Persuasive Speeches Political unrest

For your persuasive speech you must: Speak for 3-4 minutes (any longer and I cut you off, any shorter and you stand up there in silence) Present the arguments you developed in your original essay #3, put them into a concise but dramatic format. Keep your arguments organized and orderly; you want the class to be able to follow your train of thought Your audience is the class, so present your arguments to persuade them (but they need to stay class appropriate) Submit an outline or notecards at the end of your speech (meaning, you can’t just wing it).

Some tips and tricks

The three Rs Rehearse! Rehearse out loud with all equipment you plan on using. Revise as necessary. Work to control filler words; Practice, pause and breathe. Practice with a timer and allow time for the unexpected. Relax. Begin by addressing the audience. It buys you time and calms your nerves. Pause, smile and count to three before saying anything. ("One one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand. Pause. Begin.) Transform nervous energy into enthusiasm. Realize that people want you to succeed. Audiences want you to be interesting, stimulating, informative and entertaining. They’re rooting for you.

Other tips Maintain sincere eye contact with your audience. Use the 3-second method, e.g. look straight into the eyes of a person in the audience for 3 seconds at a time. Have direct eye contact with a number of people in the audience, and every now and then glance at the whole audience while speaking. Use your eye contact to make everyone in your audience feel involved. Visualize yourself giving your speech. Imagine yourself speaking, your voice loud, clear and confident. Visualize the audience clapping – it will boost your confidence. Don’t apologize for any nervousness or problem – the audience probably never noticed it. Concentrate on the message – not the medium. Focus your attention away from your own anxieties and concentrate on your message and your audience. Gain experience. Mainly, your speech should represent you — as an authority and as a person. Experience builds confidence, which is the key to effective speaking.