Chapter 15
Speaking to Persuade
What is a Persuasive Speech?
A persuasive speech is one that…
– Establishes a fact
– Changes a belief
– Moves an audience to act on a policy
How successful you are depends on what
you say and how you say it…
Types of Persuasion
Question of Fact
– Recycling can (cannot) save local
communities money.
Question of Belief
– Small schools are (are not) better for most
students that large schools are.
Question of Policy
– The senior class should (should not) vote for
Ann Welch.
Choosing a Topic
A good persuasive
topic is one that…
– You feel strongly about
– Other people may
have different views
on
You need to be
prepared to FIGHT for
your beliefs!
Writing Your Thesis Statement
You need to have a
thesis statement in
your speech that
clearly states…
– The fact you want to
establish
– The belief you want to
establish or change
– The policy you want
your audience to
support or act on
Using Persuasive Techniques
To get people to think, to believe, or to act
the way you want them to, you can use 3
persuasive techniques…
– Applying to logical reasoning
– Appealing to the emotions
– Establishing your credibility
Applying Logical Reasoning
Applying logical
reasoning means
building an argument
that is based on
reasons supported by
evidence.
This appeals to the
thought process of
your audience.
Use evidence!!!
Developing Emotional Appeals
An emotional appeal
is a statement that
arouses strong
feelings – pleasure or
anger, joy or sadness,
pride or shame – in
an audience.
Establishing Your Credibility
Credibility is the quality of being
believable.
To help your credibility, you should show…
– Competence
– Sincerity
– Dynamism
Adapting Your Persuasive Speech
to Your Audience
In addition to adjusting to the education,
age, and background of your audience,
you will need to know the ATTITUDE of
your audience towards your topic.
– Favorable
– Neutral
– Apathetic
– Hostile
Mostly Favorable Audience
A favorable audience
is one in which the
majority of the
listeners agree with
your thesis.
Your goal should be
to strengthen the
audience’s current
feelings.
Mostly Neutral Audience
A neutral audience is
one in which the
listeners have not yet
made a decision
about the thesis.
This audience needs
good, solid
information to
persuade them to
take a stand.
Mostly Apathetic Audience
An apathetic
audience is one in
which the listeners
have NO INTEREST
in your thesis or topic.
This audience can be
the MOST DIFFICULT
to persuade.
– Why?
Mostly Hostile Audience
A hostile audience is
one in which the
listeners completely
oppose your thesis.
These listeners may
need more than one
speech to have their
minds opened.
How would you reach
a hostile audience?
Organizing Your Speech
Deductive Approaches
– Begin with your thesis, then present reasons
that support it
Statement-of-Reasons method
–
Problem-Solution method
–
Comparative Advantage method
–
Organizing Your Speech
Inductive Approaches
– Begin with your reasons, then give your thesis
Criteria-Satisfaction method
–
Negative method
–
Monroe motivated sequence
–
Delivering Your Speech
Convincingly
Using Visual
Materials
–
–
–
–
–
Charts
Graphs
Films
Slides
Photographs
Delivering Your Speech
Convincingly
Responding to Feedback
– Do NOT treat your speech as though it were
engraved in stone…
– It CAN be changed and modified on the fly
– If it seems like your audience is getting
restless, or too hostile, move on to another
point.