The Persuasive Speech: Brainstorming Activity
When you attempt to persuade someone, you are forced to take a stand on an
issue, and then to defend it. Your goal is to “win others to a particular point of
view”(Payne 34). In this study of persuasion, there are three goals I hold as enduring
learnings:
1. to review, hone, and supplement our knowledge of persuasion and persuasive
elements.
2. to explore deeply and become knowledgeable about an issue that has personal
relevance to you.
3. to have you hold forth on your topic in an informal presentation of your paper.
To accomplish these goals, you will be choosing a topic, researching it, and organizing
your findings into a well-crafted, highly persuasive argument. Let’s get started!
Step 1 --- Choosing a Topic
Persuasive writing/speaking begins with a strong feeling you have about an
important issue, one about which there are differing opinions. So you must ask yourself
the following questions.
~ What issues am I passionate about?
~ What would I like to persuade others to think or do?
~ Is it possible for me to be effectively persuasive if I have no passion about a given
subject?
The starting point for persuasion, then, is to identify a current issue that is relevant to you
and your audience (all of us here in the class). The issue should also hold enough passion
or intensity that you’ll have few problems with motivation, and so that this passion will
shine through in your speaking. Without that passion, this assignment will become more
of a chore, and the challenge greater.
Three Basic Choices: Proposition of Fact, Value, or Policy
Before you decide on your topic, be aware that you have three basic choices with
persuasion, or three basic kinds of “propositions” that can be made.
1. You may persuade us to accept a Proposition of fact – something that is true or
false. You are dealing with the truth or falsity of an event or situation, past or
present. Emphasis is on facts. Examples: The Loch Ness Monster exists / A
college education is no longer necessary to make a decent living / The
assassination of President Kennedy was the result of a conspiracy / OJ Simpson is
(or isn’t) guilty.
Brainstorm: What controversial facts, past or present, do you believe are:
True?________________________________________________________________
Not True?____________________________________________________________
OR
2. You may persuade us to accept a Proposition of Value – You either like or
dislike a thing. Something is good or bad, right or wrong. You are dealing with
qualities such as the worth of an object, an institution, or a way of life. Emphasis
is on either approval or disapproval. Examples: Men make the best cooks /
Mothers should not return to the workforce until their child is at least five /
Teaching is the most important profession in the world.
Brainstorm: When you look around at our society,
What do you believe is good? _______________________________________________
What do you believe is bad? ________________________________________________
What do you believe is right? _______________________________________________
What do you believe is wrong? ______________________________________________
OR
3. You may persuade us to accept a Proposition of Policy – something should or
should not be done. You are dealing with the future and the emphasis is on facts and
values. Use the word “should” or “must” in the thesis. (Try to write the thesis without
using the word “not.”) Examples: The driving age should be raised to 18 / Capital
punishment should be made mandatory for all mass murderers / all presidential primaries
should be held on the same day / Shorewood should hire a massage therapist for stressedout teachers.
Brainstorm: What laws/ policies do you think should be changed:
At Shorewood? ________________________________________________________
In our community? _____________________________________________________
In the United States? ___________________________________________________
In the World? _________________________________________________________
I hope filling this out has helped generate some good topics for your essay. Ooops, did I
forget to mention that abortion, and legalizing pot, aren’t valid options. Sorry, I’ve heard
those speeches too many times.
Using Qualifiers: Sometimes a well organized, clearly articulated argument can be
completely undone due to an unanticipated counter-argument. This is why it is a good
idea to use qualifiers in stating your thesis. Qualifiers are terms that make a claim more
flexible. Note the difference between the two claims below.
The policies regulating illegal immigration need reform.
Some policies regulating illegal immigration need reform.
“Some” makes a qualified claim, rather than an all-or-nothing claim.
Here are some useful qualifiers:
almost
often
of…then… maybe
in most cases might
probably
usually
Re-write your thesis using qualifiers if necessary
_____________________________________________________________
Measuring your Audience’s Attitudes: Before you finalize this topic, you need
to clearly understand how your audience already feels about it. If everyone already
agrees with you, well the topic isn’t really ripe for persuasion. If you find opinions
somewhat divided, then the topic is a great place for you to exercise your persuasive
muscles.
There is no magic formula here. To know what the target audience believes, and how
strongly they believe, helps one in framing his/her argument. Attitudes about a
proposition can be measured in three dimensions:
1. Direction: This tool is simply used to see if your audience agrees with a
proposition
write a sample question here_______________________________________
1 Agree
2 Neutral
3 Disagree
2. Strength: This tool shows how strongly your audience agrees or disagrees with a
proposition.
1 2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Weak
Strong
3. Personal Importance: This tool shows each individual’s personal attachment to the
proposition.
1 2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Low
High
Which tool will work best for your proposition? Try using all three on a sample
of your classmates.
Finally, in this prep, I’d like you to survey a sample of your audience. Remember,
I’m going to ask you to informally present you papers to me and the rest of the class.
Run your possible topic by at least eight members of this class today. Be sure to pick
members of each gender. Jot down ideas and impressions below, then analyze your
findings to see if this is a good topic for persuasion. Remember, it’s better if not
everyone already feels the same way you do.
Proposition:
People Surveyed:
Results:
After analyzing your audience, do you need to revise your proposition?
Write your final proposition here:
_____________________________________________________________________