Principle Of Persuasive Speech

Principles of Persuasion

When presenting a speech that is geared mainly at persuading your audience, there are principles that can be utilized to enhance the effectiveness of the speech. What does it mean to persuade? We need to understand what persuasion is before we can aim to persuade anyone. According to Mclean, 2010, “persuasion is an act or process of presenting arguments to move, motivate or change your audience”. There is not a single way of achieving this goal when giving a speech to persuade but the principles of persuasion can certainly enhance the likelihood at achieving this goal.

Robert Cialdini founded six principles that are deemed effective in persuasive speeches (Mclean). These principles are:

1. Principle of Reciprocity

Mclean describes reciprocity as “the mutual expectation for exchange of value or

Principle of Scarcity

Things that are exclusive and hard to come by capture people’s interest as these things are thought of as more valuable. When the availability of things are limited, people tend to act more quickly before they are gone. In business this principle works well especially in sales by incorporating it into promotions such as limited time offers.

3. Principle of Authority

This principle consists of referencing relevant experts and or expertise. People tend to listen to or take advice from persons who seem to know what they are doing or talking about. You become more effective when you display your knowledge in your field, of a product or of a topic that your presentation is about. By using terms such as ‘scientists have found that’, ‘research shows that’ or ‘according to experts’ will give your speech more credibility.

4. Principle of Commitment and Consistency

The written word has more bearing than the spoken word which is sometimes quickly forgotten. Whenever you write something down especially in front of your receiver, it shows that you are committed and will most likely keep your word.

5. Principle of