Speaking to persuade: Motivating audiences with solid arguments and moving language

Speaking to persuade: Motivating audiences with solid arguments and moving language

This course is part of Dynamic Public Speaking Specialization

Instructor: Dr. Matt McGarrity

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Assessments

10 assignments

Taught in English

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There are 6 modules in this course

In the professional realm, we need to be able to argue without being argumentative. Whether you are fundraising for a nonprofit, pitching a business proposal, or suggesting a change to company policy, you are making arguments. In making the case for your topic, you often want to raise awareness, identify a pressing problem, discuss appropriate solutions, and outline specific steps for the audience.

To be persuasive, you must be clear (the audience may have little to no existing knowledge), you must be convincing (you are trying to sway the audience that your argument is valid), and you must be compelling (you are trying to motivate the audience enough so that they want to take specific actions). Persuasive speaking thus requires clarity, strategy, topic mastery, plus a sense of style and presence. By the end of this course, you should be able to design persuasive speeches that address problems and solutions and that motivate audience members. You should be able to use rhetorical style strategically and deliver passionate and compelling speeches. Learners will record speeches, providing and receiving peer feedback.

In this module, we’ll focus on the key strategies for designing persuasive speeches. In examining persuasive speaking, we tackle both solid argument and eloquent writing. After sorting through the broad concerns about persuasion, we start with some of the most powerful argumentative tools you can have: status quo and stock issues. By the end of the week, these two ideas will have helped us figure out what we need to argue (and what we don’t) and how to go about it. If you want some feedback, you’ll be able to upload an introductory speech for peer review.

What's included

15 videos6 readings2 assignments1 peer review

15 videosTotal 56 minutes

Welcome to persuasive speaking!1 minutePreview module
What’s this course about?3 minutes
What are the assignments?4 minutes
What is persuasion?4 minutes
Good persuasion requires careful planning.3 minutes
Good persuasion involves logos, pathos, and ethos4 minutes
Good persuasion responds to questions of fact, policy, and value.3 minutes
What’s the status quo and burden of proof?4 minutes
What are the stock issues and how do they help?4 minutes
Stock issue: Ill. Something demands our attention.2 minutes
Stock issue: Blame. Why does the ill persist?2 minutes
Stock issue: Cure. What should we do?3 minutes
Stock issue: Consequences. What happens if we act?3 minutes
Using these tools to build arguments for and against.4 minutes
How to record speech videos4 minutes

6 readingsTotal 57 minutes

Week 1 preview2 minutes
Get help and meet other learners. Join your Community!5 minutes
Persuasive speech assignment description10 minutes
Stock issues in action--Barack Obama15 minutes
Week one lesson summaries10 minutes
Week one assignment check-in15 minutes

2 assignmentsTotal 40 minutes

Persuasion30 minutes
Week one quiz10 minutes

1 peer reviewTotal 30 minutes

Introductory speech30 minutes

Having mapped out a basic strategy, we now need to think more about the audience and how to respond to their concerns. Additionally, we need to build the speech logically. We will examine how to design congruent speeches that build to clear and motivational calls to action. By the end of the week, you will have a number of techniques for making your case in a way that invites agreement rather than disagreement. If you want strengthen these skills, you’ll be able to engage in some speech analysis.

What's included

13 videos8 readings3 assignments1 peer review

13 videosTotal 53 minutes

What are key arrangement concerns?2 minutesPreview module
Congruency. Everything should fit together.5 minutes
Calls to action. What should the audience do?5 minutes
Calls to action. Highlighting audience efficacy.3 minutes
Stock issues arrangement. Building to the call to action.5 minutes
Monroe's motivated sequence. Helping the audience visualize the cure.2 minutes
Go big. Move from policy to value.4 minutes
Go small. Protect the argument from larger issues.4 minutes
Challenge softly. Introduce new evidence.3 minutes
Find your cost-benefit balance2 minutes
Show, don't tell. Include a story.3 minutes
Validate your argument. Include some testimony.3 minutes
Sample persuasive speech #16 minutes

8 readingsTotal 65 minutes

Week 2 preview2 minutes
Congruencey--Bill Gates on education spending15 minutes
Arrangement--driving to a clear cure12 minutes
Argument tactics. Reading and responding to audience concerns.1 minute
Speech analysis #1 overview5 minutes
Matt's feedback10 minutes
Week two lesson summaries10 minutes
Week two assignment check-in10 minutes

3 assignmentsTotal 90 minutes

Persuasive arrangement30 minutes
Argument tactics30 minutes
Week two quiz30 minutes

1 peer reviewTotal 30 minutes

Speech analysis #130 minutes

In this module, we'll move from persuasive ideas to a completed argument and speech draft. I think everyone should take the time to become familiar with the fallacies discussed in this module. Globally, the quality of argumentation and reasoning would be better if everyone had a stronger grasp of these concepts. As you well know, persuasion isn't just argument - it's also the crafting of strategic and stylistic language. When people think about the most famous speeches in history, they tend to think of stylistically rich speeches. By the end of the week, you will have a list of strategies for avoiding fallacies and framing your case strategically and stylistically. If you want some feedback, you’ll be able to upload a persuasive speech outline for peer review and engage in some speech writing.

What's included

13 videos5 readings3 assignments1 peer review

13 videosTotal 58 minutes

That doesn’t sound right! Avoiding fallacies.2 minutesPreview module
Fallacies of reasoning. Something is missing4 minutes
Fallacies of reasoning. Flawed causality.3 minutes
Fallacies of relevance. Bad evidence.3 minutes
Fallacies of relevance. Bad response.3 minutes
Framing. Building credible commonalities.3 minutes
Identification. We're on the same side.4 minutes
Topic value. Finding the best words for your subject.5 minutes
Stylistic devices are easy equations for eloquence.2 minutes
Sound repetition. Assonance, consonance, alliteration, asyndeton, and polysyndeton.6 minutes
Phrasing repetition. Anaphora, epistrophe, and symploce.6 minutes
Writing big applause lines. Anadiplosis, antimetabole, and maxims.6 minutes
Stylistic hotspots. Where to include style in your speech.3 minutes

5 readingsTotal 47 minutes

Week three preview2 minutes
Building common identities--Maria Ressa15 minutes
Integrating style--Advocating for St. Jude's10 minutes
Week three lesson summaries10 minutes
Week three assignment check-in10 minutes

3 assignmentsTotal 74 minutes

Fallacies30 minutes
Style30 minutes
Week three Quiz14 minutes

1 peer reviewTotal 30 minutes

Argument outline30 minutes

In this module, we’ll finish our work on persuasive speaking. We'll talk about the dreaded "UM", a bane of speakers and an issue that merits study. We'll also go over some tips for reducing these sorts of disfluencies. We'll spend a bit of time thinking about some good delivery practices. Finally, we'll explore some models of imitation. By the end of the week, you will have a couple of speaking techniques to make every speech you give sound more confident and moving. If you want some feedback, you’ll be able to upload a practice persuasive speech for peer review.

What's included

10 videos5 readings2 assignments1 peer review

10 videosTotal 41 minutes

Why do I say um?3 minutesPreview module
How can I avoid saying um?4 minutes
Dressing for a successful speech.3 minutes
Preparing your speaking space.3 minutes
Engaging the audience by working the room.4 minutes
Making good eye contact.3 minutes
Who is a good model of imitation for you?3 minutes
Barack Obama. A model of stylistic energy.6 minutes
Bobby Jindal. Beware of over-relying on your scripts.4 minutes
Stylistic delivery requires your commitment.3 minutes

5 readingsTotal 34 minutes

Week four preview2 minutes
Speech analysis #2 overview2 minutes
Matt's feedback10 minutes
Week four lesson summaries10 minutes
Week four assignment check-in10 minutes

2 assignmentsTotal 60 minutes

Um30 minutes
Week four quiz30 minutes

1 peer reviewTotal 30 minutes

Speech analysis #230 minutes

Thank you for time in this course. I hope the material has proven helpful in some way. We concluded our discussion of the persuasive speech last week. I would like to spend a bit of time reflecting on the course. We will end this week with your final speech.

What's included

2 videos

Choice 1: For the final assignment, you can either submit a video or written speech (below). | Choice 2: For the final assignment, you can either submit a video (above) or written speech.