a. Select a current controversial issue (2019-2022 only).
i. In the simplest terms, any act of persuasion involves an attempt to either change your audiences position on an issue or change your audiences actions based on their pre-existing attitudes and beliefs.
ii. The first of these options conversion requires your audience to hold a different position than you do.
iii. The second of these options inducing action relies on your audiences general agreement with your position, but their failure to act on that agreement.
iv. Thus, both options involve some level of disagreement between speaker and audience.
b. Because your speeches will address an audience of classmates in an academic setting, you dont need to limit your topic to those issues that are controversial among these particular 30-40 individuals.
i. As long as there is an audience that exists somewhere that might disagree with your position and/or the actions you are proposing, then that issue will work for this assignment.
ii. You should have a good idea about who might disagree with your position and/or proposed course of action. And why.
iii. Youll also need to address two rebuttals during your speech and provide refutations in response.
c. Before conducting initial research, brainstorm the following three areas as they relate to the overall debate or controversy you wish to address in your speech.
i. Problems or harms
ii. Causes (various factors that lead to the problems)
iii. Solutions (individual, organizational, community, national)
2. Research your topic.
a. Explore a range of digital sources.
b. Refine your search terms.
c. Identify key pieces of evidence from each source.
d. Determine which claim each piece of evidence supports.
i. What are the various problems or harms currently affecting your audience?
ii. What are the factors currently causing those problems?
iii. What are some proposed solutions to the problem?
3. Determine your main ideas and craft your thesis.
a. Based on your research and audience needs, outline the arguments that support your analysis of the following three areas: Problems / harms, Causes, Solutions.
b. Develop at least two subpoints underneath each main idea.
c. Building from this basic problem / cause / solution structure, as a foundation, draft your thesis statement.
i. Your thesis should summarize the overall action you wish your audience to implement: individually, within an organization, across a community, and/or nationally.
ii. Choosing to address at least two of these approaches will help you create two subpoints within your solution steps.
iii. Analyze your audience to determine which of these approaches make the most sense.
4. Narrow your topic to your audiences needs and interests, making sure to provide them with clear arguments supporting your position.
a. Rather than thinking about your topic solely in terms of your proposed solution (thesis), consider the multitude of claims you will need to advance during the speech.
b. For example, if you have two harms, two causes, and two solutions you will need to argue six different claims throughout the course of the speech.
c. Each of these claims will require some amount of evidence to support their logical argument.
d. Each of these claims may contain their own debates and disagreements, some more than others.
e. The remainder of this process will help you determine the most effective route to persuasion for each claim.
5. Discover your supporting materials, emphasizing the persuasive dimension to each supporting idea.
a. Logos
i. Specify each type of argument within your outline: categorical, conditional, enumeration, or induction.
ii. Address rebuttals and refutations where applicable.
b. Pathos
i. Highlight the emotional appeal of your evidence by connecting it to Maslows hierarchy of needs.
ii. Identify with your audience as you support your ideas.
c. Ethos
i. Select a variety of supports: instances, illustrations, testimony, statistics.
ii. Incorporate the inverted pyramid method to organize your information.
iii. Verbally cite at least TEN different sources to establish credibility.
6. Frame your message.
a. Create an effective introduction.
b. Incorporating verbal signposts, insert transitions to each main idea.
c. Close your message with an inspiring conclusion.
