Last Updated: September 9, 1996

Persuading your Audience
 © Chirantan Basu
Most, if not all, public speeches are persuasive in nature - the speaker tries to convince the audience to adopt a particular point of view. In sales speeches, the point of view is "purchase product X", in political speeches, it is "vote for me", and in fundraising speeches, it is "give generously." Even in the standard corporate presentations, where the explicit purpose may be to inform the audience, the implicit purpose is usually to convince the audience that "the company is healthy."

Unfortunately, very few speeches succeed in convincing anybody of anything. They are either poorly constructed or improperly delivered. Even a superbly constructed speech, like Mark Antony's sermon at Caesar's funeral, can be slaughtered if the delivery is flat and uninspiring. On the other hand, gifted speakers with a natural talent for connecting to their audience, can falter if their speeches lack focus.

How do we persuade our audience? How do we construct and deliver a speech that will be etched into our audience's memory and move them to adopt our point of view? I use the following 3-step approach - select, construct, and present.

The first and most crucial step is to select a message - a point of view that you want your audience to adopt and act upon. This message should be crisp and clear - try to crystallize it to one sentence. Mark Antony's message, for example, was "Avenge Caesar's death - punish the traitors."

The second step is to construct the speech, making sure that it stays within the allotted time. There are three key phases of a persuasive speech - credibility, visualization, and reinforcement.

The credibility (or introduction) phase should succinctly answer the question: Why should the audience listen to you and what is your message? Mark Antony establishes his credibility by simply stating that he was a "friend" of Caesar.

During the visualization phase, demonstrate to your audience through stories, anecdotes, and other forms of visual images, how their lives will be enriched upon adopting your point of view. Avoid a hard-sell approach: try subtlety and humor instead. Mark Antony gradually establishes that Caesar was not "ambitious" as Brutus had claimed, but a generous leader who had bequeathed all his worldly possessions to the citizens of Rome.

The reinforcement (or conclusion) phase should restate the importance of your message and call on your audience to (some form of) action. After clearly establishing Caesar as a hero who had been betrayed by traitors, Antony closes his memorable rendition by exhorting his people to "rise and mutiny."

The third and final step in an effective persuasive speech is the presentation. A persuasive speech must come from the heart and not from your notes. The introduction and the conclusion, as a minimum, must be delivered from memory. Eye contact is critical, as is vocal variety. A persuasive speech must be passionate - your voice, facial expressions, body language, and words should blend in perfect harmony to convince your audience not only of the importance of your message but also of the depth of your own convictions. If the audience detects even the slightest trace of insincerity, you will lose them forever. Practise your speech. There are no short cuts to delivering an effective persuasive speech.

Following these three simple steps - select, construct, present - has enabled me to connect with my audiences (some of the time). I hope that they will be of some help to you.