Goal: To improve conflict management skills
Objective(s): The student will demonstrate the necessary skills to appropriately respond to persuasion.
Process Steps:
1. Listen to the other person's ideas on the topic.
2. Decide what you think about the topic. (Distinguish your own ideas from the ideas of others.)
3. Compare what he/she said with what you think.
4. Decide which idea you like better, and tell the other person about it.
5. Agree; disagree; modify; postpone a decision.
Discuss
Definition: Persuasion is when another person or a group tries to get you to believe and/or accept their ideas. Responding to persuasion is the step you can take to help decide if you should accept the other person's ideas or keep your own.
Rationale: It is important to know how to respond to persuasion so that you can make good choices about what you should do. It can help you to keep from giving in to negative influences. It can help you to think before believing something that may not be true.
Where/When/Comments:
• Use this skill when people are trying to get you to
believe something they believe.
• Use this skill when evaluating advertisement tactics.
• Discuss good and bad methods of persuasion and good/bad
reasons for persuasion. (You'll have fun, I won't be your friend,
Everyone's doing it, It's supposed to be good).
• Discuss why people use persuasion, good and bad
consequences of responding to persuasion, and why it's important
to think before you act.
Model/Role-play with Feedback
• Write a speech persuading others to believe in a cause or
take an action. Class responds by supporting their own beliefs.
• Hold a mock debate.
• View TV ads for toys, movies, etc. Students analyze the
components of ads that are trying to persuade them. Encourage
them to think for themselves using process steps.
Role play situations:
• You deal with high-pressure sales pitch to buy a magazine
subscription.
• Your friends want you to try drugs.
• Your friend tries to persuade you to go to the movies with
him but you need to study for a test, babysit your brother, clean
your room.
• Your parents push you to wear a certain outfit to a dance.
• Your friend picks you up before school and tries to talk
you into cutting school.
• Your friends want to borrow your expensive new sweater.
• Your peer tries to talk you into taking your dad's new car
for a drive.
• Your friend wants you to help him steal newspapers off of
driveways on the way to school.
Application with Feedback
• Student reports back to class about home activity
utilizing persuasion with family or friends.
• Home checksheet for parent to sign when student is
observed to respond appropriately to persuasion.
• Teacher sets up situation with cooperating student.
Social Skills Curriculum Guide, 1992
Special School District of St. Louis County