1. Principles of Persuasive Speeches

2. Whip Around What might you persuade us to do, buy, believe, etc.?
In other words, what is your persuasive speech topic?

3. Persuasive Speaking The goal is to influence audience members’
Attitudes
Beliefs
Values
Actions

4. Focus on Motivation Use information from audience analysis.
Make the message personally relevant to listeners.
Demonstrate the benefit to the audience.
Establish your credibility.
Set modest goals.

5. Focus on Motivation (cont.)
Demonstrate how attitudes can prevent satisfaction.
Encourage receptivity to change.
Greater success comes when the audience holds a similar position.

6. Classical Persuasive Appeals: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos
Persuasion happens through three persuasive appeals: ethos, pathos, and logos.
Logos (appeal to reason)
Critical when asking listeners to
Reach conclusions regarding complicated issues;
Take a specific action.

7. Classical Persuasive Appeals: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos (cont.)
Pathos (appeal to emotion)
Methods of appealing to pathos
Using vivid imagery
Telling compelling stories
Using repetition and parallelism
Base emotional appeals on sound reasoning.
Combine ethos and logos for best effect.

8. Classical Persuasive Appeals: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos (cont.)
Ethos (speaker credibility)
Speaker’s moral character and trustworthiness
Audience must view speaker as credible.
Increases their level of receptivity

9. Contemporary Persuasive Appeals: Needs and Motivations
Appeal to what motivates audience members.
Encourage receptivity to change.
Recognize that motives arise from needs.

10. Appeal to Audience Members’ Needs
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Lower levels must be met first.
Higher levels are considered unimportant until then.

11. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
FIGURE 23.1

12. Appeal to Audience Members’ Needs (cont.)
Physiological needs
Access to food, water, and air
Safety needs
Feeling protected and secure
Appeal to safety benefits

13. Appeal to Audience Members’ Needs (cont.)
Social needs
Finding acceptance, having meaningful relationships
Appeal to social benefits
Self-esteem needs
Feeling good about ourselves
Appeal to emotional benefits

14. Appeal to Audience Members’ Needs (cont.)
Self-actualization needs
Achieving goals, reaching our potential
Appeal to need to fulfill potential

15. Encourage Mental Engagement
Elaboration likelihood model of persuasion
Central processing
Listeners
Are motivated and thinking critically;
Seriously consider what your message means to them;
Are most likely to act on your message.

16. Encourage Mental Engagement (cont.)
Elaboration likelihood model of persuasion (cont.)
Peripheral processing
Listeners pay little attention; consider your message
Irrelevant;
Too complex to follow;
Just plain unimportant.
Listeners might support you for superficial reasons.

17. Encourage Mental Engagement (cont.)
Link arguments to listeners’ practical concerns.
Use the appropriate level of understanding.
Demonstrate common bonds.
Consider your audience’s cultural orientation.

18. Summary Questions What are the goals of persuasive speeches?
How can you encourage mental engagement?
What are the 5 needs described by Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs?