This week's talking point is persuasion. Before getting together with the members of your conversation group, go over the questions below so that ideas flow more easily when you meet up with your friends and you can work out vocabulary problems beforehand.
Are you good at persuading people?
How easy is it to persuade you to do things?
Do you ever change your mind once you have decided (not) to do something?
Talk about a time when you managed/didn't manage to persuade someone to do something.
What do you think are common influences which persuade people to do things? Choose your top three from this list.
-advertising
-the media
-friends / peer pressure
-feeling guilty about something
-feeling sorry for someone
-passion and conviction
-convincing arguments
Which of the following do you have strong opinions about? Which do you have more of an open mind about?
-clothes and what to wear
-politics
-ecological and green issues
-gun control
-food and diet
-gender roles
-the healthcare system
How strongly do you think you are influenced by advertising?
Can you think of powerful or effective ads?
Have you ever bought an item because you had seen an ad?
What campaigns do you remember where the government is/was trying to persuade citizens (not) to do something?
How effective are/were the campaigns?
What effect do sales people and shop assistants have on you when you want to buy something?
To illustrate the topic you can watch and discuss the Lonely Hearts McDonald's ad.
John?
Emma.
Hi.
So nice to meet you.
It's really nice to meet you.
Yeah, me too.
So, what's the plan?
There's an art gallery I know around the corner.
It's inspiring, isn't it?
Yeah, I love animals.
I've got a dog.
Great. I've got a cat.
So do you?
Who's Steve?
Nice to meet you.
Yeah, it's been, it's been fun.
Fun!
Okay, bye.
Bye.
Hi, can I get a Big Mac.
Strawberry milk shake, fries, and some barbecue sauce.
Hi.
Hi.
