The document provides an outline template for a persuasive speech. The outline includes sections for the introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction would contain an attention grabber, thesis/preview of main points, and qualification of the speaker. The body would have 3 main reasons to support the thesis, with examples and transitions between each point. The conclusion would summarize the main points and provide a memorable ending or call to action. The overall goal of the speech is to convince the audience of a position using evidence and qualifying the speaker's expertise on the topic.

1. PERSUASIVE SPEECH OUTLINE TEMPLATE LENGTH: 4-6
MINUTES
TITLE: _______________, by _____________
EXACT PURPOSE: To convince the audience that . . . (complete this statement)
(Although it is the first part of your outline, DO NOT begin your speech delivery by
stating your exact purpose. The first thing you say should be your attention grabber.)
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Attention Grabber: (Statement to wake the audience up / make sure they are
listening!)
B. Thesis: (Tell listeners what action you want them to take - OR - how you want them to
think.)
C. Qualification: (Tell listeners your personal experience with your topic, making you
qualified to affect their opinions about it.)

2. II. BODY
A. Reason 1: (Tell one reason why listeners should act or think the way your thesis
suggests.)
i. EXAMPLE 1 - Support for reason given above.
ii. EXAMPLE 2- Support for reason given above.
iii. EXAMPLE 3 - Support for reason given above.
TRANSITION SENTENCE: (Smoothly connect Reason 1 with Reason 2.)
B. Reason 2: (Give listeners a second reason why they should act or think as you want
them to.)
i. EXAMPLE 1 - Support for reason given above.
ii. EXAMPLE 2- Support for reason given above.
iii. EXAMPLE 3 - Support for reason given above.
TRANSITION SENTENCE: (Smoothly connect Reason 2 with Reason 3.)
C. Reason 3: (This should be your STRONGEST argument. Tell listeners the most
important
reason why they should act or think the way you want them to.)
i. EXAMPLE 1 - Support for reason given above.

3. ii. EXAMPLE 2- Support for reason given above.
iii. EXAMPLE 3 - Support for reason given above.
SIGNAL THE WRAP UP! (Move smoothly from Reason 3 to the conclusion of your
speech.)
III. CONCLUSION
A. Summary: (Briefly remind listeners why they should agree with your position.)
B. Memorable Ending/Audience Challenge: (End with a powerful closing thought or
recommended course of action.)
C. Thank Audience for Listening

4. Outline Example #1
General Purpose: To persuade
Specific Purpose: To persuade my listeners that jet skis should be prohibited in
national and state parks
Central Idea: Jet skis should be banned in national and state parks because
they make too much noise, harm the environment, and harass
wildlife.
INTRODUCTION
I. Attention Material
A. This is a jet ski [PowerPoint slide will be shown].
1. Some people love them and want to use them on all waterways.
2. Other people hate them and want them banned.
B. I have a love/hate relationship with them (Qualification/Credibility)
1. I enjoyed driving a jet ski on the ocean a few years ago.
2. But my vacation recently at a beautiful lake was marred by the constant noise of jet skis.
II. Orienting Material (Thesis/Preview)
A. More than 1.3 million jet skis (also called personal watercraft) are in use, with annual sales of
about 200,000—one-third of all boat sales.
B. Jet skis should be banned from lakes and other waterways in national and state parks because
they make too much noise, pollute air and water, and harass wildlife.
C. However, I am in favor of permitting them on the ocean and private lakes, provided they stay
away from shallow water.
D. My information comes from The National Parks and Conservation Association; the
Environmental Protection Agency; Dr. Joanna Burger, professor of biology at Rutgers
University, and Dr. Ken Cordell, wildlife expert at the University of Georgia.
(Transition: Let’s examine the first reason why jet skis should be banned.}
BODY
I. Jet skis destroy peace and quiet.
A. People go to national and state parks to get away from noise and enjoy the sounds of nature.
B. A jet ski makes loud, intrusive noise.
1. A person on shore 100 feet away hears 80 decibels (equivalent to a police siren).

5. 2. Two or more jet skis traveling together can create over 100 decibels (equivalent to standing
next to a chainsaw).
3. These decibel levels were figured by the American Industrial Hygiene Association.
(Transition: While jet skis are creating noise, they are also creating an environmental mess.)
II. Jet skis cause serious pollution of air and water.
A. One day’s worth of jet ski production of hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxide equals what a car
would produce in 100,000 miles.
B. Jet skis have inefficient, two-stroke engines, which dump up to one-third of their fuel—
unburned.
C. Each year 165 million gallons of oil are spilled into U.S. waterways by jet skis.
D. Jet ski emissions can harm humans, animals, and plants, says the Environmental Protection
Agency.
E. A lot of the toxic chemicals are long-lived.
1. Example: polycyclic hydrocarbons can kill zooplankton, an important part of the food
chain.
2. In lakes that have heavy jet ski traffic, fish populations have declined.
(Transition: Pollution is not the only way that jet skis harm animals.)
III. Jet skis harass wildlife.
A. They are so small, they can enter shallow waters.
B. These waters are used by wildlife for reproduction and nesting.
C. Jet skis cause alarm and flight and sometimes death, says Dr. Burger.
1. Many birds abandon their nests permanently.
2. This exposes their young to predators and bad weather.
(Transition: Let’s summarize.)
CONCLUSION
I. Summary
A. Jet skis should not be allowed in national and state parks.
B. They create noise, cause pollution, and harass wildlife.
II. Clincher

6. A. Please sign a petition that I will send to our U.S. and state legislators asking them to support a
ban.
B. When we go to these parks, we have a right to find peace and quiet.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Burger, Joanna, Ph.D., professor of biology at Rutgers University. E-mail interview. 5 Oct. 2000.
Clemans, John. “Bluewater Blues.” Motor Boating & Sailing Mar. 2000: 56.
“Guide to Personal Watercraft.” National Parks and Conservation Association (Internet site at
www.npca.org). Retrieved 14 Sept. 2000. (The article includes research by the Environmental
Protection Agency; Dr. Joanna Burger, professor of biology at Rutgers University, and Dr. Ken
Cordell, wildlife expert at the University of Georgia.)
Shaw, Robinson. “Environmental Group Pushes Government to Rid National Parks of Watercraft.”
Environmental News Network (press release). 3 Sept. 2000.
VISUAL AIDS
Photo of a jet ski on a lake (PowerPoint slide)
Poster showing three main points

7. Outline Example #2
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Today I am here to talk to you all about a problem that is sweeping the nation.
1. Attention-Getter:
a. 500,000 to 1,000,000 cases of Elderly abuse or neglect are recorded
every year by authorities. Most of them are true, but the saddest thing is
for every one of those cases there are between 12 and 15 cases that are
not reported to proper authorities. ( Video )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgl8MkjHcPk
2. Qualification/Credibility: Link-to Audience:
a. I recently had the misfortune of having to put my grandparents into a
nursing home, or assisted living facility and have already had an issue
with the facility. My grandmother was recently rushed to the hospital from
the nursing home. They said it could have possibly been a “ med error”
meaning they gave her the wrong medication causing her sugar to drop
severely resulting in her collapsing in a type of seizure.
b. I have done much research on this topic before I had to move my
grandparents into their facility.
3. Thesis/Preview:
a. I have decided to talk to you all about Nursing home neglect and abuse
because I want to make you aware of the dangers in nursing homes. My goal
in this speech is to help spread the word about this disgraceful behavior. I
hope that after my presentation you will possibly help me spread the word
about nursing home abuse and neglect.
b. Today I want to make you realize that nursing homes are an industry
nothing more and nothing less.
Transition:
II. BODY of your Speech
“Tell them”
1. Main Point #1
a. First to define elderly abuse and its different forms.
1. Physical Abuse
2. Emotional Abuse
3. Sexual Abuse
4. Neglect
5. Financial Exploitation
6. Health care fraud
Transition: Next I want to discuss with you the information gathered for the year
2009.
2. Main Point #2
1. Some of the frightening statistics behind nursing home abuse or neglect
are.

8. a. 2.6 million people live in either short term nursing homes or longer
term assisted living facilities.
b. 44 percent of nursing home residents have suffered from some type of
abuse.
c. 48 percent reported having been treated or handled roughly.
d. 38 percent reported having witnessed the abuse of others.
e. 81 percent report having seen some form of verbal, physical, or other form
of abuse last year
f. 66 percent of nursing home residents suffer from Alzheimer’s disease or
other cognitive problems which limits their ability be aware that abuse is
occurring.
g. 85% of the staff of these nursing homes blame the abuse on insufficient
staff and staff shortages.
h. Only approximately 20% of all cases of abuse are reported. The reasons
they are not reported are either because those being abused are too
cognitively impaired to remember enough to report it, or they are afraid of
further abuse and not being believed.
Transition: Next I want to say how nursing homes and assisted living facilities are
nothing more than an industry.
3. Main Point #3
1. What I mean when I say the these places are an industry is they are
around to make money granted there are some places that do care about the
well being of their residence.
2.They care for our elderly, my grandparents and possibly your loved ones at
the lowest cost possible. Meaning:
a. Minimal qualifications
b. Inadequate staff
c. Low wages
4. Main Point #4
1. From an official “Report to Congressional Requesters”
Ensure that state survey agencies immediately notify local law enforcement
agencies or MFCUs when nursing homes report allegations of resident physical or sexual
abuse or when the survey agency has confirmed complaints of alleged abuse.
• Accelerate the agency’s education campaign on reporting nursing home abuse by (1)
distributing its new poster with clearly displayed complaint telephone numbers and (2)
requiring state survey agencies to ensure that these numbers are prominently listed in
local telephone directories.
• Systematically assess state policies and practices for complying with the federal
requirement to prohibit employment of individuals convicted of abusing nursing home
residents and, if necessary, develop more specific guidance to ensure compliance.
• Clarify the definition of abuse and otherwise ensure that states apply that definition
consistently and appropriately.
• Shorten the state survey agencies’ time frames for determining whether toinclude
findings of abuse in nurse aide registry files.
I believe all nursing homes should have heightened security, possibly non
invasive cameras in individual rooms, or an easily accessible panic button in each room
as well as throughout the facility directing the tenants to the emergency services as well
as nurses in the facility.
C. CONCLUSION

9. 1. After I have discussed with you What Elderly Abuse is, the Statistics
behind Nursing Home Abuse, how Nursing Homes are an Industry, and What
needs to be done. I hope I have opened your eyes to just how serious the
problem of Nursing home abuse and neglect is.
2. Call-to-Action: I erg all of you to take a harder look at just what is happening
behind closed doors in these so called “assisted” living facilities. It could be one
of your loved ones like it is mine, or someday in the future it could be anyone of
us. So let us do something to stop it now before the problem gets out of hand,
and before more innocent people who can’t defend themselves have to suffer this
could be one of your loved ones.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5D7N9jB3sk&feature=related
Sources :
GAO. "United States General Accounting Office Report to Congressional Requesters." Nursing Homes.
GAO, Feb. 2002. Web. 26 Mar. 2010. <http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d02279.pdf>.
Belmonte, Joelle. Elder Abuse and Neglect. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2010.
<http://www.helpguide.org/mental/elder_abuse_physical_emotional_sexual_neglect.htm>.
"Nursing Home Abuse Statistics." Articlesbase.com. ArticlesBase SC #801584, n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2010.
<http://www.articlesbase.com/health-and-safety-articles/
nursing-home-abuse-statistics-801584.html>.

10. 1. After I have discussed with you What Elderly Abuse is, the Statistics
behind Nursing Home Abuse, how Nursing Homes are an Industry, and What
needs to be done. I hope I have opened your eyes to just how serious the
problem of Nursing home abuse and neglect is.
2. Call-to-Action: I erg all of you to take a harder look at just what is happening
behind closed doors in these so called “assisted” living facilities. It could be one
of your loved ones like it is mine, or someday in the future it could be anyone of
us. So let us do something to stop it now before the problem gets out of hand,
and before more innocent people who can’t defend themselves have to suffer this
could be one of your loved ones.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5D7N9jB3sk&feature=related
Sources :
GAO. "United States General Accounting Office Report to Congressional Requesters." Nursing Homes.
GAO, Feb. 2002. Web. 26 Mar. 2010. <http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d02279.pdf>.
Belmonte, Joelle. Elder Abuse and Neglect. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2010.
<http://www.helpguide.org/mental/elder_abuse_physical_emotional_sexual_neglect.htm>.
"Nursing Home Abuse Statistics." Articlesbase.com. ArticlesBase SC #801584, n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2010.
<http://www.articlesbase.com/health-and-safety-articles/
nursing-home-abuse-statistics-801584.html>.