The Science and Art of a Persuasive Speech

I think I pooped. Change me NOW!

Persuasion is something you as public speaker will do quite frequently. In fact, persuasion has been part of your existence from the time you could communicate.

If you are lucky enough to have children you are constantly being persuaded to let them have ice cream for dinner or for you to buy that new toy that everyone else has. If you have teenagers like I do, it could be that new pair of jeans they must have, or the new iPhone, or a car (yes it appears as children get older their "persuasiveness" is for more expensive items). And if you don't have kids yet, get ready for the day you have them because they will persuade you even when you know it's not in your best interest.

Persuasion is derived from the Greek verb "to believe," and today we think of persuasion as the process of influencing attitudes, beliefs, values, and behavior.

For me, I like to look at the synonyms of persuasion to help me understand what persuasion is. Words like:

• argue
• bring around
• convert
• convince
• gain
• get
• induce
• move
• prevail (on or upon)
• satisfy
• talk into
• win over

Persuasion is everywhere, it's on every billboard we see, every magazine ad we look at, it's in our daily interactions with friends, loved ones, and "not-so-loved ones." At any given moment, someone is trying to get us to change our beliefs, thoughts, actions, and/or behavior.

The process of persuasion in public speaking is often dictated by a variety of circumstances, but what I am going to share with you is the baseline of persuasion that you can build upon (More advanced lessons later).

The science and art of persuasion can never be mastered, but you can always get better at it!

I would like to add that becoming great at persuasion is VERY POWERFUL! One who is a master at persuasion can change the world, literally, for good or for evil.

The Science and the Art of Persuasion

For me, persuasion is broken down into the science- or systematic structure of what you "do" to prepare for persuasion, and then the art- or the "how" you present the information in order to persuade.

Part I: The Science of Persuasion

Know your audience. What are their thoughts, beliefs, attitude, knowledge on the subject you are wanting to persuade them on. The further they thoughts and beliefs are from yours, the less change will occur.

Establish your credibility with your audience. Why should they believe you? What is your background in this subject area? Do you have any credentials that may be useful? You may also want to share a personal connection to the subject you are speaking on.

How much time do you have to persuade? The smaller the amount of time you have in front of an audience the less change/persuasion can occur. You may want to scale back your goal and think baby steps.

How is your message relevant to your audience? Is there a STRONG benefit for the audience to change, or is there a STRONG or painful outcome if they don't change (although pain is a strong motivator, pleasure is much more long lasting and can be easier to persuade to). Think avoid pain and gain pleasure.

Find common ground and build from it. You need to know what you have in common with your audience before you can ask them to change. Find "connectors" and build upon them.

Have you set clear and easy goals for the audience to follow in order to make the change? Again, think baby steps here- small, easy goals that have big pay-off. Sorry, but nobody is going to change if it is too hard to change.

Don't tell your audience what they "have" to do, instead show them the benefits and allow them to make up their own mind. Nobody likes to be told what to do.

Part II: The Art of Persuasion

Yes you have heard me (or your mother say it), it's not what you say, but it's how you say it that counts. The art of persuasion is HOW YOU SAY IT! 

Here are the keys to the art of persuasion:

Passion. Donald Trump once said, "With out passion you don't have energy, with out energy you have nothing." I couldn't agree more.

People follow passion, people seek out passion, people want passion.

As with all things, one must understand their passion and ALWAYS ask you yourself, is my passion enhancing the situation or distracting from it.

There is a fine line between being passionate and someone who is CRAZY!

People often display their passion with nonverbals. Their face will "light up," and their eyes will widen. Body movement and the rate of speech often becomes quicker and voice inflections will change.

A passionate person radiates an energy that others can feel- and that FEELING is one of the most powerful persuaders one can can emit. 

Use Emotion-Logic-Emotion to help persuade. Find ways to tap into the emotional side of whatever ever you are trying to persuade, then back it up with some solid facts, statistics, and logic, then add some more emotion. As humans we often decide with emotion first, then we go through a logical process to make sure we made a good decision, then we go back to emotion to feel good again.

Emotional words are words that resonate in your heart- they are feeling words, descriptive words that we can translate into pictures, feelings, memories, smells, tastes, etc.

Logical words are thinking words. They are dry, often mathematical, statistical, boring, non-emotional. These words resonate in your brain.

Ask yourself if there a difference between these two statements?

1. What do you think about that?
2. How do you feel about that?

If you can understand the difference between those two statements, you will have a greater impact on what kind of words to use in a persuasive speech.

Use words that can help the listener visualize what you are talking about. In fact, use words that can help the listener experience all five senses.

If your speech allows for it, use pictures or props to enhance your speech purpose.

Trust is a major factor in persuasion. I often say that the first and quickest way to build trust is to get someone to smile (and this means it starts with you).

Now there are different kinds of smiles out there

• there are fake smiles
• there are nervous smiles
• and there are genuine smiles. 

You want a genuine smile- a smile that is reflected in your eyes and your whole demeanor. People can often tell if you are faking a smile or not. Being prepared helps curb the nervous smile, and having a passion and a genuine care and concern for others will help you achieve a genuine smile.

Act confident (but not cocky). This also has a lot to do with being prepared and having lots of practice.

Confidence also has a lot to do with a belief in what you are talking (persuading) about. I am amazed at many of our political leaders who live by the credo of "do what I say, not as I do." Confidence doesn't mean you have to come across as condescending or rude to others. Another great example is Vice President Joe Biden in his debate against Paul Ryan. Mr. Biden is a great example of what NOT to do.
(Click to YouTube Link)

Look for the nonverbal's of your audience to gauge how you are doing. Remember, public speaking is not about standing in front of a crowd and talking. Public Speaking is about making a difference, creating value, and the context of this lesson, persuading.

Be accountable for every word that comes out of your mouth, because somebody is listening and just might take it to heart.

Question:

1. What are some of your personal strengths and weaknesses when it come to giving a persuasive speech? What can you do to ensure that you are "wildly successful" during your next persuasive speech?