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¡¡WHAT IS A PERSUASIVE SPEECH

¡¡¡¡Persuasive speaking is all around us. Any speech is persuasive if its purpose is to convince others to change their feelings, beliefs, or behavior. A salesperson trying to convince someone to buy a product, a political leader trying to get someone to vote a certain way, and a teacher lecturing about why a history class should be required are all speaking to persuade.

¡¡¡¡When do we make persuasive speeches? We make them all the time. When we ask a friend to lend us money, ask our teacher for a higher grade, try to convince a sibling to lose some weight, or try to persuade a parent to buy us something, our goal is to try to change or influence others.

¡¡¡¡In this chapter, you will learn how to build a persuasive speech.

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PREPARING THE INTRODUCTION, BODY AND CONCLUSION

¡¡¡¡Step 1: Prepare an Opener Building on Areas of Agreement

¡¡¡¡The introduction to a persuasive speech is very important. Insgroupsto convince listeners to agree with you, it is essential to first make them trust you and to see you as a person who thinks as they do. The best way to do this is to begin your speech by talking about common areas of agreement. You can do this by first discussing:

¡¡¡¡common goals (we all want the same basic things in life)

¡¡¡¡common problems (we are all concerned about this particular problem)

¡¡¡¡common experiences (we all know what it is like to ...)

¡¡¡¡Example A:¡°Highway Speech Limits Are Too High¡±

¡¡¡¡Most of us know people who have had friends or family injured or killed in terrible car accidents on the highways. Certainly we¡¯ve all read or heard about these tragedies in the news. We all want to live long, happy, healthy lives and not worry about the possibility of accidents. No one wants to worry about whether they will arrive at their destination safely every time they get in a car.

¡¡¡¡Example B:¡°Capital Punishment Should Be Legal¡±

¡¡¡¡I¡¯m sure everyone here is concerned about crime in our community. Many of us know that it isn¡¯t always safe to go out alone at night or even to walk through a dark parking lot to get to our car. All of us want to feel safe in our homes, in our cars, and on the streets. We would all like to see the amount of crime reduced.

¡¡¡¡Example C:¡°Donate Money to the Red Cross¡±

¡¡¡¡Although we take many things for granted, we all know how fortunate we are to have nice clothes to wear, all places in the world aren¡¯t so lucky. There are many starving and homeless people on every continent. Most of you would be willing to help people less fortunate than yourselves if you know what to do.Step 2: Prepare a Statement of Purpose

¡¡¡¡Now that you have shown your audience that you are a sensible person who shares their values and beliefs, the next step is to clearly state the specific purpose of your speech.

¡¡¡¡Example A:¡°Highway Speech Limits Are Too High¡±

¡¡¡¡The maximum speed limit on U.S. highways should be fifty miles per hour.

¡¡¡¡Example B:¡°Capital Punishment Should Be Legal¡±

¡¡¡¡Legalizing capital punishment can help prevent crime.

¡¡¡¡Example C:¡°Donate Money to the Red Cross¡±

¡¡¡¡Everyone in this class should donate five dollars to the Red Cross.

¡¡¡¡Step 3: Prepare the Body

¡¡¡¡Now that your listeners know your specific purpose, the next step is to present evidence that will convince them to agree with you. Your audience analysis can help at this stage. Review your opinion survey£¬before deciding how to convince indifferent or hostile listeners.

¡¡¡¡Often, people are indifferent about a topic because they do not see how it relates to them. Insgroupsto persuade listeners with this attitude, you must convince them that your topic is interesting, important, and relevant to them.

¡¡¡¡Example A

¡¡¡¡One student wanted to persuade the class to buy water-purification systems. According to this speaker¡¯s opinion survey, his classmates were indifferent to this topic because they had never given it any thought and didn¡¯t believe it was important. However, he found a newspaper story claiming that the quality of water in their community was the worst in the United States. In the article, doctors warned that drinking this water could increase the risk of contracting cancer.

¡¡¡¡Example B

¡¡¡¡One student gave a speech entitled¡°Casino Gambling Should Be Legal in Miami.¡±After doing her audience analysis, she found that her classmates were indifferent to her topic for several reasons. Some students said they don¡¯t gamble, while some international students said they will only live in Miami for a couple of years. The speaker explained that casino gambling would help the city¡¯s finances, so a proposed sales tax increase would not be necessary. If the sales tax weren¡¯t increased, prices in all stores and restaurants would be lower. Then, everyone (gamblers and no gamblers, permanent residents, and students on temporary visas) would benefit.

¡¡¡¡Hostile listeners are those who completely disagree with your opinion or belief. Insgroupsto persuade such listeners, you need to learn their reasons for disagreeing with you and convince them that these reasons are not valid.

¡¡¡¡Example A

¡¡¡¡One student wanted to persuade the class to donate blood to a hospital blood bank. According to this student¡¯s audience analysis, there were two reasons why his classmates didn¡¯t want to be blood donors.

¡¡¡¡One reason was that they were afraid of catching a disease from a dirty hypodermic needle. To refute this reason, the student interviewed the nurse in charge of the hospital blood bank, who explained that individually wrapped and sterilized needles are used for every blood donor and thrown away after each use. Therefore, it is impossible to catch a disease from a dirty needle.

¡¡¡¡Another reason was that some students didn¡¯t have cars and thought it was too much trouble to get to the hospital. To refute this reason, the speaker explained that it is very easy to get to the hospital because a bus goes from campus directly to the hospital every fifteen minutes, and the hospital offers a free transportation service to all blood donors.

¡¡¡¡Example B

¡¡¡¡One student gave a speech entitle¡°Capital Punishment Should Be Legal throughout the United States.¡±This student¡¯s audience analysis showed that his classmates strongly disagreed with his claim for several reasons.

¡¡¡¡One reason was that some believe that capital punishment does not reduce crime. To refute this reason, the student presented evidence that there are fewer murders committed in states and also quoted a law enforcement expert who stated that criminals are less likely to commit murder if they fear the death penalty.

¡¡¡¡Step 4: Prepare a Summary

¡¡¡¡An effective persuasive speech includes a summary of the evidence presented. This will remind your audience of why they should agree with you. The example below show how evidence was summarized in two speeches.

¡¡¡¡Example A:¡°Donate Blood to a Hospital Blood Bank¡±

¡¡¡¡I¡¯m sure you now realize that you should donate blood.

¡¡¡¡¢ñ.It¡¯s rewarding and worthwhile.

¡¡¡¡A. Think of a dying person whose life you might save.

¡¡¡¡B. Think of the great personal satisfaction you¡¯ll have.

¡¡¡¡¢ò.¡¡It¡¯s perfectly safe and painless.

¡¡¡¡A. Donating blood doesn¡¯t hurt a bit.

¡¡¡¡B. There is no chance of catching any kind of disease.

¡¡¡¡¢ó.¡¡It¡¯s very convenient.

¡¡¡¡A. It will only take a few minutes of your time.

¡¡¡¡B. Free round-trip transportation to the hospital is available.

¡¡¡¡Example B:¡°Casino Gambling Should Be Legal in Miami¡±

¡¡¡¡As you can now see, legalizing casino gambling in Miami would greatly benefit you and all residents of the city.

¡¡¡¡¢ñ. A proposed sales tax increase will not be necessary.

¡¡¡¡A. This will keep prices you pay in restaurants lower.

¡¡¡¡B. This will keep prices you pay in retail stores lower.

¡¡¡¡¢ò.¡¡Miami¡¯s finances will improve.

¡¡¡¡A. More money will be spent to improve the roads you use.

¡¡¡¡B. More money will be spent to improve the public parks and beaches you enjoy.

¡¡¡¡C. More money will be spent on educational materials for children in public schools.

¡¡¡¡Step 5: Prepare Memorable Concluding Remarks

¡¡¡¡The last part of your speech to prepare is the conclusion. The conclusion of a persuasive speech should remind the audience why they should change a belief, opinion, or behavior. An effective way to do this is to make them think about the future and to remind them that the best way to redirect the future is to take some type of action.

¡¡¡¡Example A

¡¡¡¡You might be healthy now, but think about your health in a few months or in several years. We all know that the water in this city can kill us! With a home purification system, you¡¯ll never worry about drinking polluted water again. For less than seventy-five dollars, turn your kitchen faucet /into/ an ocean of fresh water. Buy a water purification system for your sink today!

¡¡¡¡Example B

¡¡¡¡Be the best you can be! Just think - in a few short weeks a beautiful, slender, athletic body can be yours. Heads will turn as you walk down the street. Be sure to make an appointment at your local health club right away!

¡¡

¡¡OUTLINING A PERSUA-SIVE SPEECH

¡¡¡¡The outline that follows shows how one student outlined a persuasive speech. Notice how it includes the following components:

¡¡¡¡1. Opener building on areas of agreement

¡¡¡¡2. Statement of purpose

¡¡¡¡3. Body

¡¡¡¡4. Summary

¡¡¡¡5. Memorable concluding remarks

¡¡¡¡Also, notice how transitions have been used to connect the components.

¡¡¡¡OPENER BUILDING ON AREAS OF AGREEMENT

¡¡¡¡Have you ever wanted to go on vacation somewhere exciting but worried that it would cost too much or that you might be bored once you got there? We all have these concerns when planning a vacation.

¡¡¡¡We all want adventure, excitement, great food, and nice hotels without spending a lot of money!

¡¡¡¡STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

¡¡¡¡Plan a trip to Chengde, China, for your next vacation!

¡¡¡¡TRANSITION: Many of you may be worried that such a vacation will cost too much. You will be amazed to learn this is not the case.

¡¡¡¡BODY

¡¡¡¡¢ñ. A trip to Chengde, China, is very inexpensive.

¡¡¡¡A. Many airlines offer off-season discounts.

¡¡¡¡B. The best hotel costs twenty-five dollars a night.

¡¡¡¡C. You can eat three delicious meals a day for less than five dollars.

¡¡¡¡D. Local transportation is extremely inexpensive.

¡¡¡¡a. A rickshaw anywhere in the city costs fifteen cents.

¡¡¡¡b. You can rent a bicycle for pennies a day.

¡¡¡¡TRANSITION: You might think that Chengde is ugly and you¡¯ll be bored there. Let me assure you that this is not the case.

¡¡¡¡¢ò. There are many things to see and do in Chengde.

¡¡¡¡A. See the most beautiful and unusual temples in the world.

¡¡¡¡a. The Lamaist Temple of Universal Tranquility

¡¡¡¡£jIt was built by Emperor Qian Long in the eighteenth century.

¡¡¡¡£k¡¡It has the largest wooden image of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, Guanyin.

¡¡¡¡b. The Temple of Universal Joy

¡¡¡¡£j¡¡It was built in 1766.

¡¡¡¡£kIt has an incredible double terrace.

¡¡¡¡£l¡¡It has a fabulous double roof of yellow tiles.

¡¡¡¡c. The eighteenth-century Temple of Universal Love

¡¡¡¡B. Photograph the most beautiful gardens in China.

¡¡¡¡C. Rent a rowboat and ride on one of Chengde¡¯s magnificent lakes.

¡¡¡¡D. Go on a shopping spree.

¡¡¡¡a.¡¡Visit a unique shop for department store.

¡¡¡¡b.¡¡Chengde is famous for several products.

¡¡¡¡£jSilk

¡¡¡¡£k¡¡Furs

¡¡¡¡£l¡¡Wood carvings

¡¡¡¡£m¡¡Handmade Oriental rugs

¡¡¡¡TRANSITION: Some people fear getting ill and not finding a doctor if they travel to a small city in China. This should not be a concern either.

¡¡¡¡¢ó.¡¡Medical care in China is excellent.

¡¡¡¡A. Chinese hospitals and doctors provide excellent care.

¡¡¡¡B. There are many local clinics in all cities.

¡¡¡¡C. A variety of medicines are available.

¡¡¡¡a.¡¡Standard antibiotics

¡¡¡¡b.¡¡Herbal medicines

¡¡¡¡SUMMAY

¡¡¡¡I hope I¡¯ve convinced you to make your next vacation Chengde, China. Remember:

¡¡¡¡¢ñ.Chengde is a very inexpensive place to visit.

¡¡¡¡¢ò.¡¡You¡¯ll never get bored because there is so much to see and do.

¡¡¡¡¢ó.¡¡In the unlikely event you need it, excellent medical care is available.MEMORABLE CONCLUDING REMARKS

¡¡¡¡You can stand on the same spotswheresChina¡¯s most powerful emperors have stood. Your eyes will see the same green mountains they saw. The spectacular scenery, cool breezes, and striking sounds will amaze you. You will find your trip was worth the time and money you spent to get there. So, see your travel agent and make plans to visit Chengde, China, soon!