Persuasive Speech

FAX1006 :
Basic Communication Skills
LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this chapter, students will be able to:

 appreciate the importance of speaking to persuade

 know the purposes of speaking to persuade
 be familiar with methods of analyzing audience
 understand the meaning of facts , opinions and “experts” opinion
 understand the various strategies and principal methods to help you
persuade an audience to accept your views.
 understand the motivated sequence of persuasion
TOPIC OUTLINES

1.1 THE PURPOSES OF PERSUASIVE SPEAKING

1.2 HOW TO SELECT A TOPIC
1.3 ANALYZING YOUR AUDIENCE
1.4 HOW LISTENERS PROCESS PERSUASIVE MESSAGES
1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION
1.5.1 Persuading through speaker’s credibility or ethos
1.5.2 Persuading through evidence and reasoning or logos
1.5.3 Appealing to emotions or pathos
1.5.4 Persuading by using the Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

1.6 GENERATING EMOTIONAL APPEAL

1.7 SAMPLE PERSUASIVE SPEECH/OUTLINE
INTRODUCTION

“Speech Is Power: Speech Is

To Persuade, To Convert, To
Compel”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

INTRODUCTION

1. You wish to convince your parents that

Where or when you should be able to attend a local
do you use concert.
persuasion in
2. You want to convince your teacher that
your life? more time is needed to complete a
class project.
1.1 THE PURPOSES OF PERSUASIVE SPEAKING

Persuasive speaking has three purposes:

1. To convince people to take action that you want them
to take. Therefore, they are called speeches to
actuate, and the best way to accomplish that is to
through motivation.

2. To reinforce or strengthen, listeners’ existing attitudes,

beliefs, behavior, opinions, or values.

3. To convince people to change their attitude toward a

particular subject.
1.4 HOW TO SELECT A TOPIC

Obviously, selecting a subject about which you

feel very strongly will enable you to better
communicate your position with confidence and
credibility.

 Remember, that in a speech to persuade,

nothing is more essential than transmitting
credibility; because you are not only offering
your audience accurate information but you
are trying to:

1. Convince them to take a form of action

2. Reinforce or strengthen their existing
attitudes, beliefs, behavior, opinions or
values
3. Change their attitudes or opinions to agree
with your position
1.4 HOW TO SELECT A TOPIC

Some of the resources available to you

PERSONAL PRINT MEDIA

ELECTRONIC
SOCIAL
MEDIA &
MEDIA
LIBRARY
1.4 HOW TO SELECT A TOPIC

As with any speech, topic selection is

important and is influenced by many
factors. Good persuasive speech topics
are:
 current,
 controversial and
 have important implications for
society.

If your topic is currently being

discussed on television and in
newspaper then it’s a current topic.
1.4 HOW TO SELECT A TOPIC

 Many topics that are current are also

controversial, which is what gets them
attention by the media and citizens.

 Current and controversial topics will be

more engaging for your audience.

 Remember: controversial is not the same

as inflammatory.
 An inflammatory topic is one that evokes
strong reactions from an audience for the
sake of provoking a reaction.
 Being provocative for no good reason or
choosing a topic that is extremist will
damage your credibility and prevent you
from achieving your speech goals
1.4 HOW TO SELECT A TOPIC

 Choosing a speech topic that has

implication for society is probably a better
application of your public speaking skills
than choosing to persuade the audience
that Superman is a better hero than
Spiderman.
 Although those topics may be very
important to you, they don’t carry the same
social weight as many other topics you
could choose to discuss.
 Remember that speakers have ethical
obligations to the audience and should
take the opportunity to speak seriously.
1.4 HOW TO SELECT A TOPIC

 You also want to ensure that your topic is

actually persuasive.
 Draft your thesis statement as an “I believe”
statement so your stance on an issue is clear.
Also, think of your main points as reasons to
support your thesis.
 Students end up with speeches that aren't very
persuasive in nature if they don’t think of their
main points as reasons.
 Identifying arguments that counter your thesis
is also a good exercise to help ensure your
topic is persuasive. If you can clearly and
easily identify a competing thesis statement
and supporting reasons, then your topic and
approach are arguable.
1.4 HOW TO SELECT A TOPIC
1.2 ANALYZING YOUR AUDIENCE

 In every persuasive speech, you will face some listeners who are
1. strongly in favor of your position,
2. some who are neutral, and
3. some who are adamantly opposed

 When thinking about the range of persuasive responses, you may find it helpful
to visualize listeners on a scale such as that shown in figure 15.1(below)

 Persuasion involves any movement by a listeners from left to right on the scale,
no matter where the listener begins and no matter how great or small the
movement.
1.2 ANALYZING YOUR AUDIENCE

 How successful you are in any particular persuasive speech will depend above
all on how well you tailor your message to the
a) values,
b) attitudes and
c) belief of your audience
1.2 ANALYZING YOUR AUDIENCE

 Turning audience is a devilishly difficult task,

much tougher than selling an automobile or a
house.
 Convincing an audience to make even a slight
change in direction requires a carefully planned
approach, anchored in a shrewd assessment of
the audience’s position.

 Before you make that assessment, however

you should try to answer the following
questions and others that pertain to your
particular situation ;
1.2 ANALYZING YOUR AUDIENCE

1. What are you trying to accomplish?( your

specific purpose in speaking)
2. How does your audience feel toward
your purpose and position?
3. What emotional or psychological appeals
will move these people?
4. What logical reasoning will “reach”
them?
5. Are they willing to accept new ideas?
6. Why should this audience listen to you?

After you’ve analyzed your audience in terms of these questions, you will better
understand their attitudes, feelings and motives. Only then will you be prepared to
plan your overall strategy
1.4 HOW LISTENERS PROCESS PERSUASIVE MESSAGES

 We often think of persuasion as

something a speaker does to
an audience.
 In fact, persuasion is something
a speaker does with an
audience
 While they listen, they access
the speaker’s:
i. credibility
ii. delivery,
iii. supporting materials,
iv. language,
v. reasoning, and
vi. emotional appeals.
1.4 HOW LISTENERS PROCESS PERSUASIVE MESSAGES

 It means you must think of

What does this your persuasive speech as a
mean to you
kind of mental dialogue with
as a speaker?
your audience.

 You must anticipate possible

objections the audience will
raise to your point of view and
answer them in your speech.
1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION

There are four principal methods of changing people’s

attitudes or actuating people to do what you want:

1. Persuading through speaker’s credibility or ethos.

2.Persuading through evidence and reasoning or logos.

3. Appealing to emotions or pathos.

4. Persuading by using the Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION

Methods of
Persuasions

Ethos Logos Pathos Monroe’s Motivated

(credibility & ethics) (logic & reason) (emotions & feelings) Sequence
1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION

1. Persuading through speaker’s credibility or ethos.

Factors of credibility
Competence---how an audience
regards a speaker’s intelligence,
Many things affect a speaker’s credibility, expertise and knowledge of the
including sociability, dynamism, physical subject.
attractiveness, and perceived similarity
between speaker and audience. Above all,
though, credibility is affected by two Character---how an audience
factors: regards a speaker’s sincerity,
trustworthiness, and concern for
the well-being of the audience.
1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION

1. Persuading through speaker’s credibility or ethos.

It is important to remember that credibility is an attitude.
It exist not in the speaker, but in the mind of the audience.

Initial credibility---the credibility of

Types of credibility the speaker before she or he starts
to speak

Not only can a speaker’s credibility

vary from an audience to audience
and topic to topic, but it can also
change the course of a speech---
so much so that we can identify
three types of credibility:
Derived credibility—the credibility
of the speaker produced by
everything she or he says and does
during the speech itself.

Terminal credibility---the credibility

of the speaker at the end of the
speech.
1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION

1.Persuading through speaker’s credibility or ethos.

How to persuade through speaker credibility

 When an audience believes a speaker and has faith in him or her, the
speaker enjoys credibility. Credibility doesn’t just happen; it has to be
earned through such personal characteristics as

1. Sincerity and concern for listeners

2. Tact and friendliness
3. Reputation and character
4. Self-confidence and poise
5. Experience and special knowledge of the subject
1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION

2. Persuading through evidence and reasoning or logos.(The formal term

for this action is argument)

How to Persuade through Evidence

and Reasoning

 Evidence, as you know consist of

facts and expert opinions.

 A fact is information that can be

proved is documented, and can be
verified.
1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION

2. Persuading through evidence and reasoning or logos.(The formal term

for this action is argument)
Here are some examples:

Fact More women than men are getting A’s in this class

Opinion Women are smarter than men

Fact There has been an increase in the number of motor vehicle

fatalities caused by drunk drivers

Opinion The sale of alcohol beverages should be illegal

Fact Among the highest paid people in the country are

professional athletes.

Opinion Professional athletes are overpaid

1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION

2. Persuading through evidence and reasoning or logos.(The formal term

for this action is argument)

Using Opinions wisely.

 Opinions may be either your own or those of other people. As with

facts, some opinions are convincing and others are not, depending
on their sources.

 Your opinion of the causes and probable cure of inflation will carry
weight only if you are an expert economist. Therefore, if you are
using opinions in your speech to persuade, identify the sources and
their qualifications.

 The most valid type of opinion is the “expert opinion". This is

expressed by a recognized authority in a particular field.

 On the other hand, using ”non-expert” opinion can jeopardize your

talk
1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION

2. Persuading through evidence and reasoning or logos.(The formal term

for this action is argument)
How to persuade through Statistical Credibility

When searching for statistics, keep the following three points in mind:

1. Sources
Does the information come from the original source such as a government
or
private agency/study, or is it secondhand, such as from a newspaper or a
news
magazine quoting from the original source? If it is secondhand, be sure it’s
complete and accurate.
2. Reputation of the source.
Is the source a recognized authority in the field, reflecting credibility?
3. Recency of data.
Be sure to document the latest statistics. And you do this by researching
several sources
1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION

2.Persuading through evidence and reasoning or logos.(The

formal term for this action is argument)

 Statistic alone can be boring and dry. Inject life into them. Paint them in
language that is understandable.
1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION

3. Appealing to Emotions or Pathos

“ It is the feeling and

force of imagination that
make us eloquent”
Roman rhetorician--
Quintilian

Emotional appeals---what Aristotle referred to as pathos---are intended

to make listeners feel sad, angry, guilty, afraid, happy, proud,
sympathetic, reverent or the like.
1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION

3. Appealing to Emotions or Pathos

What are emotional

appeals?

What Aristotle referred to as pathos-----are intended to

make listeners feel sad, angry, afraid, happy, proud,
sympathetic, reverent, or the like.

Below is a list of some of the emotions evoked most often by public speakers.
1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION

3. Appealing to Emotions or Pathos

Following Fear---- of serious illness, of natural disasters, of sexual assault, of

personal rejection, of economic hardship.
each
emotion Compassion---for the physically disabled, for battered women, for
neglected animals, for starving children, for victims of AIDS
are a few
examples Pride—in one’s country, in one’s family, in one’s school, in one’s ethnic
of heritage, in one’s personal accomplishments.

subjects Anger---at terrorists and their supporters, at business leaders who act
that might unethically, at landlords who exploit student tenants, at vandals and
thieves.
stir that
Guilt---about not helping people less fortunate than ourselves, about not
considering the rights of others, about not doing one’s best.
emotion:
Reverence---for an admired person, for traditions and institutions, for
one’s deity.
1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION

3. Appealing to Emotions or Pathos

How to persuade through appeals to basic human need, wants and desires.

 We all have a certain amount and degree of basic needs, wants, and
desires.
 And these important ingredients of life have no age barrier.
 Many older people wish to be younger and many younger people wish to
be older.
 People seek a higher standard of living, ways to live longer, ways to enjoy
greater health, ways to make more money, ways to be more socially
acceptable and respected, and ways to ways to be more appealing to the
opposite sex.
 Audience members are more easily persuaded when you can suggest
ways to fulfill their basic needs, wants, and desires.
1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION

3. Appealing to Emotions or Pathos

How to persuade through appeals to basic

human need, wants and desires.

A. Self-preservation
B. Sexual attraction
C. Feeling good and looking good
D. Social acceptance
E. Wealth
F. curiosity
1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION

3. Persuading through appeals to basic social, biological, and

psychological needs, wants, and desires.

Self-preservation the protection of oneself from

harm or death, especially
regarded as a basic instinct in
human beings and animals.

 We all need food, clothing, and shelter. We want

to escape accidents, fires, violence, and other
risks to our well-being and our family’s well being.
These needs are reflected in the escalating sales
of fire and smoke detectors as well as hurricane
and flood insurance.
 In a persuasive appeal to this need, you can
assert that your position fulfills your listeners’
need for self-preservation.
1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION

3. Persuading through appeals to basic social, biological, and

psychological needs, wants, and desires.

Self-preservation

 We all need food, clothing, and shelter. We

want to escape accidents, fires, violence, and
other risks to our well-being and our family’s
well being. These needs are reflected in the
escalating sales of fire and smoke detectors
as well as hurricane and flood insurance.

 In a persuasive appeal to this need, you can

assert that your position fulfills your listeners’
need for self-preservation.
1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION

3. Persuading through appeals to basic social, biological, and

psychological needs, wants, and desires.

B. Sexual attraction

 Most of us want to be admired and fulfilled by

the opposite sex. It’s normal desire that lasts a
lifetime. This sexual need is responsible for the
multibillion-dollar-a-year cosmetic and apparel
industry supported by both sexes.
 These industries are able to persuade potential
customers’( audience members) that their
cosmetics and apparel satisfy customers’
desire to be attractive.
1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION

3. Persuading through appeals to basic social, biological, and

psychological needs, wants, and desires.

C. Feeling good and looking good

This is a universal want, and if

you can unlock the secrets of
good health
And grooming, you will always
have an audience.
1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION

3. Persuading through appeals to basic social, biological, and

psychological needs, wants, and desires.

Social acceptance

 Most people crave acceptance by their

peers at school, at work, and in social
activities. Some individuals would go to any
length to become members of exclusive
clubs, societies, or organization or to have
their children attend private schools.
 This strong desire for social acceptance is
probably the reason that so many people
are taking self-help courses and purchasing
record numbers of self-development books.
1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION

3. Persuading through appeals to basic social, biological, and

psychological needs, wants, and desires.

E. Wealth

 Just about everyone wants wealth in some

form-jewels, stocks, land, real estate, art
objects, or just plain old cash.

 Tell your listeners how to acquire wealth, or

how to save on income taxes, and you’ll
have them eating out of your hand
(completely captivated)
1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION

3. Persuading through appeals to basic social, biological, and

psychological needs, wants, and desires.

F. Curiosity

 People need knowledge about many

topics such as science, business,
sports, government, entertainment,
other people, and especially
themselves.

 If you can answer their questions,

audiences will be mesmerized by your
every word.
1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION

4. Persuading by using the Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION

4. Persuading by using the Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION

4. Persuading by using the Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION
4. Persuading by using the Monroe’s Motivated Sequence
1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION
4. Persuading by using the Monroe’s Motivated Sequence
1.5 METHODS OF PERSUASION
4. Persuading by using the Monroe’s Motivated Sequence
1.6 GENERATING EMOTIONAL APPEAL

1. Use emotional language

2. Develop vivid examples

3. Speak with sincerity and conviction

1.7 SAMPLE OF PERSUASIVE SPEECH/ OUTLINE
1.7 SAMPLE OF PERSUASIVE SPEECH/ OUTLINE
1.7 SAMPLE OF PERSUASIVE SPEECH/ OUTLINE
1.7 SAMPLE OF PERSUASIVE SPEECH/ OUTLINE
1.7 SAMPLE OF PERSUASIVE SPEECH/ OUTLINE
1.7 SAMPLE OF PERSUASIVE SPEECH/ OUTLINE
PERSUASIVE SPEECH PREPARATION WORKSHEET

Using the persuasive

speech preparation
worksheet, prepare
notes for your
presentation
PERSUASIVE SPEECH PREPARATION WORKSHEET

1.Choose three controversial topics that interest

you.
2.Determine your purpose for speaking about each
of the topics above.
3.Formulate a specific statement of purpose for
each of the topics above.
4.Choose one topic , purpose, and specific claim.
5.Write three reasons why people might be
indifferent or opposed to your topic.
6.Prepare an opener building on areas of
agreement.
7.State your persuasive claim.
8.Write the main points of the body.
9.Prepare a summary.
10.Prepare a memorable concluding remarks.