persuasive speech is written especially to sway people’s mind. You may want to change their perception about a thing, stop them from doing something, or convince them enough to take a particular action.

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2.  A persuasive speech is written especially to sway people’s mind. You
may want to change their perception about a thing, stop them from
doing something, or convince them enough to take a particular action.
Listen to this speech by Leonardo DiCaprio during Climate Summit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ka6_3TJcCkA
 Three steps to a powerful persuasive speech are:
◦ Before writing the Speech
◦ Writing the Speech
◦ Delivering the Speech
In this ppt, we will also guide you to a few resources where you can find
interesting topics for a persuasive speech, some samples, and templates
that you can use to write your speech.

3. Before you put pen to
paper, you need to:
 Research your topic well
 Know your goals
 Understand your
audience
 Choose the right
approach
 Decide on the main
points you will touch
upon

4. Research your Topic well Know your Goals
 Learn about the topic as much as you
can.
 While talking about a controversy, be
sure to address views and opinions of
the other side too. This makes your
argument better-rounded.
 Make sure you draw your facts,
statistics and examples from reliable
sources such as major newspapers, TV
channels, government or well-trusted
websites, and academic books and
journal.
 Radio talks and editorials are often
biased. Use them judiciously.
 Tailor your content according to your
goals.
 Define the action points of your
speech. What do you want your
audience to do or think after your
speech?
For example:
A persuasive speech about Senior Care may
have a goal to convince the audience to
take care of their parents, or a goal to make
them donate money to build an old age
home.
The content of your speech will change
accordingly.

5. Understand your
Audience
Decide on your main
points
Tailor your content according to the knowledge-level
and existing views of your audience.
For example:
If your audience knows little about touch-screen
phones, you will have to give them some background
information first, tell them about its basic features.
To engage a group well-versed with iPhones and
Android phones, you will have to talk about the
technical aspects and new features you want to
highlight.
Similarly, if you are giving speech to get people to
vote for you in upcoming elections, you will find it
easier to persuade an audience that likes you
already. If the wave is not in your favour, you will first
need to convince the voters to why they should
choose you as their representative.
Number of points you can make to support your
position will depend on the time you have. Generally
speaking, 3-4 main points is a good number for any
persuasive speech.
For example:
Four main points in your speech about the Senior
Care can be:
 Making homes elderly-friendly
 Safeguarding the health and safety of the Senior
Citizens
 Protecting finances of the Elderly
 Making aging people feel part of the family and
society

6. To persuade people, you can use the three major approaches used by the Greeks:
 Ethos: Appealing to the audience’s ethics or morals.
For example: “We should respect our elders. It is the right thing to do. We need to
set right example for our future generations.”
 Pathos: Appealing to the audience’s emotions.
For example: “Think of all the times our parents sacrificed for us. They showered
their precious little happiness for us. Isn’t it time for us to show them some
gratitude, to offer them some happiness and peace in the golden period of their
lives?”
 Logos: Appealing to the audience’s intellect.
For example: “We will all age one day. Setting up a system that cares for senior
citizens today, is going to help us tomorrow.”
You can use any combination of these approaches to come up with an effective
persuasive speech.

7. A good persuasive
speech has four
main parts:
1. Strong opening
2. Sufficient
convincing
evidence
3. Counter-
arguments and
their answers
4. Call to action

8. Strong Opening
5 great ways to start your speech
are:
Use an attention grabber statement
or visual: It can be a little dramatic or
startling. For example, many old
people in desolate conditions.
Establish a link with the audience:
Show the audience that you have
something in common with them. You
might be a working parent juggling
responsibilities of your office, children
and parents, and feel overwhelmed at
times. Or you may share a similar
background with them.
 Highlight your credentials: Tell the
audience that you have researched the
topic well, you are an expert or an
authority on the topic, and that you are
knowledgeable enough to do the
speech. For example, “I have invested
several months touring the senior care
facilities across India.”
 Explain your Goal: For example, “I
hope that by the end of my talk you will
agree that we need to make organised
efforts to establish high-quality senior
citizen facilities.”
 Establish a Road Map: For example, “I
believe we should start senior citizen
facilities in our region for these four
reasons…”

9. Sufficient Convincing
Evidence
Counter-arguments and
their Answers
 Mention the credible sources of
the facts and figures you present.
 Arrange your evidences in a
logical manner. Do not mince the
flow of your ideas.
 Real-life examples of similar
efforts can add life to your
argument. For example, Sweden’s
nearly cashless society is a good
example to support India’s
demonetization policy. It is
something people can relate to.
Describe the opposing views fairly
and objectively.
For example:
Don’t say, “People who don’t take
care of their parents are heartless.”
Instead, you can say, “Opponents
emphasize that most people do not
have access to enough time and
money to afford senior care facilities
but…” and then proceed to offer
solutions for it.

10. Call to Action
 Conclude with a clear idea of
what exactly you want the
audience to do.
 Re-enforce your main points.
 Keep it simple.
For example:
“To sum up, I have told you about
(points 1, 2, 3, 4). To design a society
which can keep us all happy, making
organised efforts to take care of our
elderly is the most sensible and ethic
step to take. Please donate money
for (solutions you suggest)…”

11. Good orators always:
 Practice,
 Dress appropriately,
 Are Calm and Relaxed,
and
 Engage their Audience.

12. Practice Your Speech How to Dress Up?
 Practice in front of a mirror.
Notice your body language
and facial expressions too.
 After a few preliminary
practice sessions, record
yourself making the speech
and review it carefully.
 If possible, practice
speaking in front of your
friends or family members,
and ask for their feedback.
 Dress up like your audience.
 Academic and business
presentations generally
require formal dressing,
while club meetings may be
a bit less formal.

13. Tips to keep yourself
Calm
How to Engage
Audience?
 Try breathing exercises to help relax
yourself.
 Maintain eye contact with your
audience.
 Move around on the stage but don’t
fidget. Don’t pick at your hair or
clothes.
 Speak from the heart. When you read
your speech, you lose your audience.
Prepare your notes, and memorize
what you want to say. Let yourself be
guided by your audience’s reactions to
improvise as required.
 If you make a mistake, do not let it
make you nervous. Use a little humour
to laugh it off, and then move on.
 Invite your audience to ask you
questions about any point you have
made.
 Ask someone about their opinion
on a particular point that you have
put forth.
 Simplify your call to action. If you
want them to donate money, pass
around a box to make collections,
or give them a time and place
when you will go around the
neighbourhood to collect items or
money they want to donate.

14.  Find 9 interesting templates for Persuasive Speech at:
https://www.template.net/business/outline-
templates/sample-persuasive-speech-outline/
 Over 500 topics or ideas for a Persuasive Speech at:
http://www.myspeechclass.com/persuasivetopi
cs2.html
 Find some interesting Persuasive Speech Samples at:
http://www.best-speech-topics.com/free-
sample-of-speeches.html

15. Contact our experts to write an excellent speech for you
at __________________.