communication skills

Using Persuasive Speech Topics

Being able to deliver persuasive speech topics is enviable. Some people are natural speakers who are able to captivate their audience completely. This is what is called persuasive public speaking.

People like Martin Luther King and Adolf Hitler had a loyal following of people. Large crowds of people were ready to hang on their every word every time they spoke.

You may not agree with what they had to say, but you have to admit one thing.

They were both influential and they knew how to deliver persuasive speech topics.

These individuals were able to influence many people by convincing them to believe in what they had to say.

Ralph Waldo Emerson understood the importance of using persuasive speech topics:

"Speech is power: speech is able to persuade; to convert, to compel."

Don't ever underestimate the power of words and an effective speech or presentation. Pick a topic that you truly believe in.

It is much easier to convince the audience when you actually believe what you are saying yourself.

Like the snake oil salesmen of long ago, audience members will eventually lose interest if they feel you are trying to con them.

Don't try to convince an audience why they should become a vegetarian if you have a Big Mac wrapper beside your briefcase!

To prepare persuasive speech topics, talk about a passionate topic. Speak about one of the volunteer organizations you work for or discuss one of your favorite hobbies. You will have a much easier time convincing your audience if you have strong feelings about your own subject matter.

Make your presentation as memorable as possible.

If you want to persuade your audience by using your speech, you need to make the content and delivery as memorable as possible.

No matter how great your topic is, a poorly planned and executed speech will not be effective. People need to believe in what you are saying and remember it afterwards.

Include interesting facts or statistics in your presentations.

Don't be afraid to throw in some unusual or shocking facts the audience may not already know. This will help to maintain your audience's interest.

Be dynamic when you are speaking and emphasize parts of your speech. Add a little drama to your speech. Walk around the room and get louder when you discuss an important point. Repeat the point several times. Use relevant body gestures to focus attention on what you are saying.

Watch motivational speakers or televangelists. These individuals have the art of persuasive speaking down to a science.

Just don't over do it. Remember - you are in front of a podium, not on a stage. You want to convince the audience to believe in what you are saying, not award you an Oscar!

Include a powerful human interest story. Appeal to an audience's emotional side during your speech.

Have you ever wondered why so many volunteer organizations use images of poor, hungry children on TV?

It's simple. These images appeal to a viewer's emotions. Emotions are very powerful. Appealing to an audience's emotional side can be very effective when you are trying to persuade or convince them of something.

Just think of how you felt when you watched an animal being abused or a child being hit on TV. You were probably shocked and outraged! Right away, you are engaged in the program and ready to take action.

Persuasive public speaking works in much the same way, so do persuasive speech topics.

An emotional anecdote will have a much greater impact on your audience. Use powerful human interest stories to illustrate your point and "win" audience members to your side.

Spewing a number of statistics may get your point across. But it won't be nearly as effective as using an emotional story.

Mastering the art of public speaking involves choosing a topic you truly believe in and preparing memorable content and delivery of the material. Include human interest stories that appeal to an audience's emotions because they are very powerful tools.

Once you have mastered these skills, you can work on preparing a persuasive speech for your boss. Using the above techniques will surely convince him to give you a big raise!

This article is about using persuasive speech topics. Click here to return to the home page.


Site news! I'm pleased to offer my new ebook, titled "How To Be A Public Speaking Superstar - Dazzle And Influence Your Audience With Your Public Speaking Prowess!". I think the title is self-explanatory. At least I hope so.

Guess what? It's free! ('Cos I'm sweet just like that)

Public Speaking

Go ahead, click on the image above and grab your copy! Feel free to distribute it to anyone you know. Comments most welcome!



Liuhua uses Firefox to browse the web. Do you?


Like this page? Bookmark it in your favorite social bookmarking site!

ADD TO YOUR SOCIAL BOOKMARKS: add to BlinkBlink add to Del.icio.usDel.icio.us add to DiggDigg
add to FurlFurl add to GoogleGoogle add to SimpySimpy add to SpurlSpurl Bookmark at TechnoratiTechnorati add to YahooY! MyWeb

Copyright© 2007-2008 effective-communicating.com
Return to top