Persuasive Speech Prompt
ALSO SEE the CHECKLIST/RUBRIC for more information
Please also refer to www.rileyhse.com for more information
Time Limit: 5-7 minutes. You will be deducted 10% for each minute under this time
Attire: Tie or jacket, dress slacks or skirt/dress, dress shoes. NO JEANS OR TENNIS/ATHLETIC SHOES!
Please do not wear short skirts or plunging necklines. Dress as a business professional to maintain your
credibility/ETHOS.
To be turned in on ___________________: Annotated Bibliography in MLA format. (See sample)
To be turned in the DAY BEFORE you are scheduled to speak: Outline complete with header and labeled
supports with introduction, body and conclusion, Works Cited page in correct format, research sampling
and highlight information used. Outline and works cited page MUST be typed or you will not be eligible to
speak.
Required sources: A minimum of three written, published, credible sources. You may need more to fully
develop your presentation. One of these sources must be a scholarly/academic journal, and the other two
sources must be credible and can be from the database and can be of any type-as long as they are credible. NO
Wikipedia, NO About.com (or similar websites) and please do not verbally cite websites by www.----.com, org
or net or even “website”. Remember, internet sources do not qualify without an author or institution of origin
and you should concentrate on maximizing the credibility of your sources. Dictionary.com will not count as one
of your sources, and definitions must only be used sparingly and only when absolutely necessary.
IN ADDITION TO THE PUBLISHED SOURCES, you are required to interview an “expert” to be quoted in
your speech. You may not use someone in the building or someone you know well…but you may use these
folks to help you find an expert. We will talk extensively about this in class.
Also required: You must employ one syllogism or enthymeme AND one analogy. We will discuss these in
class.
Supports: Please see the checklist for the required number of supports for each step. Refer to “Supports for
Public Speaking” which is a list of supports from which you may choose to develop your presentation. It is a
requirement that you use a variety of (different types of) supports within each part of the presentation to make it
more interesting and diversely developed.
Purpose: A speech to persuade is so widely used that we are probably unaware of its frequency. Actually,
very few people do what someone else suggests without having been influenced by an informal or formal
persuasive speech. Likewise, you are trying to persuade your listeners to agree with you on a particular issue.
You are attempting to sway them over to your position through the persuasive techniques you employ to gain
their conviction in your ideas. Be certain that you have an understanding of the opposing position so that you
may better answer their questions. Your purpose statement/claim must include SHOULD or SHOULD
NOT.
In order to get your audience to willingly accept your ideas and proposals, you must use LOGIC (logos)
including evidence, CREDIBILITY (ethos) (your delivery and the sources you utilize) and EMOTION (pathos)
in presenting your speech. Without all three of these very necessary components of argument, your speech will
not succeed in its purpose. Logic will make necessary connections in the audience’s minds, evidence includes
the facts, statistics, and expert opinions you have found in your research and emotional appeal comes with the
examples and stories that will touch the listener’s hearts. You will need a thorough analysis of audience
demographics in order to appeal to their existing beliefs and attitudes and to direct their thinking through
channels they will readily follow.
Selecting a Topic: It is of vital importance to your success is that you choose a topic in which you are
interested. All topics must be worded as a debate proposition. The wording will reflect your position on the
issue. Again, the words SHOULD or SHOULD NOT will be in your purpose statement. Your topic must be
specific and offers a solution to a problem. Please choose a topic that is based on an issue that is
demographically correct and it must be a topic that can be debated. “Should not drink and drive” is a wonderful
topic; however it is not a possibility for this class project because it is impossible for another person to debate.
However, it is possible to claim that “the penalty for drinking and driving should be imprisonment” because that
can be debated. Your topic will be on a higher academic level; and it should reflect the demographics of your
audience.
Call to Action: It is important that you have a very specific call to action in your conclusion. Voting,
calling, writing, signing up, etc. is imperative. Remember, you want your audience to change their attitude, as
well as take some sort of specific action as a result. The response must be PHYSICAL and MEASUREABLE.
Pattern of organization and outline: To achieve the “convincing effect”, you need to look carefully at
the organization of your speech. There are various ways to organize a persuasive speech, but for our purposes,
we will all use the motivational sequence. The steps are as follows:
I.
Attention Step
II.
Need Step
III.
Satisfaction Step
IV.
Visualization Step
V.
Action Step
Be sure these steps are included on your outline (as well as transition statements and supports. Don’t forget the
header, and be sure to write out the intro and the conclusion).
Be sure you have more than enough information to develop your speech, and a balance of different types of
information will help you succeed. SEE THE SAMPLE OUTLINE ON www.rileyhse.com
Note cards: You may use up to 6-8 cards, and they will be in outline form with only key words and phrases
to remind you of what you want to say. You may only put approximately 20 words on one side of each
card…and additionally you may put quotes and stats. DO NOT write out the intro or the conclusion on these
cards. Only one side of 3X5 inch cards may be used and tape them to the stand. This is so that your notes will
not be a hindrance to you
Question and Answer: At the end of each speech, there will be a short time dedicated to a question and
answer session. You should stay composed as a formal speaker, and you can receive points based on how well
you handle the questions you are given. This includes knowledge of your topic (how well researched you are),
and how you handle your audience. You should anticipate opposition (be aware of what that opposition could
be) and be able to logically deal with it. PREPARE TO REFER TO YOUR RESEARCH.
Delivery: Please look over the checklist for this speech CAREFULLY and make sure you have satisfied all
the requirements. Look over the “delivery” section of the rubric and work on perfecting your delivery based on
those criteria.
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