Persuasive Speeches
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Ethics and You
What kind of ethics do you think come into play when giving a persuasive speech? Have you ever been persuaded by a speech that you later determined used unethical practices?
You may think that persuasion is a dishonest tactic used to coerce someone into doing or believing something, but that is not necessarily the case.
Persuasive speeches are very common in daily life and are a major focus of public speaking classes (R. Smith, 2004). You may think that persuasion is a dishonest tactic used to coerce someone into doing or believing something, but that is not necessarily the case. Rather, persuasive speeches are intended to influence the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of the audience. Although they often ask for audiences to change, persuasive speeches can also reaffirm existing attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors: for example, a politician speaking at a rally of core constituents probably doesn’t need to change their minds about anything, but she uses persuasive speaking nonetheless to get them excited about her platform or energized for her reelection campaign. In other cases, persuasive speech is a more straightforward call to action. In Sample Speech 11.2, for example, the entertainer and human rights activist Ricky Martin urges members of the international community to step up efforts to put an end to human trafficking. A United Nations goodwill ambassador, Martin offers both facts and statistics related to this global crime, outlines efforts to combat it, and calls for support.