Persuasive Speech Outline for a 6 -7 minute speech
Name:
Title:
Topic:
Specific Purpose: Single phrase that defines precisely what is to be accomplished in the speech.
To persuade the audience to/that __________________.
Thesis: A sentence that states specifically what is going to be discussed in the speech.
I.
Introduction (1 Minute) Do not start your speech with, “My name is John Doe and my
topic is __________. A summary statement of your topic goes here. DO NOT WRITE
THE WORD “INTRODUCTION”
Do not write the word introduction. Fill in a sentence for your intro such as one of
the three noted below!
A. Opener
i. question
ii. quotes
iii. attention grabber etc.
iv. examples on page 224-226
B. Overall statement of topic
C. State why it is important to your audience.
II.
Body (4-6 minutes) main points (DO NOT WRITE THE WORD “BODY”) A revised
thesis sentence should go here.
A. The Need – State the problem or situation
B. Support material
i. Point 1
ii. Point 2
iii. Point 3
C. Solution/what action do you want the audience to do.
D. Visualization/Examples of how to meet the needs/explain benefit to the audience
(good place for using metaphors and vivid language)
E. Stories, analogies etc (good place for using metaphors and vivid language) and
Tug at the heartstrings! Show emotion. Be passionate about the subject.
III.
Conclusion (1 minute) There are a number of different phrases other than “in
conclusion”!
A. Review main points briefly (do not introduce any new material at this point.)
B. What’s in it for your audience?
C. DO NOT SAY :
i. Thank you
ii. That’s it
iii. I’m done
D. End with a CALL TO ACTION. Ask the audience to do something or to believe
in something pertinent to your speech. Your last sentence should be relevant to
the topic and powerful! (write it out completely and memorize it) Look at the
audience when saying your last sentence.