Great Persuasive Speaking Practice
At some stage in your life you may have already given a convincing speech to an enthusiastic audience and received applause and appreciation. But you may feel now is the time to improve on that great groundwork you’ve built, so here are a few pointers in helping you to become a more confident, persuasive speaker.
Firstly, you have to be really sure that you know what you are talking about. You have to be able to persuade your audience to think about the point you are trying to bring across by referring to accepted truths and facts. You should appreciate that there isn’t a discussion going on between the audience and yourself, so be careful of everything you say in your speech or you could start to contradict your own statements. Try doing some research beforehand and don’t be afraid of new opinions or ideas prior to speaking.
The second thing you may need to concentrate on is body language. As a large part of human communication is done without actually speaking, people tend to respond to it very well. To be able to connect with your audience efficiently, try using nonverbal cues to emphasize points. Some of these could include hand gestures, eye contact or pacing. Some examples of these non-verbal cues could be: if you are telling a story, walk a few paces while leading up to a particular point or if you are attempting to make a key point, you could point one of your fingers up.
The third point you may wish to consider is to treat your audience, regardless of numbers, with the upmost respect and focus solely on them and nothing else. It is because of them that you are speaking in the first place, so try to convince them of the particular point you are trying to make, and do it as though your whole career depended on convincing them!
You have to be able to make a connection between you and your audience to effectively convey your speech. Some ways this connection could be made are through humour, a personal story or even by getting an audience member to speak a bit.
Your main aspiration is to be able to generate a connection between your audience and you whereby they will truly understand that it does really matter to you that they hear what you are saying.
When it comes to persuasive speech, as the speaker you should really be familiar with how to convince and persuade. You should drive your audience to a point where the influence that your message is trying to convey will be delivered and received effectively. If you keep repeating facts, opinions and ideas it will help bring them to the point you are making, and at the same time enhancing your skills on being a more persuasive speaker in a more positive way.