The Art of Persuasion

Before watching

1. Discuss these questions.

a. What are some qualities of a persuasive person?

b. Are persuasive people born or made?

c. Have you ever tried to persuade... to do something?

... a relative ... a friend ... a colleague ... a manager

d. If so, how easy/difficult was it? Share some experiences.

e. If not, what techniques would you use to persuade a person?

2. In what ways are these words related to persuasion? Use a dictionary

if necessary.

argument - threat - plea - invocation - supplication

3. You will watch a short video from the American TV series The Big
Bang Theory. What do you know about it? Use the words below.

science friends

comic books & Pasadena,

superheroes California
4. Read an adapted summary from The Big Bang Theory Fan Site. Did
you mention any of these ideas in exercise 3?

The Big Bang Theory (2007-2019) was centered on

physicists Sheldon Cooper and Leonard
Hofstadter, whose geeky and introverted lives
changed when Penny, a waitress and aspiring
actress, moved into the apartment across from
theirs. Penny quickly became a part of Sheldon and
Leonard's social group, which included the
engineer Howard Wolowitz and astrophysicist Raj
Koothrappali. The group later expanded to include
Howard's wife Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz Prime Video
and Sheldon's wife Amy Farrah Fowler.

5. You will watch a short video in which Sheldon Cooper gets Hulk
Hands. Predict some information before watching.

a. Why do you think Sheldon got The Incredible Hulk hands?

b. What can you infer from this gift?

c. Why would someone give Sheldon this present? Ebay

d. Would you like to get this kind of gift? Why / why not?

While watching

6. Watch the full video.

Were your predictions in exercise 5 similar to / different from the video?

7. Discuss these questions.

a. What is Sheldon doing when Raj arrives?

b. What does Raj want Sheldon to do?

c. How does Sheldon answer to Raj’s request at first?

d. What does Raj do to convince Sheldon? How successful is he?

e. What can’t Sheldon do on the date?

8. Complete these sentences with the missing verbs and phrasal verbs.
Watch again if necessary. (0-0:32")

a. Raj: Listen, I ___ a text from that girl Abby, and she and her friend Martha
wanna ____ ___ with us again. What do you say?

b. Sheldon: I don’t ___ anything. I merely _____ you a facial expression that
suggests you’ve ____ insane.

c. Raj: I don’t ___ it. You ___ a great time.

d. Sheldon: Yes, exactly, I ___ a great time. That’s ____, I’ve _____ __ to
other things. For example, after I learn Finnish, I’m not going to learn
Finnish again.

e. Raj: Please, Sheldon, I’m a lost Indian boy far from home, and I want a
girlfriend and I want her to be Abby, and she’ll only ____ ____ if she can
_____ Martha.

9. Continue watching. Which words from exercise 2 does Sheldon use

in his answer? Can you hear others in the same sentence? (0:37-0:47")
10. Finish watching the video. Choose the right options. (0:48-end)

a. Raj: My Incredible Hulk hands designed / signed by Stan Lee.

b. Sheldon: Oh, my. I’ve admired / aspired these for years.

c. Raj: So does that mean we can go with the girls / pearls again?

d. Sheldon: Hulk agree to second date with loony / puny humans!

e. Raj: You can’t wear / share the hands on the date.

f. Sheldon: Hulk sad / bad.

After watching

11. Discuss these questions.

a. Have you ever been in Raj or Sheldon’s position? Share your experience.

b. Do you think Raj’s technique is always effective? Why / why not?

c. What other persuasion techniques would you try if you were Raj?

What happened next? (optional)

a. How do you think the double date turned out in the end?

b. Watch the end of the date and check your predictions.

c. Was Sheldon interested in the date? How do you know?

d. Did Raj’s plan work in the end? How do you know?

Follow-up task
12. Choose one of these situations and act it out. Use some of the
phrases from the boxes below.

Convince your friend to do something fun or go somewhere you really like.

"I was thinking it could be awesome if we [do something]. What

do you say?"
"I'm really pumped about [event/activity]. You've got to join me!"
"I can't wait to [do something], and it would be even better if you
were there."
"You won't believe how much fun we're going to have doing
[activity]."

Convince your manager to create a playroom space or do something fun in

your office.

"Studies have shown that short breaks for activities like games
can...”
"Introducing a playroom could be...”
"A playroom can serve as a casual space for team members to...”
“A playroom can stimulate creativity by...”

Bonus task!

Read one of these articles. Then discuss it in class.

How to Persuade Friends to Go Somewhere You'd Like

13 Effective Ways To Persuade Others in the Workplace

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