Persuasive Speaking – Part I

Persuasive Speaking

4th Century BC Student of Plato who was a student

of Socrates who was known for logic

Aristotle’s Rhetoric Epideictic – Praise or Blame Forensic – Guilt or Innocence Deliberative – Policy Making

Persuasion

The process of creating, reinforcing, or changing people's beliefs or actions.

Persuasion in Life

Persuasion and influences When do you use persuasion? Are others trying to persuade you?

Top 10 Commercials Friends Who else tries to persuade you?

Speech to Gain Immediate Action

The speaker’s goal is to convince the audience to take action.

To change things from the status quo

OR NOT to change things from the status quo

When creating a persuasive message

Consider context

Time limit (7 to 10 Minutes)

Environment

Attitudes and expectations of

audience members

Speaking to Persuade

Influencing of the attitudes, beliefs, or behavior of the listeners.

Appropriate when two or more points of view are in conflict

about a topic

Four keys to effective persuasion

Credibility Well-reasoned argument Emotional Appeal Audience involvement

It is more difficult than speaking to inform, because it

demands additional skills.Examples: political figures, lawyers, legislators,

speaking to PTO, city council, etc.

When creating a persuasive message

Small doses best over long periods

Can’t change world in 7 minutes

Aim for fair consideration from

audience

How to Begin

Ask yourself: What do I want my listeners to know, do, motivate, inspire, change, or to agree with?

What is my topic a question of? Fact Value Policy

Questions of fact: occurrences and the reasons that they have happened, are happening, or will happen in the future.

Fact claim: Persuade the public that global warming is harming the environment.

Establishing Fact

If you state a fact claim then prove that your claim is the best.

Why do I think something is true or false?

Provide evidence, hard facts, statistics, new figures, illustrations, quotations, definitions.

Value Claims

Questions of value: call for judgments about right and wrong, ethical and unethical, etc.

Value claim: Persuade the public that animals don't belong in zoos.

Value Claim

If you state a Value Claim then appeal to the morality and values of your listeners.

Why do I like or dislike something? Why do your listeners have to agree that

something is right or wrong, moral or immoral, valuable or worthless?

Why do you want to convince them? Offer examples the public will recognize,

try to find common ground on related subjects and expert testimonies, and compare your idea with oppositional ideas.

Policy Claim

Questions of policy: deal with whether certain courses of action should be taken.

Policy claim: Persuade the public that motorcyclists should be required by law to wear helmets.

Policy Claim

If you state a Policy Claim then persuade that there is a problem and get the audience to agree with your solution.

Appeal to human needs, to reason and to emotion.

Summarize the present situation, the causes and the negative effects everybody will recognize.

Then present your solution to solve the problem.

Language Strategies

Various Strategies The Beatles will give us an overview

Beatles Video Let’s Let Taylor Swift Explain

Taylor Video Figurative Language

Movies

Appealing Strategies

There are many methods employed by speakers to divert audiences away from the real issues or appeal to them.

This speech is in response to allegations of illegally funneling campaign funds to cover personal expenses. Can you pick out some of the strategies? Nixon Checkers Speech

Persuasive Speaking – Part II

Degrees of Persuasion

Persuasion involves any movement by a listener from left to right

Strongly Opposed

ModeratelyOpposed

SlightlyOpposed

Neutral Slightlyin Favor

Moderatelyin Favor

Strongly in Favor

Audience Analysis

Types of audience: Positive / favorable audience-

already agrees with your basic purpose. Easiest type to persuade. Needs only to have feelings deepened on your topic.

Neutral / indifferent audience-does not know very much about your topic. Need is for information that will make it possible to form an opinion.

Disinterested / indifferent audience-knows about topic, but couldn’t care less. Consider it a dull issue or an unimportant one. Need to be shown seriousness of problem, or how they will be affected. Consider arguments they may have.

Hostile audience - most difficult to persuade. They disagree with you. May be distrusting of you. Need open-mindedness then conviction.

Establish your prestige. Show that you are well prepared and competent, sincere, and genuinely interested in them.

Use frequent evidence and supporting materials: facts, surveys, statistics, quotations

Refer to your own experience with topic, especially in intro.

Express appreciation for invitation to speak. Compliment them.

Be logical and honest.

Three major sources by which people can be persuaded:

Pathos: Emotions - listeners’ own personal drives, needs, or desires

Use Maslow’s Heirarchy of Needs: biological drives (food, drink, air, sleep,

etc.) safety (security, stability, protection

from harm, structure, predictability) love and belonging (affection, feeling

part of a social group, acceptance and approval, etc.)

esteem (confidence, freedom, independence, recognition by others, etc.)

self-actualization (self-fulfillment, realizing individual potential, being true to self, etc.)

Ethos: the way in which an audience perceives the character and personality of the speaker

Logos: Logic Appeal

Persuader must know listeners’ needs, establish own prestige when attempting to influence an audience, and build logical arguments that their listeners can follow.

Using facts, examples, testimony and statistics

Do not use alone to support a claim

Useful in reinforcing or clarifying ideas

Consider source, age, and representativeness of example

Examples

Combine with examples

Don’t use too many at a time

Identify the source of the statistics

Translate and round off

Use visual aids

Statistics

Quote accurately

Paraphrase fairly

Use qualified sources

Identify source and source’s credentials

Testimony

Wrapping Up Rhetoric

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IO9d2PpP7tQ&list=PLCSX24yuW0Zlgy8EhGsj-_BR2_JB5-RXa

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ODwmSYb3Tw

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

Get attention of audience Establish a need Satisfy that need Visualize the future Ask for action

Monroe’s motivated sequence

Introduction = Attention

Main point 1 = Need

Main point 2 = Satisfaction

Main point 3 = Visualization

Conclusion = Action

Copyright © 1997 by Stephen E. Lucas

Monroe’s motivated sequence --ATTENTION Attention: Get audience’s

attention, arousing curiosity about what the speaker is going to say.

Attention

Functions To gain attention To secure good will and respect (your

credibility and why audience should listen/care)

To prepare the audience for discussion of your topic

To help avoid the effects of psychological reactance, the preview statement should be omitted.

Methods

Reference to a subject, event, or occasion Personal greeting Rhetorical question Startling statement/statistics Quotation Humorous anecdote Illustration Appeal to needs

Use Maslow’s Heirarchy of Needs: biological drives (food, drink, air, sleep,

etc.) safety (security, stability, protection

from harm, structure, predictability) love and belonging (affection, feeling

part of a social group, acceptance and approval, etc.)

esteem (confidence, freedom, independence, recognition by others, etc.)

self-actualization (self-fulfillment, realizing individual potential, being true to self, etc.)

Monroe’s motivated sequence --NEED Need: Create a need for change.

The speaker must establish a clear, urgent, and unfulfilled need in the mind of the audience. This is a critical step in the sequence. No solutions should be proposed during this stage.

Need

Functions To describe the problem To make your audience uncomfortable

with the status quoMethods Statements (backed by evidence) Illustration Show ramifications Pointing (show audience why to care /

how it applies to their lives / how they will be or are affected)

Monroe’s motivated sequence --SATISFACTION Satisfaction: Satisfy the need

with a solution. Present the solution to the needs or problems described in step two. During this stage, speakers must also identify and eliminate possible objections to the solution.

Satisfaction

Functions To present a solution to the need

described above Methods Statements (backed by evidence) Explanation Theoretical demonstration Practical experience Meeting objections and potential

counterarguments

Monroe’s motivated sequence --VISUALIZATION Visualization: Intensify desire

for solution. Intensify audience members' desire for the solution by getting them to visualize what their lives will be like once they've adopted it. Use vivid images and verbal illustrations to support the benefits of the proposed solution.

Visualization

The visualization step carries the audience from accepting the feasibility of your proposal to seeing how it will actually benefit them.

Functions To intensify your audience’s desire to adopt the

solution and action you propose To help the audience to “see” the results Methods Positive method Negative method Contrast method Perhaps appeal to needs

Monroe’s motivated sequence --ACTION Action: Urge the audience to take

action. In the final step, the speaker must turn the audience's agreement and commitment into positive action. Tell audience members what they need to do to obtain the described solution and its benefits.

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 To convey a sense of completion Methods Challenge Summary Quotation Illustration Personal Intention