Narrative as a Dual-Route Persuasive Resource in Vietnamese Communication

Abstract

This study aims to elucidate the dual-route persuasive mechanism of narrative in Vietnamese communication, based on a dataset of 133 narrative utterances extracted from 20 discourses in the television show Quyền lực ghế nóng (Artist Edition, 2018). Employing discourse analysis with the utterance as the unit of analysis, the study identifies narrative as a form of experiential evidence within Toulmin’s (1958) model of argumentation. The findings indicate that narrative not only provides data for argumentation but also activates heuristic processing mechanism, including perceived authenticity, credibility, empathy, and value alignment among recipients. Based on these findings, the study proposes an integrated approach that combines Toulmin’s model of argumentation with Chaiken’s Heuristic–Systematic Model to account for the role of narrative as a dual-route persuasive resource in Vietnamese discourse.