Persuasive speeches aim to change the way the audience thinks, feels, or acts

Types of Audiences

Receptive Audiences

You may find yourself in situations that allow you to appeal to a receptive audience that already knows something about your topic and is generally supportive of, or open to, the point you are trying to make. For example, parents are generally interested in keeping their children safe. If you seek to persuade them that they should work with their kids to prevent them from being taken advantage of on social networking sites, they are likely to welcome what you have to say. Although they are already convinced that it is important to keep their children safe, this audience may not yet be persuaded that they have the need or ability to keep their kids safe in an online environment.

Strategies

• Identification: You can foster a sense of connection with them by highlighting things you have in common. If you are a parent you might say something like, “I have two children and one of my biggest concerns is making sure they are safe.” If you are not a parent you might say, “one of the things I appreciate most about my parents is that I know they are always trying to keep me safe.” With these statements, you not only relate to the audience but also demonstrate that you share a common concern.
• Clear purpose: Offer a statement of purpose and tell the audience what you would like them to do in response to your message. If the audience is already likely to agree with your point, they will be looking for ways to act on it. Offer practical steps that they can take. Even if the steps must be carried out later (i.e. the parents in our example may have to wait to get home and start talking with their child about social networking habits), give them a way to respond to the message immediately and show their support. In this case you may have them write down the first thing they will say to their child, or practice saying it to the person next to them. Having them act on your message before leaving reinforces their already favorable response to what you are asking.[1]

Neutral Audiences

Most of the groups that a persuasive speaker addresses are neutral audiences. These audiences are not passionate about the topic or speaker, often because they do not have enough information or because they are not aware that they should be concerned. Beebe & Beebe explain that the challenge in addressing a neutral audience is to foster their interest in your proposition.[2] They offer a few tips for cultivating interest in a neutral audience.

Strategies

Relate to them: Begin by relating your topic to the audience. You can offer a story or statistic that relates the topic directly to the dominant demographic in the audience. If you are trying to convince first-year college students to avoid credit card solicitors on campus you might start with something like, “I know those t-shirts the credit card vendors are handing out are stylish and, best of all, free! But that t-shirt could cost you thousands of dollars before you even graduate.” Rather than beginning with a diatribe on the evils of debt, which many of them may not yet have experienced, you relate to their desire for a free t-shirt and a common belief they are likely to share, that “free” should not translate to “expensive.”

Relate to someone they care about: If you cannot relate the topic directly to the audience, another approach is to relate the topic to someone they care about, like a family member or friend. Keep in mind that, while the receptive audience may be eager to respond immediately, the neutral audience may simply be more concerned about the topic or more inclined to consider the behavior change you are advocating.[3] In this case, consider offering resources for more information, or a few minor steps they can take when they are ready.

Hostile Audiences

Unfortunately, some audiences may be resistant or even hostile to your persuasive speech. A hostile audience may take issue with your topic or with you as a speaker. In this case, your primary goal is to persuade the audience to listen to what you have to say.[4] Once they are willing to listen, then you will have the ability to change their minds in the future.

Strategies

Build ethos: Latter, we will address ways that you can foster a better relationship with the audience by building your ethos. Just know that if your audience likes and respects you, they are more likely to be persuaded.

Be patient: If the audience is not likely to agree with your proposition, wait until later in the speech to offer it. Opening with a clear statement of purpose, which a receptive audience welcomes, will make an unreceptive audience more hostile to your goals. For example, if you begin by telling business owners that you think they should pay workers more, they are likely to think of all the reasons that will threaten their livelihood rather than listening to your message.

Common ground: Begin by highlighting issues on which you agree. You might open with a discussion of the challenges businesses face in attempting to retain quality workers and increase productivity. Once you have identified areas of agreement, you can offer your proposition as a way of addressing your shared goals.

Validate: Acknowledge opposing arguments and audience reservations and demonstrate that you have given them ample consideration. Showing that you understand and respect their opposing position is the most important step toward encouraging a hostile audience to at least hear you out.

Cite: Cite credible evidence that supports your proposition in light of those reservations.

Collecting Audience Information

In chapter 1 – Audience Analysis – we discussed the types of audience analysis: demographical, psychological, and situational. Now we will discuss how to collect information for your audience analysis.

Direct Observation