Note: the following is a topic outline, designed to provide some structure
to principles of persuasive speaking. It is not an example of a speaking
outline; it is structured for study, not presentation.
The structure is based on discussion in Rudolph F. Verderber, The
Challenge of Effective Speaking, 8th ed. (Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth
Publishing Company, 1991), 271-296.
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By
general aim:
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Reinforce an existing belief.
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Establish a belief.
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Change a belief.
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Motivate audience to action.
Any of the first three could be the basis for a speech to convince. The
last would be the basis for a speech to actuate.
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By
subject matter:
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Audience beliefs about statements of fact.
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a. "I want the jury to believe that Jones is guilty of murder."
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b. "I want my audience to believe that the Greenhouse effect is a reality."
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Audience beliefs about statements of value.
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a. "I want my audience to believe that small schools are better for most
students
than large schools.
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b. "I want my audience to believe that Jones is the best quarterback in
the league."
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Audience beliefs or actions about statements of policy.
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a. "I want the audience to believe that work on nuclear power plants should
be halted."
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b. "I want my audience to vote for an increased budget for women's athletics."
Statements of fact, value and policy can all form the basis for a speech
to convince. If a policy statement would seem to dictate a speech to actuate,
consider that you can convince them that a certain action should be taken
without necessarily aiming to move them to action. A speech to actuate
must be based on a statement of policy.
II. Analyzing your audience: You are
more likely to determine the most effective speech strategy when you understand
your audience's interest and knowledge levels and attitude toward your
goal.
Analyze your audience according to:
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Audience interest.
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Audience understanding.
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Audience attitude.
Recognize that none of these three continua have any necessary relationship
to each other. For instance, an audience can have a high level of interest
coupled with a very low level of understanding (typical of a very new subject).
They may have a high degree of understanding of a subject matter and a
very "low" or unfavorable attitude toward it (not uncommon among people
who have earned a Ph.D. in a subject area, only to become sick of it after
years of intense study).
Match your strategy to your analysis. Is the audience:
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Hostile.
Strongly hostile.
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This audience typically concerns most speakers the greatest, although technically
this is not the most difficult audience.
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At least they care about the topic.
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Concern: if you fail, they will actively work against you.
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Scale back speech goal (you are unlikely to totally change their mind in
one speech).
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Approach indirectly
In practice, this does not mean that you are trying to fool
the audience into thinking you are supportive when you are not. Rather,
you are revealing your supporting material before you tell them the point
you are making, so that they are thinking along with you rather than fighting
you or tuning you out.
Weakly hostile.
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They are convinced the other way, but not actuated.
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Build appeal on logos.
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Appear objective.
No
opinion.
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Because they're uninformed.
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You will have to spend the bulk of your time simply informing them about
the basics of your issue.
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Because of this and time constraints, scale back your speech goal.
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Because they're consciously neutral.
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Probably an intelligent audience.
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Most people immediately have an opinion on any issue, regardless of how
well-informed they are.
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Holding back indicates unusual self-restraint.
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Best approach: logos.
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Because they're apathetic:
they know enough about the topic, they just don't care about it. Because
of the difficulty of getting them to pay attention to begin with, this
is probably the most difficult audience in practice.
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Usually means, they don't see the topic relating to them personally.
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Since "apathy" literally means "lack of feeling," your approach should
seek to arouse feelings.
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Appeal to pathos, lots of soft support.
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Supportive
or favorable.
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Would seem to be the easiest, but there's a hidden danger.
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Because they know a lot about it, you may bore them.
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If you seem to assume they don't already know basic stuff, you may insult
them.
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Since they are already convinced, all that is left is to actuate. Persuade
them to follow some very specific course of action. Convince them of the
practicality of your course of action.
III. Giving logical reasons and evidence:
You are more likely to persuade an audience when the body of your speech
contains logical reasons and good evidence that support your speech goal.
This appeals to left-brained type of thinking. Once you have compiled
a list of reasons that support your speech goal, select the best ones.
Choose the reasons that best prove logically the propositions.
Choose reasons that can be supported.
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Avoid generalizing, depending on what "everyone knows."
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To prepared with specific examples, statistics, quotes.
Choose reasons that matter to your audience.
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You must know your audience. "Eat at the Sternwheeler because they have
excellent seafood" won't work if they hate seafood.
IV. Organizing material to meet audience attitudes: You are more
likely to persuade an audience when you organize your material according
to expected audience reaction (see principle II).
V. Using language to arouse emotions:
You are more likely to persuade your listeners when your language arouses
their emotions.
This appeals to right-brained type of thinking. It deals with word choice,
complexity of language, and formality of language.
Choose language for emotional impact.
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Clearly identify the emotions you want your listeners to experience.
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Identify the information you have that is likely to stimulate those emotions
in your listeners.
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In rehearsals, replace vague, flat sentences that carry no emotional impact
with specific, vivid descriptions and explanations, and replace passive
verbs with active verbs.
Focus emotional appeals on major points of introduction, body, and conclusion.
If your main points have no power, the audience is less likely to be moved.
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Example original: "Television commercials still portray women primarily
as housewives who major thoughts are restricted to domestic issues."
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Example revision: "Tell me, what is a woman's role as seen through the
eyes of a television commercial? Primarily as a housewife--a housewife
with two deep all-consuming prayers: "Oh, that my clothes will come out
white!" and "Oh, that my floors will be spotless!"
Now doesn't that last bit tick you off more than the first one? Both may
be accurate, but the second one has more "punch." Put special effort into
the introduction and conclusion. Studies of memory and retention show that
audiences tend to remember the first and last things they hear more than
what is in the middle. Here is where you can have your greatest impact.
VI. Building credibility: You are more likely to persuade your
listeners when they have faith in your credibility.
VII. Delivering the speech convincingly: You are more likely
to persuade an audience if you develop an effective oral presentation style.
Conclusion
The principles of persuasion are very closely tied up with audience analysis.
Take the time to consider these principles as you:
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Choose a topic.
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Arrange your points.
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Select your supporting material.
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Choose your words.
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Practice your speech.
To go to various strategic considerations, choose:
Strongly hostile|Weakly
hostile|Uninformed
Neutral|Apathetic|Favorable