GUIDE TO SPEAKING AND LISTENING

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PART 3 PERSUASIVE SPEECHES

Persuasive speeches aim to influence the beliefs and actions of the people in your audience.

Successful persuasive speeches appeal to the motives of the audience. You can increase your chances of successfully persuading your listeners by:

Using audience analysis to deduce listeners’ motives, then shaping your message to specifically appeal to those motives
Stressing how the changes in behavior or policy you advocate for in your speech will benefit the audience
Establishing your credibility by illustrating a personal connection to the topic or demonstrating your expertise
Aiming for modest results—it’s unlikely that listeners will adopt an entirely new belief system as a result of your speech seeking to persuade them
Establishing common ground with the members of your audience so that they will be more receptive to a challenging message