Persuasive Speaking

Persuasive Speech Assignment

Five minutes in length

Speech outline required

Must reference at least two sources

Site sources in written outline using APA style

Does not require a visual aid

Dress appropriately

Persuasion

Verbal and nonverbal messages that shape, reinforce and change people’s responses

Move audience to action, to change/alter their behaviors

Persuading Your Audience

Understanding your audience’s disposition – must provide a good reason to listenReceptive audienceHostile audienceNeutral audience

Developing a Persuasive Topic & Thesis

Your topic…Should be somewhat controversialMust allow you to develop a message to bring about change in the audience

The Balance of Three

Content

Delivery

Organization

Three cornerstones of persuasion:

EthosLogosPathos

EthosPerceived personal character of the speaker

High ethos if speaker is perceived as having integrity and can be trusted

Passionate about topicTrustworthinessGoodwill

Examples of people with high Ethos?

LogosRational or logical proofs

Inductive reasoning Deductive reasoning

Evidence to support claims

PathosAppeals to listeners’ emotions

We are influenced by our feelings of passion, personal values and perceptions

Should be combined with logical appeals for lasting effect

Different types of appeals:

Motivational appeals – based on perceptions. Audience moved to do something because it’s reasonable

Emotional appeals – based on emotions. Personal stories, pictures that tug on heartstrings

Logical appeals – reasoning and evidence

Supporting your thesis

Facts – consensus concerning existence

Testimony – statements and quotations from accepted authorities, people with high levels of credibility

Inference – reason from an already accepted position to another position that seems to follow from the already accepted one

Statistics – collection, classification, description, and interpretation of data collected from surveys and experiments

Types of Credibility

Initial credibility – titles, positions, experiences, etc.

Derived credibility – listeners recognize expertise and trustworthiness from speakers during a presentation through the organization of logic, convincing evidence and speaking dynamically.

Terminal credibility – cumulative expertise, goodwill and trustworthiness listeners recognize in a speaker.

Building Credibility

State qualifications

Show listeners you care about them

Appeal to listeners’ emotions, but don’t be too dramatic

Reason carefully and avoid reasoning fallacies

Use ethical supporting materials

Use congruent verbal and nonverbal communication and show listeners you care about the topic

Counterarguments

Presenting the “other side”

Helps build credibility by presenting a different view/perspective

The Balance of Three

Content

Delivery

Organization

Practicing Your Speech

BREATH!

Practice, and then practice again and again

Practice using presentation aids

Practice your delivery with nonverbal cues

Look at your audience

Stand still and bend knees

Practice again

Discuss:

What is your thesis?

How will you develop credibility?

What kind of appeals will you make as a speaker?

What kind of evidence and counter arguments will be used?

What organizational pattern will be used?