About this course: In the professional realm, we need to be able to argue without being argumentative. Whether you are fundraising for a nonprofit, pitching a business proposal, or suggesting a change to company policy, you are making arguments. In making the case for your topic, you often want to raise awareness, identify a pressing problem, discuss appropriate solutions, and outline specific steps for the audience. To be persuasive, you must be clear (the audience may have little to no existing knowledge), you must be convincing (you are trying to sway the audience that your argument is valid), and you must be compelling (you are trying to motivate the audience enough so that they want to take specific actions). Persuasive speaking thus requires clarity, strategy, topic mastery, plus a sense of style and presence. By the end of this course, you should be able to design persuasive speeches that address problems and solutions and that motivate audience members. You should be able to use rhetorical style strategically and deliver passionate and compelling speeches. Learners will record speeches, providing and receiving peer feedback.
Created by: University of Washington
Taught by: Dr. Matt McGarrity, Principal Lecturer
UW Department of Communication
| Basic Info | Course 3 of 4 in the Dynamic Public Speaking Specialization |
| Level | Beginner |
| Commitment | 5 weeks of study; 2 hours per week. |
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Week 1: Welcome. Let's develop a persuasive argument.
In this module, we’ll focus on the key strategies for designing persuasive speeches. In examining persuasive speaking, we tackle both solid argument and eloquent writing. After sorting through the broad concerns about persuasion, we start with some of the most powerful argumentative tools you can have: status quo and stock issues. By the end of the week, these two ideas will have helped us figure out what we need to argue (and what we don’t) and how to go about it. If you want some feedback, you’ll be able to upload an introductory speech for peer review.
15 videos, 2 readings, 2 practice quizzes
- Video: Welcome to persuasive speaking!
- Video: What’s this course about?
- Video: What are the assignments?
- Reading: Persuasive Speech Assignment Description
- Video: What is persuasion?
- Video: Good persuasion requires careful planning.
- Video: Good persuasion involves logos, pathos, and ethos
- Video: Good persuasion responds to questions of fact, policy, and value.
- Video: What’s the status quo and burden of proof?
- Practice Quiz: Persuasion
- Video: What are the stock issues and how do they help?
- Video: Stock issue: Ill. Something demands our attention.
- Video: Stock issue: Blame. Why does the ill persist?
- Video: Stock issue: Cure. What should we do?
- Video: Stock issue: Consequences. What happens if we act?
- Video: Using these tools to build arguments for and against.
- Practice Quiz: Stock issues
- Reading: Week 1 assignment check-in
- Peer Review: Introductory speech
- Video: How to record speech videos
Graded: Week 1 quiz
WEEK 2
Week 2: Designing your persuasive speech
Having mapped out a basic strategy, we now need to think more about the audience and how to respond to their concerns. Additionally, we need to build the speech logically. We will examine how to design congruent speeches that build to clear and motivational calls to action. By the end of the week, you will have a number of techniques for making your case in a way that invites agreement rather than disagreement. If you want strengthen these skills, you’ll be able to engage in some speech analysis.
13 videos, 4 readings, 2 practice quizzes
- Reading: Argument tactics. Reading and responding to audience concerns.
- Video: Go big. Move from policy to value.
- Video: Go small. Protect the argument from larger issues.
- Video: Challenge softly. Introduce new evidence.
- Video: Find your cost-benefit balance
- Video: Show, don't tell. Include a story.
- Video: Validate your argument. Include some testimony.
- Practice Quiz: Argument tactics
- Video: What are key arrangement concerns?
- Video: Congruency. Everything should fit together.
- Video: Calls to action. What should the audience do?
- Video: Calls to action. Highlighting audience efficacy.
- Video: Stock issues arrangement. Building to the call to action.
- Video: Monroe's motivated sequence. Helping the audience visualize the cure.
- Practice Quiz: Persuasive arrangement
- Reading: Week 2 assignment check-in
- Reading: Speech analysis #1 overview
- Video: Sample persuasive speech #1
- Reading: Matt's feedback
Graded: Week 2 Quiz
Graded: Speech analysis #1
WEEK 3
Week 3: Moving language.
In this module, we'll move from persuasive ideas to a completed argument and speech draft. I think everyone should take the time to become familiar with the fallacies discussed in this module. Globally, the quality of argumentation and reasoning would be better if everyone had a stronger grasp of these concepts. As you well know, persuasion isn't just argument - it's also the crafting of strategic and stylistic language. When people think about the most famous speeches in history, they tend to think of stylistically rich speeches. By the end of the week, you will have a list of strategies for avoiding fallacies and framing your case strategically and stylistically. If you want some feedback, you’ll be able to upload a persuasive speech outline for peer review and engage in some speech writing.
13 videos, 1 reading, 2 practice quizzes
- Video: That doesn’t sound right! Avoiding fallacies.
- Video: Fallacies of reasoning. Something is missing
- Video: Fallacies of reasoning. Flawed causality.
- Video: Fallacies of relevance. Bad evidence.
- Video: Fallacies of relevance. Bad response.
- Practice Quiz: Fallacies
- Video: Framing. Building credible commonalities.
- Video: Identification. We're on the same side.
- Video: Topic value. Finding the best words for your subject.
- Video: Stylistic devices are easy equations for eloquence.
- Video: Sound repetition. Assonance, consonance, alliteration, asyndeton, and polysyndeton.
- Video: Phrasing repetition. Anaphora, epistrophe, and symploce.
- Video: Writing big applause lines. Anadiplosis, antimetabole, and maxims.
- Video: Stylistic hotspots. Where to include style in your speech.
- Practice Quiz: Style
- Reading: Week 3 assignment check-in
- Peer Review: Argument outline
Graded: Week 3 Quiz
WEEK 4
Week 4: Compelling delivery
In this module, we’ll finish our work on persuasive speaking. In order to study delivery, we need to turn to models and imitation. After examining some case studies, we'll work on stylistic delivery and analyze and practice strategic and stylistic language use. We'll talk about the dreaded "UM", a bane of speakers and an issue that merits study. We'll also go over some tips for reducing these sorts of disfluencies. By the end of the week, you will have a couple of speaking techniques to make every speech you give sound more confident and moving. If you want some feedback, you’ll be able to upload a practice persuasive speech for peer review.
10 videos, 3 readings, 1 practice quiz
- Video: Models of imitation. Who can help you bring out your best
- Video: Barack Obama. A model of stylistic energy.
- Video: Bobby Jindal. Beware of over-relying on your scripts.
- Video: Stylistic delivery requires your commitment.
- Video: Why do I say um?
- Video: How can I avoid saying um?
- Practice Quiz: Um
- Video: Dressing for a successful speech.
- Video: Preparing your speaking space.
- Video: Engaging the audience by working the room.
- Video: Making good eye contact.
- Reading: week 4 assignment check-in
- Reading: Speech analysis #2 overview
- Reading: Matt's feedback
Graded: Week 4 Quiz
Graded: Speech analysis #2
WEEK 5
Week 5: Review and assessment
Thank you for time in this course. I hope the material has proven helpful in some way. We concluded our discussion of the persuasive speech last week. I would like to spend a bit of time reflecting on the course. We will end this week with your final speech.
3 videos
- Video: Course review
- Video: Other courses in this specialization
- Video: Sample persuasive speech
Graded: Persuasive speech
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Ratings and Reviews
very interesting and helpful course, taught by a great professor in a lovely, easy and sometimes even funny way.
Great McGarrity, as always
Well done Matt. The course is full of practice tools how to prepare ourselves to convince others to our initiatives, thought etc.
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Fantastic beginning course on Rhetoric.