You’ll need to have an understanding of your audience’s desires and needs, as well as how to best appeal to them. When appealing to your audience, think about a balance of logos, ethos, and pathos. [2] X Research source These three modes of persuasion will be used to convince your audience to believe in your argument. Each will provoke a different reaction from a crowd, and you must change your approach to adapt to the needs of your audience. A more logical approach, resting mainly on logos, might be appropriate when your audience wants factual evidence of how you’ll improve their dire circumstances. When trying to keep an even tone and seem unbiased, employ more ethos in your speech. This is good for a more formal audience, but one that you still need to empathize with you, or the situation that you’re being faced with. Pathos has the potential to become manipulative in the wrong occasion, but when done right, you can inspire particular strong emotions within your audience. These emotions have the power to drastically change the course of your speech. Mastering the art of rhetoric will ensure that your prepared speech is as strong as possible. This will booster your ability to perform this argument.
Introduction. Express your message and why it’s important to your audience, as well as yourself. Statement of fact. Break down the general thesis of your argument into smaller parts. This is where you name reasons why the current issue exists. Confirmation, or proof. Craft your main argument here, as well as reasons why your argument is a successful one. Refutation. Acknowledge your opposition, giving some credence to their argument, before challenging their point-of-view. Conclusion. Wrap up your main points of your argument and give instructions on what you want your audience to do or think.
You should also adjust your style to fit your audience. Make sure you express your ideas in a way that aligns with the moral and intellectual level of your audience. You can make active use of various linguistic tropes when arranging your arguments. Also known as “figures of speech,” these tropes are tried and true methods in composing a sleek and compelling argument. Antithesis will help you contrast ideas and phrases, as will skillful juxtaposition. Metaphor and simile are both nice ways to equate one idea to another. Any of these tropes will add spice to your writing.
It’s worth noting that certain aspects of your debate will have to be performed on the fly. By memorizing the facts of your topic, however, you’ll be able to recount these facts organically. This will help you grow more confident in improvising your speech.
Delivery will also vary to fit your audience. When speaking to a smaller audience, you can make more eye contact, speak more directly to those listening to you. Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “Fireside Chats,” for example, were radio broadcasts intended to feel intimate for everyone listening in. His larger speeches, in contrast, felt more immediate and righteous, fitting the more massive scope of their subject matter.
The “uh” sound usually takes less time to overcome in speech. It suggests that you’ve just finished one point, and you’re taking a moment to move onto the next. Your “um” sounds can be far more dangerous, as they suggest that you may be searching for completely unfamiliar information. You’ll want to eliminate both from your speech patterns in formal debate, however, as both suggest a stalling in your thought process. Try replacing your filler sounds with silence. This will give your audience time to stew on your last point, and it will also give you time to generate your stimulus for your next idea. Remember that everyone needs time to process before moving to their next sentence. You aren’t eliminating this thought process. You are, however, making it appear that you are thinking less than you actually are.
When your work is highly researched, it runs the risk of becoming pedantic. If you’re simply regurgitating facts from academia, your rhetoric can quickly become dull and overly intellectual. Look out for words such as “capitalist” or “dichotomy. " These sorts of words, while thick with various meanings, have been dulled by overuse in the past few years.
It’s much easier to enunciate if you slow down the pace of your speech. You may be able to get through a larger quantity of points, but it’s unlikely that all of them will be heard. Try the “pencil-in-mouth” drill if you want to improve your articulation. Stick a pencil in your mouth, parallel to your forehead, and practice your speech while holding it in place. You’ll have to verbalize around this obstacle in your mouth, working harder to enunciate your syllables. When you remove the pencil, you’ll find that your speech is far clearer. Keep that same level of enunciation when you’re performing. When you blend enunciation with a slower manner of speech, it’ll be easier for others to dissect your points.
Boil your arguments into more specific points, mentally, before launching in. You won’t win this portion of your debate by scattering new ideas into the air at the last moment. Sum up your argument into one or two sentences. You’ll obviously be extrapolating on these points, but it’ll help you to have a logical home base to return to. Focus on what you know you’ve done successfully. Don’t be hard on yourself for taking the “path of least resistance” when going for the win.
You generally have a large stage to inhabit while debating. Occupy this space fully. You don’t want to be pacing nervously, but you do want to ensure that you look comfortable speaking in front of others. Don’t rely on gesture as a nervous tick. If you’re releasing anxiety through gesture, then your gestures will not be strong. Instead, they’ll add unnecessary motion, distracting from your speech.
After you make eye contact with one person in the audience, deliver your next line or phrase to the next person. This way, you’ll connect with a larger number of people in a one-on-one way. You can also use eye contact to silence a distracting presence in your audience. If someone isn’t paying attention to you, then a prolonged stare will make them feel uncomfortable. The hope, then, is that they’ll quiet down, or at least attempt to be less distracting.
If you’re speaking about grisly, violent details, you’ll want to adapt a tone of disgust. When slipping in a mild joke or self-aware remark, a humorous or light-hearted tone can be very effective. Above all, your tone should always have some level of urgency. This proves that you aren’t avoiding the importance of the topic at hand. Diversifying your tone is very important, but you never want to forget the core of your speech.
When done poorly, these major pauses can really tank an argument. Make sure that you’ve built up to this pause with a great deal of momentum. That way, your silence will be earned. Pauses can range in their use, from dividing major points in a paragraph to allowing you to get a drink of water. Make sure that you’re losing your pauses appropriately, as you don’t want to break your focus with too much regularity.
Often referred to as a “final blast,” your closing remark takes familiar points from your speech and amplifies them with a final appeal to your audience. You can achieve this with a heightened tone of voice, or you can allow your speech to move a bit quicker than it normally would. Poking small holes in your composure will amplify your power as an orator, and this last effort may be crucial in solidifying a win.
