persuasive Speech Outline

 A persuasive speech advocates some type of change. The purpose of a persuasive speech is to motivate the individual audience members to do something based on the information presented. In essence a persuasive speech always asks the listener to ‘buy’ something, whether a belief or idea (a change in attitude) or a plan of action or even a product (a change in action). To effectively produce the desired outcome, a persuasive speaker must accomplish three things: 1. Awaken a belief in the audience that the proposal is a good idea. 2. Demonstrate that the desired change includes a well-thought-out plan of action. 3. Convince the audience that the plan is realistic (it will produce the desired result), and just as importantly, it is the right thing to do (it is moral, economical, efficient, effective, etc. Normally, the clearest indication of a persuasive speech is the use of the word ‘should’ or ‘ought’ in the thesis statement. Accurate audience analysis is extremely important for persuasive speakers since the type of audience expected will heavily influence both what information is presented and how it is presented. A supportive audience should be assumed for this assignment. The assignment for the persuasive speech is to urge audience members to make a specific change individually. The speech must be developed in such a way that the solution step is individualized and specific. In other words, something that every individual audience member could be expected to accomplish within a relatively short amount of time. Formal Outline—worth 25 pts. Once the research has been gathered, the single most important aspect of speech preparation is the organization of the speech. A formal outline helps to provide the organization and structure necessary for a good presentation. To that end, this assignment requires the submission of a formal (full-sentence) outline. Use the format provided on the last page of this document as a guide. Keep in mind that a formal outline means complete sentences throughout the outline. Note that the only changes from the format used for the informative speech are that the thesis statement must clearly advocate some change, and the addition of a solution step between the final summary and the final appeal in the conclusion.