Ultimate Guide to Persuasive Speech (Hook and Influence Any Audience) PART II
IN PART I WAS COVERED
1. Selecting a topic
2. Organize content
3. Know your content inside and out
4. Storytelling techniques (Hero’s journey)
IN PART II
5. Make use of ‘you’ and ‘because’
6. Reinforce your message
7. Adopt the Golden Circle Approach
8. Provide solutions to the problem
9. Summing it up
5. Make use of ‘you’ and ‘because’
There are words that hold more power in
swaying our decision making than others. If we can learn how to utilize them,
it’ll be easier to persuade our audience.
a) “You”
When you’re speaking or even writing or
pitching to persuade, use first-person language. That means making use of the
word ‘you’. This word not only gets your audience’s attention, it also makes
them feel special – like they are a part of something.
Using “you” makes you sound much more
conversational and friendly which makes it easier to establish a connection
with your audience. Instantly, you’ll notice the word holds your audience
accountable for what you’re saying and makes them feel personally involved.
b) “Because”
A study found that using the word ‘because’
would make people the inclined to allow someone else to do something.
Here is a proven scenario:
Person A: “Excuse me, I have 5 pages. May I
use the Xerox machine?”
Person B: “I have 5 pages. May I use the
Xerox machine because I need to make copies?
Look at both of these sentences. Are you more
inclined to allow Person A to cut the line or Person B? Studies find that only
60% would allow Person A to cut the line while a staggering 93% will do so for
Person B even if the reasons are ridiculous. This is all because they simply
heard the word ‘because’ accompanied by a reason.
6. Reinforce your message
a) Power of repetition
A study of managers in the workplace by
Professors Tsedal Neely of Harvard and Paul Leonardi of Northwestern found
that,
“Managers who were deliberately redundant moved their projects forward
faster and more smoothly.”
Knowing this, try to apply the power of
repetition in your speech to drive home your message. Don’t rush trying to get
your point across but rather, try to convey the message as many times as you
can.
However, be creative in repeating your
message. Do not say the exact same thing over and over again or you’ll just
sound annoying. Instead, find other creative and effective ways to get the same
idea across to your audience.
b) Visuals
Visual aids like presentation slides or
images not only provide the opportunity to reinforce and drive your message
home, it also provides 43% added recall according to Prezi.3
To stimulate emotions amongst your audience,
make use of evocative images. It doesn’t steal your audience’s attention but
reinforces your key message instead. All this while evoking a certain feelings
in your audience which helps in persuading them to believe in your idea.
c) Colours
Just like imagery, colours can evoke emotions
in your audience as well. Colours signify different emotions and associations.
Look at this video to help you understand how humans react to different color
stimuli:
d) Interactive Content
A study found that interactive ads were found
to be twice as memorable as compared to static ads. Knowing this, you should
find ways to create interactive content to further engage and persuade your
audience. This can be done with the use of PowerPoint as you can add animations,
transitions or even embed videos to spice up your speech.
According to experts, the most recent
statistics show that video content isn’t just effective, it’s also on the rise.
Furthermore, 64% are willing to watch a video if it’s interactive. If you find
that your speech may be boring or full of data, try to present it in a form of
an interactive video.
Here’s a video of Hans Rosling, one of the
few speakers who knows how to present data in a fun and engaging manner:
7. Adopt the Golden Circle Approach
In order to convince others to buy your idea, message, service or
product, find out the purpose for what you’re doing. Before speaking to your
audience, find your purpose and/or belief in giving the talk in the first
place.
Here’s a video of Simon Sinek, explaining how
the Golden Circle approach is effective in making others buy your idea,
message, service or product:
In the video, Simon Sinek mentions that many
of us communicate from the outside in. This means we always start with What,
How and then Why. He explains that persuasive speakers do the exact opposite.
They start from the inside out. This is also known as the ‘Golden
Circle’ Approach:
- Why: What is your purpose for doing what
you’re doing
- How: How you show your belief in what
you’re doing
- What: What is the result?
One example of a company who makes use of
this approach is Apple Inc.
- Why: What is your purpose for doing what
you’re doing
Their purpose is to challenge the status quo. They believe in thinking differently. - How: How you show your belief in what
you’re doing
By making their products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. - What: What is the result?
They happen to make great computers.
As Simon Sinek says,
“People don’t buy what you do but why you do it.”
Find what you believe in and you’ll realize
it’s easier to persuade your audience into buying your message and taking
action upon them.
8. Provide solutions to the problem
As a speaker, informing is not enough – take it a step further and show
the audience how they can take action. And to inspire action, solutions must be
provided. Although problems hook your audience, solutions are what activates
action.
Start adopting the “How will my audience
change as a result of hearing my speech?” mindset. Your speech can empower the
audience if they can take at least one action because of what you’ve said.
Furthermore, if your audience does take
action, this means you’ve successfully persuaded them since they are motivated
by your message.
“That tension helps them persuade the audience to adopt a new mindset or
behave differently — to move from what is to what could be. And by following
Aristotle’s three-part story structure (beginning, middle, end), they create a
message that’s easy to digest, remember and retell.” — Nancy Duarte
Hence, you should be prepared to provide
solutions to overcome any obstacles or challenges your idea may
face/anticipate.
Summing it up
And there you have it. Make use of all three elements to help your
audience buy into your message.
1. Select a good topic
2. Research on your audience and content thoroughly
3. Reinforce your message and make your content engaging
4. Know the purpose of your speech
5. Provide solutions
With my step-by-step guide, you will be able
to write up a persuasive speech and influence your audience successfully.
Eugene Cheng
https://www.lifehack.org/758310/ultimate-guide-to-persuasive-speech?ck_subscriber_id=168781672
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