9 Persuasive Presentations – Basics

Persuasive theory has existed for many hundreds of years and you will be engaging in an activity that has existed since the beginning of human interaction.  We all seek to persuade others to our point of view whether it is asking someone in your household to throw out the trash, asking your employer to give you a raise, asking an instructor to re-consider a grade on your assignment, or asking someone to marry you.

What it comes down to is establishing some sort of common ground that your audience can relate to and can agree or accept (if not entirely, at least enough for them to at least consider what your are saying).  You need to consider what the audience’s needs are, what they would be willing to accept, what they would question, what they would think about, and what they would outright reject.  In a persuasive presentation one of the key elements is answering the question, “What’s in it for me?” or “How does it impact me if I agree with you?”

You may need to appeal to your audience’s emotions (pathos), their logic (logos), or their sense of right/wrong (ethos).  A pathos approach is usually used in presentations or advertisements that promise a sense of gain (even if it altruistic).  It can be used in advertisements promising beautiful hair, a better life for animals, health care for children, or a slimmer, healthier you!  Get the picture?  Logos would usually use facts and figures to appeal to your reason.  Claims like “4 out of 5” or “save 15%” appeal to your reason and seek to make you change your mind based on logical, non-biased facts.  Ethos claims can enhance someone’s credibility such as “Vote for me because I have 15 years experience in government” or “Save a life – don’t text and drive” to get people to recognize what is trustworthy or “right.”

It’s also important to pay some attention to the opposing side in your presentation?  Why?  Because it gives at least the impression that you are not totally biased and your arguments/opinions are simply stronger than the those held by the opposition.  You achieve this by recognizing the opposing views and then quite simply, stating why yours are stronger.

You can use more than one approach in your persuasive presentation (pathos,ethos, logos) depending on your audience and what you want to persuade them of.  For example, if I want to persuade people to enroll their children into a healthcare plan, I can use all three approaches.  I can appeal to their sense of good parenting by saying that health insurance for children is the right thing to do to raise healthy children and a better community(ethos); I can say that I know as parents, their children are their first priority and their children’s health and happiness is paramount (pathos); lastly, I can compare health cost figures with and without health insurance.  Once again, it depends on your audience and what you think will reach them best.

As for structure, generally persuasive presentations have the following format:

Introduction: Discussing the issue, the background of the issue, and your position on the issue

Body: Your arguments – starting with the strongest one first as your audience may not have time to hear all your presentation.  Towards the end of the presentation you talk about the opposition’s views and how your arguments are stronger still (it gives you a chance to review the main points you made in your presentation).

Conclusion: Repeat your strongest argument and repeat why your approach or your opinion is best not only for you, but for your audience also.