SPE 108

Preparing a persuasive speech

The importance of persuasion

• Persuasion is the process of creating, reinforcing or changing people's beliefs or actions

• Understanding the principles of persuasion are vital to being an informed citizen and consumer

• When you speak to persuade, you act as an advocate

Ethics and persuasion

• Would you be willing to shade the truth a little, to juggle statistics, doctor quotations, pass off opinion as fact to ensure a successful speech?

• Maintaining the bond of trust with listeners is vital to a speaker's credibility

• Learn about all sides of an issue, seek out competing viewpoints, get your facts straight

The psychology of persuasion

• Persuasion is a psychological process

• Persuasion is challenging; often you deal with controversial topics that touch on your listeners' basic attitudes, values and beliefs

• You contend not only with an audience's knowledge of a subject, but also their attitudes on it

• How successful you will be depends on how well you tailor your message to the audience

How listeners process persuasive

messages • Persuasion is something a

speaker does with the audience

• Listeners engage in a mental give-and-take with the speaker

• They assess the speaker's credibility, delivery, supporting materials, language, reasoning and emotional appeals

• Mental dialogue

• Target a portion of your audience (questionnaires)

Questions of fact• A question about the truth or falsity of an assertion

• Questions like this involve prediction: Will the economy be better or worse next year? What will happen in the Middle East? Was there a conspiracy in the assassination of JFK?

• These questions don't have right or wrong answers, persuasive speakers will try to convince the audience they have the best answer

• Informative speeches are nonpartisan, persuasive speeches are partisan

Questions of value• A question about the worth, rightness, morality,

and so forth of an idea or action

• What is the best movie of all time? Is cloning morally justifiable?

• Value judgments: judgments based on a person's beliefs about what is right or wrong, good or bad, fair or unfair, moral or immoral, proper or improper

• Example: Bicycle riding is the ideal form of transportation. (pg 322)

Questions of policy

• A question about whether a specific course of action should or should not be taken

Who should I vote for? Should the electoral college be abolished? Should I donate blood?

Types of speeches on questions of

policy• Speeches to gain passive agreement: a speech in which the speaker's goal is to convince the audience that a given policy is desirable without encouraging direct action in support of the policy

• Speeches to gain immediate action: a speech in which the speaker's goal is to convince the audience to take action in support of a given policy

Analyzing questions of policy

1.Need: is there a need that requires change?The burden of proof lies with the speaker advocating for change (it is YOUR obligation to prove change is needed/not needed)

2.Plan: once you have shown a problem exists, you must explain your plan for solving it

3.Practicality: will the speaker's plan solve the problem? Will it create a more serious problem?

Organizing speeches on

questions of policy• Problem-solution order: a method of organizing where the first main point deals with the existence of a problem, the second main point presents a solution to the problem

• Problem-cause-solution order: first main point identifies a problem, second main point analyzes the causes of the problem, third point presents a solution

Organizing speeches on

questions of policy• Comparative advantages order: each

main point explains why a speaker's solution to a problem is preferable to other proposed solutions

Organizing speeches on

questions of policyMonroe's motivated sequence:

1.Attention

2.Need

3.Satisfaction

4.Visualization

5.Action