speech presentation example

speech presentation example

Effective Strategies for Delivering a Persuasive Speech Presentation

1. Introduction to Speech Presentations

Characteristics of a persuasive speech. Effective persuasive speech presentations that work to change the minds of audience members include some type of claim that may be a proposal, characterization, or practical discourse. Persuasive speakers deliver claims that indicate what the presenter wants the audience to believe, accept, agree to, think, or do.

Preparing a persuasive speech presentation involves crafting logically developed messages that are based on solid evidence in order to establish and enhance the speaker’s credibility with the audience. Presenter credibility is essential for listeners to take action based on the message.

Audience Analysis and Speaker Credibility. Public speakers present persuasive messages to audiences that are composed of audience members with varying levels of knowledge and interest. Before presenting a persuasive message, speakers should perform an audience analysis in order to better understand the perspectives, knowledge bases, and backgrounds of people who will receive and process the message.

Persuasive speech presentations demand that speakers gather and organize evidence so that they can establish credibility with their audience. This chapter provides information that is designed to help speakers deliver effective persuasive speech presentations.

Delivering a persuasive speech presentation requires a skilled speaker, an essential message, and an audience willing to consider and respond to the message. The purpose of the speech is to change the minds of audience members or convince them to take action based on the information presented. Persuasive speeches may solicit audience members to change their beliefs about a topic, vote for a particular candidate or piece of legislation, or take sides on complex issues.

2. Structuring Your Speech for Maximum Impact

Include a bit of narrative, a story to get your main point across, thus getting your audience involved in your presentation, and speaking with passion is a must, to stir the intelligence and the emotions of your audience.

Your introductory remarks should be designed to capture your audience’s attention and gain their interest, as well as establish your credibility as a speaker, ready to present them with clear, convincing, accurate, and research-based information. Plan for a good overview or preview of the main points of your speech. After all, you want your audience to leave the room with a clear understanding of your message, so that your conclusion also includes a summary of your main points and a full text of your commitment, so as to ask for an action or agreement.

In the conclusion of your speech, sum up your main points and restate your commitment, as well as showcasing the consequences of your argument, so as to stimulate a positive response to your speech. While the general structure of your speech remains the same – introduction, body, and conclusion – you will need to make sure that your language and delivery match the emotional intensity as well as your physical presence.

In the opening, introduce your topic, preview your main points, and establish your credibility. For the main body of your speech, develop your points in a clear and thoughtful manner. Use any of the main points as the basis for your supporting details. Transitions between your main points will help ensure that your speech flows smoothly.

Once you have selected your topic, analyzed your audience, and sketched out the main points for your argument, it is essential to transform your thoughts into an organized, coherent speech. The most common structure follows a straightforward opening/main body/conclusion format.

3. Engaging Your Audience Through Verbal and Nonverbal Communication

Be very careful of your appearance: You are a part of the message! Having an effective stance, making eye contact, appropriately gesturing throughout your speech, and using the available presentation aids will support your message. Voice and delivery also play an important role in carrying your message. A speaker needs to articulate well and use a variety in the rate and volume of your delivery and remember to make strategic pauses to enhance your message. Additionally, a speaker needs to sound natural and not include fillers like “um,” “uh,” “like,” and “ya know.” You also need to plan an effective delivery style. This involves planning the delivery for credibility, emotional connection, and engagement. Finally, you need to strategically manage questions and present responses with professionalism.

To deliver an effective persuasive speech, you first need to engage your audience, which is known as the attention step. Successful speakers use a range of techniques to achieve this, including a compelling story, shocking statistics, a quotation, and humor. Nonverbal communication is an invaluable skill and public speaking tool because it can either support or detract from your message. Presenters who incorporate meaningful, appropriate gestures, facial expressions, and body movement can engage and maintain the attention of their audience while enhancing their own credibility.

4. Utilizing Visual Aids to Enhance Your Presentation

Slides are a versatile and effective visual aid when you are focusing mainly on providing information. PowerPoint or presentation software that creates slide sequences can effectively engage the visual senses of the audience while you provide the vocal commentary. Not only does it allow the audience to see, but it also allows the audience to take as much time as they need to understand the content. Be careful, though, not to use this visual aid if your audience is small and the points are more about engaging in dialogue. Your slides may be used more like a document than a projection in this case.

Visual aids can add an additional layer of understanding for your audience. The dialogue in your speech and the visual aid should complement each other, so make sure that your visual aid is not competing with your oratory. Images, such as photographs, sketches, or graphs, can help communicate a concept more effectively than by talking about it alone. Pictures are particularly useful when the topic is geographical or when the information pertains to other details that have a spatial connection. If your visual aid is to be projected onto a screen behind you, make sure it is large enough and bright enough for everyone in the audience to see easily.

5. Concluding Your Speech with a Strong Call to Action

Begin your close with a question that will encourage a “yes” from the audience. “Are you convinced?” or “Have I answered your questions?” A response from them will help you to tailor your close. Do they seem receptive? Are they skeptical? As you did in your strategy for gaining initial audience attention (gaining and holding audience attention), apply the audience members’ own beliefs, attitudes, and emotions to influence their thinking. Can you inspire a certain group so that they can support a community action cause? Perhaps by joining you as volunteers in education, environmental protection, or raising funds for medical research? Your strategy will not work for every individual in your audience; however, you should be able to motivate or “move” a sufficient number to elicit the positive effects you desire. The goal of the conclusion is audience members’ agreement with the proposal or message: acceptance of the speaker’s issue, plan, or intended action.

Your final opportunity to recruit your audience occurs as you bring your speech to a close. Avoid mumbling, shuffling your papers, or finishing with “That’s all I have to say. Thank you.” Plan and deliver a power-packed conclusion. Restate for your audience’s benefit the reasons why they should agree with your claim, telling them briefly how much they stand to gain. Prepare them for the end of your speech. You are about to invite them to follow some specific course of action that, you hope, will meet their needs. Your closing must grab and hold your audience’s attention. It should be the most forceful and compelling part of your speech. You want the audience to be persuaded, so as you end your persuasive speech, call directly on members of the audience to perform the behavior you have prescribed throughout the speech.