15 Persuasive Speaking

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Suppose you have found a magic lamp with a genie inside. The genie will grant you one wish, but there’s a catch: you need to convince him that your wish is worthwhile and that it will have a positive impact on the world. Each year, TED (short for Technology, Entertainment, and Design), an organization devoted to “ideas worth spreading,” plays the role of this magic genie. Winners receive $100,000—in addition to the organization’s considerable talent and resources—to turn a beneficial and world-changing idea into reality. After months of preparation, TED Prize winners then unveil their wishes and plans at the annual TED conference (TED Prize, 2011).

TED Prize winner and celebrity chef Jamie Oliver presented his wish (“To teach every child about food”) at the 2010 conference in Long Beach, California. He opened his speech with a simple statement identifying an important social and medical problem: “In the next 18 minutes when I do our chat, four Americans that are alive will be dead from the food that they eat” (Oliver, 2010, para. 1). Oliver went on to discuss the realities of obesity in the United States and elsewhere, noting the personal health costs as well as the financial costs of caring for people suffering from preventable, diet-related diseases. He then discussed his experiences educating real people whose lives have been shaped by a lack of simple knowledge about food.

Oliver openly considered the causes for the problem he was addressing: a lack of education about healthy food choices at home and in schools; school lunch programs focused on economics rather than on nutrition; a food industry that promotes highly processed, unhealthy foods rather than more costly, healthy options; and confusing or misleading labeling on the foods we buy. But he also proposed solutions, pointing to successful (and nutritious) school lunch programs that could be easily rolled out on a larger scale for a relatively small influx of cash. He also considered and explained how food businesses can—and, indeed, must—be an integral part of the solution.

Oliver ended his speech by reminding his listeners of his personal wish and his goal for speaking that day: to form “a strong sustainable movement to educate every child about food, to inspire families to cook again, and to empower people everywhere to fight obesity” (Oliver, 2010, para. 39).

What do you think of when you hear the word persuasion? When we ask students this question, they often think of sneaky used-car salespeople and dishonest politicians. They also point to Inception’s Dom Cobb, a spy who attempts to persuade his targets by manipulating their subconscious minds. The first two examples might involve people attempting to be persuasive, but they certainly involve unethical communication. The final example is a clear-cut description of coercion, the act of using manipulation, threats, intimidation, or violence to gain compliance.

Persuasion is none of these things; rather, it is the process of influencing (often changing or reinforcing) others’ attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors on a given topic. When done properly and respectfully, it is also an ethical practice. Think of all the important accomplishments that can come from a competent use of persuasion, such as petitioning for money to support victims of natural disasters. Persuasion is also a tool that you use every day, whether you are persuading your roommates to switch from a cable TV subscription to Hulu Plus or convincing your four-year-old to eat his peas. In this chapter, we will examine the nature and goals of persuasive speaking while helping you consider your audience, the support for your speech, and helpful organizational patterns.