Persuasive Speech Techniques

2. PERSUASIVE SPEECH TECHNIQUES

Persuasive speaking is persuading people to listen to you and to follow your advice. Very few people have that ability. Marketing people should have persuading skills. Teachers normally inspire people to do constructive tasks. Professors ignite students' minds. Many people doo without being aware of. If one persuades others for good purposes and with good intention, it is ethical.

 

Verbal persuasion techniques that make speech effective:

We should speak with enthusiasm. We should speak to ignite, inspire, persuade, convince and transform perspectives or else there is no use in keeping on talking.

Speaking effectively and speaking convincingly helps a person not only in professional life but also in personal life and both are important. If one is able to convince others with one's words, he or she is a better communicator and better orator. Sales Executives should possess this quality to be a successful salesman.

Learning how to persuade others is a skill to be practiced provided your view point should be invaluable. A speaker should not mislead others for personal gain. Using persuasion techniques for personal gain is unethical or unlawful.

Ethical persuasion techniques include expressing or explaining your viewpoint, discussing others' viewpoint and creating resolutions. Explanation should be authentic and truthful. It is imperative to use emotional and logical appeals responsibly. Communicating an ethical message is ethical in persuasion strategy.

Best 6 Persuasion Techniques You can Use in Your Speeches (Recommended ways used by Experts)

Rhetorical Questions: Rhetoric question does not expect an answer but it promotes an interaction or dramatic effect to the speech. It ensures whether the audience thinks about the point you are speaking or engrossed in mind over something else. It makes the audience hooked to your speech. There should be limited use of rhetoric questions because over use of rhetoric question makes the speech repetitive and unprofessional

Rhetoric questions are open-ended questions to the audience without providing them with an answer. This encourages them to think about different solutions and explore unique and innovative ideas/possibilities that they might not have considered otherwise.

Rhetorical questions also evoke emotions and help you emphasize a point. They help you better convince listeners to consider what you're saying seriously.

Personal Anecdotes

Telling brief stories about your life experiences is an excellent persuasion approach to public speaking. As long as you can tell your story in an engaging, absorbing, shocking, surprising, touching, proactive, or humorous way, rest assured that you've made an impact. Typically, these stories last no more than a few minutes, preferably much less, and give your audience a deeper understanding of what you're trying to tell them, while also entertaining them.

Don't personalize your speech. Don't include too much of personal anecdotes. Too much of anything is good for nothing. Leverage this technique of adding a few personal anecdotes sparingly but practically.

Present a story by backing up your arguments with facts. It is imperative to position your anecdote in your speech tactically, as that is a big part of what will determine its purpose and effectiveness.

Used well, an anecdote can introduce an idea, make it relatable to your audience, reiterate the message, and ultimately ingrain your message/idea into the minds of your audience.

Be Descriptive And Authentic

It is vital to bring your story to life by describing it appropriately and authentically. When relating an anecdote, elaborate on what you heard, saw, and felt at that point in your time.

It is also important to ensure that you sound credible and genuine to the audience. Otherwise, you can't earn the trust and integrity needed to persuade listeners.

Don't make anything up, Don't exaggerate and don't add your personal opinion. Audiences will quickly catch on to that and you will lose them.

Follow The "Rule Of Three"

A Tricolon, also referred to as the "Rule of three," is another useful persuasion technique.

The human brain absorbs and retains information more efficiently when that information is packaged in threes. Consider three to be the magic number, and try using a set of three phrases, clauses, or words to get a point across.

Eg. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

Three Cs in business: Customer, Company and Competitor

Family, Fitness and Freedom - three Fs

Dr Kalam's three step guide to achieve goals in life are:

Finding an aim in life before you are twenty years old;

Acquire knowledge continuously to reach this goal;

Work hard and persevere so you can defeat all the problems and succeed. 15-Oct-2016

Decide on an Overarching Theme

Don't share too much information too quickly. You need to communicate your ideas in a way that provides value to your audience. Don't be haste in telling all your ideas at a stretch.

You should unify your address under a centralized and overarching theme to create simplicity and coherence in your presentation. Keeping all the ideas under an umbrella gives clarity.

Convey Your Message Through Emotive Language

One of the most actionable persuasion techniques is to leverage emotive language in your speech. Choose phrases and words that appeal to your audience's emotions.

Emotional triggers can be experiences, events, or memories that spark an intense reaction emotionally. Using these also helps you connect with, engage, and hook your audience to your speech and the message you are trying to convey.

Therefore, building your speech's structure around emotion is a powerful way to convince your audience. However, it is important to ensure that you don't confuse an emotional appeal with manipulation.

Great Resources on Improving Persuasion Skills

Speaking persuasively is a talent that requires practice, patience and preparation. However, the hard work will pay off spectacularly in the long run.

Here are some resources to help you learn and practice your persuasion skills:

Workshops

You can increase the quality of your interactive and engaging sessions with your audience by enrolling in a speaking course.

Training on persuasion techniques will provide practical, actionable, and valuable tips that you can implement in your speeches for business purpose and in everyday communication. Workshops, courses and virtual learning like online learning programs are excellent places to start building and improving skills you can practice in real-life scenarios.

For example Skills Converged offers various courses and training sessions to help you hone your persuasion skills.

Books are excellent sources of information and knowledge. They put things into your mind, trigger creativity, and transform perspectives. Books can provide excellent advice on presentation skills, public speaking, communication, etc.

While some personality development books focus on how to inspire your audience to help them build confidence and realize their self-worth, other books offer practical insights on preparation, writing, and body language.

So whether you require material advice or motivational energy, books are a great way to achieve your goal.

For instance, an influential and informative book like "Win Your Case: How to Present, Persuade, and Prevail-Every Place, Every Time" by Gerry Spence is a great read that can help you improve your persuasion and presenting skills alike.

Videos

Videos are another valuable resource to help you hone and improve your persuasion skills. For many, the visual format is an easy form to absorb tips. You can follow motivational videos at your own pace, and learn new concepts that can help you convince your audience.

So if you want to invigorate and improve your persuasive techniques through video, you have various platforms available to you. For instance, YouTube has a wide choice of videos on presentation skills.

There are many other videos on YouTube and other platforms that can help you work on your speaking and persuasion skills. You can find several expert communication coaches who offer comprehensive videos on the art of persuasion.

Summing Up

Be an influencer, leader, salesperson, or speaker if your aim/intention is good.

Get people notice you with your best attitude.

If you are a salesperson, get the customers into buying your products, ideas, services, or even social causes and fundraising but the motive should be good and products should be good.

Work on the persuasion techniques mentioned above to deliver a valuable speech or to negotiate a sales deal. These are tried and trusted techniques that will help you achieve your public speaking goals.

 

Exercise

Persuade your friend to enroll in an online course. Speak for 5 minutes.