Persuasive Speaking

The chapter “Persuasive Speaking” addresses techniques used by individuals or organisations to persuade people to use their goods and services or behave in accordance with the message. The role of persuasive speeches, various styles of speeches, the best persuasive techniques and methods of addressing audiences, and how to arrange for persuasive messages are the main topics discussed in this chapter. After reading the text, the section on strategies for targeting various styles of audiences piqued my attention.
Notably, the crowd is divided into three types: responsive, neutral, and unpredictable. Watt and Joshua (5) state that a receptive audience will quickly agree to the ideas or messages from the seller. It is fascinating to know that a receptive audience always has adequate information on the product, service, topic or any information shared. Unknown to many people in a business setting, it is hard to persuade the receptive audience to accept the product or idea. Thus, as indicated in the chapter, it is advisable to enquire more details from the audience to determine their level of understanding before convincing them to take the product or the information. Comparatively, a neutral audience is present in most places and expresses little interest in the message or information about a product (Watt and Joshua 06). Inadequate knowledge is among the factors that make it difficult to persuade the neutral audience. I support the authors’ suggestion that speakers or advertisers should first win the attention of the audience before discussing the topic. Furthermore, the authors provide reliable information on how to handle hostile audiences. I found it compelling that the speaker has to plead with the people to listen to the message. Without persuading, it would be difficult to share any ideas with an angry or disinterested people.

In essence, the strategies revealed by the authors are appropriate for persuading receptive, neutral and hostile audiences. The information in this part is interesting because the authors identify simple strategies, which many people fail to use. For instance, a speaker has only to gain attention or plead with the audience before sharing the message. Marketers, advertisers, public speakers, and counselors can apply the information in this chapter to persuade people to act according to the message.

Works Cited

Watt, Sarah Stone, and Joshua Trey Barnett. “persuasive speaking.” Public Speaking Project (2013).