persuasive speech topics

persuasive speech topics

The Importance of Persuasive Speech Topics

1. Choosing the Right Persuasive Speech Topic

The process of choosing the right persuasive speech topics requires careful consideration to ensure that the iconic form of persuasion is effectively used. In this persuasive essay, it can be argued that persuasive language is the most effective way to present opinions and have them accepted as true and reasonable. There are three types of persuasive language: subtle persuasion, where you simply express your opinion; moderate persuasion, which involves a bit more force in presenting ideas and beliefs; and imposing persuasion, where you forcefully impose your opinions on others. Based on this explanation, it can be concluded that conducting a persuasive speech around an issue will be more successful if it aligns with the opinions that the speaker wants to impose.

2. Crafting a Compelling Introduction

The introduction is typically the ‘gateway’ into your paper. It should capture the reader’s attention and ‘slide’ them into the main topic. A compelling introduction will spark the reader’s interest in the topic. Essentially, you want the reader to feel compelled to read more of your paper. Think of the introduction as a mental roadmap that your reader will follow. You want to highlight the topic, state the conflicting issues at hand, give some background, and lastly state your claim. But before you can do any of this, you must decide what it is exactly that you’re trying to introduce. What is your intent? What information are you trying to relay? What is the main focus of your paper and how can that be summed up into an interesting topic? With persuasive papers, your topic will often be a call to action as in “What should be done?” “What’s the solution?” “Who’s right and who’s wrong?” “How might this be accomplished?” Next, your introduction will identify the issue at hand. In order to be a successful introduction, it must be both concise and engaging. State your intent. What is it that you’re trying to convince the audience to do? What is the purpose of taking the stance that you are taking for your topic? Yeats felt that the function of the arts (he was writing poetry, painting, and plays, i.e. his persuasion to an audience) was to ‘make’ the audience understand his work. He felt his work was important and because of this, he wanted others to see and understand his own personal vision. Understanding what Yeats said, the function of your persuasion is to force your audience to see your vision. Therefore, the better your understanding, the more compelling an introduction you can write. Consider, what can I say that will make the readers understand the overall importance/significance of my topic?

3. Presenting Persuasive Arguments

Step three, reaching the hearts of those affected is of great relevance to anyone attempting to advocate change in their environment. Let it be an actual political or social change topic or an attempt to affect another person’s opinions or actions. If a speaker is attempting to affect a public opinion, it is likely that he will aim to affect the opinion of those who are higher up in the social hierarchy. Often these people will be jaded after long years of adhering to the same opinions and the same ways of action. They can be very resistant to change and therefore it may be necessary to also target those who are affected by the decisions/actions of the people higher up. An example would be a political decision that affects the livelihood of the common man as it may have been forced through by a decision of a higher up and over time, that common man may, in result, attempt to affect the opinion of his superior in any similar attempt to reach a similar cause or decision. So the speaker must consider the long-term effects of the topic and the opinions of both the affected and the agents of changes in those opinions.

While it is important that the speaker has firm views on his topic and compelling arguments for his cause, it is important to note that any attempts to force a topic on an unwilling audience can have undesired or negative repercussions. This can be viewed as unethical and can lead towards what is known as the backfire effect, whereby if the speaker is unsuccessful in persuading the audience, they will take an even firmer stand in opposition to his cause. A more productive approach would be to acquaint the audience with the topic and the views on it, then attempt to persuade at a later time, ensuring that the persuasion is a gradual and continuous process.

An important form of support for arguments and one that can be the means of effectively ‘selling’ your ideas to the audience is the use of evidence or statistics. By providing irrefutable evidence for the goodness of decisions or actions, a cause can be much more effectively argued. This has the benefit of certainty. Should a speaker be successful in his attempts to persuade and in effect be sending an audience out into the world to act on what they have been persuaded to learn, it would be far more satisfying on their part knowing that the action is, in fact, for the better.

It will be the job of the speaker to support his arguments and attack any opposing views. This will often take the form of what is known as the Advocacy Maslow’s Triangle. This is modeled on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, whereby it is postulated that for any decision to be accepted or action to be taken, there needs to be an essential majority of the elements in the hierarchy of needs in its favor. This is particularly relevant for any behavior or attitude change topics. The theory is that anything higher in the triangle can only be supported if the majority of the lower levels are in its favor. In attacking any opposing views, the speaker will attempt to show that his topic meets the criteria and that any alternative does not.

As the chief goal of a persuasive speech is to affect, persuade, stimulate, convince or move an audience, it is necessary that the speaker has cogent arguments, adequate support for these arguments and a viable means to circulate the ideas. While in some instances this will take the form of logical reasoning, often it will be more in the way of attempting to ‘persuade’ the audience to a particular course of action or opinion. Therefore it is here that the choice of persuasive speech topic becomes very important. Ideally, the speaker will have a good knowledge of the topic and a firm view in its regard. This will enable him to effectively argue his point of view and to attack opposing views. It is at the point of attack that any relative strengths of different opinions on the topic will be tested.

4. Addressing Counterarguments Effectively

It is not enough to simply refute counterarguments. To be truly effective, a speaker must address those arguments in such a way that the audience does believe the original claim is not sound. There are a few strategies for this. One is to accept some part of the counterargument as at least partially valid. This will show the audience that you understand the issue and are open-minded about the opposition’s view. At this point, it is crucial to explain why the rest of the counterargument does not follow from the part that you have accepted. Another strategy is to look at the long-term or future implications of the counterargument. This method takes the focus off the current issue and attempts to prove that the counterargument will not hold in the future. An argument that cannot stand up to temporal conditions is not a very strong one. Finally, the speaker can try to show that the opposition’s view is actually a lesser alternative to what he is proposing. This method works to prove that the counterargument is not really in the best interests of the audience.

5. Concluding with a Strong Call to Action

It is advisable that the call to action is something that is easily to be done. If it involves hard work that may require a long time to achieve, there is a possibility that it will be forgotten because there is no specific timeframe to do it. Hard work that needs more time to achieve also has the possibility of failure and it may cause the audience to feel disheartened and disappointed. So, it is good if there is a small victory as a start on the issue. This can lift motivation and new spirit to change for the better.

One good example of a call to action is “What we have done throughout the years to our environment is very damaging. Are we going to let this happen to our next generation? The answer is in your hand.” This is a classic example of a question that can lead to self-reflection to the audience. And then there is a sense of responsibility upon the issue by saying that the answer is in your hand, indirectly highlighting that there is something that the audience can do to remedy the situation. The question is simple and can be done by a thumbs up or a thumbs down, but the reflection upon the topic may last for a while in the audience’s mind.

Delivering the speech more effectively is the final aim in honing the speaking competency. One last thing to remember is the call to action. There should be an instruction or recommendations for your listeners regarding the issues that you have already delivered to them. This is very important because the persuasive speech without the call to an action is like you are dining a dish without salt. Through the call to action, your intention to persuade your audience to accept your opinion can come true. By following the guidance below, it hopes that you can end your speech more effectively.