Persuasive Speeches — Types, Topics, and Examples

Daniel Bal

What is a persuasive speech?

In a persuasive speech, the speaker aims to convince the audience to accept a particular perspective on a person, place, object, idea, etc. The speaker strives to cause the audience to accept the point of view presented in the speech.

The success of a persuasive speech often relies on the speaker’s use of ethos, pathos, and logos.

Success of a persuasive speech

Ethos is the speaker’s credibility. Audiences are more likely to accept an argument if they find the speaker trustworthy. To establish credibility during a persuasive speech, speakers can do the following:

Use familiar language.

Select examples that connect to the specific audience.

Utilize credible and well-known sources.

Logically structure the speech in an audience-friendly way.

Use appropriate eye contact, volume, pacing, and inflection.

Pathos appeals to the audience’s emotions. Speakers who create an emotional bond with their audience are typically more convincing. Tapping into the audience’s emotions can be accomplished through the following:

Select evidence that can elicit an emotional response.

Use emotionally-charged words. (The city has a problem … vs. The city has a disease …)

Incorporate analogies and metaphors that connect to a specific emotion to draw a parallel between the reference and topic.

Utilize vivid imagery and sensory words, allowing the audience to visualize the information.

Employ an appropriate tone, inflection, and pace to reflect the emotion.

Logos appeals to the audience’s logic by offering supporting evidence. Speakers can improve their logical appeal in the following ways:

Use comprehensive evidence the audience can understand.

Confirm the evidence logically supports the argument’s claims and stems from credible sources.

Ensure that evidence is specific and avoid any vague or questionable information.

Types of persuasive speeches

The three main types of persuasive speeches are factual, value, and policy.

Types of persuasive speeches

A factual persuasive speech focuses solely on factual information to prove the existence or absence of something through substantial proof. This is the only type of persuasive speech that exclusively uses objective information rather than subjective. As such, the argument does not rely on the speaker’s interpretation of the information. Essentially, a factual persuasive speech includes historical controversy, a question of current existence, or a prediction:

Historical controversy concerns whether an event happened or whether an object actually existed.

Questions of current existence involve the knowledge that something is currently happening.

Predictions incorporate the analysis of patterns to convince the audience that an event will happen again.

A value persuasive speech concerns the morality of a certain topic. Speakers incorporate facts within these speeches; however, the speaker’s interpretation of those facts creates the argument. These speeches are highly subjective, so the argument cannot be proven to be absolutely true or false.

A policy persuasive speech centers around the speaker’s support or rejection of a public policy, rule, or law. Much like a value speech, speakers provide evidence supporting their viewpoint; however, they provide subjective conclusions based on the facts they provide.

How to write a persuasive speech

Incorporate the following steps when writing a persuasive speech:

Step 1 – Identify the type of persuasive speech (factual, value, or policy) that will help accomplish the goal of the presentation.

Step 2 – Select a good persuasive speech topic to accomplish the goal and choose a position .

How to write a persuasive speech

Step 3 – Locate credible and reliable sources and identify evidence in support of the topic/position. Revisit Step 2 if there is a lack of relevant resources.

Step 4 – Identify the audience and understand their baseline attitude about the topic.

Step 5 – When constructing an introduction , keep the following questions in mind:

What’s the topic of the speech?

What’s the occasion?

Who’s the audience?

What’s the purpose of the speech?

Step 6 – Utilize the evidence within the previously identified sources to construct the body of the speech. Keeping the audience in mind, determine which pieces of evidence can best help develop the argument. Discuss each point in detail, allowing the audience to understand how the facts support the perspective.

Step 7 – Addressing counterarguments can help speakers build their credibility, as it highlights their breadth of knowledge.

Step 8 – Conclude the speech with an overview of the central purpose and how the main ideas identified in the body support the overall argument.

How to write a persuasive speech

Persuasive speech outline

One of the best ways to prepare a great persuasive speech is by using an outline. When structuring an outline, include an introduction, body, and conclusion:

Introduction

Attention Grabbers

Ask a question that allows the audience to respond in a non-verbal way; ask a rhetorical question that makes the audience think of the topic without requiring a response.

Incorporate a well-known quote that introduces the topic. Using the words of a celebrated individual gives credibility and authority to the information in the speech.

Offer a startling statement or information about the topic, typically done using data or statistics.

Provide a brief anecdote or story that relates to the topic.

Starting a speech with a humorous statement often makes the audience more comfortable with the speaker.

Provide information on how the selected topic may impact the audience .

Include any background information pertinent to the topic that the audience needs to know to understand the speech in its entirety.

Give the thesis statement in connection to the main topic and identify the main ideas that will help accomplish the central purpose.

Identify evidence

Summarize its meaning

Explain how it helps prove the support/main claim

Evidence 3 (Continue as needed)

Support 3 (Continue as needed)

Restate thesis

Review main supports

Concluding statement

Give the audience a call to action to do something specific.

Identify the overall importan ce of the topic and position.

Persuasive speech topics

The following table identifies some common or interesting persuasive speech topics for high school and college students:

Persuasive speech examples

The following list identifies some of history’s most famous persuasive speeches:

John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address: “Ask Not What Your Country Can Do for You”

Lyndon B. Johnson: “We Shall Overcome”

Marc Antony: “Friends, Romans, Countrymen…” in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar

Ronald Reagan: “Tear Down this Wall”

Sojourner Truth: “Ain’t I a Woman?”

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44 Persuasive Speaking: Activities and Resources

Discussion and activities.

Watch this clip from The King’s Speech where the new king makes his first wartime radio broadcast of Britians’ s declaration of war on Germany in 1939. This movie is a dramatic interpretation of the true story of the future King George VI who worked to overcome a stammer.  (Make note of how he has marked the manuscript that he reads from at 1:17-1:21).

Corporate Story Telling Activity

Watch the Charity Water Story before class and discuss these questions in class.

  • Do you think this model of corporate storytelling is more effective than the traditional model of listing mission and vision on the website?
  • Ethos. How does he build personal credibility? How about credibility for the organization?
  • Pathos. List some of the emotional appeals? Were they effective, why or why not? Were they ethical, why or why not?
  • Logos. List the ways he used logic (facts, data, charts). Which was the most effective for you?
  • Were you persuaded? If so at what point did you become persuaded?
  • How does he tie the opening and the closing?
  • How does he “ask for the sale”? Write out some of his phrases.
  • What are some of the ways, that he reengages the audience to make them see they are part of the speech?
  • How does he use inoculation (help people overcome objections that people may be thinking)?
  • When my husband watched this, he said, “I could feel myself being persuaded and could tell where they were headed with it, so I had to stop watching it.” When do you physically or mentally “stop watching”? How can a speaker keep their audience?
  • What organizational pattern does this fit? Map it out.
  • Is this an example of public speaking? Explain your answer.

Persuasive Speaking on Gun Control

Days after a gunman entered her school and killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Emma Gonzalez, a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, addressed a gun control rally on Saturday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

  • What does she say to connect to her audience? Who is her target audience? Who is the secondary audience, how can you tell?
  • Logos: How does she break down numbers so the audience can relate?
  • Pathos: Clearly, this is an emotional speech, how does that emotion affect you–persuasive or too much?
  • Ethos: How does she build her credibility?
  • Find where she repeats the same phrase over and over, is this effective, why or why not?

Charron Heston is a longtime NRA Advocate. One type of persuasive speech is not to change the minds of an audience but to “rally the troops” to make them support their cause even more.

  • How does he connect to his audience?
  • Colorful Language: He uses a lot of alliterations (repeat the same letter), make a list of all the alliterations. Do you think they were effective for this type of speech? Why or why not.
  • Colorful language: How does he use personification (giving inanimate objects life like characteristics like that of a person.) Do you think they were effective for this type of speech? Why or why not.
  • Colorful language: He has several examples of antithesis (pairing or opposites in parallel phrases –one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind). Make a list of them and discuss their effectiveness.
  • What do you think about his choice of prop and the timing of the prop?
  • In the end, he uses the line, “From my cold dead hands.” Look up the history of the phrase and how it was used after this speech. What is your opinion of this as a final persuasive statement?

Halberg, S. (2015). Reversing Type 2 diabetes starts with ignoring the guidelines. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da1vvigy5tQ

Freedom in Thought (2018). The three methods of persuasion: Rhetoric-Aristotle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5z3zWJIthI&t=1s

Langston, C. (2016). How to use rhetoric to get what you want. https://www.ted.com/talks/camille_langston_how_to_use_rhetoric_to_get_what_you_want

Ulmer, K. (2016). The three persuasive appeal: Logos, ethos, pathos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oUfOh_CgHQ

Schoder, W. (2017). Mr. Rogers and the power of persuasion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DGdDQrXv5U .

About three and a half years ago, I made a discovery.   And this discovery profoundly changed my view on how I thought the world worked,   and it even profoundly changed the way in which I operate in it.   As it turns out, there’s a pattern.   As it turns out, all the great inspiring leaders and organizations in the world,   whether it’s Apple or Martin Luther King or the Wright brothers,   they all think, act and communicate the exact same way.   And it’s the complete opposite to everyone else.   All I did was codify it,   and it’s probably the world’s simplest idea.   I call it the golden circle.

Sinek, S. (2009). How great leaders inspire action. https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action?language=en Standard YouTube License.

For information on Values to consider different types of purchasers…

Strategic Business Insights. The US Vals Survey. http://www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals/presurvey.shtml

Stick to your strong arguments,   because your arguments don’t add up in the minds of the receiver,   they average out. The most robust psychological explanation for this is one of averaging.   In this model, we take in information,   and those information are afforded a weighted score.   And our minds do not add those pieces of information,   but rather average those pieces of information.   So when you introduce irrelevant or even weak arguments,   those weak arguments, if you will,   reduce the weight of your overall argument. Niro Sivanathan

Sivanathan, N. (2019). The counterintuitive way to be more persuasive. https://www.ted.com/talks/niro_sivanathan_the_counterintuitive_way_to_be_more_persuasive. Standard YouTube License.

In an article by Steve Booth-Butterfield, entitled Inoculation Theory. Ouch! But It’s Food for you  or the Best Defense is Bad Offense, he gave this example:

You might recall the infamous “woman” problem of President Bill Clinton (1992-2000).  What you may not remember is that this problem popped up during the Presidential primaries held over the winter of 1991-92.  A former amorous partner, Gennifer Flowers, scheduled a press conference declaring her adulterous relationship with the then Governor of Arkansas.  The Clinton campaign got wind of this planned press conference by Ms. Flowers and on the Sunday night before that following Monday afternoon event, Bill and Hillary Clinton appeared on an episode of the popular TV news magazine show, “60 Minutes.”  In it, the reporter directly asked about the “woman” problem and the Clintons, especially, Mrs. Clinton responded in a way that seemed to acknowledge past marital problems, but that these problems were way in the past, and that they were together in marriage as husband and wife.

This is an excellent practical application of inoculation.  Before the “real” attack from Gennifer Flowers could occur, Mr. Clinton managed to produce a weak attack on voter attitudes about fidelity, marital privacy, and politics.  The appearance on “60 Minutes” was their first large scale national appearance in the media, so many viewers were getting their first look at the Clintons.  And, that first looking included a weak presentation of the “woman” problem and how the Clintons handled it.

When Gennifer Flowers came along the next day, not only was her press conference “old news” it was also inoculated news.  People had already been attacked on their attitudes about Mr. Clinton’s character and alleged defects and they had already defended their attitudes on that issue.  When Ms. Flowers came along, many people could easily defend their attitudes and beliefs about Mr. Clinton and just as easily discount Ms. Flowers’ claims as a tawdry and transparent attempt to gain her “fifteen minutes” of fame.

Booth-Butterfield, S. (n.d). Inoculation Theory. Ouch! But It’s Good For You or The Best Defense Is A Bad Offense. http://healthyinfluence.com/wordpress/steves-primer-of-practical-persuasion-3-0/feeling/inoculation/

“Not everybody believes in the possibility of political persuasion. Many people see political positions as expressions of innate personality traits – hard-wired into us either by our genes or by an irreversible process of socialization. Why should we waste time trying to be persuasive when people never really change their minds? This is a reasonable concern.

The idea that persuasion doesn’t work comes from a bad application of good science. A substantial body of research suggests that our political beliefs are shaped by more or less fixed psychological characteristics … Research like this, however, tells us about the difficulty of conversion, not persuasion. These are not the same things. We too often misrepresent the task of political persuasion by thinking of the most strident partisan we have ever encountered and imagined what it would take to turn that person into an equally strident partisan for the other side. This sort of Paul-on-the-Road-to-Damascus conversion rarely happens in politics. Most people don’t change their fundamental values, and if we expect them to, we are going to be very disappointed.

But we usually don’t need people to change their fundamental values in order to convince them to adopt a particular position. The fact that people have fundamental values makes it possible to persuade them by appealing to those values. But we have to find values that we really share.” ―  Michael Austin,  We Must Not Be Enemies: Restoring America’s Civic Tradition

Austin, M. (2019). We must not be enemies: Restoring America’s civic tradition . Rowman & Littlefield.

Since this is an advanced class, we are working on refining our skills. You should have learned the structure of an argument in basic communication already but I am providing a video refresher.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=syGLJy7jjsk%3Ffeature%3Doembed%26rel%3D0

Jenkinson, P. (2019). Toulmin Model. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syGLJy7jjsk Standard YouTube License.

Advanced Public Speaking Copyright © 2021 by Lynn Meade is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Engaging Strategies for Teaching Persuasion, Argument, and Debate

Year after year, I love teaching persuasion. I love persuading my students that persuasion is a life skill worth learning. (Because isn’t all teaching just persuading kids to listen and learn?!) Luckily, with the right mix of ethos, pathos, and logos, this is usually an easy sell to my audience of adolescents.

After all, teens love to argue…with their peers, their parents, and *gasp* their teachers. They have plenty of practice with real-life persuasion, whether it’s convincing their parents to stay out past their curfew or proposing just one extra day to work on that project. And they’re always dying to debate: which sports team is superior, why they deserve more freedom, and what’s wrong with school, society, and this world! If you’ve ever taught teenagers, you know that they have no shortage of opinions. So suffice it to say: your students are already arguers.

The challenge, of course, is helping students channel their opinions and energy into structured, academic argumentation. To do this, you’ll need high-engagement activities that match your students’ energy… not the ancient 5-paragraph persuasive essay over a subject on that random list of 100 debatable topics you found online. If we want to move students to a more sophisticated level of debate, we need to offer them student-centered, authentic, and relevant tasks to practice their persuasion.

Ready to ditch the 5-paragraph persuasive essay and engage your students in meaningful persuasion? Here are dozen different strategies for your ELA classroom.

MOCK TRIALS

Want to teach students how important it is to support your argument with evidence (and what happens when you don’t)? Ready to watch your class eagerly annotate a text and cite said evidence *without* complaints?

persuasive speech about assignments

I wasn’t sure my students would ever see citing evidence as more than a chore until I dressed up as “Judge G,” borrowed a gavel, and facilitated my first mock trial!

A mock trial is the perfect way to practice persuasion and argumentation because it’s student-centered, inherently engaging, and 100% authentic. You’ll watch students become intrigued, take ownership, and get competitive real quick! Because students know they’ll be arguing in front of a jury of their peers, the standards become strategy. Citing textual evidence is no longer a chore, but a competition! The stakes are higher than a grade from the teacher because the real prize is bragging rights. 

To structure a mock trial in your ELA classroom, you’ll need a murder, crime, ethical dilemma, or essential question. In other words: literature! From there, you’ll want to divide students into teams of prosecution, defense, and jury. After that, students will get to work within their groups. In my classroom, this is what it looks like:

The prosecution and defense teams prepare evidence-based claims and rebuttals. Each student is responsible for a section, whether that’s the opening, a claim, a rebuttal, or the closing. Meanwhile, the jury works together to create a rubric and anticipate the arguments they may hear during the trial.

You can read more about mock trials HERE or find everything you need to facilitate a virtual or in-person trial HERE.

RHETORICAL BAR GRAPHS

Bar graphs in ELA? Oh yes you can! Getting a gold star from her math cohorts, Ashley Bible at Building Book Love has her students create rhetorical bar graphs to analyze persuasion.

Rhetorical Bar Graphs

This digital or tactile strategy is simple yet highly effective!  All you do is assign each appeal a color before taking students on a color-coded text hunt.  (In her rhetoric lesson plan , Ashley uses: Pink Pathos, Light Blue Logos, and Emerald Green Ethos). 

Once students have each appeal coded, they arrange the rhetorical devices into a bar graph and analyze which appeal the speaker relies most heavily on and how they could make their argument stronger. This visualization technique always generates important insights about the topic at hand!

From analyzing speeches in Julius Caesar , to recognizing propaganda in Animal Farm , to tackling social justice in Dolly Parton’s America , this strategy is a gift that keeps on giving! Tag her @BuildingBookLove if you give it a try! 

ANALYZING COMMERCIALS & ADVERTISEMENTS

To help students identify persuasive appeals and techniques in action, Shana Ramin from Hello, Teacher Lady suggests deconstructing commercials and advertisements.

Commercials & advertisements

When teaching in person, Shana enjoys facilitating this type of analysis with the tried-and-true “chalk talk” approach. After gathering a series of printed advertisements, Shana glues each one in the center of large chart paper and places them at various points around the room. Students rotate through each station with a small group, annotating each ad silently with an eye for purpose, audience, tone, etc. At the end of the activity, students return to their original stations and share out their final observations with the class. 

To mimic this activity in a hybrid or digital environment, Shana recommends using Jamboard, an easy-to-use, digital whiteboard app by Google. The setup process is pretty much the same, but replace the printed ads with image screenshots and the white chart paper with a digital Jamboard slide. Students can then use the sticky note and marker features on Jamboard to annotate the images in breakout rooms. 

Click here to learn more about the collaborative features of Google Jamboard .

ARGUMENT OLYMPICS

The Argument Olympics are Emily Aierstok’s favorite way to teach middle and high school students evidence based writing. Emily, from Read it. Write it. Learn it. , uses an Olympic theme to deconstruct arguments, write outlines, and compete in the “strongest evidence” game complete with gold medals! Kids LOVE it and quickly understand the qualities of strong evidence in their writing. 

Argument Olympics

To really create an Olympic games feel, Emily creates a very simple (and free!) classroom transformation. She strings red, yellow, and blue streamers around the room, plays the Olympic theme song from YouTube, and prints gold medals to hand out for gold-medal-level deconstructed essays, strongest outlines, and strongest evidence. 

Next, Emily introduces the “Olympic events.” For example, the first Olympic Event she introduces to students is The Strongest Evidence Competition. Students are given two sides of an argument topic and asked to find three pieces of evidence to support each argument. After finding their evidence, students are tasked with identifying the evidence that’s the strongest. Students become so motivated to find the strongest evidence, and they’re practicing essential analysis skills. The quality of evidence students find is amazing. 

You can read more about implementing the Argument Olympics in your classroom here . 

SILENT DISCUSSIONS

Jenna, @DrJennaCopper , loves using silent discussions for students to debate the impact of articles and artifacts. The rules are simple: students are only allowed to write. This type of stipulation helps students really think about their responses since they can’t talk.

Silent discussions

Here’s how it works:

  • Choose an artifact or article.
  • Get a big piece of poster board or a big paper and paste the article or artifact in the center.
  • Tell students to read the article and then, discuss with the stipulation that they are only allowed to write. No talking! It helps if students color-code their writing.
  • As students “discuss,” walk around the room and comment (in writing, of course!) to generate more debate.
  • When the discussion is over, place the posters on the walls and give students a chance to walk around and view.
  • Facilitate a talking classroom discussion to discuss insights and observations.

That’s it! Not only will your students be highly engaged, but you’ll also enjoy the few short minutes of precious silence!

As a bonus, this activity works great for a remote lesson as well. Just paste your article or artifact in a Google Doc and share it so they all have editing access. They can complete their silent discussions right in the document. 

STUDYING FAMOUS SPEECHES

Lauralee from the Language Arts Classroom frequently uses famous speeches and commercials to teach persuasion. By bringing in authentic examples to the classroom, this strategy offers history and media lessons, too.

Famous speeches

When students realize that they see strategies every day in social media, on their phones, and within stores, they engage and are excited to apply those concepts to their public speaking endeavors.

For instance, students can study the techniques in a Susan B. Anthony speech and then apply those techniques to their own speeches. Teachers can even pair her speech with a narrative speech assignment. Students can then employ sentence structure, tone, and logos into their speeches. Although ELA teachers often use persuasive techniques during public speaking lessons, many of the same activities work well with argumentative writing.

NAILED IT! & SHARK TANK

Staci Lamb from The Engaging Station loves switching up her creative lessons on ethos, logos, and pathos every year. She has had students watch Shark Tank and sell their own products, but last year, she was inspired to try something new by making a connection to the Netflix show Nailed It .

Nailed It! Challenge

Right before winter break, she went to Walmart to buy graham crackers, icing, candies, and more. Dollar Tree also had a great selection of inexpensive candy. Students had to create a gingerbread masterpiece and then use ethos, logos, and pathos to justify why their house was the best. The kids had a lot of fun, and it was an engaging activity to end the calendar year.

You can see this idea and more with free resources on her blog post Creative Ways to Teach Persuasive Appeals .

REAL WORLD TOPICS + CHOICE

Today, students have access to more information than ever at their fingertips. Tanesha from Tanesha B. Forman leverages real world topics – that students want to debate in the classroom – with argu mentative writing lessons. Choice is the bedrock of Tanesha’s approach to lit eracy and she offers students a choice on a topic (e.g. should college athletes be paid?), and tells them the format (e.g. speech, letter). 

Real World Topics + Choice

Next, students research their topic. Tanesha always warns students to think about their position, but be open to changing based on what the research from credible sources reveals. Students spend a day or two gathering information for their writing assignment. For students who need support with this, Tanesha has 3-4 sources readily available. Once students have their evidence, they enter the writing process that Tanesha creates mini-lessons aligned to their needs and they present their work. Throughout the year, Tanesha encourages students to share topics they want to “argue” and she repeats the cycle.

THE ELEVATOR PITCH

No matter what you’re reading or learning about, adding a persuasive pitch to “sell” an idea, is a great way to include elements of persuasion beyond a persuasive unit.

Elevator Pitches

For example, if students are creating something to aid a character , rather than just explain it, challenge your students to create a short elevator pitch! It can even be used with literary analysis by asking a question such as: Which character is the most (insert character trait here)?  Staci from Donut Lovin’ Teacher finds that when students have to pitch their ideas, they really begin to reflect on their work and what makes it great, and also where it can grow. 

Staci likes starting with a graphic organizer to get students thinking and then begins layering in mini-lessons that consider the audience, point of view, tone, and rhetorical appeals, depending on how much time you have. Students can then begin crafting their pitch on a guided template and practice saying it aloud. If you’re able to incorporate this multiple times throughout the year, your students will really grow confidence in their speaking skills, too!

MUSICAL DEBATES

Middle and high school students can at times feel intimidated by debate and persuasion. That’s why Melissa from Reading and Writing Haven recommends a mini debate activity that engages all students and makes debate relaxed and approachable.

Musical debates

Musical debates amplify the energy, creativity, and social interaction in the physical classroom and online. By adding a simple twist of music, it lightens the mood and provides natural brain breaks so students have time to collect their thoughts. 

Here are Melissa’s simple steps for using this debate-style discussion strategy in your classroom:

  • Give students a thought-provoking or humorous prompt.
  • Play music as students think, research, jot notes, and (if possible) walk around the room. 
  • Stop the music and have students get into groups of two or three.
  • Students quickly choose roles. Two of the students need to take one of the sides (pro / con or for / against). The third person is a neutral judge who can build on what the speakers say, offer a different perspective, or make connections between ideas.
  • After a set amount of time, follow up with a question that digs deeper into the topic or provides another angle. Play music, and allow students to brainstorm again, or take some notes.
  • Students then pair up again with different peers. 
  • After as many rounds as you would like to run, bring the whole class together and use a Jamboard, Mentimeter, or Padlet as a common visual location to share ideas as a whole group.

To make this strategy work online, you can use breakout rooms to group students together randomly. 

Of course, you can run the same type of mini debates without the music. And, that’s fun, too! But, for students, the music adds energy and connectedness. Plus, it reduces the anxiety for students who are more reluctant to engage in debates. 

Musical debates create a warm, relaxed environment conducive to critical thinking and dialogue. And, students have multiple short opportunities to hone their skills and hear a variety of perspectives. Melissa wrote about engaging variations, prompts for musical discussions, and how to prepare students on her blog. Click here to read the post .

PSA PASSION PROJECTS

One way that Christina, The Daring English Teacher , likes to incorporate persuasion, argument, and debate into the classroom is by assigning a PSA Passion Project to students.

PSA Passion Projects

After learning about rhetorical appeals and argument writing , Christina assigns her students a PSA Passion Project. Her students select an important social issue and create a public service announcement campaign to raise awareness for their chosen issue.

The public service campaign usually includes a variety of items. To place students in charge of their learning, they choose several products to produce from a list of items: a speech, a persuasive letter, a graphic essay , a poster, an infographic, an informational video, a narrative video, a social media campaign, and more. It is important to make sure that students choose at least two items, and that their combination includes a writing component and a media literacy component.

To make the class project more fun, no two students can choose the same topic. To share their projects with the class, Christina likes to use Padlet.

ANALYZING MUSIC

Amanda from Mud and Ink Teaching likes to head the Disney direction when it comes to learning the ins and outs of argumentation. 

persuasive speech about assignments

So many great Disney songs offer an argumentative core, and their popularity and familiarity help build engagement with students.  Take “Under the Sea” for example:  Sebastian has quite the task in front of him.  Somehow, he must convince an uninterested Ariel to curb her curiosity about the human world and appreciate her home under ‘de water.  Reversely, Moana sings of the importance of heeding the call to the ocean in “How Far I’ll Go” as she debates within herself how far she is actually willing to go.  Each of these speakers has an important message to impart, and these are things that students are comfortable wrestling with.

Amanda’s favorite song to teach, however, is the well-loved classic “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast .  In this lesson that she outlines in her blog post and provides a free Google Slide lesson download , Amanda teaches students the importance of understanding the rhetorical situation (the rhetorical triangle) as well as the devices and techniques that the speaker uses to communicate his message.  Through practice and discussion with familiar texts and characters, students begin to embrace the fundamental ideas of argumentation.

I hope this post helps you make persuasion more engaging, authentic, and student-centered! What are your other favorite activities to teach persuasion? Let me know in the comments!

If you like any of these ideas, don’t forget to pin them! 🙂

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How to Write an Outline for a Persuasive Speech, with Examples

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Jim Peterson has over 20 years experience on speech writing. He wrote over 300 free speech topic ideas and how-to guides for any kind of public speaking and speech writing assignments at My Speech Class.

How to Write an Outline for a Persuasive Speech, with Examples intro image

Persuasive speeches are one of the three most used speeches in our daily lives. Persuasive speech is used when presenters decide to convince their presentation or ideas to their listeners. A compelling speech aims to persuade the listener to believe in a particular point of view. One of the most iconic examples is Martin Luther King’s ‘I had a dream’ speech on the 28th of August 1963.

Man Touches the Word Persuasion on Screen

What is Persuasive Speech?

Persuasive speech is a written and delivered essay to convince people of the speaker’s viewpoint or ideas. Persuasive speaking is the type of speaking people engage in the most. This type of speech has a broad spectrum, from arguing about politics to talking about what to have for dinner. Persuasive speaking is highly connected to the audience, as in a sense, the speaker has to meet the audience halfway.

Persuasive Speech Preparation

Persuasive speech preparation doesn’t have to be difficult, as long as you select your topic wisely and prepare thoroughly.

Here Are Some Steps to Follow:

1. select a topic and angle.

Come up with a controversial topic that will spark a heated debate, regardless of your position. This could be about anything. Choose a topic that you are passionate about. Select a particular angle to focus on to ensure that your topic isn’t too broad. Research the topic thoroughly, focussing on key facts, arguments for and against your angle, and background.

2. Define Your Persuasive Goal

Once you have chosen your topic, it’s time to decide what your goal is to persuade the audience. Are you trying to persuade them in favor of a certain position or issue? Are you hoping that they change their behavior or an opinion due to your speech? Do you want them to decide to purchase something or donate money to a cause? Knowing your goal will help you make wise decisions about approaching writing and presenting your speech.

3. Analyze the Audience

Understanding your audience’s perspective is critical anytime that you are writing a speech. This is even more important when it comes to a persuasive speech because not only are you wanting to get the audience to listen to you, but you are also hoping for them to take a particular action in response to your speech. First, consider who is in the audience. Consider how the audience members are likely to perceive the topic you are speaking on to better relate to them on the subject. Grasp the obstacles audience members face or have regarding the topic so you can build appropriate persuasive arguments to overcome these obstacles.

4. Build an Effective Persuasive Argument

Once you have a clear goal, you are knowledgeable about the topic and, have insights regarding your audience, you will be ready to build an effective persuasive argument to deliver in the form of a persuasive speech. 

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Start by deciding what persuasive techniques are likely to help you persuade your audience. Would an emotional and psychological appeal to your audience help persuade them? Is there a good way to sway the audience with logic and reason? Is it possible that a bandwagon appeal might be effective?

5. Outline Your Speech

Once you know which persuasive strategies are most likely to be effective, your next step is to create a keyword outline to organize your main points and structure your persuasive speech for maximum impact on the audience.

Start strong, letting your audience know what your topic is, why it matters and, what you hope to achieve at the end of your speech. List your main points, thoroughly covering each point, being sure to build the argument for your position and overcome opposing perspectives. Conclude your speech by appealing to your audience to act in a way that will prove that you persuaded them successfully. Motivation is a big part of persuasion.

6. Deliver a Winning Speech

Select appropriate visual aids to share with your audiences, such as graphs, photos, or illustrations. Practice until you can deliver your speech confidently. Maintain eye contact, project your voice and, avoid using filler words or any form of vocal interference. Let your passion for the subject shine through. Your enthusiasm may be what sways the audience. 

Persuasive Speech Outline

Close-Up of Mans Hands Persuading Someone

Topic: What topic are you trying to persuade your audience on?

Specific Purpose:  

Central idea:

  • Attention grabber – This is potentially the most crucial line. If the audience doesn’t like the opening line, they might be less inclined to listen to the rest of your speech.
  • Thesis – This statement is used to inform the audience of the speaker’s mindset and try to get the audience to see the issue their way.
  • Qualifications – Tell the audience why you are qualified to speak about the topic to persuade them.

After the introductory portion of the speech is over, the speaker starts presenting reasons to the audience to provide support for the statement. After each reason, the speaker will list examples to provide a factual argument to sway listeners’ opinions.

  • Example 1 – Support for the reason given above.
  • Example 2 – Support for the reason given above.

The most important part of a persuasive speech is the conclusion, second to the introduction and thesis statement. This is where the speaker must sum up and tie all of their arguments into an organized and solid point.

  • Summary: Briefly remind the listeners why they should agree with your position.
  • Memorable ending/ Audience challenge: End your speech with a powerful closing thought or recommend a course of action.
  • Thank the audience for listening.

Persuasive Speech Outline Examples

Male and Female Whispering into the Ear of Another Female

Topic: Walking frequently can improve both your mental and physical health.

Specific Purpose: To persuade the audience to start walking to improve their health.

Central idea: Regular walking can improve your mental and physical health.

Life has become all about convenience and ease lately. We have dishwashers, so we don’t have to wash dishes by hand with electric scooters, so we don’t have to paddle while riding. I mean, isn’t it ridiculous?

Today’s luxuries have been welcomed by the masses. They have also been accused of turning us into passive, lethargic sloths. As a reformed sloth, I know how easy it can be to slip into the convenience of things and not want to move off the couch. I want to persuade you to start walking.

Americans lead a passive lifestyle at the expense of their own health.

  • This means that we spend approximately 40% of our leisure time in front of the TV.
  • Ironically, it is also reported that Americans don’t like many of the shows that they watch.
  • Today’s studies indicate that people were experiencing higher bouts of depression than in the 18th and 19th centuries, when work and life were considered problematic.
  • The article reports that 12.6% of Americans suffer from anxiety, and 9.5% suffer from severe depression.
  • Present the opposition’s claim and refute an argument.
  • Nutritionist Phyllis Hall stated that we tend to eat foods high in fat, which produces high levels of cholesterol in our blood, which leads to plaque build-up in our arteries.
  • While modifying our diet can help us decrease our risk for heart disease, studies have indicated that people who don’t exercise are at an even greater risk.

In closing, I urge you to start walking more. Walking is a simple, easy activity. Park further away from stores and walk. Walk instead of driving to your nearest convenience store. Take 20 minutes and enjoy a walk around your neighborhood. Hide the TV remote, move off the couch and, walk. Do it for your heart.

Thank you for listening!

Topic: Less screen time can improve your sleep.

Specific Purpose: To persuade the audience to stop using their screens two hours before bed.

Central idea: Ceasing electronics before bed will help you achieve better sleep.

Who doesn’t love to sleep? I don’t think I have ever met anyone who doesn’t like getting a good night’s sleep. Sleep is essential for our bodies to rest and repair themselves.

I love sleeping and, there is no way that I would be able to miss out on a good night’s sleep.

As someone who has had trouble sleeping due to taking my phone into bed with me and laying in bed while entertaining myself on my phone till I fall asleep, I can say that it’s not the healthiest habit, and we should do whatever we can to change it.

  • Our natural blue light source is the sun.
  • Bluelight is designed to keep us awake.
  • Bluelight makes our brain waves more active.
  • We find it harder to sleep when our brain waves are more active.
  • Having a good night’s rest will improve your mood.
  • Being fully rested will increase your productivity.

Using electronics before bed will stimulate your brainwaves and make it more difficult for you to sleep. Bluelight tricks our brains into a false sense of daytime and, in turn, makes it more difficult for us to sleep. So, put down those screens if you love your sleep!

Thank the audience for listening

Final Thoughts

A persuasive speech is used to convince the audience of the speaker standing on a certain subject. To have a successful persuasive speech, doing the proper planning and executing your speech with confidence will help persuade the audience of your standing on the topic you chose. Persuasive speeches are used every day in the world around us, from planning what’s for dinner to arguing about politics. It is one of the most widely used forms of speech and, with proper planning and execution, you can sway any audience.

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Learning resource types, persuasive speech.

Persuasive Speech Assignment (PDF)

Oral Presentation : 4–5 minutes Oral Delivery : Extemporaneous or Read Written Length : 500–1000 words (in essay form, not in note form)

An extemporaneous speech (or read speech) is written and practiced ahead of time. You will lose points if the speech runs shorter than 4 minutes or longer than 5 minutes, so practice.

Give a speech that is persuasive. This could be an epideictic speech (praising or condemning some person—living or dead, real or fictitious), a deliberative speech (advocating or attacking some new policy or idea), or a forensic speech (dealing with the past, arguing that some person or country should or should not have done x). It can be satiric, humorous, or serious.

To prepare for your speech:

  • Write and type out your speech
  • Make an outline of the main points you wish to make (never more than 2 or 3 main points and then examples or evidence or reasons to support them)
  • Practice the speech at least 4 times all the way through: 2–3 times by yourself (practicing gestures as well as the phrasings), and at least once in front of someone (e.g., a Writing Center Consultant, a friend). The more you practice, the less nervous you will feel and the better your performance will be.
  • Time your speech when you practice—never run over the allotted time!

Speech Topics

Feel free to use your imagination with the topic selection—the only requirement is that you are trying to persuade us of something. One restriction: You cannot give a speech on a topic that anyone might find offensive or insulting. If you plan to give either a humorous or satiric speech, please email me your topic well ahead of time in case the topic is inappropriate. If in doubt about any topic, please email it to me well ahead of time before you invest a lot of time in preparing it.

Here are suggested topics, but feel free to create your own:

  • We have encountered many issues (rhetorical and otherwise) in our readings. Feel free to give a persuasive speech about one of those (e.g., connection or lack of connection between ethics and rhetoric, role of a rhetorical critic vis-a-vie society, nature of rhetorical situation—Bitzer & Vatz)
  • Argue for the greater importance of some belief or value over some other belief or value (e.g., that compassion is more important than justice, or justice more important than compassion, or honesty more important than success, or success more important than honesty, or safety more important than or privacy, privacy more important than safety, etc., etc.)
  • Argue for some change in some policy (at MIT, in Cambridge, in the U.S., in the world)
  • Argue that a college education should (should not) be free for all students
  • Argue that college students should be free to choose any courses they wish rather than having to fulfill General Institute Requirements
  • Free speech should 9should not) be entirely free.
  • Argue that “the truth is out there” and we can (or cannot) know it
  • Our government’s most important role is to protect us rather than to protect our individual rights.
  • Science’s use of rhetoric undercuts its claim of objectivity.
  • In an open and free exchange of ideas, the truth will always win.
  • Perception is reality.
  • It is honorable to disregard the truth in order to persuade.
  • Laws can / cannot promote ethical behavior.
  • There is a lack of (or too much emphasis upon) professional ethics in the U.S.
  • A rhetor must be morally good.
  • Affirmative Action as a method for combating racism and sexism is still necessary.
  • Argue your own topic

Use all the resources of rhetoric to make your speech convincing—your own ethos, appeals to pathos, logos, metaphor, etc.

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Persuasive Speech Outline, with Examples

March 17, 2021 - Gini Beqiri

A persuasive speech is a speech that is given with the intention of convincing the audience to believe or do something. This could be virtually anything – voting, organ donation, recycling, and so on.

A successful persuasive speech effectively convinces the audience to your point of view, providing you come across as trustworthy and knowledgeable about the topic you’re discussing.

So, how do you start convincing a group of strangers to share your opinion? And how do you connect with them enough to earn their trust?

Topics for your persuasive speech

We’ve made a list of persuasive speech topics you could use next time you’re asked to give one. The topics are thought-provoking and things which many people have an opinion on.

When using any of our persuasive speech ideas, make sure you have a solid knowledge about the topic you’re speaking about – and make sure you discuss counter arguments too.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

  • All school children should wear a uniform
  • Facebook is making people more socially anxious
  • It should be illegal to drive over the age of 80
  • Lying isn’t always wrong
  • The case for organ donation

Read our full list of  75 persuasive speech topics and ideas .

Ideas for a persuasive speech

Preparation: Consider your audience

As with any speech, preparation is crucial. Before you put pen to paper, think about what you want to achieve with your speech. This will help organise your thoughts as you realistically can only cover 2-4 main points before your  audience get bored .

It’s also useful to think about who your audience are at this point. If they are unlikely to know much about your topic then you’ll need to factor in context of your topic when planning the structure and length of your speech. You should also consider their:

  • Cultural or religious backgrounds
  • Shared concerns, attitudes and problems
  • Shared interests, beliefs and hopes
  • Baseline attitude – are they hostile, neutral, or open to change?

The factors above will all determine the approach you take to writing your speech. For example, if your topic is about childhood obesity, you could begin with a story about your own children or a shared concern every parent has. This would suit an audience who are more likely to be parents than young professionals who have only just left college.

Remember the 3 main approaches to persuade others

There are three main approaches used to persuade others:

The ethos approach appeals to the audience’s ethics and morals, such as what is the ‘right thing’ to do for humanity, saving the environment, etc.

Pathos persuasion is when you appeal to the audience’s emotions, such as when you  tell a story  that makes them the main character in a difficult situation.

The logos approach to giving a persuasive speech is when you appeal to the audience’s logic – ie. your speech is essentially more driven by facts and logic. The benefit of this technique is that your point of view becomes virtually indisputable because you make the audience feel that only your view is the logical one.

  • Ethos, Pathos, Logos: 3 Pillars of Public Speaking and Persuasion

Ideas for your persuasive speech outline

1. structure of your persuasive speech.

The opening and closing of speech are the most important. Consider these carefully when thinking about your persuasive speech outline. A  strong opening  ensures you have the audience’s attention from the start and gives them a positive first impression of you.

You’ll want to  start with a strong opening  such as an attention grabbing statement, statistic of fact. These are usually dramatic or shocking, such as:

Sadly, in the next 18 minutes when I do our chat, four Americans that are alive will be dead from the food that they eat – Jamie Oliver

Another good way of starting a persuasive speech is to include your audience in the picture you’re trying to paint. By making them part of the story, you’re embedding an emotional connection between them and your speech.

You could do this in a more toned-down way by talking about something you know that your audience has in common with you. It’s also helpful at this point to include your credentials in a persuasive speech to gain your audience’s trust.

Speech structure and speech argument for a persuasive speech outline.

Obama would spend hours with his team working on the opening and closing statements of his speech.

2. Stating your argument

You should  pick between 2 and 4 themes  to discuss during your speech so that you have enough time to explain your viewpoint and convince your audience to the same way of thinking.

It’s important that each of your points transitions seamlessly into the next one so that your speech has a logical flow. Work on your  connecting sentences  between each of your themes so that your speech is easy to listen to.

Your argument should be backed up by objective research and not purely your subjective opinion. Use examples, analogies, and stories so that the audience can relate more easily to your topic, and therefore are more likely to be persuaded to your point of view.

3. Addressing counter-arguments

Any balanced theory or thought  addresses and disputes counter-arguments  made against it. By addressing these, you’ll strengthen your persuasive speech by refuting your audience’s objections and you’ll show that you are knowledgeable to other thoughts on the topic.

When describing an opposing point of view, don’t explain it in a bias way – explain it in the same way someone who holds that view would describe it. That way, you won’t irritate members of your audience who disagree with you and you’ll show that you’ve reached your point of view through reasoned judgement. Simply identify any counter-argument and pose explanations against them.

  • Complete Guide to Debating

4. Closing your speech

Your closing line of your speech is your last chance to convince your audience about what you’re saying. It’s also most likely to be the sentence they remember most about your entire speech so make sure it’s a good one!

The most effective persuasive speeches end  with a  call to action . For example, if you’ve been speaking about organ donation, your call to action might be asking the audience to register as donors.

Practice answering AI questions on your speech and get  feedback on your performance .

If audience members ask you questions, make sure you listen carefully and respectfully to the full question. Don’t interject in the middle of a question or become defensive.

You should show that you have carefully considered their viewpoint and refute it in an objective way (if you have opposing opinions). Ensure you remain patient, friendly and polite at all times.

Example 1: Persuasive speech outline

This example is from the Kentucky Community and Technical College.

Specific purpose

To persuade my audience to start walking in order to improve their health.

Central idea

Regular walking can improve both your mental and physical health.

Introduction

Let’s be honest, we lead an easy life: automatic dishwashers, riding lawnmowers, T.V. remote controls, automatic garage door openers, power screwdrivers, bread machines, electric pencil sharpeners, etc., etc. etc. We live in a time-saving, energy-saving, convenient society. It’s a wonderful life. Or is it?

Continue reading

Example 2: Persuasive speech

Tips for delivering your persuasive speech

  • Practice, practice, and practice some more . Record yourself speaking and listen for any nervous habits you have such as a nervous laugh, excessive use of filler words, or speaking too quickly.
  • Show confident body language . Stand with your legs hip width apart with your shoulders centrally aligned. Ground your feet to the floor and place your hands beside your body so that hand gestures come freely. Your audience won’t be convinced about your argument if you don’t sound confident in it. Find out more about  confident body language here .
  • Don’t memorise your speech word-for-word  or read off a script. If you memorise your persuasive speech, you’ll sound less authentic and panic if you lose your place. Similarly, if you read off a script you won’t sound genuine and you won’t be able to connect with the audience by  making eye contact . In turn, you’ll come across as less trustworthy and knowledgeable. You could simply remember your key points instead, or learn your opening and closing sentences.
  • Remember to use facial expressions when storytelling  – they make you more relatable. By sharing a personal story you’ll more likely be speaking your truth which will help you build a connection with the audience too. Facial expressions help bring your story to life and transport the audience into your situation.
  • Keep your speech as concise as possible . When practicing the delivery, see if you can edit it to have the same meaning but in a more succinct way. This will keep the audience engaged.

The best persuasive speech ideas are those that spark a level of controversy. However, a public speech is not the time to express an opinion that is considered outside the norm. If in doubt, play it safe and stick to topics that divide opinions about 50-50.

Bear in mind who your audience are and plan your persuasive speech outline accordingly, with researched evidence to support your argument. It’s important to consider counter-arguments to show that you are knowledgeable about the topic as a whole and not bias towards your own line of thought.

COM 110a01 - Communication As Critical Inquiry: Classroom Communication-Teacher Education

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  • Persuasive Speech Assignment Overview

For this assignment, you will give a 3-5 minute speech to introduce one of two opposing viewpoints on a topic or question in education. Your goal is to introduce your side persuasively, while a partner will argue the other side. As partners you will then leas a 6-8 minute instructional discussion with the class. For specific details on the assignment, see the assignment description below. 

This section of the guide provides specific support for this assignment. Including:

  • Persuasive Speech Outline Format The template for the Informative Speech Outline from your COM110.01 spiral is provided for ready-reference as you begin your research.
  • Persuasive Speech Research Starting Points This section includes the top databases for finding sources for your persuasive speech. There is also a link to discover education statistics.
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Link: Persuasive Speech Worksheet

Persuasive Speech

This will be a 5-7 minute persuasive speech in which you will present a problem in society and convince us that your solution can solve the problem. You will need to use persuasive language and strong sources to accomplish this. This speech is worth 100 points.

CAUTIONS: Your speech will be more effective if you choose an issue that you actually care about. You will automatically come across as more passionate and concerned. Choosing a local topic also helps. Try to stay away from overused topics such as abortion, the death penalty, etc. Some topic suggestions might include recycling, arts in the schools, spaying/neutering pets, organic foods, etc.

An outline is required for this speech. Please use the outline template. The attached “persuasive worksheet” is simply a document to help you better understand what persuasion entails and how to approach this last speech. The persuasive worksheet does not need to be submitted to the instructor. Do NOT write your speech out word for word. The outline is worth 25 points.

You must use 5 valid research sources for this speech. You will provide these sources in an annotated bibliography. Examples and guidelines for the bibliography can be found under course documents. The annotation for each source should be your evaluation of your source’s usefulness, reliability, and relevance. Each annotation should be 100-150 words. The annotated bibliography is worth 50 points.

This speech requires you to provide a self-review of your presentation. Other students will NOT view your speech. Only you will evaluate your own presentation. Please use the rubric provided under course documents. You cannot simply provide a numerical score for your presentation. You MUST discuss your speech providing comments on your strengths and weaknesses. This self-review is worth 25 points.

This speech will be recorded following the requirements outlined in the syllabus. You may not stop and edit your video. You must let it roll. This will be uploaded to YouTube following the directions provided. (FSCJ has privacy settings so only those permitted to view can review your videos. These videos will not be posted for the public to view.)

Here is a link for how to upload your speech video:

How to Upload Videos to YouTube – The Center for eLearning

Note: If necessary,  download the video transcript here .

Once you have uploaded your presentation, go to the dropbox and provide the YouTube link to your speech. The rubric for this speech can be found at the end of the syllabus.

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35 Start: Look at Persuasive Speech Assignment Sheet

Persuasive speech assignment, “good citizen persuasive speech” – see your own d2l course materials — this is a sample, start:  understand the purpose of the  assignment.

persuasive speech about assignments

  • To allow students an opportunity to understand, discover the importance of, and intentionally engage in, an individual action that promotes a public/community good. In effect, students see first-hand how their engagement affects the lives of others; individuals can make a difference.
  • To promote Civic Engagement! American philosopher and educator, John Dewey, posited that “Democracy has to be born anew every generation and education is its midwife” (School and Society, 2nd edition, 1933). Dewey points out that, on a fundamental level, education, engagement, and democracy are inextricably bound with one another. This assignment reflects Dewey’s observation.

Understand the MN State Communication Pathways Learning Outcomes for this Assignment:

Students should be able to:.

1.1 Demonstrate appropriate topic selection, audience analysis, organization, and content development in a speaker-audience setting.

1.2b Create and perform persuasive messages.

1.3 Practice effective verbal and nonverbal delivery techniques that are well suited to the occasion and audience.

1.4 Utilize appropriate research strategies to discover and ethically integrate supporting materials from diverse sources and points of view.

1.5 Demonstrate the ability to listen, analyze, and provide feedback on public discourse.

READ – Read the Correlated Chapters and the Assignment Sheet 

Procedure Steps to Completing this Speech Assignment Sheet

~STEP 1:   Decide Upon a Topic that you are/can become Involved and Research

1 )  Choose a topic that focuses on a local concern, community action, and civic/social group or issue which you support and persuade us to do what you do.  Alternatively, you may choose to persuade why we should NOT do something.

You will hand in a summary of how YOU are involved in the topic of volunteer work, participating in an event, past work experience, etc. You will attach this to your typed speech outline on the day of your speech and in the drop box.

Reflecting the democratic spirit, your idea of what we can do to make a difference should include actions open to others for involvement – if even in a small way (e.g., sign this petition or join or buy this, go there, etc.).  You will need to persuade us to do this too, so make sure the possibility of persuasion exists.  (See me if you have questions). You should talk about your experience in your speech.

KEEP IT SIMPLE:

  • You can keep it simple: Think of topics on campus – the learning center, the library, sports, supporting the arts, attending office hours, etc.
  • You can get creative: why we should attend local events, polar plunges, eating for charity, going to the local arts, attending a nonprofit organization’s fundraiser, taking a class in community education, etc.
  • Go political – there are local political races, organizations, etc.
  • Just show up at an event planned by a great group – if you go, then you have earned the right to share why should go.

OR, TRY AN ACTIVITY:

  • becoming involved in school government or a club, trying out local politics, support/oppose legislative issues (hot topics this year are marriage, guns, and immigration as well as funding for education – even your own!), volunteering at the local shelters, helping at a church, mosque, synagogue or temple, visiting the elderly, mentoring children, cleaning the YMCA, teaching children tasks at a daycare center, school, giving blood or helping with a blood drive, visiting Paws and Claws animals, etc.
  • organizing a food drive at work, going into your neighborhood to do an action, donating blood, or some other creative activity.  If you do this less structured activity, you still need to find a “volunteer supervisor” to verify you did indeed do so AND add photos to show the progress. Contact your instructor before you “do your own thing.” Conservation, organic gardening, going to the Farmer’s Market, etc.
  • If you are a busy parent, why not involve your children?  You may do something such as organizing the local children to “clean up the neighborhood,” having a food drive among your children’s friends for the local food-shelf, selling lemonade to benefit some group, gathering gently used toys and clothes to donate to the local shelter, etc.
  • Too busy? I CAN HELP YOU FIND SOMETHING TO ATTEND, VISIT, JOIN, VOLUNTEER ON CAMPUS, OR EVEN VIA YOUR COMPUTER! BUT YOU NEED TO ASK ME IF YOU NEED HELP!

2)   Localize your topic – consider talking to a local expert.”

You must prove that this topic area is a concern for our community.  You need to show personalized connections to your audience. To do this, you could contact a “local” “expert” on your topic and interview them (if you reach a dead-end here– sometimes, despite all your efforts, folks don’t answer back – contact me, I can help).   In your speech, make a clear statement of how this topic has an impact on OUR daily lives.

3) Research: You will need 5 sources . You can conduct credible interviews, use local news providers, more generalized research on volunteerism or your topic, etc. You will complete a “research defense” assignment again.

~STEP 2 – Survey the Class

Create an audience survey following the same procedure for your informative speech. Ask three questions to gain more information about how we feel about your topic: one fixed response, one ranked, one open – follow these question types for credit (you may ask more questions though). Once again, complete and attach your survey report to your outline – make sure to look over the particular questions – answer fully.  This time your focus will be to explain how you used the data to persuade us.

  • You will survey the class on your topic prior to writing your speech. This will help you give a more effective, better-adapted speech. You will ask us to respond to at least three different questions about your speech topic (one fixed-response, one ranked question, and one open question — see survey sample in class). Anyone in the class can refuse to take your survey.
  • A. What were the questions?
  • B.  What was the mean (average) response of your fixed response and ranked question?   In general, what did you learn from the open question?
  • C. What did you infer about your audience from this data?  BE DETAILED. What did you guess about us?  What did you think we would think, feel, do, etc. about your topic? What about our demographics – what do you infer about us based upon who we are concerning how we’d listen to your speech, etc.
  • D.  How did you use your data and inferences to adapt to your audience?   Who did you see as your “target audience” – why?  How did you select your sources based upon the audience? Address this thoughtfully in a paragraph. Be specific in your response.

PRACTICE – Time yourself as you write/practice the speech

~STEP 3 – Write & Practice the Speech, Meet with your Instructor

Now you are ready to write your speech using the motivated sequence organizational pattern . You must use this organizational pattern and ONLY this pattern (see worksheets and your book).

  • Organize your speech for the time your teacher gives you for your   persuasive speech.
  • In your speech, you will attempt to persuade us to also become involved in your organization or issue.  You will need to be very specific with what you want us to do (dates, locations, times, etc.).
  • You must not persuade us to do something that you have not done or will not do.
  • We will use the motivated sequence in this speech and ONLY this organizational design:  (attention, need, satisfaction, visualization, and action — see the text, D2L materials in the Content Area and the handout). See the links on our website and the text for more information on this pattern.  Ask me if you have any questions about this format. Examine the sample outlines posted online.
  • Rough Drafts should be shown to your instructor as scheduled and handed in on D2L as noted in the schedule. We will have “check-ins” to discuss your rough drafts. Please submit drafts….that are GOOD, detailed, well-developed….please. Include your audience analysis report and works cited. You will only gain feedback via your conference as this is most effective — please keep your appointment .
  • Day of your Speech – Hand in a typed, full-sentence, fully documented (yes, parenthetical references in the outline!) outline and bibliography and submit this to the D2L Dropbox.
  • You must use a visual aid. You can use PowerPoint or a Prezi J if you have not done so yet.

~STEP 4 – Deliver Speech

~STEP 5 – Self Assessment – See D2L

To summarize, this is what you need to hand in:

  • Before your speech: Outline Rough Draft
  • A typed full-sentence outline, complete with source citations.
  • Your works cited page/bibliography that includes sources, all credible and cited in the proper APA or MLA format (if you forgot how to do this, seehttps://www.citationmachine.net/)
  • Your Audience Analysis Report
  • A brief paragraph describing what you did/have done to connect to the topic.
  • Don’t forget we’ll video the speeches.
  • Remember your visual aid. Use a backup for PowerPoint/electronic aids. Make sure the sound is up, your page will open, etc. if you use the internet or a video.

Great Ideas to get started!

  • Volunteer at a local nonprofit organization.  Help with office work, mailings, serving their clients, etc.!
  •  Write a letter to the editor, to a group that would make a difference, to your school board, our school, etc.!
  • Phone your concerns to an agency, group or government body.
  • Help with fundraising, or raise money yourself for a good cause…MDA is always organizing something for the annual fall telethon!
  • Form your own group in your neighborhood, school, and/or workplace towards some community-minded project or task.  Gather garbage with your children’s friends in your neighborhood.
  • Do some footwork of your own!  Join a race for preventing breast cancer, MS, diabetes, or another worthy cause.
  • Help out the campus in some way!
  • Organize a food drive in our class or on campus…go see your Student Association Senators for help here! OR help them in some way!
  • Engage yourself in conversation about this topic to others in a public forum, discussion or even one-on-one.
  • Do extensive research on the topic and provide a local group with this information (e.g., your church, neighborhood association, workmates, etc.)

PERSUASIVE SPEECH OUTLINE WORKSHEET (MOTIVATED SEQUENCE)

Remember: this is just a suggested outline format, you may personalize your speech, but MUST follow the Motivated Sequence organization for this speech. Please upload a typed copy of this worksheet to D2L as noted in the schedule and class announcements.

Hand this in as directed in the schedule. THEN – after revisions, you will hand in a typed full-sentence (complete with your parenthetical quoted sources in the text) version of this worksheet along with your Works Cited page and your audience analysis on the day of your speech presentation as well as within the drop box online.  Bring a print copy to class as noted in the schedule.

This design works best for action speeches; it is very effective for many purposes though!!!  It follows a pattern similar to the problem-solution pattern but ends with more emphasis upon how action can be taken to actually help the solution come

Television commercials, infomercials, telemarketers and the basic sales pitch often follow this pattern. The five steps include attention, need, satisfaction, visualization, and action.  See your text for more information.  This outline worksheet will help you to write a strong speech.  However, it is just one format, you certainly can adapt it to your own approach . For example, you might use two quotes and three statistics vs. the suggested sub-sub point items below. You must follow the basic outline features though (the elements of introductions and conclusions, basic order of the pattern, transitions, etc.).

Remember: this is just a suggested outline format, you may personalize your speech, transitions, number of subpoints and sub-subpoints. Please upload a typed copy of this worksheet to D2L as noted in the schedule and class announcements.

Topic: __________________________________________________________

Specific Purpose: To persuasde my audience about ______________________.

ADD AUDIENCE ANALYSIS REPORT:

  • What did you learn about our class in response to your questions? List the questions.
  • Report the data. What was the “average” or “mean” response to the “fixed response” and the “ranked question?” You can find this out by simple division. If you need help, let me know. Summarize how the class responded to your open question.
  • What did you infer about your audience from this data?  BE DETAILED…what did you guess about us? What did you think we would think, feel, do, etc. about your topic? What about our demographics – what do you infer about us based upon who we are concerning how we’d listen to your speech, etc.
  • How did you use your data and inferences to adapt to your audience?   Who did you see as your “target audience” – why? How did you select your sources based upon the audience? Address this thoughtfully in a paragraph. Be specific in your response.

How are you involved in your topic – what did you do that you are asking us to do?

  • In a paragraph, summarize what you have done.

INTRODUCTION

The introduction serves to spark attention and draw us into your speech. To facilitate this, write responses to the questions below in a short paragraph. Remember, for this speech, you will need to address the “NEED” in the attention device)

Attention Material (This speech requires a strong opening immediately pointing to the need (why they should act and follow through with your “call to action”). You can try a simple compelling story that draws in pathos, ask for participation ( refer to the occasion, refer to recent or historical events, refer to previous speeches, refer to personal interest, use a clever quote, use a startling statistic,  use an analogy, cite a definition, use a music/video clip, use of suspense, ask a question, etc.):

Gain Goodwill of the Audience (tell us how this relates to us; for this type of speech a statement that shares why they should care/how they are locally involved is essential).

Credibility Material ( Generally, in this area, you’ll establish external credibility by stating why you care, why you can be trusted, or how you know your materials, etc. Sources are especially important to establish your credibility.):

Thesis & Topic Preview: This thesis/preview should follow need, satisfaction (solution) and visualization (benefits of action and consequences of inaction).  For example: There is a need to address ____ – but a solution of _____________has benefits I will share.

( Transition into Body of Speech, e.g.,  so what is at risk, what is the problem we are facing……)

I. Main Point #1 — “Need,” or what is the “problem” — why do we need to do something?

A. What is the Need for Action? Consider the following to include here (you might not be able to add all):

  • Logos – explain and succinctly describe the problem with facts, local statistics, etc.
  • Mythos – as a community how have we seen this to be true – what are the signs that a problem exists? What shared symptoms are there? Any effects on us?
  • Pathos: Example/ Narrative
  • Ethos: Testimony – how have you seen this problem, expert testimony from an interview and/or research

B. Demonstrate the extent of this problem — how is it urgent, recent, relevant, current, etc. Consider the following to include here (you might not be able to add all):

  •  Logos – add facts to show the extent of the problem.
  •  Mythos – who is impacted?
  •  Pathos: Example/Narrative
  • Ethos: what have you seen/testimony from your interview/research.

C. Demonstrate the scope of the problem — who, where, when is the problem seen? Consider the following to include here (you might not be able to add all):

  • Logos – Facts/Statistics
  • Pathos – Example/Narrative
  • Ethos – why you care one last time
  • Mythos – narrow to the local audience so they are ready for the solution you will present.

(Summary: ___________________________________________________________)

(Preview :_____________________________________________________________)

II. Main Point #2 – “Satisfaction” or how your solution will solve the problem you presented.

A. Solution Simply Stated. Consider the following to include here (you might not be able to add all):

  • Logos – Describe the solution with basic facts addressing the problem.
  • Ethos – Give testimony that this solution has worked/will work.
  • Mythos/Pathos – why this solution relates to the localized issue you are speaking about.

B. The Practicality of Solution. Consider the following to include here (you might not be able to add all):

  • Logos: Demonstrate how the solution to this problem is reasonable and relevant to its solution.
  • Logos: What is your strategy for putting these plans into place? Have you any evidence that it may reasonably work?
  • Transforming Plan into Action
  • What are the sequential parts of this plan?
  • Whom do we call/visit/to begin?
  • How do we continue the steps?

C. What factors will allow for the effectiveness of these steps? Consider the following to include here (you might not be able to add all):

  • Ethos: Testimony
  • Logos: Facts it will work
  • Pathos/Mythos: Narrative about how it is a good solution

III. Main Point #3 – “Visualization of the Results” – Remember you can rework this section to meet your own topic needs, but here is a suggestion – use visual aids as well here! Consider the following to include here (you might not be able to add all):

A. Prove there are Consequences of Inaction

  • Describe the situation if we do nothing with an explanation
  • Add a fact (you can discuss information from your “need” too)
  • Give testimony to back up your claim
  • Remind us how WE are connected to “no action”

B. Prove there are Expected Results of Action

  • Describe the situation if we do get involved with an explanation
  • Add a fact (you can discuss information from your “need” too
  • Remind us how WE are connected to  the results of this “action”

(Write a short paragraph of what you will say; include all of the following functions of conclusions):

Signal an End (Signaling to indicate the end often uses cue terms such as “in conclusion,” but of course now you need to be creative and capture the spirit of this persuasive appeal, e.g. “Today we’ve….” or “So many lessons can be learned by thinking about who or what we admire as well as why….”):

Summary (please review in the order covered, as the summation should match your thesis):

Goodwill Audience Tie (tell us again how we, individually and/or as part of the civic community benefit from knowing this, show the connection between you and the audience):  

Concluding Clincher/Call to Action (never, ever end on something abrupt, e.g. “that’s it” — plan out the end, better yet, tie back in some fashion to the attention device used in the introduction):

Works Cited

(MUST use correct APA or MLA form for ANY credit)

If you do not know how to do this, see:

  • Word’s “References” tool – it will correctly create a Works Cited page and citation for your outline too if you type in your data correctly. This is the best resource as it all stays within your document and saves for future references.

Grading Rubric

Good citizen persuasive speech grading rubric explained,  “good citizen” persuasive speech grading rubric (short form).

                  Name: ___________________                                 

Grade Breakdown                                          

Rubric Score = _______100 “rubric points” or _______ % c

The Public Speaking Resource Project Copyright © 2018 by Lori Halverson-Wente and Mark Halverson-Wente is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Delivering A Persuasive Speech

Overview : Students need to understand that how they say something and how they physically present themselves are just as important as what they say. By understanding the dynamics involved in effective persuasive speaking, students will improve their overall confidence in communicating.

Purpose : The purpose of this lesson is to improve students' oral persuasion techniques by understanding the appropriate speaking skills. The lesson is presented in second person, making it more meaningful as a resource for the students, and easier for the teacher to use as a handout.

Objectives : Students will be able to:

  • Demonstrate the appropriate classroom public speaking and listening skills (e.g., body language, articulation, listening to be able to identify specific examples of the speaker's coordination of talking and action) that would be necessary to influence or change someone's mind or way of thinking about a topic.
  • Define the elements of persuasion.
  • Recognize the elements of personal credibility.
  • Develop methods to analyze other students' speeches.
  • Understand outlining main ideas.
  • Create a persuasive speech.

Resources/Materials : Teacher-prepared topics for persuasive speeches.

Assessments : The Class will assess each speaker's performance in terms of voice and body coordination, and in terms of persuasiveness. Each class can develop performance assessments such as rubrics to facilitate this process.

Teacher's Anticipatory Set : During class discussion, define and explain how people make decisions based on what they see and hear. Explain that sometimes we have to use skills to convince others about our positions. Have the students recall and list their own experiences trying to convince their friends about something, and then ask them to share these with the class.

Activities and Procedures: Delivering a Persuasive Speech

The Procedure

Pick a proposition that not everyone would agree with such as: "nuclear power plants are superior energy sources." Write a 6 to 8 - minute speech in outline form to persuade the group.

The Lesson: Your Voice and Body are Your Best Tools

You are a natural persuader! You have done it all your life. Every time you enter a conversation, you engage in elementary persuasion techniques. It is true, that any time you make a statement of fact, you are asserting its validity and assuming that your listener agrees.

This speech goes further than a normal conversational assertion: now you have to assume that not everyone will agree with you from the start, and it is your job to make them see things your way. The goal of this speech is to change someone's mind or way of thinking about a topic. This is not a speech to sell, as you do not ask that the listener do anything except to agree with you or to begin to listen to your way of thinking. Your message is, of course, very important in this speech, but your voice and body language are even more important. Here you will see how your delivery can help.

There are several important aspects of presentation to keep in mind:

  • Body language - make sure that you have a proper posture. If your shoulders are sagging and your legs are crossed, you will not appear as being sincere and people just will not accept your message.
  • Articulation - articulation means how your total vocal process works. There are several steps to this entire process. First, you need air from the lungs, your vocal cords in your larynx must be working, your mouth and tongue must be in sync, and you have to make sure that you have got some saliva in your mouth to keep things oiled. You should be aware of your physical makeup to be able to understand how you speak.
  • Pronunciation - pronounce each word. Avoid slang, except to make a point, and do not slur your words. Avoid saying, "you know."
  • Pitch - pitch refers to the highs and lows of your voice. Whatever you do, avoid a monotone!
  • Speed - your speed, or pace, is an important variable to control. Between 140-160 words per minute is the normal pace for a persuasive speech. Any faster and you may appear to be glib; any slower and you sound like you are lecturing. If you are not sure about your speed, tape yourself for one minute and then replay it and count the number of words you used in the minute! The human ear and brain can compile and decode over 400 spoken words per minute, so if you are going too slow your listeners' minds are going to start to wander as the brains finds other ways to keep themselves occupied.
  • Pauses - the pause, or caesura, is a critical persuasive tool. When you want to emphasize a certain word, just pause for one second before; this highlights the word. If you really want to punch it, pause before and after the word!
  • Volume - volume is another good tool for persuasive speech, but you should use it with caution. If you scream all the way through your speech, people will become accustomed to it and it will lose its effectiveness. On the other hand, a few well-timed shouts can liven up the old speech! Try to "project" or throw your voice out over the entire group - speak to the last row.
  • Quality - quality of voice is gauged by the overall impact that your voice has on your listeners. Quality of voice is the net caliber of your voice, its character and attributes. Try to keep your vocal quality high; it is what separates your voice from everyone else's.
  • Variance - variance of vocal elements is your most important consideration of all! One of the most persuasive speakers in modern history was Winston Churchill. One of his most remarkable qualities was his ability to vary the elements of his voice. He would start with a slow, laconic voice and then switch gears to a more rapid pace. People were light-headed after listening to him! Even if you have no desire to run for political office, you can still use the tools of variance. Change your pitch, volume, and speed at least once every 30 seconds, if only for just one word. Never go more than one paragraph without a vocal variance. This keeps your group locked into your speech, if for no other reason than it sounds interesting! Let the words speak for themselves; reflect their nature through your voice. If you use the word "strangle," say it with a hint of menace in your voice. If you say the word "heave," let the group feel the onomatopoeic force behind it. If you say the word "bulldozer," make it sound like a titan earthmover, not like a baby with a shovel.

The Strategy: Appear Rational

When you are trying to convince someone of something, you must first establish your credibility, or in other words, you must sell yourself before you sell your message. If people feel that you are not being reasonable or rational, you do not stand a chance. You must be committed to the ideals and goals of your speech and what you are saying. Do not use words such as "maybe" or "might"- use positive words such as "will" and "must."

You are the authority figure in this speech, so you had better supply enough information to prove your points so that you can seem knowledgeable, and you had better know your material cold. People can usually spot someone who is trying to "wing" a speech. You should also appear to be truthful -even when you are really stretching a point. If you do not appear to be earnest, even if your message is the 100% truth, people will doubt your word and tune out your speech.

Lastly, do not be afraid to show a little emotion - this is not a sterile or static speech. Your body and voice must match the tone of your words. If your language is strong, you must present a physical force to go along with your delivery.

The Comments and Goals

Self-control?

You cannot sit back and let your words do all of the talking. You must use your total self to deliver your message, and this means that you will have to expose a little of your personality to the group. Your group will be supportive.

The Group Reaction

The group has two major criteria to consider after each member's speech. First, the delivery. Were the speaker's body, words, and actions in synchronization and harmony? Did one support the other or was there tension between the body and the voice? Secondly, were you persuaded? Why or why not? Discuss what makes a persuasive speech work and how the intangibles effect a positive outcome.

Contributed by: Douglas Parker

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Assignments

Brave space lesson.

persuasive speech about assignments

Persuasive Speech Assignment

An assignment that helps students artfully convince an audience. Students will be given the opportunity to persuade audience members that a policy should be started, changed, or stopped, and/or urge cooperation by asking them to performs specific tasks.

persuasive speech about assignments

Self-Introduction Speech Assignment

Select an object that represents a significant aspect of your cultural background, personality, values, ambitions, etc. Using the chosen object as a point of departure, develop a speech that explains how it relates to your life. The purpose of this speech is not to explain the object in detail, but […]

persuasive speech about assignments

Peer Feedback Assignment

A simple form to give students so that they can evaluate and comment on their classmates’ presentations. For use in an in-person or synchronous class. Download a Word doc of the Peer Feedback form here.  

persuasive speech about assignments

Informative Speech Assignment

An assignment by Prof. Williams that discusses and analyzes preparation for the Informative Speech.

persuasive speech about assignments

Global Competencies Exercises

Various ice-breaker activities compiled by Prof. Williams. For use in in-person or online classes.

persuasive speech about assignments

African Burial Ground Assignment

This is an assignment that helps students practice using different types of organizational styles when outlining their speeches. Students are asked to write an outline using two different organizational styles. Download a Word doc of Prof. Williams’ African Burial Ground assignment here.

persuasive speech about assignments

Occasional Speech Assignment

Occasional Speech Assginment. The occasion may take place in the past, present, or future. You’ll need a specific person, place, or thing that you are praising, celebrating, reflecting on, honoring, or saying goodbye to.

  Prof. Tulloch’s Informative Speech Assignment requires students to select a subject area that provides a genuine contribution of knowledge to the class (i.e. something they do not already know).ce.

persuasive speech about assignments

Assignment Compilation

A compilation of assignments by Professor Brianne Waychoff.  Click to find everything from Informative Speech assignments to Persuasive Speech assignments to Midterm Exam questions.

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Teaching Argumentation and Persuasion: 6 Engaging Activities Beyond the Argumentative Essay

how to teach argumentation and persuasion

There are many engaging activities to use when teaching argumentation and persuasion beyond the classic essay. While the argumentative essay can certainly be effective, try something new with one of these 6 engaging activities. Your students will be excited and eager to apply argumentation and persuasion in the classroom and beyond.

When it comes to teaching argumentation and persuasion, I’m like a kid on Christmas morning. I’m eager, excited, and full of energy. Yet, over the years, I’ve found that my students don’t always meet me with the same enthusiasm. Instead, they roll their figurative eyes at the thought of writing yet another essay.

I had to do something to save my favorite holiday– I mean unit– of the year.

I’ve spent more hours than I’d like to admit, wracking my brain for activities that would make teaching argumentation and persuasion, dare I say, fun! But the time and effort paid off. When I started implementing activities beyond the argumentative essays, my students were engaged and active participants. It was a win-win.

Lucky for you, I’ve done the work (and put in the time) so you don’t have to. Instead, simply keep reading to uncover some of my secret weapons for teaching argumentation and persuasion. The following activities can be used instead of or in conjunction with the classic argumentative essay. It’s totally up to you and what will best suit your students’ needs. Regardless, you don’t have to spend the hours brainstorming from square one. You can thank me later. In the meantime, read on, my teacher friends!

Laying the Foundation for Teaching Argumentation and Persuasion

Before jumping into one of the activities below, you need to set your students up for success. Therefore, be sure to teach the essential concepts for effective argumentation and persuasion. Afterall, both argumentation and persuasion are cornerstone communication skills in the 21st century.

So, not only do you want to do these topics justice for the sake of your classroom. But, they’re also some of the most transferable skills your students will use in the real world.

Note: if you’re just looking for the activities, no problem! Keep scrolling– I promise they’re there.

Understanding the Difference Between Argumentation and Persuasion

While these two topics are often taught together, it’s important for students to know that they aren’t exactly synonyms. Instead, you could argue (see what I did there) these two concepts act as compliments to one another. In many cases, persuasion can strengthen an argument, and vice versa. But again, they’re not exactly the same when it comes to speaking or writing. (However, I find it useful to remind students of one of the most important aspects they do share: there has to be at least two sides.) You can clarify the major differences between the two by looking at the main goal for each type of writing or speech:

  • The goal of argumentative writing is to get the audience to acknowledge your stance on a topic. Moreover, a strong argument shows the reader your viewpoint is valid and deserves consideration. Therefore, argumentative writing is heavily rooted in logic and facts and addressed counterclaims.
  • Goal of persuasive writing is to get the audience to agree with you and your stance on a particular topic or viewpoint. While logic most certainly strengthens persuasion, there is also a heavy emphasis on emotional elements as well.

The truth is, the two are often used hand in hand in the real world with everything from marketing and public service campaigns to politics and law. And, in most cases, persuasive writing is more personal and passionate for students. Therefore, I strive to teach the two together to increase student engagement and real word application. Talk about a dream duo for students and teachers alike!

Rhetoric and Rhetorical Appeals

I absolutely love comparing persuasion and argumentation to art. Why? Because it’s a true craft. Do I explain it that way to my students? Abso-freakin-lutely. Why? Because they need to understand that presenting a sound and persuasive argument is a skill. That these writing and speaking skills take time and effort to develop.

Enter: Rhetoric. I always begin this unit by defining argumentation, persuasion, and rhetoric, explaining how the latter literally means the art of persuasion. Then, I introduce the three main rhetorical appeals (shout out Aristotle). Rather than simply giving the students the definitions of ethos, pathos, and logos, I begin by asking questions to help reveal the definitions. Here are some of the questions I use– and that you can most certainly steal for your own classroom:

  • To introduce ethos , I ask, “Who would you trust to give advice about toothpaste? Why?”
  • To introduce logos , I might ask, “If you wanted to learn how to build a successful business, what is the benefit of a successful entrepreneur giving you step-by-step guidance?”
  • To introduce pathos , I ask, “Think about a time where you got emotional during a commercial, song, or movie. What was it that made you so emotional?”

The Power of Words

Once students have an understanding of these essential definitions, it’s time to move on to a more abstract, yet highly significant, concept: the power of words. This is where I introduce the importance (and power) of diction. This is the perfect time to explain how words impact reader/audience experience.

One of the simplest examples to make a case for this claim is asking students to analyze the difference between the terms house and home. I’ve never had a class not come to the conclusion that a house is a structure and place of living, where a home is a place filled with love.

To round out the discussion on why and how words have an impact on the audience, introduce connotation and denotation. Spending a handful of minutes explaining the emotional meaning behind words (connotation) can be a game changer. It reminds students that there is, in fact, emotional power in the words we use. To drive the point home, you can ask them to compare times when they were upset vs. angry vs. furious.

A Fun and Engaging Warm-Up Activity for Teaching Argumentation and Persuasion

What tween or teen doesn’t like arguing with adults? (Trust me. They’re far and few between.) In other words, students will eat this activity up. Rather than focusing on deep and heavy topics that require a great deal of research and unpacking, this activity is a lighthearted warm-up. The goal is to get students to start thinking about what goes into a sound and persuasive argument.

  • Arguing with “Adults”

Working independently or in small groups, students will pick a “silly” or lighthearted topic. Encourage them to think of things they’d like to convince their parents, teachers, or other adults. Since these topics are light hearted and often come from a place of passion, students will have no problem coming up with reasons why their curfew should be extended by an hour or two or why homework should be abolished. They’re excited to argue why their parents should buy them a car or why a puppy is a must-have addition to their family.

Next, allow students five minutes to choose a topic and brainstorm their argument. Then, give them 10-20 minutes to write their argument. (The timing of this activity is flexible, so you can adjust it based on the structure of your class.) After they write out their argument, it’s time to share– and let the discussion unfold. As each student (or group) shares their argument, have fun playing devil’s advocate. Challenge them to push their arguments and reasoning further.

While you might want to guide the students through the discussion, let them really come to terms with the idea of what makes a sound and persuasive argument. And if you really want to play up the fun? Challenge the other students to play that role! Have your students in the audience play the role of the adults to whom the argument is targeted. This will challenge students to find holes in the arguments, brainstorming ways to make an argument even stronger. Additionally, it challenges them to think about the importance of audience perspective , looking beyond their own interests, blind spots, and biases. The end result? Develop a list of student generated “check-points” for an argument that is both powerful and persuasive.

Engaging Activities for Teaching Argumentation and Persuasion

Watching TV. Driving down the highway. Scrolling through social media. The art of argumentation and persuasion are everywhere . So, why not bring some of those real-life examples to your classroom? Because the truth is, persuasion and argumentation comes in all shapes and sizes. Therefore, it might be time to look beyond the traditional argumentative essay. And with these activities, you can.

An oldie but a goodie. In fact, discussing teaching argumentation and persuasion wouldn’t feel right without some sort of debate. So, to begin this student-centered activity, select (or have students choose) a topic to argue. This can be a murder or crime– and you can even have fun with historical topics like the Salem witch trials if it’s around Halloween or you’re reading The Crucible . Alternatively, you can root your debate in an ethical dilemma or an essential question. Generally speaking, you can look toward real life events or literature for inspiration. You can even head to your state bar association website for mock trial resources and cases– like these from the state of NH . As long as there is evidence to be found and a case to make, you should be good to go.

Before really diving into the mock trial, spend time reviewing the basics of the justice system and trials. Then, once you choose your topic, divide students into teams of prosecution and defense. Once the teams are determined, students can dive into researching and crafting their arguments. However, be sure to emphasize the need for evidence based claims while also discussing the power of persuasion in the courtroom. (There are plenty of video clips you can show and analyze to see these two elements in action.) Each group, both the prosecution and defense, are responsible for crafting an opening statement, a claim, a rebuttal, and a closing statement. For smaller classes, you can serve as the judge and jury. For larger classes, you can run several trials, letting the other groups act as the jury if they’re not presenting. Either way, students will be far more eager to win the jury over with their evidence than they are to write a paper.

There’s no better way for students to show off their new persuasive skills and knowledge of ethos, logos, and pathos than to craft their own arguments. And a mock trial allows them to do so in a way other than the classic essay. But with a verdict on the line, there’s a lot at stake. Therefore, this activity amps up eager participation.

Mock Trial Teacher Tip. Mock trials make debating more exciting– especially if you really play up the trial theme. (Have an old graduation gown? Use it as the judge’s robe! A wig? Yes please! A gavel? A must.)  So, grab your gavel and give this engaging activity a try!

  • Students Do Shark Tank

This activity brings the worlds of business, marketing, and advertisements into the conversation. Talk about real world connection! Most older students will be familiar with this show. However, it’s always fun to show a clip for an episode or two just in case. Plus. Who doesn’t love watching videos in class? (Teachers and students alike.) Shark Tank is all about the pitch. So, have fun replicating this idea in your classroom! And instead of presenting to the likes of Mark Cuban, students will present to you . If you’re able, try getting a few other guest sharks on the “show”.

Before diving into the project, in addition to watching a few clips of the show, take some time to analyze the world of advertising. Encourage students to find connections between argumentative and persuasive writing and real-life commercials, social media campaigns, and print advertisements. Then, put students in small groups and together they will create their own product. Alternatively, you can have them pick an existing product they’re passionate about. Then, the fun begins.

Using their new knowledge of persuasive language techniques and argumentation, students must convince the sharks to invest in their product! For a fun twist that gets everyone involved, let the audience in on the investments. Print out a set amount of “money” for each student. After all the presentations, allow them to “invest” in their favorite products. As for the presentations themselves, I like to require a visual advertisement– like a poster– and a written component– like an elevator pitch. Students can then display their visuals as they give their speech. Later, students can view all of the visuals as they decide where to “invest” their money.

Shark Tank Teacher Tip. Looking to beef up the argumentative writing side of things? You can have students submit a short research-based argumentative paper that supports the need for their product. Regardless of the specifics, students will be eager to dive into this activity with such real world application.

  • Speech Remix

From Abraham Lincoln’s  “The Gettysburg Address” and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream,” history has its fair share of powerful speeches. And they’re great examples of argumentation and persuasion as well. So, begin this activity by analyzing a mentor text as a class. Then, turn it over to the students to showcase their knowledge on their own.

Have students choose a historical speech (you can refer to this bank of speeches here ) to analyze. They can turn in annotations or a short response analyzing the rhetoric of their chosen speech. Here’s the twist. After analyzing the speech, they then use it as a mentor text, implementing its sentence structure, tone and rhetorical techniques as they write their own speech. This is where student choice really kicks up a notch. Allow students to choose a topic, cause, or issue they feel passionate about. However, I always recommend having a list of potential topics on hand for students who need a little more guidance.

Additionally, it might be useful to encourage a backwards design approach. Have students select their topic first, and then find a speech that is a good match. For example, a social justice issue might pair well with Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. However, be sure students choosing unique and more modern topics are not dissuaded if they can’t find the perfect match. Regardless, in the end, this activity pays homage to great speeches of the past while allowing students to take ownership as they apply the argumentative and persuasive techniques to modern day.

Speech Remix Teacher Tip. Why limit yourself to the four walls of your classroom? This activity is a perfect opportunity for cross-curricular collaboration. Consider reaching out to the history teachers and focus your class study on a speech that lines up with the social studies curriculum. This will allow students to have a more in depth background knowledge, giving them more context for the speaker’s rhetorical approach. Similarly, a speech of this caliber might be less intimidating if they understand the context, allowing them to really focus on the rhetorical approach.

  • #Influencer

In the age of social media, companies make a pretty penny using influencer campaigns. And it’s really quite fitting. Afterall, argumentation and persuasion is all about influence . So, to kick off this activity, spend some time looking at social media ads and influencer accounts. Be sure to analyze everything from photos to captions to hashtags.

After looking at real word examples, it’s time for students to take on the role of an “influencer” – they can be themselves or create an influencer persona. The next step is for them to choose which product of service they are “fit” to promote and, ideally, sell. Students should pick something they have experience with or knowledge about, from video games to make-up. Then, have students write a letter to the “company” (aka you) to convince them that they are capable of being an influencer. This is where they really need to tap into ethos. They should clearly explain why they are a reputable source and should be trusted to sell “your” product. If they’ve convinced you, then they can sign a “contract” (aka the assignment requirements) that outlines the agreement.

Here’s where the fun and creativity happens. While you can determine the specific requirements, students should create a portfolio of campaign materials to promote their chosen product. This is where you can determine how in depth or brief you want the assignment to be. The portfolio can include artifacts like a series of social media posts, youtube videos or scripts, an email funnel, or even blog posts– or a portfolio combining various types of artifacts.

#Influencer Teacher Tip. If you’re looking to amp up the requirements and turn this into a unit-long assignment or a full blown summative assessment, you totally can. Consider adjusting the assignment to be a multigenre project of sorts. Present students with a list and overview of various genres they can include as part of their project. Then, let them select the ones they wish to include in their multigenre portfolio.

  • PSA – The Passion Project

The name alone screams engagement, right? Even better, this activity is engaging.  Instead of assigning a list of overused (and sometimes outdated) argumentative prompts, let students take the reins by choosing a topic that matters to them . So, after teaching your students about rhetorical appeals, the appropriate use of persuasion, and the basics of argumentative writing, let students showcase their newfound skills with the PSA Passion Project. In this project, rather than simply writing an essay for the sake of getting grades, students are diving into an issue of their choice in hopes of raising awareness.

Begin by having students select a social or environmental issue that is important to them. These can range from animal testing in the beauty industry to the impact of social media on mental health. In other words, there’s a wide variety of topics out there, so your students are bound to find something that matters to them. Then, they must plan, develop, and create a public service announcement campaign around the issue. This is where you can really drive home the idea of call to action with persuasion. The challenge with the PSA assignment is crafting an argument that is applicable and persuasive for a mass audience. Afterall, when it comes to wide-spread change, there is power in numbers. (This activity can serve as its own unit or work in conjunction with the study of classic essays like “On The Duty of Civil Disobedience” by Thoreau or “A Letter From Birmingham County Jail” by MLK Jr..

This activity has plenty of room for creativity and student choice. However, that doesn’t mean you have to give up a writing component. Instead, require students to complete a minimum of two items: a written piece and a visual or media element. The writing pieces can range from a more traditional argumentative essay to back up their media component. Alternatively, they can write a speech, persuasive letter, or educational blog post. Then, for the media components, they can create a poster, a video, a social media post, or an infographic– just to name a few. Now, if you’re really looking to diversify the elements of this project, consider turning the PSA Passion Project into a full blown multigenre project!

PSA Passion Project Teacher Tip. Despite your best efforts, some students will claim they can’t find a topic they’re passionate about. (Teenagers.) That’s why I always come prepared with a list of topics students can choose from. Even students eager to choose their own topic might like to see a list for inspiration. Save yourself some time by giving them ideas from this list of engaging argumentative writing prompts!

A Final Note on the Art of Teaching Argumentation and Persuasion

Remember, I’m not saying traditional essays are bad. But I think it’s worth looking beyond the traditions and asking ourselves, how can we make this better ? Better for the students. More reflective of and applicable to the world we live in. If there’s some fun to be had along the way, so be it! (In fact, I encourage it!)

So, as you go one to try any one (or all!) of these activities in your classroom, feel free to make adjustments as needed. And If you’re still looking for a more traditional essay to be your summative assessment, that’s A-OK too! In fact, the activities above can be shortened and adjusted to serve as a mini-lesson or formative assignments before writing a more traditional argumentative essay.

The bottom line is this…

Ever since I changed my approach to teaching argumentation and persuasion, it’s become something my students and I enjoy together . Imagine that!

1 thought on “Teaching Argumentation and Persuasion: 6 Engaging Activities Beyond the Argumentative Essay”

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awesome advice and ideas. My semester just got a lot better!!!

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Faculty Resources

Assignments.

icon of a pencil cup

There are several assignments for Principles of Public Speaking. If you import this course into your learning management system (Blackboard, Canvas, etc.), the assignments will automatically be loaded into the assignment tool. They can be used as is, modified, or removed. You can preview them below:

  • Assignment: Syllabus Review
  • Assignment: Speech of Self-Introduction
  • Assignment: Speech to Introduce a Classmate
  • Assignment: Impromptu Speech
  • Discussion: Speech Analysis
  • Assignment: Demonstration Speech Topic Selection
  • Assignment: Demonstration Speech Outline
  • Discussion: Demonstration Speech Handouts and Presentations
  • Assignment: Peer Evaluation of Demonstration Speech
  • Assignment: Audience Analysis of an Advertisement Speech
  • Assignment: Inspirational Speech
  • Assignment: Persuasive Speech
  • Assignment: Subject Exploration, Development, and Understanding
  • Assignment: Audience Analysis for Persuasive Essay
  • Assignment: Rebuttal
  • Assignment: Reflection
  • Assignment: Persuasive Speech Topic Outline
  • Discussion: Persuasive Speech Handouts and References
  • Assignment: Self-Evaluation of Demonstration Speech
  • Assignment: Peer Evaluation of Persuasive Speech
  • Assignment: Planning for Final Speech

Optional Extra Credit Assignments

You can assign these extra credit opportunities to your students:

Attending a Speech Outside of Class

Analyze the speech for invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery.

Further, look for logos, pathos, and ethos.

Write about your overall impression.

Giving a Speech Outside of Class

You can earn credit for giving a speech outside of class.

You must talk to me ahead of time to work out the details.

If you are giving the speech, I prefer that you have someone record you.  Another option is to have someone from class attend and fill out a review (and you will both get credit).

Again, get prior approval.  Let me know your plans.

  • Assignments. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
  • Optional Extra Credit Assignments. Authored by : Christie Fierro and Brent Adrian. Provided by : Lumen Learning. Located at : http://lumenlearning.com/ . Project : Kaleidoscope Open Course Initiative. License : CC BY: Attribution
  • Pencil Cup. Authored by : IconfactoryTeam. Provided by : Noun Project. Located at : https://thenounproject.com/term/pencil-cup/628840/ . License : CC BY: Attribution

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Casey Witte ’24 prevails in final round of the 2024 Dean’s Cup

Casey Witte ’24 won the third individual moot court competition of his Duke Law career, edging out Kyle Gantz ’24 in a case involving free speech and campus anti-bias initiatives

Casey Witte '24

Casey Witte ’24 prevailed in the final round of the 2024 Dean’s Cup moot court competition Tuesday night, successfully appealing a Fourth Circuit decision in Speech First, Inc. v. Sands , 69 F.4th 184 (4th Cir. 2023).

It was Witte’s third win in his Duke Law career as an individual moot court competitor. He won both the Jessup Cup and the Hardt Cup in his 1L year and was a member of the second place team in the 2022 Twiggs-Beskind Mock Trial Cup.

“Arguing in the final round with my friend Kyle [Gantz] was a fantastic experience that will stay with me long after I’ve left Duke Law," Witte said after the verdict.

Witte represented Speech First, a national student free speech organization that challenged the constitutionality of two anti-bias initiatives at Virginia Tech. Kyle Gantz ’24 argued for the respondent, Timothy Sands, the president of Virginia Tech. Dean Kerry Abrams introduced the program.

The two finalists presented before a fictional Supreme Court consisting of three federal judges: Julia Gibbons of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, who acted as chief justice; Sarah Merriam MJS ’18 of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; and Andrew Oldham of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. 

Rendering the verdict in favor of Witte, the judges heaped praise on the two advocates.

“The level of skill and truly persuasive activity was at a level far higher than that of many — most, I would say — virtually all — of the experienced appellate advocates that we see,” said Gibbons, who acted as chief justice.

“I would love to see you all in our court. I would hire you as my own lawyer,” Oldham added. “Both of you are a huge testament to this law school. You did a really spectacular job.”

Gantz and Witte addressed two issues: whether Speech First has Article III standing to challenge Virginia Tech’s policy for allowing students to report incidents of bias to a panel of university administrators called the Bias Intervention and Response Team, and whether the university’s restrictions on leafletting and signature gathering violates the First Amendment.

“This is a case about two things: free speech and fear,” Witte opened. “Specifically, this is a case about students seeking to exercise their First Amendment right in the heart of the marketplace of ideas — the college campus — and how Virginia Tech both chills and abridges that freedom of speech through a complex regulatory scheme of implicit threats, indirect sanctions and prior restraints.”

Asking the judges to reverse the Fourth Circuit decision, he said the bias reporting protocol effectively chills speech “through its indirect sanctions, implicit threats and vague text.” The Bias Intervention and Response Team can not only send letters that could be construed as intimidating, Witte said, but also refer complaints against students to offices dealing with student conduct and student housing, creating the threat of various punishments including loss of housing.

“When a student receives a letter directly from the bias committee, someone that is either the dean of students or director of student conduct ... you can see that the message is clear to the reasonable college student regarding their speech: Stop it.”

Questioned whether the committee could do real harm to a student over a mere complaint, Witte replied, “The students all fear that they will be prosecuted under the bias committee because they want to speak ‘unpopular opinions about illegal immigration.’ And the bias committee has referred exactly that, in the past, to student conduct.”

He further argued for a preliminary injunction against the university’s activities policy regarding leafletting and petitions, saying it fails to meet the “objective, narrow, and definite standards” test required to overcome the First Amendment’s protection against prior restraint on speech and “fails to provide substantial alternative means of communication” required to overcome an unreasonable speech restriction.

“This court spoke clearly in McIntyre when it said, ‘There is no form of speech entitled to greater constitutional protection than the distribution of politically controversial leaflets,’ Witte said. “And that’s precisely what the students want to do here today.”

Dean Kerry Abrams with the finalists and judges

Arguing for Virginia Tech, Gantz told the panel that universities face constant demands on their space and resources, and the Bias Intervention and Response Team and informational activities policy were created to effectively allocate resources for speech. The bias incident policy merely provides a definition and doesn't say that engaging in such incidents can result in penalties, he said.

On the question of standing, “Speech First has not shown standing to challenge the team because the team cannot prohibit or compel speech or action, and lacks the threatening characteristics of the government commissions that have supported an Article III injury in previous cases,” Gantz said.

Further, he argued, the information policy is “a viewpoint-neutral and reasonable reservation system, not an unconstitutional prior restraint.”

Responding to questioning by Oldham, Gantz acknowledged that protected speech could come under the definition of a bias incident, but countered that the policy contains no prohibition or proscription on the speech.

“At Virginia Tech, that appears in the code of conduct or that appears in the criminal code of the jurisdiction. It does not appear in the bias incident (policy),” he said.

Merriam questioned why the university keeps records of bias incident complaints against students at all, calling the idea that a record could one day resurface and be used against a student  “a fearsome sanction.”

Universities necessarily document many different kinds of interactions with students, Gantz replied, and argued that fear of a future detrimental action resulting from such records does not meet the threshold for standing.

Responding to a question from Oldham, Gantz acknowledged that on two occasions the Bias Intervention and Response Team had referred a complaint against protected speech to the student conduct office, but that office had recognized the speech as protected and halted further action, providing a second level check on the bias team.

“Virginia Tech does not adjudicate protected speech,” Gantz asserted. “It's not what it exists to do. It's not what the team or the code of conduct office is trying to do.”

Returning from deliberations, Gibbons said the panel was sorry to have to choose a winner from two outstanding performances. But, she added, the quality of the advocates filled her with “great happiness and hope for the future of our profession."

“It's obvious how much how much time and effort you have put into this process. And we are grateful to you and to Duke for giving us this opportunity.”

Witte graduated from the University of Florida and has interned for Judge Robin Rosenberg JD/MA ’89 of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. At Duke Law he has been active in the Moot Court Board, Government & Public Service Society, First Generation Professionals, and Law Students for Accessibility.

Gantz graduated from the University of California San Diego. At Duke Law he has been involved in the Clemency Project, Innocence Project, and Duke Law Journal, and has clerked for the Institute for Justice and worked as a summer associate at Jones Day.

“Dean’s Cup was a wonderful intellectual exercise, and I was honored to share the experience with my good friend, Casey Witte," Gantz said. "I am now convinced that my passion lies with the researching, writing, and arguing of appellate work.”

The Dean's Cup, initiated in 1963 by Deans E.R. Latty and J.D. Johnston, is Duke’s premier oral advocacy competition. Organized by the Moot Court Board for second- and third-year students, the competition centers around a case taught in the Appellate Practice class offered every fall.

This year, 28 competitors argued the first issue of standing in preliminary rounds judged by a panel of judges consisting of two faculty members, alumni, or local practitioners. Eight competitors who advanced to the semifinals submitted a brief on behalf of the party they were assigned and competed in four oral argument rounds judged by a panel of three faculty members.

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IMAGES

  1. 50 Free Persuasive Essay Examples (+BEST Topics) ᐅ TemplateLab

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  2. Persuasive Essay Assignment Sheet

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  3. Sample Persuasive Speech Powerpoint

    persuasive speech about assignments

  4. FREE 7+ Persuasive Speech Examples in PDF

    persuasive speech about assignments

  5. 50 Free Persuasive Essay Examples (+BEST Topics) ᐅ TemplateLab

    persuasive speech about assignments

  6. Persuasive Speech Preparation & Outline, with Examples

    persuasive speech about assignments

VIDEO

  1. PERSUASIVE SPEECH (COM141)

  2. ENorth_Persuasive Speech

  3. Persuasive Speech Topic Pitch

  4. Persuasive speech

  5. Persuasive Speech ELC590

  6. Persuasive speech II

COMMENTS

  1. 110 Interesting Persuasive Speech Topics to Impress Your Audience

    Add emotional connections with your audience. Make your argument more powerful by appealing to your audience's sense of nostalgia and common beliefs. Another tactic (which marketers use all the time) is to appeal to your listeners' fears and rely on their instincts for self-preservation. Address counterarguments.

  2. Persuasive Speeches

    Definition Types How to write Outline Topics Examples What is a persuasive speech? In a persuasive speech, the speaker aims to convince the audience to accept a particular perspective on a person, place, object, idea, etc. The speaker strives to cause the audience to accept the point of view presented in the speech.

  3. Persuasive Speaking: Activities and Resources

    Discussion and activities. Watch this clip from The King's Speech where the new king makes his first wartime radio broadcast of Britians' s declaration of war on Germany in 1939. This movie is a dramatic interpretation of the true story of the future King George VI who worked to overcome a stammer. (Make note of how he has marked the ...

  4. PDF Assignment Description for the Persuasive Speech

    Basic Requirements In addition to persuading your audience, the persuasive speech must satisfy the following requirements: Public Forum Topic: You must speak to a topic that affects us as a public and is debated publicly. See your textbook 442-443 for a description of public forums.

  5. Engaging Strategies for Teaching Persuasion, Argument, and Debate

    Teachers can even pair her speech with a narrative speech assignment. Students can then employ sentence structure, tone, and logos into their speeches. Although ELA teachers often use persuasive techniques during public speaking lessons, many of the same activities work well with argumentative writing. NAILED IT! & SHARK TANK

  6. 75 Persuasive Speech Topics and Ideas

    October 4, 2018 - Gini Beqiri To write a captivating and persuasive speech you must first decide on a topic that will engage, inform and also persuade the audience. We have discussed how to choose a topic and we have provided a list of speech ideas covering a wide range of categories. What is persuasive speech?

  7. Persuasive Speech Preparation & Outline, with Examples

    1. Select a Topic and Angle Come up with a controversial topic that will spark a heated debate, regardless of your position. This could be about anything. Choose a topic that you are passionate about. Select a particular angle to focus on to ensure that your topic isn't too broad.

  8. Persuasive Speech

    Assignments Persuasive Speech Persuasive Speech Assignment (PDF) Oral Presentation: 4-5 minutes Oral Delivery: Extemporaneous or Read Written Length: 500-1000 words (in essay form, not in note form) An extemporaneous speech (or read speech) is written and practiced ahead of time.

  9. Persuasive Speech Outline, with Examples

    March 17, 2021 - Gini Beqiri A persuasive speech is a speech that is given with the intention of convincing the audience to believe or do something. This could be virtually anything - voting, organ donation, recycling, and so on.

  10. Persuasive Speech Assignment

    Persuasive Speech Assignment Overview. For this assignment, you will give a 3-5 minute speech to introduce one of two opposing viewpoints on a topic or question in education. Your goal is to introduce your side persuasively, while a partner will argue the other side. As partners you will then leas a 6-8 minute instructional discussion with the ...

  11. Speaking to persuade: Motivating audiences with solid ...

    Persuasive speech assignment description ... If you want some feedback, you'll be able to upload a persuasive speech outline for peer review and engage in some speech writing. What's included. 13 videos 5 readings 3 quizzes 1 peer review. Show info about module content.

  12. 11.9: Course Assignment: Persuasive Speech

    Please use the outline template. The attached "persuasive worksheet" is simply a document to help you better understand what persuasion entails and how to approach this last speech. The persuasive worksheet does not need to be submitted to the instructor. Do NOT write your speech out word for word. The outline is worth 25 points.

  13. PDF Strategies for Essay Writing

    assignment. Unless the instructor has specified otherwise, most of your paper assignments at Harvard will ask you to make an argument. So even when the assignment instructions tell you to "discuss" or "consider," your instructor generally expects you to offer an arguable claim in the paper. For example, if you are asked to

  14. Sample Speech Assignments and Rubrics

    SSI Speech Grading Rubric (PDF) Upper-level Research Prospectus Presentation Rubric (PDF) Persuasive Speeches. Making a Case Detailed Feedback Form (PDF) Argument Speech Simple Student Feedback Form (PDF) Sample Persuasive Speech Evaluation Form (PDF) Self-evaluation Form (PDF) Miscellaneous. Demographic/Audience Analysis (PDF)

  15. Core 201

    Persuasive Speech Assignment. In CORE 102, you completed the Approaches to Oral Argument assignment and delivered an ... A persuasive speech is designed to influence an audience's beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors. Belief: a statement of something that is held to be true about the world.

  16. Start: Look at Persuasive Speech Assignment Sheet

    Persuasive Speech Assignment "Good Citizen Persuasive Speech" - See your own D2L course materials — this is a sample START: Understand the Purpose of the Assignment Think about the topics that you already are involved in. Creative Commons photo from pexel.com.

  17. Delivering A Persuasive Speech

    Pick a proposition that not everyone would agree with such as: "nuclear power plants are superior energy sources." Write a 6 to 8 - minute speech in outline form to persuade the group. The Lesson: Your Voice and Body are Your Best Tools You are a natural persuader! You have done it all your life.

  18. PDF Persuasive Speech Assignment

    Persuasive Speech Assignment. Points Possible: 100. Time: 5-6 minutes. Instructions: The Persuasive Speech, like the Informative Speech, will require students to prepare and deliver a researched speech on a current issue or topic the student is interested in. However, this speech requires a persuasive element, in which students will attempt to ...

  19. Assignment: Persuasive Speech

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  20. CMST 1: Fundamentals of Public Speaking: Speech Assignments

    CMST 1: Fundamentals of Public Speaking: Speech Assignments. CMST 1: Fundamentals of Public Speaking: Speech Assignments. A guide to help students with their informative and persuasive speeches in CMST 1. Welcome! The Research Process. Speech Assignments. Topic Ideas.

  21. PDF Persuasive Speech Assignment Packet

    Name: ___________________________________________________ Period: ____________ Persuasive Speech Assignment Packet Focus: The purpose of persuasive writing is to influence readers' attitudes to persuade them to agree with the writer or to take action on issues the writer describes.

  22. Assignments

    Persuasive Speech Assignment. An assignment that helps students artfully convince an audience. Students will be given the opportunity to persuade audience members that a policy should be started, changed, or stopped, and/or urge cooperation by asking them to performs specific tasks. Persuasion. by Scott Tulloch.

  23. Teaching Argumentation and Persuasion: 6 Engaging Activities

    Engaging Activities for Teaching Argumentation and Persuasion. Watching TV. Driving down the highway. Scrolling through social media. ... Alternatively, they can write a speech, persuasive letter, or educational blog post. Then, for the media components, they can create a poster, a video, a social media post, or an infographic- just to name a ...

  24. Assignments

    Assignment: Peer Evaluation of Persuasive Speech; Assignment: Planning for Final Speech . Optional Extra Credit Assignments. You can assign these extra credit opportunities to your students: Attending a Speech Outside of Class. Analyze the speech for invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery.

  25. Casey Witte '24 prevails in final round of the 2024 Dean's Cup

    Casey Witte '24 prevailed in the final round of the 2024 Dean's Cup moot court competition Tuesday night, successfully appealing a Fourth Circuit decision in Speech First, Inc. v. Sands, 69 F.4th 184 (4th Cir. 2023).. It was Witte's third win in his Duke Law career as an individual moot court competitor.

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    Hospital admissions for eating disorders have risen by more than 50 per cent since the first lockdown, with the greatest surge seen among young children, official data show.. The figures show ...