Why is persuasive speaking the most complex and the most challenging?

Why is persuasive speaking the most complex and the most challenging?

In this unit, we will explore persuasive speaking. We will begin to understand the basics of persuasive speaking and put those learning objectives into action as you begin developing your first of two persuasive speeches for this course. 

Unit Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of the unit, the learner will be able to:

  1. Construct a persuasive presentation based on a persuasive organizational pattern. 
  2. Explain the structure of a sample persuasive outline. 
  3. Model strategies to persuade audiences. 

In this unit, we will explore persuasive speaking. We will begin to understand the basics of persuasive speaking and put those learning objectives into action as you begin developing your first of two persuasive speeches for this course. 

Unit Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of the unit, the learner will be able to:

  1. Construct a persuasive presentation based on a persuasive organizational pattern. 
  2. Explain the structure of a sample persuasive outline. 
  3. Model strategies to persuade audiences. 

Why is persuasive speaking the most complex and the most challenging?

Persuasive speeches must confront the complex challenge of influencing or reinforcing peoples’ beliefs, attitudes, values, or actions, all characteristics that may seem natural, ingrained, or unchangeable to an audience. Because of this, rhetors (or speakers) must motivate their audiences to think or behave differently by presenting reasoned arguments. In this chapter, you will explore the elements of persuasion and consider how to put them into practice in your academic, personal, and professional lives. 

Chapter objectives: After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Explain what a persuasive speech is.

2. Describe the functions of persuasive speeches.

3. List the different types of persuasive speeches.

4. Identify persuasive strategies that make a speech more effective.

5. Apply the appropriate organizational pattern based on your persuasive goals.

6. Distinguish between ethical and unethical forms of persuasion.

7. Apply module concepts in final questions and activities

Click on the PDF below to read this chapter. 

The video below will offer some insight into how Mr. Rogers used the subtle art of persuasion to convince congress that public television should continue to be funded for the greater good of children's education. 

Mr. Rogers and the Power of Persuasion

Why is persuasive speaking the most complex and the most challenging?

Persuasive Speaking

Persuasion is the altering or modifying of a person’s attitudes, beliefs, values, or outlook about a topic. Ethos, pathos, and logos all contribute to our ability to persuade and empower others.

Types of Persuasive Claims

Questions of policy refer to persuading for a change to an existing law, plan, or policy or creating a new policy. Anytime you are asking what should be done to make a given situation better, you are using a claim of policy. Policy suggestions need to be real and sincere and based on evidence. This type of persuasive speech is the most commonly used persuasive claim for class presentations.

Topic example:  “Health care should be available to all full-time students at reduced costs.”

Questions of value are used when trying to persuade the relative merits—good or bad, moral or immoral—of a position.

Although it sometimes can be used to support questions of policy, a question of value can also stand alone. Questions of value focus on judging what is right or wrong or what is good or bad.  Anytime you are trying to convince an audience that an idea or course of action is right or wrong, you are persuading by using a question of value because you are appealing to your audience’s morals. The use of pathos, or emotional appeals, is usually quite effective for questions of value.

Topic example: “Pharmaceutical companies have the moral responsibility not to test their products on animals.”

Questions of fact are used when one person tries to persuade another that a fact is true or not. If you are trying to persuade your audience that something did or did not happen or something is or is not true, you are dealing with a question of fact.  If you are attending to a question that has several possible contradicting answers, your goal is to persuade your audience your answer is the correct one. If you have a question that currently has no answer, your job is to convince your audience that the answer you are proposing is correct.

Topic example: “The captain of the Titanic was solely responsible for the ship’s untimely sinking.”

Crafting Persuasive Arguments      

Once you understand the type of persuasive claim you are going to make, you need to carefully think about how to structure the argument.

Argument by example

When you use examples as your main support for your persuasive claim, you are using argument by example. When you use inductive reasoning, using specific examples to support your larger claim, think carefully about potential counterexamples that the audience might know in relation to your topic.

 Argument by analogy

Compares different ideas or examples to reach a conclusion using a literal or metaphorical analogy. The audience needs to have a basic understanding of at least one part of the analogy for it to have a chance of being accepted and accurate.

 Argument by definition

When you use the definition of an idea or a concept as part of your persuasive appeal, you are using an argument by definition. You start with a general definition that makes an argument about a specific case.

Argument by relationship

Argument by relationship refers to the general relationship or correlation of two ideas or concepts.  Specific examples or cases are either related or caused by each other. Correlation occurs when two ideas happen at the same time but do not cause each other. Causation occurs when one thing causes the other thing. Research has demonstrated that telling a narrative or story that demonstrates causation can be effective in persuading others (Dahlstrom, 2010).

Strategies to Persuade

After deciding how you will structure your arguments, you need to think about multiple strategies of persuasion.

  • Provide sufficiency of evidence.
  • Ask for suspended judgment.
  • Demonstrate cost-benefits
  • Seek out micro changes
  • Social judgment theory (SJT): Developed in 1961 by Yale professors Muzafer Sherif and Carl Hovland, it maintains that individuals can be persuaded on a topic by being convinced to accept changes that are close to their already-held beliefs.

Organizing Your Persuasive Presentation

Problem-cause-solution The problem-cause-solution pattern may be best used in persuasive presentations based on questions of policy or questions of fact.  The problem-cause-solution pattern can easily become the three main points of the body of your speech.

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

Developed in 1935 by Alan Monroe, it is a second commonly used organizational pattern for  persuasive presentations.

Step 1:  Attention

Step 2:  Need

Step 3:  Satisfaction

Step 4:  Visualization

Step 5:  Action

Persuasive Presentations and Convergence

At its core, persuasion is about helping meet the needs of your audience and future audiences in ethical ways. Audience analysis plays a central role in the task of persuasion.

Why is persuasive speaking the most complex and the most challenging?

Persuasive Speech Topic

Introduction

The purpose of this assignment is for you to thoughtfully consider and share your persuasive speech topic. This will be done in a discussion format.

Directions

  1. Respond to the questions below about your persuasive speech topic. Please number each of your responses.

Questions

  1. Provide your persuasive speech topic:
  2. Persuasive Planning: Provide the answers to the following persuasive planning items:
    1. I will be a credible speaker on this topic because:
    2. My audience will be interested in this topic because:
    3. The specific purpose for this speech will be:
    4. My proposed main points are:
    5. I am planning to consult the following types of sources (at least five sources; only two may be from the Internet but all may be physical sources as well such as books, magazines, news articles, etc.) for this speech: provide at least five (5) sources here in APA reference format.
    6. I am planning to use the following types of evidence for this speech (you must use at least three pieces of evidence in which only two may be the same: statistics, testimony, or examples):
    7. I am planning to use a ____________ organizational pattern for this speech because:

Why is persuasive speaking the most complex and the most challenging?

For this assignment, find and record at least five (5) pieces of evidence using at least five (5) pieces of evidence as described in unit 3 of which two may be the same (you may choose from the following types of evidence: statistics, testimony, and examples). For your convenience, there is a PDF review from Unit 3 attached. 

You may use two types of evidence twice (i.e. two stats, two testimonies, and one example). All five pieces of evidence must not be the same type.

You must use researched-based supporting material that comes from at least five (5) different published sources. Only two of your sources may come from the Internet (all or at least three must come from physical sources such as books, magazines, journals, newspapers, etc.). Wikipedia may not be used. For online sources consider using .org, .gov., or .edu sources. Make sure to check the validity of your sources.

Each piece of evidence you record must include the following: main point that the evidence is supporting, supporting evidence type, source (including date, page, title, publishing date, etc.), and quote or exact text you plan to use.

**HELPFUL TIP: Make your quote or text EXACTLY what you want to use in your speech, do not record an entire article or lengthy paragraph that you plan to minimize later – this is the time to get exact and specific.

Directions

You must find and record five pieces of evidence using the types of evidence described in Unit 3.

Each piece of evidence you plan to use must include: speech topicsupporting material typesource (including date, page, journal or book title and anything else we'd need to know if we wanted to find it), quote (either an exact quote as you would use it in the speech or comprehensive notes in the case of materials like statistics,) and use (where in the speech you plan to use the material.)

You will record your evidence in this submission form in the following format:

  1. Main point you are supporting (do not use “Main Point 1” – use: “Main Point 1: Types of Dogs” or “Main Point 2: Types of Cat Food” or “Main Point 2: Ingredients used in whole wheat bread”):
  2. Supporting material type (choose 1 statistic, testimony, or example):
  3. Source (use APA reference formatting):
  4. Quote/Verbiage (use an exact quote or specific text you plan to say in your speech):

EXAMPLE

  1. Main Point: Main Point 3: Sea Turtles Habitats
  2. Supporting Material Type: Statistic
  3. Source: Doe, J. (2017). Sea turtles love living in the ocean and on land. Book Press: New York, NY.
  4. Quote/ Verbiage: “In a poll of Sea Turtles, it was found that 90% of Sea Turtles love to live in the ocean and also live on land” (Doe, 2017).

Why is persuasive speaking the most complex and the most challenging?

Persuasive Speech Outline

For this assignment, you will create an outline for your persuasive speech.

Directions

  1. Create an outline for your persuasive speech using the outline below.
  2. Cut and paste the following outline into a Word document and complete each area with your coordination points. Do not forget to include/ complete the transitions between each section.

Speech Outline Form

I. Introduction

A. Attention Getter:

B. Central Idea (thesis statement):

C. Credibility Statement: D. Preview of Main Ideas:

Transition: “Now that I have told you about __________, I’m going to tell you about _________.”

II. Main Point 1:

A. Sub Point

1. Sub-subpoint for A

2. Sub-subpoint for A

B. Sub Point

1. Sub-subpoint for B

2. Sub-subpoint for B

Transition: “Now that I have told you about __________, I’m going to tell you about ________.”

III. Main Point 2:

A. Sub Point

1. Sub-subpoint for A

2. Sub-subpoint for A

B. Sub Point

1. Sub-subpoint for B

2. Sub-subpoint for B

Transition: “Now that I have told you about __________, I’m going to tell you about ________.”

IV. Main Point 3:

A. Sub Point

1. Sub-subpoint for A

2. Sub-subpoint for A

B. Sub Point

1. Sub-subpoint for B

2. Sub-subpoint for B

Transition: “Now that I have told you about __________, I’m going to tell you about ________.”

V. Conclusion

A. Review of Main Points:

B. Clincher Statement:

**If you use outside sources for any speech, include a list of references here**

REFERENCES

Why is persuasive speaking the most complex and the most challenging?

Objective: The purpose of this speech is to bring about change in your audience's attitudes and/or actions; to align youraudience's attitudes/actions with your desired attitudes/actions. You cannot persuade people to do somethingthey are already doing-- no change would be made! Your goal could be to change your audience’s minds, to

change their minds and actions, or to get your audience to feel more united behind a certain cause. 

Directions: For this persuasive speech presentation 

As you put together your speech, please keep in mind this is an online class and you will
have to take a certain approach to deliver your speech.

1. Do not sit in front of the computer monitor and read your speech off of the screen. Record your
speech standing up. Please be sure you are easily seen and heard.

2. You will need a minimum of three adults sitting down and watching you give your speech.Public speaking requires a live audience that is obviously present while you’re speaking. Therefore, the instructor must be able to have a full-frontal view of you as you speak, so be sure to face the camera where one can see both the

audience and you. It is acceptable if only see the backs of your audience heads can be seen.

3. You need to use a presentation aid that is easy for the instructor to see

4. Make sure you are not holding onto your speech notes and reading them while you present.

5. Make eye contact with the audience and have a table where you can place the notes down and
simply glance at them.

6. Do not carry a conversation with your audience or hold a discussion or question and answersession. You can ask rhetorical questions or ask yes/no or other types of closed-ended questions, but

the majority of your speech is you speaking to the audience that is present.

7. You must create a YouTube account and upload your speech to that site. You may create an account by going to: www.youtube.com Once you record and upload the video to YouTube, you will share the link with your instructor.

IMPORTANT: Please be sure that the video is unedited and not set to private. If it’s set to private, your instructor will not be able to view it. Please set the video as either public or unlisted. Once the speech is graded, you may remove the video from YouTube.
 

Why is persuasive speaking the most complex and the most challenging?

For the last speech in this unit, you will take a very specific approach toward persuading using what is known as, Monroe's Motivated Sequence. 

This method of organizing material forms the basis of many of the successful political, public awareness or advertising campaigns you see and hear around you on a daily basis. Why? Because it faithfully follows the psychology of persuasion. The pattern or steps in Monroe’s sequence mirror those identified as being part of the normal thinking processes that occur whenever a person is confronted by a problem. The steps in the process are perceived as a reasonable approach to problem-solving. Thus, using them prepares and motivates an audience to respond positively to the speaker’s message.

The sequence is named after the person who first identified and used this approach: Alan H. Monroe who taught public speaking at Purdue University.

Click on the PDF below for an explanation of Monroe's Motivated Sequence.

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Here is a video explanation of Monroe's Motivated Sequence

Monroe's Motivated Sequence

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Here is a Student Speech Example of Motivated Sequence

Persuasive Speech: Monroe's Motivate Sequence

Why is persuasive speaking the most complex and the most challenging?

Purpose: The purpose of the persuasive speech is to persuade your audience about a topic of your choice using the public speaking format we are learning about (introduction, body, conclusion with transitions, and supporting information).

You will speak to your immediate audience of at least six (6) adults physically present but keep in mind that your intended audience is your class of peers (the immediate audience you have with you can be considered “stand-ins” for your classmates).

Assignment:

  1. Prepare a five to seven (5-7) minute persuasive speech in which you prepare a speech with the overall goal of persuading our audience of a topic of your choice. You will provide the instructor your topic for this speech in a discussion for approval.
  1. Use Monroe’s Motivated Sequence organizational pattern described in Section 9.
  1. You will use at least five (5) pieces of evidence from unit 3 (see section 6) (statistics, testimony, examples) of which two may be the same (for example you could use two stats, two testimonies, and one example).
  1. You must use at least five (5) outside sources (three of which may be from the Internet; sources from Wikipedia may not be used). At least two sources must be physical sources such as books, magazines, newspapers, etc.
  1. visual aid is required for your persuasive speech. The object(s) you choose must be large enough for your immediate audience to see and for the instructor to see on the speech video. You may use a PowerPoint slide on a large screen, enlarged photos, etc. However, if the object is not large enough to be seen in detail on the video the instructor will not be able to provide feedback or points (due to the lack of ability to view the visual aid object).
  2. Your speech will include the following:
  • Introduction (Attention)
    • Attention-getter statement (consider a quote, short story, fun fact, etc.)
    • Central Idea
    • Credibility Statement
    • Preview of Main Points
  • Body
    • 3 Main Points (Need, Satisfaction, Visualization)
  • Transitions (between all sections of your speech)
    • You can choose your own transition or consider using: “Now that I have told you about _________, I’m going to tell you about _________.”
  • Conclusion (Action)
    • Review of Main Points
    • Clincher Statement (consider a quote, an idea you want your audience to remember, etc.)
  1. Use paper note cards for your speaking notes – do not read your speech word for word like a script (those reading from a script will be deducted points).8.  Use eye contact with your audience and vocal variety to enhance your speech. 

    9.  Minimize distractions (vocal distractions, such as “um” and physical distractions such as swaying)

  2. You MUST have an audience of at least six (6) adults for all speeches (including this one) for this course. This is a university requirement. To earn credit for any speech you must either show your audience before and after your speech OR prop your video recording device in such a way that I can see the audience AND you clearly throughout the entire speech.

Submission Details:

  1. Submit two items: 1) Speech; 2) Outline
  2. You must create a YouTube account and upload your speech to that site. You may create an account by going to: www.youtube.com Once you record and upload the video to YouTube, you will share the link and outline with your instructor.

    IMPORTANT: Please be sure that the video is unedited and not set to private. If it’s set to private, your instructor will not be able to view it. Please set the video as either public or unlisted. Once the speech is graded, you may remove the video from YouTube.