INVOLVEMENT FOR EFFECTIVE PERSUASIVE SPEECH

INVOLVEMENT FOR EFFECTIVE PERSUASIVE SPEECH

The main purpose of speech is to influence the behaviour of listeners to a common aim. A few important strategies are:

(1) Be the change you want to see in others

A person must sell himself before he can sell his message. If audience feels that the speaker is not reasonable, there is a remote chance of his being able to convince them. The speaker must be committed to the goals of the speech himself. Avoid use of words like „may be‟ or „might‟. Replace them by using positive and action words like „will‟ and „must‟.
Speaker is usually the „power figure‟ in a speech – he should have enough material to support his claims. Audience can usually spot the pretender or the person who is faking or winging the speech. He should be honest and truthful. He should be able to show emotions that add to the credibility of the speech. His words must match with his gestures, sounds, expressions and postures because body language does not lie.

(2) Speaker must exercise self-control

One cannot let the words gush out of one‟s mouth to deliver the message. One has to use one‟s total self and reveal one‟s personality to deliver the message. Once the speaker shows a bit of his personality to the group, it becomes very supportive of the message!

(3) Reaction of the audience as a group

In order to measure the effectiveness of a persuasive speech, speakers must collect the reaction of the listeners as a group. It has two aspects:
(i) Delivery of speech
Listeners often pose a question to themselves – whether there was a gap between what is said and the body language or were they in agreement with each other?
(ii) Listeners find if speaker is faking
To avoid being assessed negatively, speakers, instead, find out what changes can be brought about in the speech to make it more convincing and persuasive.
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