This document provides tips for being more persuasive in speeches. It recommends establishing credibility by explaining your expertise, experience, and common ground with the audience. Delivery is also important, as speakers who vary their speech pace and use animation are seen as more intelligent. Evidence should be used to support points and can come from specific, novel, and credible sources. The point of any evidence should be made clear so the audience understands the conclusion to draw from it.

1. BE MORE PERSUASIVE!

2. Everything you say and do in your speech
will affect your credibility!
Say and do everything in a way that will
make you appear capable and
trustworthy.
1. BUILD YOUR CREDIBILITY

3.  Explain your competence by advertising your
expertise on the topic.
 If you investigated the topic thoroughly, say so.
 If you have experience that gives you special knowledge or
insight, say so.
 Establish a common ground with your audience.
 You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
 Don’t assault your listener’s values and reject their opinions
 Show respect for your listeners.
 Show how your point of view is consistent with their’s.
WAYS TO BOOST CREDIBILITY

4.  Studies show a speaker’s credibility is strongly
affected by his/her delivery.
 Moderately fast speakers are seen as more intelligent than
slower speakers
 Speakers who use vocal variety and communicate in an
animated way are seen as intelligent
 Speakers who “uh,” “um” and “er” their way through the
speech are seen as uniformed.
WAYS TO BOOST CREDIBILITY

5.  Supporting materials – examples, statistics, testimony –
used to prove or disprove something.
 Evidence is extremely important when your audience
opposes your point of view.
 It’s not enough to tell your audience what you think on a
topic, you must support your points with strong
evidence.
2. USE EVIDENCE

6.  Use specific evidence
 Use novel evidence
 Use evidence from credible sources
 Make clear the point of your evidence
TIPS FOR USING EVIDENCE

7.  Don’t talk in general terms with evidence, cite
specific evidence!
 Too general: “lack of adequate mental health care costs
the U.S. economy lots of money.”
 Specific: “Untreated mental illnesses cost the United
States almost $200 billion a year in lost productivity.”
SPECIFIC EVIDENCE

8.  Evidence is more likely to be persuasive if it is
new to the audience.
 You gain little by citing facts and figures that are well
known.
 You want your audience to say, “ Hmmmm, I didn’t know
that!”
NOVEL EVIDENCE

9.  Listeners are suspicious of evidence from
sources that appear to be biased or self-
interested.
 Always rely on evidence from objective, non-partisan
sources.
CREDIBLE SOURCES

10.  You cannot count on your listeners to draw
the conclusion you want them to reach.
 Make your point clear, then present evidence
to support the point you have made.
CLARITY