Persuasive Speaking

You are used to experiencing persuasion in many forms and may have an easy time identifying examples of persuasion, but can you explain how persuasion works? Osborn and Osborn define persuasion this way: "the art of convincing others to give favorable attention to our point of view." Two components make this definition a useful one.

First, it acknowledges the artfulness, or skill, required to persuade others. Whether you are challenged with convincing an auditorium of 500 that they should sell their cars and opt for a pedestrian lifestyle or convincing your friends to eat pizza instead of hamburgers, persuasion does not normally just happen. Rather it is planned and executed thoughtfully. Second, this definition delineates the ends of persuasion - to convince others to think favorably of our point of view. Persuasion "encompasses various communication activities, including advertising, marketing, sales, political campaigns, and interpersonal relations." Because of its widespread utility, persuasion is a pervasive part of our everyday lives.

Michael Bruno" by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Region

Although persuasion occurs in nearly every facet of our day-to-day lives, there are occasions when more formal acts of persuasion – persuasive speeches – are appropriate. Persuasive speeches "intend to influence the beliefs, attitudes, values, and acts of others." Unlike an informative speech, where the speaker is charged with making some information known to an audience, in a persuasive speech, the speaker attempts to influence people to think or behave in a particular way. This art of convincing others is propelled by reasoned argument, the cornerstone of persuasive speeches. Reasoned arguments, which might consist of facts, statistics, personal testimonies, or narratives, motivate audiences to think or behave differently than before they heard the speech.

Particular circumstances warrant a persuasive approach. As O'Hair and Stewart point out, it makes sense to engage in persuasion strategies when your end goal is to influence any of these things – "beliefs, attitudes, values, and acts" – or to reinforce something already existing. For instance, safe sex advocates often present messages of reinforcement to already safe sexual actors, reminding them that wearing condoms and asking for consent are solid practices with desirable outcomes. Safer sex advocates also routinely spread the message to populations who might be likely to engage in unsafe or non-consensual sexual behavior.

In a nutshell, 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.