How is persuasive speaking different from informative speaking?
There are seven major differences…

• Informative speeches reveal options.
• Persuasive speeches urge listeners to make a choice between these options.

• Informative speakers function as teachers.
• Persuasive speakers function as advocates.
• ad-vo-cate [noun]: a person who speaks or writes in support or defense of a person, cause, idea, etc.

• Informative speakers offer supporting material to illustrate and clarify points.
• Persuasive speakers offer evidence to justify advice.

• Informative speakers don’t ask for much commitment from their audience.
• Persuasive speakers ask for audience commitment.

• Credibility is important for informative speaking.
• Credibility is very, very, very, very important with persuasive speaking.

• Informative speaking uses few emotional appeals.
• Persuasive speaking uses more emotional appeal.

• The ethical obligation for informative speakers is important.
• The ethical obligation for persuasive speakers is more important.

• Sex: the desire to be attractive to, and to attract others
• Conformity: the desire to appear and behave like others
• Wealth: the desire to possess, earn, save and invest money (assets)
• Pleasure: the desire to feel good; to experience happiness, joy and pleasure
• Personal Growth: the desire to examine life, explore different aspects of selfhood, and ideally, make strides toward growing as a human being

• As a group, select the target that you feel is the most important and influential with regard to persuasion and decision making.
• Why?
• What is missing here? Are there any other
“targets” that you could/would add into this list?

• Sex: the desire to be attractive to, and to attract others
• Conformity: the desire to appear and behave like others
• Wealth: the desire to possess, earn, save and invest money (assets)
• Pleasure: the desire to feel good; to experience happiness, joy and pleasure
• Personal Growth: the desire to examine life, explore different aspects of selfhood, and ideally, make strides toward growing as a human being

Audience Members Must See A
Benefit From Changing
• You, as the speaker, must explain why making the change will benefit your audience
• Can benefit audience members personally
• Or can benefit the world around them

• People are naturally resistant to change
• We are more likely to make small changes than big changes
• Example: It is easier to change the type of toothpaste we use, than to change our religious beliefs

Provide Specific Instructions On How
To Make A Change
• Make it easy for your audience to change the attitudes, beliefs or behaviors!
• The easier it is to make the change, the more likely your audience is to do it!

• The attempt to influence the beliefs, attitudes, values, or actions of others
• Persuasion is a process – doesn’t just happen
• Persuasive process goes through FOUR phases…

Awareness
Understanding
Agreement
Enactment

• Before persuasion can begin, listeners must know that a problem exists
• The speaker must show that the problem is important and that it affects the listeners ’ lives directly

• Here, the speaker uses supporting material to describe and explain the problem
• Logical, reasonable explanations are very important
• The speaker must support his/her points with credible evidence

• Here is where your audience begins to say to themselves:
– “ Hmm, this is a serious problem.
”
– “ I should really be concerned about this.
”
– “ I never thought of that, but she’s right.
”
– “ This problem directly affects me!
”
– “ I would like to do something about it!
”

• It is one thing to get your listeners to agree with you
• It is another thing to get them to act on it
• Enactment is when your audience members actually change their mind or go out and do something about the problem

Awareness
Understanding
Agreement
Enactment

1. To reinforce an already held belief
2. To change a belief
3. To motivate to action

• This is the goal of your speech
• What do you want your audience to believe or do?
• Must be clear and specific
• Must be able to fit into one sentence

• “ To reinforce the audience’s belief that testing products on animals is immoral.
”
• “ To convince the audience that school children should not be forced to wear uniforms.
”
• “ To persuade the audience to donate blood.
”

• This is your “should” or “should not” statement
• Should be very clear and direct
• Examples:
– “You should donate blood.”
– “The United States should not execute a military strike against Syria.”
– “You should not smoke.”

Speech of Reasons Approach
Proposition: You should drink more water
I.
Drinking water helps you lose weight
II.
Drinking water helps your skin stay healthy
III. Drinking water helps prevent cancer

Proposition: You should donate blood
I.
There is a shortage of blood supply worldwide (problem)
II.
Donating blood can help to increase the much needed supply of blood (solution)
III.
Therefore, you should donate blood (be sure to provide specific instructions on
how to help with the solution)

Criteria-Satisfaction Approach
Proposition: You should buy a Toyota
I.
You need a car that meets these criteria: a.
It must be affordable b.
It must be safe c.
It must have a good warranty
II.
Toyota vehicles satisfy this criteria because: a.
They are affordable (provide evidence) b.
They are safe (provide evidence) c.
They have great warranties (provide evidence)

Proposition: You should quit smoking
I.
Smoking increases your chance of heart disease
II.
You are spending a lot of money on cigarettes
III.
Smoking makes your clothes smell bad
IV.
Therefore, the best solution is to quit smoking

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence
Approach
I.
(Attention) One in three American adults is overweight.
II.
(Need) Being overweight leads to heart disease, cancer, diabetes and it is unattractive.
III.
(Satisfaction) Eating healthy can help you lose weight and avoid disease.
IV.
(Visualization) Imagine looking great and feeling healthy!
V.
(Action) I want you to start eating healthy!