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

Approx. 16 hours to complete

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Course Summary

Learn how to deliver persuasive speeches and influence your audience with this course. Explore techniques for crafting compelling arguments and honing your public speaking skills.

Key Learning Points

Master the art of persuasion through effective communication techniques
Learn how to craft compelling arguments and deliver them with confidence
Understand the psychology of influence and how to use it to your advantage

Learning Outcomes

Develop persuasive arguments and deliver them with confidence
Understand the psychology of influence and how to use it to your advantage
Enhance your public speaking skills

Prerequisites or good to have knowledge before taking this course

Basic knowledge of public speaking
Access to a computer and internet connection

Course Difficulty Level

Intermediate

Course Format

Online self-paced course
Video lectures
Assignments and quizzes

Similar Courses

Effective Communication
Public Speaking Mastery

Related Education Paths

Notable People in This Field

Amy Cuddy
Simon Sinek

Related Books

Description

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.

Outline

Welcome. Let's develop a persuasive argument.
Welcome to persuasive speaking!
What’s this course about?
What are the assignments?
What is persuasion?
Good persuasion requires careful planning.
Good persuasion involves logos, pathos, and ethos
Good persuasion responds to questions of fact, policy, and value.
What’s the status quo and burden of proof?
What are the stock issues and how do they help?
Stock issue: Ill. Something demands our attention.
Stock issue: Blame. Why does the ill persist?
Stock issue: Cure. What should we do?
Stock issue: Consequences. What happens if we act?
Using these tools to build arguments for and against.
How to record speech videos
Week 1 preview
Persuasive speech assignment description
Stock issues in action--Barack Obama
Week one lesson summaries
Week one assignment check-in
Persuasion
Week one quiz

Designing your persuasive speech
What are key arrangement concerns?
Congruency. Everything should fit together.
Calls to action. What should the audience do?
Calls to action. Highlighting audience efficacy.
Stock issues arrangement. Building to the call to action.
Monroe's motivated sequence. Helping the audience visualize the cure.
Go big. Move from policy to value.
Go small. Protect the argument from larger issues.
Challenge softly. Introduce new evidence.
Find your cost-benefit balance
Show, don't tell. Include a story.
Validate your argument. Include some testimony.
Sample persuasive speech #1
Week 2 preview
Congruencey--Bill Gates on education spending
Arrangement--driving to a clear cure
Argument tactics. Reading and responding to audience concerns.
Speech analysis #1 overview
Matt's feedback
Week two lesson summaries
Week two assignment check-in
Persuasive arrangement
Argument tactics
Week two quiz

Strategic and motivational language
That doesn’t sound right! Avoiding fallacies.
Fallacies of reasoning. Something is missing
Fallacies of reasoning. Flawed causality.
Fallacies of relevance. Bad evidence.
Fallacies of relevance. Bad response.
Framing. Building credible commonalities.
Identification. We're on the same side.
Topic value. Finding the best words for your subject.
Stylistic devices are easy equations for eloquence.
Sound repetition. Assonance, consonance, alliteration, asyndeton, and polysyndeton.
Phrasing repetition. Anaphora, epistrophe, and symploce.
Writing big applause lines. Anadiplosis, antimetabole, and maxims.
Stylistic hotspots. Where to include style in your speech.
Week three preview
Building common identities--Maria Ressa
Integrating style--Advocating for St. Jude's
Week three lesson summaries
Week three assignment check-in
Fallacies
Style
Week three Quiz

Compelling delivery
Why do I say um?
How can I avoid saying um?
Dressing for a successful speech.
Preparing your speaking space.
Engaging the audience by working the room.
Making good eye contact.
Who is a good model of imitation for you?
Barack Obama. A model of stylistic energy.
Bobby Jindal. Beware of over-relying on your scripts.
Stylistic delivery requires your commitment.
Week four preview
Speech analysis #2 overview
Matt's feedback
Week four lesson summaries
Week four assignment check-in
Um
Week four quiz

Week 5: Review and assessment
Course review
Other courses in this specialization

Week 5: Review and assessment: Lesson Choices
Sample persuasive speech
Sample persuasive manuscript

Summary of User Reviews

The course 'Persuade with Speech' on Coursera has received positive reviews from many users. People have appreciated the practicality of the course material and its relevance to real-life scenarios. The course has been rated highly by the users for its comprehensive coverage of persuasive speech techniques and the engaging teaching style of the instructor. One key aspect that many users thought was good is the emphasis on developing a persuasive mindset that can be applied in different situations.

Pros from User Reviews

Comprehensive coverage of persuasive speech techniques
Engaging teaching style of the instructor
Practical advice and relevance to real-life scenarios

Cons from User Reviews

Some users found the course content to be repetitive and slow
A few users thought that the assignments were too basic and did not challenge them enough
Some users had technical issues with the platform

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

In the professional realm, we need to be able to argue without being argumentative. Persuasive speaking thus requires clarity, strategy, topic mastery, plus a sense of style and presence....

Save Course