{"id":234,"date":"2022-04-01T13:24:37","date_gmt":"2022-04-01T13:24:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/speechcomm\/chapter\/why-persuade\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T19:10:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T19:10:46","slug":"why-persuade","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/speechcomm\/chapter\/why-persuade\/","title":{"raw":"13.1 Understanding Persuasive Speaking","rendered":"13.1 Understanding Persuasive Speaking"},"content":{"raw":"<div id=\"slug-13-1-understanding-persuasive-speaking\" class=\"chapter standard\">\r\n<h2 class=\"chapter-title\" style=\"text-align: center;\">13.1 Understanding Persuasive Speaking<\/h2>\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"300\"]<img class=\"wp-image-1464 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/speechcomm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/107\/2022\/04\/pexels-dani-hart-3719037-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"Three women seated on stools while speaking to an audience.\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/> Photograph by Dani Hart via Pexels.[\/caption]\r\n\r\nWhen your instructor first announced that you would give a persuasive speech, what was your reaction? Did you feel excited and think, \u201cI have a great idea,\u201d or did you feel uneasy about trying to influence an audience?\r\n\r\nFor many people, the word <em>persuasion<\/em> has negative associations. It may bring to mind manipulation, pressure, or attempts to force people to change their minds. In this chapter, however, persuasion is approached in a more positive and practical way. Persuasion involves encouraging others, influencing how they view an issue, and presenting logical arguments that help them consider a particular perspective.\r\n\r\nIt is natural to feel skeptical when someone tries to persuade you, especially when it seems that the person is telling you what to think. You may also wonder whether your own ideas are important enough to share with an audience. These concerns often come from a misunderstanding of what ethical persuasion is intended to accomplish.\r\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Persuasion as Everyday Communication<\/h3>\r\n[pb_glossary id=\"684\"]Persuasion[\/pb_glossary] is not about forcing people to do something against their will. Instead, it involves presenting ideas in a way that helps others consider new perspectives, reevaluate existing beliefs, or decide whether to make a change.\r\n\r\nPersuasion is something people use every day. Examples include:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Convincing a friend to go out instead of staying home.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Asking an instructor for an extension on an assignment.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Writing a r\u00e9sum\u00e9 or cover letter for a job.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Participating in a job interview.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Encouraging coworkers to adopt a new procedure.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Recommending a restaurant, movie, product, or service.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nEach of these situations involves making a case for an idea, request, recommendation, or goal. Persuasion is therefore a normal and essential part of human communication.\r\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Informative and Persuasive Speaking<\/h3>\r\n[pb_glossary id=\"1943\"]Informative[\/pb_glossary] and [pb_glossary id=\"684\"]persuasive[\/pb_glossary] speeches both involve presenting information. The primary difference is the speaker\u2019s purpose.\r\n\r\nAn [pb_glossary id=\"1943\"]informative speech[\/pb_glossary] seeks to increase the audience\u2019s knowledge or understanding. A persuasive speech seeks to influence the audience\u2019s beliefs, attitudes, values, or actions.\r\n\r\nThe relationship can be summarized as follows:\r\n<blockquote>Information combined with an effort to create change becomes persuasion.<\/blockquote>\r\nIn a persuasive speech, information is used to encourage some form of change. A speaker may ask audience members to:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Accept or reconsider a belief.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Develop a different attitude toward an issue.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Recognize the importance of a value.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Adopt or discontinue a behavior.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Support a policy, proposal, organization, or cause.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Take a specific action.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nPersuasive speaking does not always produce immediate or complete agreement. An audience member may simply become more willing to consider the speaker\u2019s position. Even a small shift in awareness, attitude, or openness can represent persuasive change.\r\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Ethical Persuasion<\/h3>\r\n[pb_glossary id=\"2105\"]Ethical persuasion[\/pb_glossary] respects the audience\u2019s ability to think, evaluate evidence, and make independent decisions. It does not rely on deception, coercion, distorted evidence, or intentionally misleading emotional appeals.\r\n\r\nAn ethical persuasive speaker should:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Present information accurately.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Use credible and relevant evidence.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Identify sources clearly.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Avoid misrepresenting opposing positions.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Distinguish facts from opinions and interpretations.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Consider the possible consequences of the proposed change.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Respect audience members who reach a different conclusion.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nThe goal is not to control the audience. The goal is to make a responsible case that listeners can examine and evaluate for themselves.\r\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">The Challenges of Persuasive Speaking<\/h3>\r\nPersuasive speaking can be challenging because audience members bring their own knowledge, experiences, values, identities, and opinions to a presentation. They may already have strong views about the topic or may distrust the speaker, the evidence, or the proposed action.\r\n\r\nA speaker cannot assume that everyone begins from the same position. Some listeners may agree, some may be undecided, and others may strongly oppose the message. Effective persuasive speakers analyze these differences and adapt their arguments accordingly.\r\n\r\nIn the following sections, you will examine how persuasion works, how audiences respond to persuasive messages, and how speakers can develop arguments that are logical, ethical, credible, and meaningful.\r\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--key\">\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\r\n<h3>Licenses and Attribution<\/h3>\r\n<h4>CC Licensed Content, Original<\/h4>\r\n<em>Speech Communication<\/em> was created by Lana Iapicco and Marie Torres. Independently created original and AI-assisted content developed specifically for this book is licensed under a <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License<\/a>, except where otherwise noted.\r\n\r\nThis educational material includes content generated or revised with the assistance of large language models. Lana Iapicco and Marie Torres reviewed, edited, and take responsibility for the final published content.\r\n<h4>CC Licensed Content, Previously Shared<\/h4>\r\n<h5>Understanding Persuasive Speaking<\/h5>\r\n\u201cUnderstanding Persuasive Speaking\u201d is adapted in part from material addressing persuasion and persuasive speaking in <em><a href=\"https:\/\/louis.pressbooks.pub\/publicspeaking\/\">It\u2019s About Them: Public Speaking in the 21st Century<\/a><\/em> by Douglas Marshall, James Yeargain, June Pulliam, Sara Kim, and Victoria VanNest, published by LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network.\r\n\r\nThe source material is licensed under a <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License<\/a>. The material was revised, reorganized, expanded, updated, and supplemented with original and AI-assisted content for this edition.\r\n\r\nAdapted portions derived from this source, including revisions to those portions, are licensed under the <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License<\/a>. Independently created portions developed specifically for <em>Speech Communication<\/em> are licensed under the book\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License<\/a>, except where otherwise noted.\r\n<h4>Other Licensed Content Included<\/h4>\r\n<h5>Women Speaking to an Audience<\/h5>\r\nPhotograph by Dani Hart, available through Pexels.\r\n\r\nTerms of use: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/license\/\">Pexels License<\/a>.\r\n\r\nChanges: The photograph was resized, and its alternative text and caption were revised for this edition.\r\n<h4>Third-Party References and Links<\/h4>\r\nExamples involving employment applications, interviews, instructors, workplaces, products, services, public policies, organizations, and other third-party subjects are included for instructional purposes. Any trademarks, organizations, publications, or protected materials referenced in this section remain the property of their respective rights holders.\r\n\r\nThe inclusion of these examples and references does not imply endorsement and does not place the underlying third-party materials under the Creative Commons licenses applied to <em>Speech Communication<\/em>.\r\n\r\nUnless a separate license or public-domain status is specifically identified, third-party content may not be copied, redistributed, or adapted independently of the permissions provided by its copyright holder or applicable law.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div id=\"slug-13-1-understanding-persuasive-speaking\" class=\"chapter standard\">\n<h2 class=\"chapter-title\" style=\"text-align: center;\">13.1 Understanding Persuasive Speaking<\/h2>\n<figure style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1464 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/speechcomm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/107\/2022\/04\/pexels-dani-hart-3719037-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"Three women seated on stools while speaking to an audience.\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photograph by Dani Hart via Pexels.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>When your instructor first announced that you would give a persuasive speech, what was your reaction? Did you feel excited and think, \u201cI have a great idea,\u201d or did you feel uneasy about trying to influence an audience?<\/p>\n<p>For many people, the word <em>persuasion<\/em> has negative associations. It may bring to mind manipulation, pressure, or attempts to force people to change their minds. In this chapter, however, persuasion is approached in a more positive and practical way. Persuasion involves encouraging others, influencing how they view an issue, and presenting logical arguments that help them consider a particular perspective.<\/p>\n<p>It is natural to feel skeptical when someone tries to persuade you, especially when it seems that the person is telling you what to think. You may also wonder whether your own ideas are important enough to share with an audience. These concerns often come from a misunderstanding of what ethical persuasion is intended to accomplish.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Persuasion as Everyday Communication<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"glossary-term\" aria-describedby=\"234-684\">Persuasion<\/button> is not about forcing people to do something against their will. Instead, it involves presenting ideas in a way that helps others consider new perspectives, reevaluate existing beliefs, or decide whether to make a change.<\/p>\n<p>Persuasion is something people use every day. Examples include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Convincing a friend to go out instead of staying home.<\/li>\n<li>Asking an instructor for an extension on an assignment.<\/li>\n<li>Writing a r\u00e9sum\u00e9 or cover letter for a job.<\/li>\n<li>Participating in a job interview.<\/li>\n<li>Encouraging coworkers to adopt a new procedure.<\/li>\n<li>Recommending a restaurant, movie, product, or service.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Each of these situations involves making a case for an idea, request, recommendation, or goal. Persuasion is therefore a normal and essential part of human communication.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Informative and Persuasive Speaking<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"glossary-term\" aria-describedby=\"234-1943\">Informative<\/button> and <button class=\"glossary-term\" aria-describedby=\"234-684\">persuasive<\/button> speeches both involve presenting information. The primary difference is the speaker\u2019s purpose.<\/p>\n<p>An <button class=\"glossary-term\" aria-describedby=\"234-1943\">informative speech<\/button> seeks to increase the audience\u2019s knowledge or understanding. A persuasive speech seeks to influence the audience\u2019s beliefs, attitudes, values, or actions.<\/p>\n<p>The relationship can be summarized as follows:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Information combined with an effort to create change becomes persuasion.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>In a persuasive speech, information is used to encourage some form of change. A speaker may ask audience members to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Accept or reconsider a belief.<\/li>\n<li>Develop a different attitude toward an issue.<\/li>\n<li>Recognize the importance of a value.<\/li>\n<li>Adopt or discontinue a behavior.<\/li>\n<li>Support a policy, proposal, organization, or cause.<\/li>\n<li>Take a specific action.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Persuasive speaking does not always produce immediate or complete agreement. An audience member may simply become more willing to consider the speaker\u2019s position. Even a small shift in awareness, attitude, or openness can represent persuasive change.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Ethical Persuasion<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"glossary-term\" aria-describedby=\"234-2105\">Ethical persuasion<\/button> respects the audience\u2019s ability to think, evaluate evidence, and make independent decisions. It does not rely on deception, coercion, distorted evidence, or intentionally misleading emotional appeals.<\/p>\n<p>An ethical persuasive speaker should:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Present information accurately.<\/li>\n<li>Use credible and relevant evidence.<\/li>\n<li>Identify sources clearly.<\/li>\n<li>Avoid misrepresenting opposing positions.<\/li>\n<li>Distinguish facts from opinions and interpretations.<\/li>\n<li>Consider the possible consequences of the proposed change.<\/li>\n<li>Respect audience members who reach a different conclusion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The goal is not to control the audience. The goal is to make a responsible case that listeners can examine and evaluate for themselves.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">The Challenges of Persuasive Speaking<\/h3>\n<p>Persuasive speaking can be challenging because audience members bring their own knowledge, experiences, values, identities, and opinions to a presentation. They may already have strong views about the topic or may distrust the speaker, the evidence, or the proposed action.<\/p>\n<p>A speaker cannot assume that everyone begins from the same position. Some listeners may agree, some may be undecided, and others may strongly oppose the message. Effective persuasive speakers analyze these differences and adapt their arguments accordingly.<\/p>\n<p>In the following sections, you will examine how persuasion works, how audiences respond to persuasive messages, and how speakers can develop arguments that are logical, ethical, credible, and meaningful.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--key\">\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<h3>Licenses and Attribution<\/h3>\n<h4>CC Licensed Content, Original<\/h4>\n<p><em>Speech Communication<\/em> was created by Lana Iapicco and Marie Torres. Independently created original and AI-assisted content developed specifically for this book is licensed under a <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License<\/a>, except where otherwise noted.<\/p>\n<p>This educational material includes content generated or revised with the assistance of large language models. Lana Iapicco and Marie Torres reviewed, edited, and take responsibility for the final published content.<\/p>\n<h4>CC Licensed Content, Previously Shared<\/h4>\n<h5>Understanding Persuasive Speaking<\/h5>\n<p>\u201cUnderstanding Persuasive Speaking\u201d is adapted in part from material addressing persuasion and persuasive speaking in <em><a href=\"https:\/\/louis.pressbooks.pub\/publicspeaking\/\">It\u2019s About Them: Public Speaking in the 21st Century<\/a><\/em> by Douglas Marshall, James Yeargain, June Pulliam, Sara Kim, and Victoria VanNest, published by LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network.<\/p>\n<p>The source material is licensed under a <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License<\/a>. The material was revised, reorganized, expanded, updated, and supplemented with original and AI-assisted content for this edition.<\/p>\n<p>Adapted portions derived from this source, including revisions to those portions, are licensed under the <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License<\/a>. Independently created portions developed specifically for <em>Speech Communication<\/em> are licensed under the book\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License<\/a>, except where otherwise noted.<\/p>\n<h4>Other Licensed Content Included<\/h4>\n<h5>Women Speaking to an Audience<\/h5>\n<p>Photograph by Dani Hart, available through Pexels.<\/p>\n<p>Terms of use: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/license\/\">Pexels License<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Changes: The photograph was resized, and its alternative text and caption were revised for this edition.<\/p>\n<h4>Third-Party References and Links<\/h4>\n<p>Examples involving employment applications, interviews, instructors, workplaces, products, services, public policies, organizations, and other third-party subjects are included for instructional purposes. Any trademarks, organizations, publications, or protected materials referenced in this section remain the property of their respective rights holders.<\/p>\n<p>The inclusion of these examples and references does not imply endorsement and does not place the underlying third-party materials under the Creative Commons licenses applied to <em>Speech Communication<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Unless a separate license or public-domain status is specifically identified, third-party content may not be copied, redistributed, or adapted independently of the permissions provided by its copyright holder or applicable law.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"glossary\"><div class=\"glossary__tooltip\" id=\"234-684\" hidden><p>symbolic process in which communicators try to convince other people to change their attitudes or behavior regarding an issue through the transmission of a message, in an atmosphere of free choice<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"glossary__tooltip\" id=\"234-1943\" hidden><p>A presentation based on facts whose primary purpose is to increase the audience\u2019s knowledge rather than persuade them to accept a position or take action.<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"glossary__tooltip\" id=\"234-2105\" hidden><p>Respects the audience\u2019s ability to think, evaluate evidence, and make independent decisions.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"menu_order":1,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":["liapicco","mtorres54"],"pb_section_license":"cc-by-nc-sa"},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[61,62],"license":[57],"class_list":["post-234","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","contributor-liapicco","contributor-mtorres54","license-cc-by-nc-sa"],"part":231,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/speechcomm\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/speechcomm\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/speechcomm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/speechcomm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/speechcomm\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2107,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/speechcomm\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/234\/revisions\/2107"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/speechcomm\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/231"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/speechcomm\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/234\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/speechcomm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/speechcomm\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=234"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/speechcomm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=234"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/speechcomm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}