In a predictable scene from any number of movies, TV shows, or actual lives, a teenager argues with her parents that she should be allowed to go to a party because all her friends are going. The exasperated parents roll their eyes and counter, “If your friends were all jumping off a bridge, would you jump too?” In their attempts to persuade the other, both the parents and the child fail miserably. In the eyes of the parents, “All of my friends are going” is not a valid reason why their kid should go to the party, whereas comparing a party to jumping off a bridge makes no sense to the teenager either.

Logical fallacies are invalid or deceptive forms of reasoning. Although they may, at times, be effective in persuading uncritical listeners, active audience members will reject you as a speaker as well as your argument when they hear a fallacy creep into your speech (Hansen, 2002). So be on the lookout for several types of logical fallacies as you listen to a speaker’s arguments.