Plain folks

For the Amish and other Anabaptist religious groups, see Plain people.

"Plain folks" is a form of propaganda and a logical fallacy.[1] A plain folks argument is one in which the speaker presents themselves as an average Joe — a common person who can understand and empathize with a listener's concerns.[2][3]

The most important part of this appeal is the speaker's portrayal of themselves as someone who has had a similar experience to the listener and knows why they may be skeptical or cautious about accepting the speaker's point of view. In this way, the speaker gives the audience a sense of trust and comfort, believing that the speaker and the audience share common goals and that they thus should agree with the speaker.

References

  1. ^ Fallacies, University of Maryland 24 Oct 2012.
  2. ^ Jowett, Garth; O'Donnell, Victoria (2006). Propaganda and Persuasion. SAGE. ISBN 978-1-4129-0897-9.
  3. ^ ESOMBA, STEVE Dr. ADVERTISING AND THE SPREAD OF BUSINESS, DEMOCRACY AND KNOWLEDGE. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-1-4717-3443-4.


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