Finding persuasive speech ideas can’t be simpler.
Most of the people today need someone else to confirm what is the right thing to do. And when you tap into this fact, you will easily find persuasive speech ideas.
Before we explore ideas for persuasive speeches, it is a good idea to know about ethos, pathos and logos. Heck, it’s the secret to a powerful persuasive speech.
The great philosopher Aristotle coined these terms in his masterpiece rhetoric.
Role of Ethos, Pathos, Logos in persuasion:
1. Ethos relates to the credibility quotient such as being fair, using proper language, using correct grammar, and using appropriate vocabulary.
2. Pathos relates to the emotional quotient such as emotional tone, stories of emotional events
3. Logos relate to the logical quotient such as facts or figures, citing history, logical arguments
Ideally, every persuasive speech should have ethos, logos, and pathos. But the percentage could vary. By far, the best way to incorporate ethos and pathos is to tell a personal Story.
Stories are the best bet to start creating persuasive speeches. But highly skilled speakers can also use logos to the major part of the speech. For example, Daniel Pink’s TED talk “The puzzle of motivation” is one such example.
As a rule of thumb, stories add pathos to your speech. Facts, statistics and illustrations add logos to your speech. And your personal background and the way you speak, adds ethos to the speech.
It can’t be simpler that that.:).
Let’s get to the actual strategies of finding persuasive speech ideas.
Once I was struck in finding a topic for a contest. My mentor Jerry Aiyathurai asked me to answer the below questions:
- Who are you?
- What do you think this life is all about?
- What is your message about it?
His words struck a chord with me and it worked like magic. I’ll give you a master tip. If you answer these questions with stories, you will have truckload of persuasive speech ideas.
The below are key questions that’ll activate the brain juices to find “your” perfect persuasive speech idea.
- What are your core values? Who taught them to you? When did that happen?
- What are the things you used to believe in? Did any particular incident change those beliefs? When did that happen? How did that ‘change’, change your life?
- What were your most painful periods in your life? How did you overcome them? What did you learn from them? What is your message that you want to share with another person?
Now that I covered some key strategies, let me share examples from TED stage.
Dan Pink’s speech, “The puzzle of motivation” was to persuade the audience that traditional rewards are not as effective as what the managers think. He uses apt stories to illustrate his point and persuade the audience to think differently. Do you have a point, which is against the status quo? Find stories to illustrate that point and frame a speech around the same.
Eli Pariser’s speech, “Online filter bubbles” persuades the audiences to beware of the web companies that tailor their services to our personal tastes. His argument was to persuade the audience that this phenomenon has deprived them of seeing a broader picture. This is a relevant topic for the current times. What are the trends that you find to be disturbing the population at large? Have you seen any phenomenon that is or will be causing a major problem? What is your argument? How do you want the audience to think/act or feel differently?
Stefan Larson’s speech, “What doctors can learn from each other” persuades the doctor/hospital communities at large to share data with each other in order to bring on a healthcare revolution where healthcare could be better and cheaper. What industry do you work in? Are you a teacher or lawyer or just a student? Do you have any specific ideas that you want to implement? Can you form the thesis on that point and persuade the audience?
Jeff Speck’s speech, “The walkable city” was about solving the problem of suburbs. His speech was to persuade the audience to accept his idea of designing a walkable city. Well, you might not be an urban planner or someone of that caliber but do you have an idea for a day-to-day problem? This idea could be the one to build a persuasive speech.
I hope this helped in activating your brain juices to find a truckload of persuasive speech ideas.
If interested, you can check out my book “Public Speaking Topic Secrets” where I cover more strategies and tactics to find ideas for all types of speeches.
