Introduction to
Persuasive Speaking
Part 3:
Process; Outline;
Monroe Sequence
John E. Clayton
Nanjing University, Spring, 2005
Speech 1: Results
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Speech 1: Results
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Points
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Syllabus
02/28 Orientation; Photos; Communication; Speaking types & purposes
03/07 Persuasion and reasoning; Peer Criticism
03/14 Speech 1
03/21 Writing process; Outline & components; Monroe Sequence
03/28 Movie: Remember the Titans
04/04 Overcoming fear
04/11 Speech 2
04/18 Review of speech 2;
04/25 Selecting topic & thesis
05/02 HOLIDAY – NO CLASS
05/09 Researching & supporting material
05/16 Speech 3
05/23 Review of speech 3; Speech delivery tips
05/30 Using visual aids
06/06 Clean-up – final review and preparation for speech 4
06/13 Speech 4
06/20 Speech contest prep; Final exam; Evening – speech contest
The Speech Writing Process
See Handout:
Monroe’s Motivated Sequence
Process Flow
Topic
Purpose
Audience analysis
Research
Support materials
Organization
Outline
Visual aids
Practice
Present
1. Select & Narrow Subject
• Pick a Subject appropriate to the
occasion.
• Narrow the subject to a topic suitable:
for a speech
 for the length of time
 for the type of audience that you have

Remember that a speech is not an essay;
it must be kept simple and concise in
order to be effective.
2. Determine The Purpose
Decide exactly what you hope to accomplish:
 to tell us facts about a situation;
 to convince us of a particular point of view;
 to amuse us;
 to stimulate us to do something;
 etc.
Your speech should support one basic
objective, so you must decide what that
objective is.
3. Analyze Audience & Occasion
You must know:
 what kind of people you will be speaking to
 roughly how many there will be
 what sort of room you will be in
 the audience's intellectual ability & knowledge
 what other speakers of the day may be saying about
the same subject.
This will allow you to tailor your vocabulary, content,
jokes, and tone of your speech to your specific
audience. What works for one may not work for another.
4. Gather Material (Research)
• Material can be gathered from books,
magazines, newspapers, other speeches,
Internet, etc.
• Establish your basic objective, then look
for supporting material.
• Simple facts may be boring -- use
examples, situations, and concrete
comparisons to "enliven" the speech and
make facts "real".
Sample of Using Facts
• Boring fact: "skyscraper X is 290 meters
tall."
• More interesting & relevant to audience:
"skyscraper X is five times taller than Hotel
Saint George."
This puts a concrete comparison into
peoples' minds -- much more effective than
a simple, dry fact or statistic.
5. Make An Outline
An outline will help:
 organize your speech,
 establish the main points, and
 balance the supporting material for
each point.
6. Word the Speech
Pay attention to the educational level and
language competence of the audience in
choosing your words.
 Consider words which might be "special"
and need explanation to be clear.
 Try to avoid words which may have more
than one meaning, unless you are using
them for that purpose.
 Think about the ease of pronunciation of
your words.
7. Prepare the Manuscript
• Type double-spaced, with a large,
"readable" typeface.
• Leave generous margins for last-minute
notes or corrections.
• Underline phrases that you want to stress.
• Do not fasten the pages together. Number
each page.
8. Practice Aloud
• After your speech is written and ready, you
must practice it aloud, to check -


the rhythm of your phrasing and sentences
the pronunciation of words
the length of the speech
• This will also help you to be more
confident in your speech delivery, and
lessen nervousness during the actual
occasion.
9. Check the Room
• If possible, check the room before the speech.
• Note the size of the room and the acoustics.
• If there is a PA system, test it.
• Make sure you "fit" the podium.
• Can visual aids be seen from all parts of the
room?
• Can you operate all necessary equipment?
10. Delivery
•Remember to speak loudly enough.
•Take care with enunciation,
pronunciation and phrasing required
for speaking in large rooms.
•Plan and practice any gestures you
want to use to reinforce points.
11. Speaking Position
• Remember to position yourself
properly at the rostrum, then pause
for a moment longer before beginning
your speech.
• After completing the speech, again
pause briefly before acknowledging
the "end" to the audience and
stepping down from the rostrum.
The Monroe Sequence
The Monroe Sequence
The "Monroe Motivated Sequence"
is intended to motivate the
audience to respond to the
speaker's purpose.
In its most complete form, the
Motivated Sequence consists of
five steps.
The Monroe Sequence
1. Attention
Gain the attention of the audience
2. Need
Create a need for change
3. Satisfaction
Satisfy the need with a solution
4. Visualization
Intensify desire for solution
5. Action
Urge the audience to take action
1. Attention
Functions:
To gain attention
To secure good will and respect
To state your thesis and prepare the audience
for discussion of your topic
Methods:
Reference to a subject, event, or occasion
Personal greeting
Rhetorical question
Startling statement/statistics
Quotation
Humorous anecdote
Illustration
2. Need
Functions
To describe the problem
To make your audience uncomfortable with the
status quo
Methods
Statements (backed by evidence)
Illustration
Show ramifications
3. Satisfaction
Functions
To present a solution to the need described
Methods
Statements (backed by evidence)
Explanation
Theoretical demonstration
Practical experience
Meeting objections and potential
counterarguments
4. Visualization
Functions
To intensify your audience's desire to adopt the
solution and action you propose
To help the audience "see" the results
Methods
Positive method ("see" what will happen on
adoption)
Negative method ("see" what will happen if not
adopted)
Contrast method ("see" adoption vs. nonadoption)
5. Action
Functions
To focus the thoughts of your audience
To motivate your audience to ACT
To leave the audience in a mood appropriate
to your topic
Methods
Challenge; Summary; Quotation;
Illustration; Personal Intention; Inducement
Speech Outline Summary
•Introduction (attention)
 Attention Getter
 Reveal Topic
 Relevancy
 Credibility
 Thesis & Preview
•Main point 1 - (need) Why is this important?
 Reason 1
 Reason 2
•Main point 2 - (satisfaction) This is how we solve it...
 Example 1
 Example 2
•Main point 3 - (visualization) "How great it would be if..."
 Sample vision 1
 Sample vision 2
•Conclusion - (action) "This is what we have to do..."
 Action 1
 Action 2
 Review Main points
 Clincher
Homework
Start working on speech 2
3 minutes, using a Monroe outline
Topic: Argumentative –
Some Current Event
(note – please avoid political or religious topics)