Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to take this opportunity to present to you some of the tenets that make up good persuasive speech. The fundamental objectives of this speech is to enable different people to understand what makes up a good persuasive speech and how the speaker can make sure remains relevant while making his persuasion speech to a particular group of people or even an individual.
It is prudent to note that before delivering your speech, it is crucial that the speaker understands his/her audience attitude, values, behaviour and the beliefs. It is important that the speaker understand the above, mentioned characteristics of the audience before he/she delivers his/her speech. Understanding the attitude of your audiences enables the speaker to respond in a given way. It enables the speaker to ensure that he/she presents what the audience is willing to hear. This enables him/her to keep in touch with his audience and also to attract their attention to the message being delivered.
However, for the speaker to ensure that he/she remains persuasive in his speech, it is prudent that she/he understand certain principles that are vital in persuasion. One important principle of persuasion is known as cognitive dissonance. This principle enables the speaker to rationalize decisions so as to reduce the anticipated conflict which might arise from the decisions made by the speaker. It is therefore prudent that the speaker ensures that he/she considers this principle so as to avoid conflicts between him and his audiences.
The principle of persuasive communication enables the speaker to reduce cognitive dissonance through providing justification. However, in order to deliver a persuasive speech, the communicator of the speaker is expected to take into consideration the following five techniques. The first technique is to discredit the source; this involves attacking the audience or the person’s credibility or instead assuming that such a person or group were misinformed about the topic in discussion.
The second technique involves pointing out advantages; it is prudent that you point out the advantages related to the topic by providing certain evidences on the same. This further shall attract the audiences or the individual to whom the message is being delivered to.
The third technique involves pointing out disadvantages; after giving out the advantages, it is important that the speaker points out some of the disadvantages associated with the topic under the discussion. However, it is advisable for the speaker to later take his/her stand by either going for the advantages of disadvantages. Other techniques entails ignoring the issues if in case it resulted to serious argument which is wasting a lot of time or instead. Finally, the last technique which the speaker can apply in order to persuade his/her opponents is to change the attitude of his/her audience.
There are certain theories which the speaker ought to understand in order to ensure that what he/she delivers to his audience does not cause conflict. One of the theories is known as the social judgement theory. This theory can explain more on how different people or groups of people come to evaluate information, form a position or even form new positions. This theory is very important to the speaker because it aids persuasion.
Despite the fact that a skilful communicator can come up with different strategy in order to change the position of the audience, it is important that such a speaker takes into consideration the three possible effects which may arise from the discussion; they include assimilation effect, contrast effect and the boomerang effect.
It is also important to look at some of the factors which can affect the audience commitment; it is important to note that a number of strategies have been put in place in order to ensure that the audience remain active to the message being delivered. Some of the strategies which can be employed by different speakers to ensure that their audience remain committed to the, message being delivered include: having people raise their hands, make testimonials, raise their hands or even make testimonials. Research shows that these methods have proved useful in making sure that the audience remain committed to the message being passed to them.
Other methods which have been found to contribute to persuasive speech include the arrangement of the message. There are two types of message arrangement, that is two sided and one sided. It is therefore important that the speaker decide on what type of structure to use depending on the usefulness f the structure.
Lessons Learnt
The following are some of the lessons which the author has learnt from this topic:
- Lastly, the audience has learnt that the order of the message is crucial in impacting the persuasiveness of the message being delivered.
