One of the first things to remember when writing a speech is that a successful one must be passionate and interesting. A strong argument is only believable if it is presented from a personal point of view. You also need to be enthusiastic about the subject you're talking about. By showing passion and concern for the topic, your audience will be able to empathize with your point of view, and be more likely to agree with you.
Story structure
A successful persuasive speech uses a story structure to tell the story. A good story has a problem or conflict, a hero, and an enemy. You will shape your story around this topic, and even anecdotes should follow the same rules. In this guide, I'll explain the four main elements of a good story and how you can apply them to your own speech. In addition to the four key elements, story structure will make your speech more interesting and engaging to your audience.
A story structure is one of the most effective speechwriting tools. Every speaker can benefit from learning to tell stories and structuring their speeches like stories. In fact, stories all have a basic underpinning. They describe the situation, then disrupt it with conflict. This stage is known as "complicating action" by experts. In the first stage of your speech, you will set up a basic situation. After laying the groundwork for your speech, you will introduce your characters and your theme.
Pathos persuasion vs. ethos persuasion
In persuasion, pathos and ethos appeal to an audience's reason while logos appeals to their emotions. These three elements of rhetorical appeal are known as the rhetorical triangle. When used together, they can convince a listener to buy what you're selling. To understand the difference between pathos and logos, consider how a speech can be persuasive. Aristotle compared the appeals of pathos and logos to those of a speaker's credibility.
In the Greek language, pathos means suffering or experience. It consists of appealing to an audience's emotions to convince them to listen. This technique is often employed by great storytellers. But a story does not necessarily need to be tragic or dramatic. A simple story with a meaningful premise, meaningful language, or a personal anecdote can evoke pathos.
Finding your weakest argument in a speech
The first step to writing an effective persuasive speech is finding your weakest argument. Weak arguments are the ones that lack supporting evidence, logic, or are too controversial to convince the audience. Moreover, they are more likely to evoke unfavorable attitudes in the audience. For example, if you're trying to convince a person to get a vaccination, you shouldn't attack their character. While strong arguments can win you business and support, they often fail.
Educating your audience
When writing a persuasive speech, one of the most important aspects is to understand your audience. You don't want to make them feel stupid by oversimplifying your topic, so be sure to look for their level of sophistication. For example, if your audience is college students, they will know that civil rights in the United States are not complete, and there are pockets of discrimination, prejudice, and violence. Similarly, if you're speaking to the general public, you might want to consider using a topic that relates to their experience or interests.
When writing a persuasive speech, it's crucial to understand your audience's point of view. Whether they're interested in an issue or not, you'll need to educate your audience before you get started. If your audience doesn't understand the issue, they'll likely not engage and will instead take a position against you before you've even heard your argument. To be sure your speech will be well received, consider the following points:
