YEAR 11 ENGLISH
NAME: _______________________
DATE: ___________
Features of Persuasive
Presentations
Speaking is the most common, as well as one of the most powerful means of engaging with others, either in formal
public or informal private contexts. We can expect that within our lives we shall all be required at some stage to
speak in public.
The art of persuasion is generally a component of public
speaking. We need to be able to identify the purposes of
persuasion, both overt and covert, and the rhetorical
techniques being used. All spoken texts work to position
their listeners to respond to the stance adopted in the
text. Persuading others involves swaying them to accept
the ideas, values or beliefs being expressed and thereby
to agree with the points of view that are presented. The
ability to recognise how and when we are being
subjected to persuasion and, in turn, how we can use a
range of persuasive strategies to gain the assent or
consent of others is one of the most powerful and useful
assets we can possess. It has the potential to operate in
all areas of our daily lives and to facilitate our purposes
and needs. Effective use of persuasion represents power.
Speakers use a number of verbal and non-verbal techniques, that when utilised effectively, can enhance the
persuasiveness and audience engagement of their presentations.
Technique
Repeating a key word or phrase
Language Resource/Meaning
Repetition
Asking a question that requires the
listener to think question or agree
Exaggeration
Comparison
Rhetorical question
Comparison
Comparison
Using the sound effects of words
Hyperbole
Metaphor (i.e. saying
something is something else)
Simile (i.e. saying something is
like something else)
Personification
Alliteration (i.e. repetition of
consonant sounds) and
Assonance (i.e. repetition of
vowel sounds)
Use of three parallel words, phrases or Tricolon (e.g. I came; I saw; I
sentences
conquered – Julius Caesar)
Effects
To add emphasis and strengthen
meaning.
To contribute to the cadence and
rhythm.
To engage and involve the listener.
To add emphasis.
Usually to emphasise a feeling.
To draw attention to something by
making it more concrete, clear or vivid.
To make a clear comparison.
To ascribe human characteristics to
inanimate objects for emphasis.
Adds emphasis and/or contributes to
pace, mood and assists memory.
To expand and add emphasis.
Intensifiers
Graduation - Force
Alignment and incorporation of the
listeners
Intertextual references
Use of personal pronouns
Pronunciation
To sound a word correctly in
order to convey meaning
accurately using acceptable
options for the context and
situation.
Pronunciation can be
exaggerated in dramatic
contexts to create character, as
it is related to accent)
To stop or rest briefly while
speaking
Pause
Allusions and Quotations
Audibility
To project the voice so that it
can be heard by all listeners
Clarity
To articulate words so that they
can be discriminated by the ear
The loudness or softness of the
voice
Volume
Pace
Emphasis
The speed or rate of delivery –
fast or slow
To highlight or give prominence
to a word or phrase
Used with other words to raise the
strength of the evaluation (e.g. quite,
very, really, extremely, greatly, etc.)
Compare the strength of the following
statements:
 “I am extremely concerned
about this issue.”
 “I am concerned about this
issue.”
 “I am slightly concerned about
this issue.”
To involve the listener.
To strengthen the listener’s sense of
recognition and engagement.
To ensure that meaning is clear to the
listener.
To provide rhetorical emphasis and
assist the listener in interpreting
meaning by signifying that this point is
important.
Do not be afraid to use pause – silence
is effective.
To be heard in the venue. Listeners will
be alienated if they are spoken to too
loudly or will disengage in they cannot
hear.
To be understood – the sounding of
consonants is important for clarity.
Changes in volume are used to
reinforce or enhance meaning. It is
used interactively with intonation,
stress, pace, pause and phrasing to
provide emphasis.
Changes in volume create interest but
must be purposeful.
Changes in pace are used for rhetorical
effect.
To point out invited meanings for the
listener, achieved by the use of a range
of resources – pace, intonation, pause,
phrasing, volume, etc.
Tone
The mood and emotion
expressed by the voice
To convey the speaker’s attitude to the
subject matter and so develop a
relationship with, and position the
listener.
Gesture
Use of hand or arm to convey
meaning an emphasis
Facial expressions and use of eye
contact
Use of face to convey feeling,
mood or emotion
Proximity
Nearness to or the distance
from the listener
Stance
How the speaker stands to
deliver the speech or to
perform in a role in a dramatic
context
Movement
How the speaker changes
position or location
To express attitude or to add emphasis
to a key point.
Gesture must align with and support
both words and voice.
To make contact with and engage the
listener. Facial expression is an
important part of the meaning-making
process and the development of a
relationship and connection with the
listener.
To develop and adjust
interrelationships with the listener.
This is culturally specific and may need
to be used judiciously in certain
contexts and situations.
To assume a social role and develop
and maintain a relationship with the
listener.
In dramatic presentations, stance will
be affected by the performer’s
decisions about how to represent the
character.
To convey meaning and express
intention.