When we spend lots of time working on our debating and public speaking skills, it can be easy to get bogged down in the details and lose sight of the original purpose of these activities. Ultimately, the reason we engage with debating and public speaking in the first place is to persuade our audience to see our way of thinking.

 

Sometimes you might notice yourself giving a robotic delivery of your speech because you have practiced it so many times in front of your parents it feels almost automatic. Other times, you might find yourself expecting people to understand what you mean without realising that they might have a really different opinion on the issue you are speaking about than you do!

 

One of the most exciting skills you can develop through debating or public speaking is learning how to persuade the audience to see your point of view and how to influence their way of thinking on a topic.

 

This blog post will talk about strategies that you can use to regain your focus on persuading and influencing the audience through a variety of speech writing and speech presentation tips.

 

Tip #1: Empathise With Your Audience

One of the biggest barriers to persuasion can be a lack of empathy for the listener. Often as debaters and public speakers we can get a little bit caught up in our own heads, especially if we are really stressed about doing well at presenting a speech or having enough ideas to say during the debate. We can often forget to think about anyone other than the other team or the other people competing in the public speaking competition. We can forget that it is equally (if not more) important to think about the audience! We need to cater to their needs and attempt to understand what it’s like from their point of view.

 

 

When giving a speech, presentation, or argument in a debate, try to remember that:

 

Remember the audience is less familiar with the topic than you.

One general truth about the audience (and the adjudicators or judges) is that they are generally less familiar with the topic you are speaking about than you are. This is true in a couple of different ways.

 

Public Speaking

If you’re talking about public speaking then it’s highly likely that the audience and adjudicator haven’t done as much research into your topic area as you have. For example, imagine you are giving a speech about Global Warming. While you might know all of the context and all of the information that there is to know about climate change and global warming, it might be equally true that somebody in your audience doesn’t have much knowledge on this topic area at all! They might not even know the most common things that are going on in the news around this topic. When you walk into the room with a lack of empathy for your audience, you might be thinking about the presentation from your point of view: you know all of this information to the point where some of it is even boring to you! So, it’s really important to take the step of having some empathy for your audience.

 

 

How to build empathy for the audience and give a more convincing speech

Try saying to yourself: “Imagine if I was hearing my speech for the first time and it was the only thing I had ever heard on this topic area.” Then, ask yourself the following questions:

 

1. Would I be confused?
2. Would I be inspired or motivated?
3. Is it necessarily true that I would naturally care about this issue?
4. Do I need the speaker to convince me that I care about this issue?

 

Taking a second to ask yourself these questions and imagining how you would respond as an audience member or an adjudicator can help to build your empathy and make you more aware of their needs during your presentation. This will make you naturally more persuasive to them!

 

 

Debating

Another example is during debating. In debating, we often receive a topic and have one hour or so to prepare. Then we go into the room to participate in the debate. As a debater, from your point of view, you have been thinking about the topic of this debate for at least one hour (and it’s probably the only thing you’ve been thinking about for one hour). However, is this necessarily true of your adjudicator or your audience? In a lot of circumstances, the audience members might show up to a debate and not even know what the topic is going to be! They may just be interested in being there to see you speak even though they don’t really know what you’re going to be speaking about.

 

 

Even your adjudicator might not know what the topic is before they get into the debate room. In debating competitions there is often a topic selection. Your adjudicator will need the debaters to confirm specifically what topic they will be speaking about. That usually happens about one minute before the first speaker gets up to talk. That means that the adjudicator hasn’t been lost in the world of this topic for an hour as you have. They might have just been thinking about what they want to have for lunch that day or having a conversation with one of their friends about their job! So to get started in your speech, you can’t just launch into the deepest part of the topic area without explaining why people should care about it or its importance to the audience.

 

 

How to build empathy for the audience and give a more convincing argument

Luckily there are a few simple things you can do to alleviate this empathy gap.

 

1. Clearly state the topic within your speech
2. Make sure to define any confusing words with multiple meanings within the topic
3. Offer some points of context that allude to the key issue of this debate
4. Use the linking step of ‘PEEL’ to clearly link back to the topic at the end of each argument so people know why your argument is relevant.
5. Remind yourself when you get to the debate that not everybody knows this is what we’re talking about tonight. Not everybody has been thinking about this as much as I have!
6. Ask yourself: “What can I do to make this speech more clear and interesting for the people who are listening?”

 

Tip #2: Assume the audience does not believe you

This tip is about ethos, which is a way of convincing an audience that you are credible and trustworthy. In order to have ethos, there are three things you need to do:

 

First, you need to establish your credibility. You need to remind the audience of your experience or expertise on this topic. This can be done by sharing a personal story or using statistics and data.

 

Second, you need to show that you care about the issue at hand. This can be done by sharing your passion for the topic or by highlighting how it has affected you or others in a positive way.

 

Third, you need to build trust with the audience. This can be done by being transparent about your intentions and by admitting when you don’t have all the answers.

 

 

When it comes to ethos, there is one common mistake that people make: they assume that the audience already believes them. This is a mistake because it leads to people being complacent in their speeches and not working hard enough to establish their credibility, show that they care, or build trust.

 

The best way to avoid this mistake is to assume that the audience does not believe you. This may seem counterintuitive, but it will actually make you work harder to establish your credibility, show that you care, and build trust. And in the end, this will make your speech more effective.

 

Tip #3: Use concrete language

When it comes to persuasion, one of the most important things you can do is use concrete language. Concrete language is specific and vivid. For example, an example is a form of concrete language, when you explain how something has happened in the real world. This helps the audience visualise what you’re talking about. And when people can visualise what you’re talking about, they’re more likely to be persuaded by your argument.

 

There are two common mistakes people make when it comes to using concrete language. First, they use too much abstract language. Abstract language is general and vague. It doesn’t help the audience visualise what you’re talking about. For example, in a speech about climate change you might say, “It helps to take action.” This is very abstract – what kind of action? What does it help? Second, they use too much jargon. Jargon is technical language that is only understood by people in a particular field or profession, such as terms like ‘carbon neutral’, ‘mitigation’, and ‘tipping point’ which are used by climate change experts. Using jargon in your speech will only make it harder for the audience to understand and follow your argument.

 

The best way to avoid these mistakes is to use concrete language. When you use concrete language, be specific and use vivid verbs and adjectives. And when you use jargon, make sure to explain it in simple terms so that everyone in the audience can understand.

 

Tip #4: Use emotion

Emotion is a powerful tool that can be used to persuasively argue your position. When you tap into emotions, you’re more likely to get people to agree with you. And when people agree with you, they’re more likely to take action on your behalf.

 

There are two common mistakes people make when it comes to using emotion in their speeches. First, they use too much emotion. This can make people feel overwhelmed and turned off by your argument. Second, they use the wrong emotions. This can happen when you try to evoke an emotional response that is not appropriate for the situation or when you try to tap into emotions that are not relevant to the issue at hand.

 

 

The best way to avoid these mistakes is to use emotion strategically. Only use as much emotion as necessary to get your point across. And be careful to only use emotions that are appropriate for the situation and that are relevant to the issue at hand.

 

If you follow these tips, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a more persuasive speaker.  Just remember to be clear, have empathy, and use emotion strategically. Do this, and you’ll be able to persuasively argue your position and get people to take action on your behalf, which is the whole point of delivering a speech, a presentation, or an argument.

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