help to create the desired effect.
Since communication is a superstructure over persuasion, it professes more general functions, far from always oriented toward direct impact on the individual. Communication processes often relate to mundane things that people encounter daily, but they can also be intertwined with the need to persuade (“The 6 Communication Functions and AAC”, 2021). For example, a feature such as a request often means that the request may be to buy coffee at a coffee shop or to ask for help with some business. At the same time, in some things, the request may be accompanied by a need to induce the person. A call to action, in turn, is the first of persuasion functions.
The other two communication functions are the expression of disagreement and the function of description. In the first case, a person may refuse to communicate with someone or the idea of attending an event because of changing weather through communication. With description, people can share certain details of situations or thoughts, thus creating the concept they need to know about something. In this case, the function of persuasion to convince can come to the fore (“Functions of The Presentation to Persuade”, 2022). A subset of the descriptive function can be considered such an important feature of effectiveness as the development of a person’s tolerance for other points of view. Arguments properly presented by the narrator should contribute to achieving this goal.
The ability to express emotions is considered an important quality of communication. People can convey their pain to others or share a good mood with them. Sincerity, with the right approach, brings people closer together, making their relationship more trusting. In this context, we must again turn to persuasion functions, namely stimulation. By sincerely communicating and honestly communicating one’s thoughts and emotions, one can stimulate those around him to help him in certain matters (“The 6 Communication Functions and AAC”, 2021). In this situation, the ability to describe the problem correctly, add a correct emotional coloring and formulate one’s requests perfectly resonate (“Functions of The Presentation to Persuade”, 2022). It follows that many of the functions of communication and persuasion often overlap, and the ability to combine them correctly helps one in life. Communication and persuasion to increase attention to a personal or public point are important in developing healthy relationships between people in society. Communication and persuasion to raise awareness of an individual or general fact are important in developing healthy relationships between people in a community. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, for example, is actively using this to draw attention to the Russian invasion and arouse sympathy from the civilized world for the plight of the Ukrainians.
At the end of this comparison of the functions of communication and persuasion, it is important to note again that persuasion is an important part of communication but not a separate entity. Therefore, many aspects of communication and persuasion overlap in one life situation or another. Suppose an individual wants to learn how to influence others and convey their requests and points of view. People should develop communication and persuasion skills as an important part of them.
References
Floyd, K. (2017). Human communication: a critical reader (3rd Edition). McGraw Hill Education LLC.
The 6 communication functions and AAC. Communication Community. Web.
Functions of the presentation to persuade. University of Minnesota Libraries. Web.