plain folks

{{Short description|Logical fallacy}}

{{for|the Amish and other Anabaptist religious groups|Plain people}}

"Plain folks" is a form of propaganda and a logical fallacy.[http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~jklumpp/comm401/lectures/fallacy.html Fallacies], University of Maryland 24 Oct 2012. 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.{{Cite book|last1=Jowett|first1=Garth|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T0TEmFebyuQC&q=plain+folks+propaganda&pg=PA227|title=Propaganda and Persuasion|last2=O'Donnell|first2=Victoria|date=2006|publisher=SAGE|isbn=978-1-4129-0897-9|language=en}}{{Cite book|last=ESOMBA|first=STEVE Dr|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TY_FBgAAQBAJ&q=plain+folks+propaganda&pg=PA43|title=ADVERTISING AND THE SPREAD OF BUSINESS, DEMOCRACY AND KNOWLEDGE|publisher=Lulu.com|isbn=978-1-4717-3443-4|language=en}}

It is like the propaganda, bandwagon. 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.