Mastering Persuasive Speeches: Building Effective Arguments

1. 15 Speaking to Persuade

2. Speaking to Persuade • The Informative-Persuasive Continuum • Types of Persuasive Speeches • Building Persuasive Arguments • Putting It All Together • Communicating Responsibly: Recognizing and Practicing Ethical Persuasion

3. The Informative-Persuasive Continuum • Speaking to Inform Involves an Element of Persuading • Each of the informative speech types can overlap with the persuasive speaking • Speaking to Persuade Involves an Element of Informing • During a persuasive speech, speakers are likely to give the audience new information, convey ideas, and perhaps tell a story

4. The Informative-Persuasive Continuum Figure 15-1. The Informative-Persuasive Continuum The more change a speaker asks from an audience, the more challenging the presentation.

5. The Informative-Persuasive Continuum • Effective Persuasive Speakers Know Their Audiences • Added challenge of how audience members are likely to judge the beliefs they are being asked to accept • Social judgment theory—evaluation of persuasive messages based on the beliefs we already hold • Anchors—attitudes or beliefs that act as a personal standard for judging other messages • Latitude of acceptance—the range of positions a listener is likely to accept or tolerate

6. The Informative-Persuasive Continuum • Effective Persuasive Speakers Know Their Audiences (continued) • Latitude of noncommittment—the range of positions a listener neither accepts or rejects • Latitude of rejection—the range of positions a listener is likely to reject or consider intolerable

7. The Informative-Persuasive Continuum Figure 15-2. Dimensions of Audience Attitudes Latitudes of acceptance, noncommittment, and rejection vary based on personal investment in a belief.

8. Types of Persuasive Speeches • Speeches that Reinforce • A speech that reinforces tries to strengthen existing attitudes, beliefs, or values by bolstering attitudes and convictions that the audience already posses

9. Types of Persuasive Speeches • Speeches that convince • A speech that convinces urges listeners to accept contentious facts, evaluate beliefs, or support actions • Claims of fact—statements about the truth or falsity of some assertion or claim • Claims of value—statements that ask listeners to form a judgment or evaluation • Claims of policy—statements that ask listeners to consider a specific course of action

10. Types of Persuasive Speeches “The main dangers in this life are the people who want to change everything . . . Or nothing.”—Lady Nancy Astor, first woman member of the British parliament

11. Types of Persuasive Speeches • Speeches that Call for Action • A speech that calls for action builds on the support a speaker has earned and moves the audience to a specific behavior

12. Building Persuasive Arguments • One of the first decisions to make in planning your persuasive speech is which type of claim—fact, value, or policy—will become the thesis for your presentation • Create Your Propostional Statement • Define Your Claim, Reasons, and Evidence • See Persuasive Presentation Sentence Outline Example

13. Building Persuasive Arguments • Persuasion Based on Credibility • Ethos refers to the ethics or credibility of the speaker

14. Building Persuasive Arguments • Persuasion Based on Logic • The claims a speaker makes are only as solid as the evidence and reasoning that support them • Logos refers to arguments based on logic or reason

15. Building Persuasive Arguments • Persuasion Based on Emotional Appeals • The word pathos refers to arguments based on emotional appeals or appeals to values • Basic Needs and Desires • Security • Belonging • Love and Esteem • Self-Actualization • When paired with logical appeals, pathos can be powerful, particularly with audiences who are skeptical or hostile

16. Summary • Persuasive speeches share much with informative ones • There are three types of persuasive speaking: speeches that reinforce, convince, or call for action • Claims of fact, value, and policy each reflect a different goal of the speaker and desired response from listeners • Arguments consist of claims, evidence, and reasoning