A Psychological Approach to Effective Persuasive Speech

Sometimes, we hear a person speak and it seems as if they have an almost unnatural ability to persuade and communicate. Others, it seems, often do not have that gift, and thus avoid public speaking at almost any cost. However, many are simply not aware of the fact that almost anyone can become a powerful and effective speaker. In fact, what is even more interesting is the idea that there are certain components of speech and delivery which have been shown to have a powerful effect on the human mind. If we simply look a what social psychology has taught us, we can find that by following a few simple categories and idea, we can help ourselves to become very talented and very effective speakers, all it takes is a little knowledge and little practice.

The first component of a message that should be considered and analyzed is the idea of "who". Simply from watching advertisements, we can become well aware of the fact that certain people just seem to have more "pull" than others. This is primarily due to something that social psychologists refer to as source characteristics. Source characteristics are the traits and abilities of the person who delivers the message, which include the physical appearance, credibility, and experience of the subject matter at hand. Of course, it may not always seem fair that attractive people tend to be more effective speakers than those we would probably judge unattractive, but the human brain is hardwired to trust those who are more attractive, and these messages go directly through the peripheral route to the brain. However, something else here that is rarely analyzed is the simple idea of confidence. Generally speaking, those who are attractive tend to present much more confidence when they deliver a speech, and this is something that each and every one of can learn from, even if we do not happen to think of ourselves as particularly attractive. Another dimension here deals with credibility. If we are trying to convince someone of something, or we want to influence them, it definitely helps if we have experience in the area we are talking about. Thus, the reason why popular athletes sell sports attire, and politicians constantly remind us of why they are the best suited for the job. There is no way around credibility, and the more credible we are in a particular area, the more effective we are when attempting to persuade or create a speech in that given area. Expertise, then, works in exactly the same way as credibility. We naturally look for leaders, and we naturally follow those who have more experience in something than we do, and we are, generally speaking, far more likely to be persuaded by someone who is an expert or who has experience than we are by someone who has just entered a particular field.

One interesting diversion here though is known as the "sleeper effect". Basically, this means that even though a speaker who is not particular credible or talented may not make a first impression on us, over time, these messages can prove themselves to be effective. Keep in mind, this is rare, but it is possible.

The second important component of a message is the message itself. Even the most credible or attractive source in the world will not be able to deliver an effective speech if the subject matter is meaningless or incoherent. Here we must look at and understand message characteristics if we are to understand what makes an actual message effective. Message characteristics include the evidence being presented, and its actual quality, as well as the conclusions that can be drawn from that message. We are well equipped to tell the difference between an effective and high quality message and the opposite. We must use vivid and powerful examples. For example, telling the story of a single victim or individual is generally much more effective than speaking about large area effect sizes, it is simply the way that we absorb the message. We need to lead the audience to the conclusion. Meaning that we want to make it as obvious as possible, but when we let the audience draw their own conclusion, we let them create that "Aha!" feeling, which is far more likely to let the message stick and give it a sort of resonance. Remember that facts are also important, but when we load a message with two many numbers and two many figures, we tend to lose our audience, and it is important that we speak with a mixture of compelling and interesting evidence, but also use powerful images and vivid pictures. Together, these two characteristics have the ability to make a message very powerful, and contribute to a strong speech.

Naturally, the third component of what makes a speech effective is found in who we are actually speaking two. In fact, the common downfall of many would-be public speakers is that they simply do not consider who their audience is going to be. Remember, when giving a speech, it is important that we first take a moment to consider the conditions the speech is being given under and the people that we are going to be speaking to. Remember the age of the audience: it may not be effective to deliver a plethora of facts and figures if we are trying to deliver an anti-smoking or anti-drug message to a group of elementary school students. At the same time, speaking to a college age or older audience, these facts are going to be necessary to convince them. Generally speaking, the older the mean age of the audience, the better it will be to use more concrete and meaningful facts and examples. Also keep in mind the mood of the audience. If you are going to speaking directly before an audience is scheduled to eat lunch, remember that they will be far more receptive to a speech which is short and sweet instead of one which is long and drawn out. Also remember the motivation of the audience. For example, if you are speaking to a group of college democrats, a speech advocating Hillary Clinton will likely be an easy sell. Of course, delivering this same message to a group of college republicans is going to be nothing less than an uphill battle. However, we can learn to counter these audience effects if we plan ahead and do our best to understand our audience and know how to appeal to them.

Public speaking can be very difficult, and for some, it can even be incredibly frightening. However, it does not have to be this way. Keep in mind the lessons that have been taught above, and we will soon learn how to deliver almost any speech in almost any context with power and confidence. All it takes is some knowledge about how to construct a speech and the necessary confidence in ourselves, and we can all learn to make powerful and effective speeches in no time flat.