Persuasive Speeches

Whether you are trying to convince your parents of why you need a new smartphone or convince an employer to give you a job, you are going to be making speeches for the rest of your life where you try to persuade someone to your point of view. No-one escapes this so it is worth learning how to do it early.

Here are some tips: 1. The Beginning - You need your audience to be open to your argument.

Everything is dependent on getting your audience on your side. They need to like you and believe that you like them. It is important that you have taken the time to know and understand your audience.

Your introduction needs to:

➢ Show respect for the audience. ➢ Grab their attention. ➢ Express clearly the topic of your speech and your position. ➢ Make sure it is in a context that the audience understands.

2. The Middle - You need to convince them your argument is sound.

This is where you convince them of the validity of your point of view and create empathy.

The body needs to:

➢ Have a limited number of clear main points. ➢ Have clear explanations of why points are important. This should use contexts that your

audience understands. ➢ Have clear supporting evidence for every point. ➢ Acknowledge and invalidate opposing arguments. ➢ Make use of persuasive rhetorical devices.

3. The End - You need them to come over onto your side.

Now you want them to come over into your camp. The conclusion needs to:

➢ End with a recap of the main argument. ➢ Remind them of the points you want them to remember. ➢ Remind them why they should agree with you. ➢ Remind them that you have empathy for them by showing appreciation to them. ➢ Have an unforgettable ending.

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Persuasive Speech Tips and Devices. Getting the audience attention. Effective:

➢ An example that is strange or intriguing to your audience. ➢ A quote that is challenging or provokes a reaction. Perhaps from an unexpected source. ➢ A story that is confronting or produces amazement. ➢ A curious or puzzling scenario. ➢ A question or challenge that triggers imagination or inspiration. ➢ A statistic that is shocking.

To be avoided:

➢ Being vague - anytime ➢ Restating or retelling something the audience already knows. ➢ Unsubstantiated generalizations. ( this is different from rhetorical devices) ➢ Anything that takes away from a strong and confident thesis.

Rhetorical devices for Persuasive speeches. Find examples of each of these: Analogy Appeal to Emotion Archaisms Cliché Figures of Speech Hyperbole Imperatives Inversions Irony Quotations/Allusions Repetition Rhetoric Rhetorical questions

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