Public Speaking Resources

237 Easy Persuasive Speech Topics and Guide

A persuasive speech is a speech written and delivered to convince people of the speaker’s viewpoint. It uses words to make the audience ‘see’ the speaker’s point of view and to ‘sway’ them into agreeing with it.

It is not a simple matter of presenting gathered facts and evidence. More than just seeing why the speaker thinks that way, a persuasive speech tries to persuade the audience in accepting that line of thought and make it the way they, too, think.

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This is where it differs from an argument. The difference between an argumentative and persuasive speech is that one tries to prove a point while the other tries to affect the listener’s perspective.

  • Informative Speech Topics and Ideas
  • Toastmasters Project 9: Persuade With Power

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Some examples of a persuasive speech are sales pitch, the speech of politicians, the speech of environmentalists, the speech of feminists, the speech of animal activists, etc.

In the above examples, you must have noticed that all these kind of speech has a goal. A sales pitch is to get you to buy something, politicians give speeches to get you to vote for them, and environmentalists, feminists, and animal activists have a cause to advocate. They all want you to ‘do’ something.

Action is a persuasive speech’s end goal. Ultimately, the speaker wants to persuade you to do something. And why would you do that?

Say, an environmentalist wants people to re-cycle because they think or know that it is good for the environment. Now, it is the people who need to know and think recycling is good for the environment. Only then they would recycle.

Therefore, a more complete definition of a persuasive speech would be “Speech that convinces the audience of a certain idea to inspire them into the desired action.”

Art of Persuasion

Persuasive speech is an art form.

Take an example of a man who was begging in the street. He had a hat in front of him and a sign that said “I am blind, please help” He got a few coins. Then, a lady came along, turned the sign around, and wrote something. A lot more people started to give the man money. His hat was filled with coins. What did that lady write? What persuaded people to give?

“Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it.”

The second line got him more money because it ‘affected’ people, it appealed to their emotions more than the straightforward “I am blind, please help.” This is called pathos.

According to Aristotle, there are three components of or modes to affect people. They are Ethos, Pathos, and Logos.

Ethos in layman’s terms is credibility or authority. The dictionary defines it as “the character or disposition of a community, group, person, etc.” So, you need to have that disposition that makes you a reliable or trustable person.

For example, a woman talking about women’s problems is more likely to have an effect on the audience than a male speaker. The principal comes into the class and tells you ‘Tomorrow is a holiday and no questions will be asked. But if your teacher says so, you will investigate first. You will be more eager to listen to a popular person in the field than to a newbie.

It is having an effect on people by your person so that they would be more receiving of you.

Pathos in Greek means ‘suffering’ or ‘experience’. It is generally defined as an appeal to people’s emotions. Like in the story of the blind boy above, Pathos is to tap into people’s experience of suffering in order to move them towards a certain action.

Of course, those people have not experienced blindness but they can imagine losing the privilege of sight that they now possess. In simple words, it is to evoke feelings of pity, fear, anger, and such.

Logos is the logical appeal. This is to persuade by the means of reasoning. If the speaker makes a claim such as ‘polythene bags should be banned, then he should give a reason as to ‘why’ like ‘polythene bags do not biodegrade and continue to pollute the environment or facts like ‘Thousands of bags are produced every week and are dumped somewhere after use’ or ‘every bag produced since 19_ still exists somewhere on earth today.’

Presentation- Monroe’s motivated sequence

Presentation is very important. It is the backbone. How you perform your speech, how you deliver the words have the maximum effect on people. Therefore, a speech needs to be organized.

Monroe’s motivated sequence is a technique for organizing persuasive speech. It consists of the following steps.

Grab their attention. Start with a startling statement, an intriguing story, a dramatic action, anything that will make the audience take notice of you. This is also the introduction part. Hook them. Build their interest.

Now, convince the people that there is a problem. More than that, convince them that action needs to be taken against the problem, that it will not go away by itself. Tap into their imagination to show how this problem affects them. Use reasons and facts to support your claims and to impress upon them the need for change.

The audience should be looking forward to the ‘solution’ to the problem. They should want to know what they can do. In this step, introduce your solution. Demonstrate or give examples to make the audience understand how it works and how it solves the problem. Use testimonials or statistics to prove the effectiveness of that solution.

Paint a world where nothing was done and how it affected them. Also, paint a world where they did as you suggested and how it changed the situation for the better. Use vivid imagery to make them ‘feel’ the troubles and relief of not doing and doing as you said. Create a viable scenario. It should be relatable and believable.

Call to action. Strike when the iron is hot. It should be something that they can readily do and immediately. More the time passes less they are likely to follow with it as other things in life take precedence and the feeling of urgency is lost. Make it easy too. Do most of the handiwork so they have to put the least effort.

This is a classic technique developed by Alan Monroe in the mid-1930s. It is still the most effective basis for many persuasive speeches.

Some people are born with the skill of persuasion while others can build on it by applying such techniques and practicing. Here are some Persuasive Speech Topics that you can practice with.

Take a look at the video below. It explains how to write an introduction for a persuasive speech.

Below are 6 sample videos of persuasive speeches.

  • Why homeschooling is good and should be promoted. (School)

Some students do better in a group with a healthy competition to keep them motivated. Some children are better off studying on their own, continuing at their own fast or slow pace which is hindered when moving along with other children.

  • Students should get minimum of 45 minutes tiffin break. (School)

All work and no play make Jack a dull boy. Keeping children cooped up in a room for a long is not good. They need regular refreshing breaks to revitalize, to talk with their friends…

  • Is it racism to ban Marijuana when smoking tobacco is legal? (Funny)

Everybody knows cigarettes are harmful and addictive. Yet, there are big industries manufacturing these drugs on a large scale. Then there is Marijuana that is less harmful, less addictive, and has dozens of use; is it not racism to ban it?

  • Some juveniles needs to be prosecuted as adults. (School?)

More and more teenagers are committing heinous crimes. They know they will get off easy, that they will not face serious consequences. According to the level of savagery committed, juveniles should at times be prosecuted as adults.

  • Are pretty or handsome students really dumber? (School)

This is just a stereotype, just like saying women are less logical and others. Or. That appears to hold true in most cases. As time is limited, people who spend more time on appearance spend less time learning and those who spend time learning fails to look after their appearance.

  • Proficiency in academics is not the only measure of intelligence. (School)

Are grades everything? Different people possess different types of intelligence but grades measure only a few kinds. Is it not like judging a fish on its ability to climb a tree?

  • What is the right age to start owing a mobile phone? (Parenting)

Most parents believe that the right age to own mobile is when children can pay for it so that they can be aware of their expenditure. Else, they might engage in long, unnecessary conversation and…

  • Should children be bought a mobile phone for emergencies? (Parenting)

Mobiles or cell phones are the fastest means of communication. Should children, therefore, be allowed to owe mobiles so that they can contact their guardians in case of emergency?

  • Homework should be banned. (School)

Children spend most of their waking hours in school. They have only a few hours at the home to do things other than academics. But homework is the tag along with that…

  • Should men pay child support even if pregnancy was a one sided decision? (Feminism)

If a woman decides to bear a child despite her partner’s protest, is he still obligated to provide monetary support upon divorce for the same reason?

  • Laws should not be based on religion.

There are many religions. Their ideas vary. But the law should be uniform. Basing laws on certain religions is like forcing the ideas of that religion on every citizen.

  • Birth controls should be free and easily available. (Feminism?)

If teen pregnancy is to be avoided, birth controls should be free and easily available with no parental permission required. Imagine asking your parents if you can have sex or parents permitting it. It is the same as unavailability of the contraceptives which takes us back to square one.

  • Honking unnecessarily should be punishable.

Honking during a traffic jam is not going to clear it up. It only disturbs and aggravates everyone else. Honking at girls is offensive. Honking to bully is wrong. Honking unnecessarily like this should be considered criminal and punished.

  • Divorced and happy parents is better for the children than living in a conflicted home.

Some parents stay together for the sake of their children but fail to get along. This creates a very tense environment and that is not how a home should be.

  • Hiding your HIV status in a relationship should be punishable by law.

HIV is a serious disease with no cure available. If a person is aware of his/her HIV positivity, withholding the information and therefore transmitting it to the unsuspecting partner in the process is criminal.

  • Legalization of prostitution has more positive effects than negative.

Stopping prostitution is impossible. They will continue to operate underground where they face many problems. Girls get trafficked, tricked, or forced into it. Making it legal will at least ensure safety and justice to the sex workers and will also help control forced labor.

  • Schools should take bullying more seriously. / Why bullying is a serious offense. (School)

Bullying is very damaging to the victim and can take a very dangerous turn. But it is dismissed as children’s play in most cases. We don’t realize its seriousness until it is too late…

  • Partial Birth Abortion is a sin.

In this method of abortion, a living baby is pulled out from the womb feet first. The base of the skull is punctured and the brain is removed with a powerful suction machine. This is no different from murder. It is usually allowed by law only in order to save the mother’s life but many healthy mothers’ babies are aborted this way every year…

  • All institutions like schools, colleges and offices should start only after 10.

When such institutions start early, people need to wake up earlier for preparation. Waking up feeling unrested can make a person inactive, irritable, and unproductive. Scientists say that a person’s mind is not fully awake until 10 in the morning…

  • Sexual relationship before marriage is not a crime.

Sex is a biological need and a healthy sex life has a lot of mental and physical benefits. If the partners involved are adults and there is mutual consent…

  • School and teachers should stay away from student’s personal life. (School?)

Every institution has some rule. This rule should govern the members within the institution. But some schools like to take this beyond the school grounds and have control over what students do and do not in their personal time.

  • Energy drinks should be considered borderline medicines. (Health)

Energy drinks provide added energy. So, it should only be consumed when your body lacks energy, in a weakened state, like medicine. Plus, it contains a lot of caffeine that does more harm than good…

  • Parents should properly answer their children’s curiosities. (Parenting)

‘How does a baby come?’ children ask and parents tell them about gods and storks. This raises more questions and does nothing but confuse the child. Try to give an anatomically correct answer without being graphic. Never try to dismiss any of their questions or scold them…

  • Euthanasia, is it ethical?

A person should get to choose whether they want to live or die in dire conditions. Or. Euthanasia is no different from suicide. Supporting euthanasia is like supporting suicide.

  • Prospective parent(s) should get a psychiatric approval before adoption. (Parenting)

We want to find a home for every orphaned child but we want a happy home. There are many sick people out there who want to adopt a child only to abuse them or for some other kind of personal gain…

  • Cigarettes should be illegal.

Cigarettes are like drugs and they should be illegal just like drugs are. It has adverse health effects on the smoker as well as people around him…

  • Smoking in public places should be fined.

Cigarettes are very harmful and their harmful smoke does not affect the smoker alone. It affects the surrounding people as well. Not all people are suicidal that way. Why should they suffer? When one’s action harms the other, it is an offense.

  • Are uniforms necessary?

Uniform brings uniformity. It eliminates frivolous fashion competition which is not what school is for… Or. Clothes are a form of expression. Students spend most of their time in school. They should be comfortable with what they wear…

  • Number of children one can have should be limited and children with previous partner(s) counts.

Four from two, eight from four; population multiplies that way. Already, the earth has become so crowded. If this is to continue, we will rid this world of ourselves.

  • Would it be ethical to genetically design babies? (Technology?)

Yes. Why not use science to cure diseases and eradicate the possibility of a child’s suffering? Or. This method can be misused to alter more than just a threat of diseases and that will disturb the diversity in the gene pool…

  • ‘Living together’ relationships, good or bad?

Marriage cannot keep together those who want to go their separate ways and those who want to together do not need such a constitution.

  • ‘Early to sleep, early to rise’ benefits.

They say ‘Early to sleep and early to rise makes a man healthy and wise.’ This was not said without a reason. Going to bed early and waking up early the next day have many benefits, for both our mind and body.

  • Every property should compulsorily have trees. (Environment)

Trees produce oxygen and filters air. We need more trees. But the population is increasing. We are cutting down trees to erect concrete buildings instead…

  • Fast foods are overpriced.

Fast foods like French fries, burgers, pizza, etc. cost way more than they actually should. The restaurants are ripping us off. Take fries for example…

  • Using animals as test subjects is cruel and unfair. (Animal rights)

For you, it is one animal among many. But for that particular animal, one life is all it has and you have no right to play with it.

  • Why Gay Marriage should be legalized. (Gay rights)

Homosexuality is not a disease. It is how people are. They want to marry their partner for the same reasons heterosexual couples do. Not legalizing gay marriage is discrimination…

  • Marriage is not about procreation. (Gay rights)

One, almost logical, reason people give against gay marriage is that they cannot bear kids because of which it is definitely not natural/ biological or ‘how god intended’. But marriage is not about procreation. It is about you and your comfort or happiness, about who you want to spend the rest of your life with.

  • Electronics are stealing childhood.

These days, children spend a lot of time on mobile phones, computers, or other electronic devices instead of running around, going out, and playing as a child should.

  • Teens cannot be good parents. (School/ Parenting)

Some teens decide to start a family when the female partner gets pregnant. While this is seen as an admirable option against abortion, are teen parents really good for the kid?

  • Ads should be tested for sexist messages before being aired. (Feminism)

Not only children but everyone learns from what they see and hear. The subliminal sexist messages in ads impart gender roles on their minds, undoing a lot of feminists’ efforts. But mostly, it brainwashes the coming generation and we should not allow that.

  • Protection and breeding of white tigers is illogical; why hinder natural selection? (Environment/ Animal rights)

White tigers do not fare well in the wild due to their color. It was a case of mutation that would have naturally been eliminated if humans had not interfered. I am not saying all living white tigers must be killed but why are people breeding it in captivity instead of letting it die out? Just because they’re pretty and we like pretty?

  • Exotic pets are not pets. (Animal rights)

Exotic animals belong in the wild. They need to be with their own kind, living in their natural habitat. They should not be isolated in people’s homes where their mobility is limited.

  • Feminism should be made a compulsory subject in high school and college. (Feminism)

Feminism is an eye-opener. It is something every man and woman should know of. Thus, it should be a compulsory and common subject instead of being exclusive to Arts or few other faculty.

  • Age 16 is not juvenile. (School?)

Are 16-year-olds really kids? Can they not be expected to know the difference between right and wrong? Maybe they do not know it is a crime to download songs and movies but what about rape and murder? If 16 is old enough to drive in most countries, it is old enough to be tried as an adult.

  • Playing Video games for few hours does good. (School/ parenting?)

It has been found out that playing a few hours of video game help improve people’s hand-eye coordination and enhances cognitive power. Also, games based on real history or science can impart knowledge…

  • Read before agreeing to sites and applications.

We download apps and software and signup on different sites. Each of these requires us to click ‘I agree’. We click this ‘I agree’ without actually reading the agreement. This can later cause problems…

  • Is death penalty ethical?

It is not ethical to eliminate people like we try to eliminate diseases. What about human rights? Or. What kind of rights for the person who does not respect others’ rights and freedom? It is a befitting punishment.

  • Send drug dealers to prison but addicts for rehabilitation.

Drug Addicts are victims too. They need rehabilitation, not prison. Dealers are the real criminals.

  • Parents should cook tastier option instead of making children eat the healthy foods they don’t want.

If not meat then milk and pulses. There is a range of choices for the required nutrition. So why should children have to eat something they don’t like? Just give them a tastier option.

  • If girls can wear pants, boys can wear skirts. (Funny?)

Is all equality fighting for girls only? What about boys’ rights? When girls can wear boys’ clothes why can boys not wear that of girls?

  • Being slim is not just about looks but health too. (Health?)

Beauties were those who were plum. Now, skinny is the fashion. But to those who want to be ‘comfortable’ in their size, know that a slim body is more than just looks.

  • There should be one holiday in the middle of workdays.

Saturday and Sunday’s rest do not keep us charged up to Friday. This makes people less productive by Thursday and Friday. A break in the middle would be wonderfully refreshing…

  • Considering the real meaning behind Nursery Rhymes, should they be taught to children? (School)

The fun nursery rhyme “Ring around the Rosie” is actually about the bubonic plague that killed nearly 15% of the country. This is only an example among many. Consider the lyrics of “Three blind mice” that goes “… Who cut off their tails, With a carving knife.” Is it okay to teach these to the children?

  • Countries should provide free Wi-Fi in tourist destinations.

Doing this will help tourists as they will be able to contact their people without wandering around confused in a foreign land. This will definitely increase the flow of both national and international tourists. It will be most helpful to students from abroad.

  • Know the woes of genetically modified Chickens.

To meet the demand of the growing population, chickens are fed hormones and other drugs to make them grow faster and fat, especially the meat in the breast area. Because of this, the chickens cripple under their own weight. They suffer terribly…

  • Children should be allowed to use electronics like mobile, notebooks etc. during breaks. (Students)

Using electronics during class is certainly bad and for a number of reasons. But break times belong to the students. Breaks are for recreation. If students choose to enjoy electronics, what is wrong with that?

  • Teachers, too, should keep their mobiles in silent during class.

Class time is for teaching and learning. Students should keep their mobile in silence so as to not disturb the class. But, so should the teacher. They shouldn’t pick up their call during class.

  • Humans are consuming way more salt than necessary. (Health)

Sodium is important. But the larger amount of sodium intake has often been associated with an increase in blood pressure that leads to strokes. 1500 to 2300mg is the maximum amount per day.

  • Benefits of donating blood.

Donating blood is the right thing to do. It saves lives. There are a few moral reasons as such to donate blood but do you know that you are not losing anything either? Donating blood is good for your own health too…

  • Why become an organ donor?

Perfectly healthy people die when trying to donate their organs to their loved ones. Even if they survive, they may have to face complications and they are now, somehow, deficient. If an organ could be got…

  • Original organic fruits taste better than the hybrids.

Hybrid fruits are larger and juicer but it lacks in terms of taste. The taste tastes diluted…

  • Why people who have should give.

Many people suffer from poverty. They have a hard time meeting basic needs like food, shelter, and clothes.

  • Why suicide over ‘love troubles’ is stupid. (Students)

Life moves on. Time heals. Things will happen if you continue to live. But the exaggerated fictional idea of love that the movies market has…

  • Why women should earn irrespective of their husband’s economic status. (Feminism)

Be independent. Money is power. Do not let anyone have an upper hand and be vulnerable to possible abuse…

  • Recycle e-waste. (Environment)

E-waste contains many recoverable materials such as aluminum, copper, gold, silver etc. Reusing this will take a load off of natural resources. E-waste also contains toxins like mercury, lead, beryllium, and others that will inevitably infuse into soil and water.

  • Do not tolerate abuse, speak out. (Feminism)

Certainly, nobody enjoys abuse? Then why do women continue to stay in abusive relationship despite being educated and holding a good job? Why do they tolerate other kinds of abuse as well? There are many reasons for this…

  • Every citizen should be required to, at least, pass high school. (School)

Up to high school, the education is basic. Imagine needing to stop ocean pollution. An educated person would be more easily persuaded or would know why ocean pollution is bad. Or. There are good and bad people. Education will teach the good how to be good and may persuade the bad…

  • Hostels, is it good or bad for children? (Parenting)

Hostels teach children independence. They learn to do a lot in their own. Or. No one can take better care of children than their parents. Children need parents’ love and support. Away in the hostel, surrounded by children no wiser than themselves…

  • Teachers should discuss among themselves to avoid giving too much homework. (School)

After studying for hours in school, spending all the hours in-home doing homework will mentally tire the student. Homework should be very light. But light homework of all the teachers added will take up all of the students’ time. So…

  • Importance of clubs in school or colleges. (School)

School and college clubs are the best way to learn different valuable skills in. In school and college-level clubs, the eligibility for membership is less strict and one gets to learn from the more skilled seniors.

  • Should plastic surgery be so commercial?

Everyone wants to look good. When accidents or attacks disfigure us, we can turn to plastic surgery to try and gain back our lost selves. But intentionally altering ourselves to…

  • Online piracy should be monitored more strictly.

People have a right to their intellectual property. It is so easy to find and download pirated materials that it seems non-criminal…

  • Are single-sex schools better than coed? (School)

According to research done in Korea, students from single-sex schools scored better than those from coed and had more chances of pursuing college-level education. However, this is from a general viewpoint. When considering students at an individual level, it really depends on what kind of environment that particular student does better in.

  • Spaying or neutering pets is good or bad? (Animal right)

Some say that neutering or spaying pets have a lot of benefits, both for the animal and the owner. Others say that neutering or spaying does not change much but only invites diseases upon the poor animal.

  • Are master’s degree or doctorate really necessary? (Students)

High School teaches us the basics and a bachelor is more career-oriented. We can get a good job after bachelor and hone our skills for a better position. Is a master’s and higher degree really important when we can learn more in the field?

  • Who is more responsible for poaching? Poachers or buyers? (Animal right)

This may be an ‘egg first or chicken question. Scientists have now found out that chickens come first but the question ‘Poacher or buyers’ remains.

  • What kind of food should school or college canteen offer? (Student)

From unhealthy commercial food items to unappetizing bland gibberish; can school or college canteens not offer an in-between option? What would be best for the students?

  • What age is proper to talk about the birds and the bees? (Parenting)

From the time a child starts asking about sex is the time from when to start talking about the birds and the bees. Children as young as 4-5 years old are curious about where a baby comes from. Answer them truthfully but avoid being graphic. Also, answer only what they ask.

  • Fee for facilities aside, the tuition fee should be fixed by the government. (Student)

Schools and colleges take a ridiculous amount of tuition fees. It is understandable that according to the facilities provided, the fee may be less or more but the tuition fee, at least, should be a fixed amount that greedy schools cannot increase as they wish.

  • How long should a drunk driver lose his license for?

Drinking and driving can be fatal to both the driver and an innocent passerby. But people do not take it seriously. They think they can handle their liquor and end up causing accidents. This is absolute carelessness.

  • The amount of water one should drink per day. (Health)

About 60% of the human body is water. We continually lose this water through skin and urine. This causes dehydration…

  • Aliens exist. (Paranormal)

There have been many UFO sightings and stories of alien abduction. Even in the old age paintings, cave paintings, Sanskrit scrolls, the extraterrestrial life form is evident. Scientists have found other habitable planets. An intelligent life form somewhere other than Earth is no longer an idea of a fantasist…

  • White meat over red meat or the other way around? (Health)

White meat is less fatty but red meat contains more vitamins like zinc, iron, and B vitamins…

  • Why religion and science should go hand in hand. / Why religion should evolve with scientific discoveries. (Philosophy)

Science explores the universe for answers while religion makes claims about it. Science is open to change, it acknowledges that it can err and backs its claims with evidence. Religion on the other hand is a ‘belief’ system

  • Should astrologers, mediums and the likes be arrested for fraud? (Paranormal)

Do heavenly bodies really affect our personality or future? Do dead ones really become spirits and can be contacted through mediums? Or are these all just a big hoax?

  • Cats or dogs?

Are you a cat person or a dog person? Say why a dog is better than a cat as a pet or that cat makes a better pet.

  • Benefits of eating fruit over drinking its juice. (Health)

There is a whole fruit and we throw away more than half of the substance when choosing to drink its juice even though eating the fruit itself is healthier because of the fiber it contains.

  • Women shouldn’t have to change their last name after marriage. (Feminism)

Having to change our last name after marriage is sexist. It confirms the power males hold over the women in our patriarchal society.

  • Internet promotes communication, not kill it.

Social networks like Facebook, Twitter, messenger, and others keep us in contact with many friends that we would otherwise have forgotten. It is an easy means of communication…

  • Does pressure build or break a person?

Pressure is healthy. It drives us. Or. Yes. Pressure drives us. It drives us nuts.

  • Hiring volunteers on zero pay is cruel.

Volunteers are those who want to donate labor. They need not be paid for their work but what about their expenses like transportation and others? These kinds of expenses, at least, should be covered.

  • Learning multiple language widens our perception of the world.

There are always those words that cannot be exactly translated to another language. This is because that way of thinking does not exist in that other language. It is like the egg of Cristopher. We discover a new way of expressing ourselves, one we couldn’t think of in the limitation of our own language.

  • Oceans are not trash bins. (Environment)

Tons of human waste are thrown into the ocean. This is creating a big problem in the ocean ecosystem…

  • Killing for fun is inhuman, hunting is inhuman. (Animal rights)

How to have fun with animals? By playing with them, baby talking to them, watching them in their weird but fun action. Not by chasing them down and killing them.

  • Cigarette, alcohol or drugs are not the answer for stress or other problems in life.

People tend to depend on harmful substances like cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs when faced with a problem or when under stress. These substances do not cure stress but could be a self-harming method of coping with problems. People under stress tend to show more unhealthy behaviors such as these…

  • Music heals.

On hearing good music, the brain releases dopamine. Dopamine is an essential chemical that plays a number of important roles in the brain and body. Music has also proven effective against stress…

  • Why breakfast is the important meal of the day. (Health)

Breakfast is the first meal after a long gap during the night. It provides us with vital nutrients like calcium, vitamins, minerals, and energy…

  • Fairytales should be re-written for the next generation children.

Fairytales often star a damsel in distress who not only ‘waits’ for a handsome rescuer but also possesses subjugating qualities like obedience, daintiness, etc. It imparts sexist values in young minds…

  • How a time table can help manage our daily lives.

People do not realize how time table can make our day-to-day lives much more manageable and therefore fruitful or efficient. Some find it tedious and some pretentious…

  • Everyone should learn swimming.

Swimming is not just for fun like cycling. It could save someone’s life. It is an important survival skill that everyone should know of.

  • Good thoughts lead to good actions.

Our actions result from our thoughts. Action is a mind’s reflection…

  • Benefits of meditation. (Health)

Meditation has a lot of benefits, both on body and mind. It reduces stress, improves concentration, reduces irritability, increases perseverance, etc…

  • Zoos are not big enough for wild animals. (Animal rights)

How large can you make a zoo? And how can it mimic nature when different animals are confined separately. Wild animals belong in the wild.

Some more Persuasive Speech Topics:

  • Why is adopting a pet better than buying one?
  • How does having a pet better your everyday life?
  • Having a snake as a pet is as cool as it sounds
  • Should you get rid of a pet that harms another person?
  • Is breeding pets for sale unethical?
  • Selfies with animals in tourist locations should be made equal
  • A dog is the perfect pet
  • Why a pet is essential for a growing child
  • Owning a pet makes you healthier
  • Slaughterhouses are unethical
  • Animals are facing extinction, we should do something about it
  • Why wild animals should be left in the wild
  • Petting exotic animals should be made illegal
  • Why dolphin farming is horrific
  • The Yulin Dog festival displays one of the worst sides of humans
  • Why neutering your pets is wrong
  • Advantages of owning a horse(besides looking fantastic)
  • People need to stop fueling pug markets.
  • Is animal slaughter for religious purposes ethical?
  • Manual drivers are unnecessarily aggressive about their cars
  • Why you should not drive without a kid seat
  • Why sports cars are not worth it
  • If you can’t call while driving, then why is there a hands-free mode?
  • New ideas for lessons drivers have to take before getting a license
  • Should you charge people for driving tests?
  • Why cycling is cooler than driving
  • Why traffic rules are designed against bike rides
  • Driving licenses should need a renewal every 5 years
  • Why co-ed education is the best way to teach
  • GPA isn’t everything
  • 9.30 is too early
  • Why teachers need to be recertified
  • Listening to music during exams should be allowed
  • Should sports and arts be mandatory?
  • Does our school curriculum need obligatory life skill classes?
  • Phones in classes are beneficial and convenient
  • Every student should be encouraged to take a gap year
  • Cyber-bullying should be punished the same as bullying
  • Why art classes are just as important as science
  • School canteens need to serve healthier alternatives
  • More institutes should promote nternational exchange programs
  • Curriculums should be designed with the job market in mind
  • Textbooks are overpriced and should be replaced with digital alternatives
  • Should religion be taught in schools?
  • Is repeating classes beneficial for underperforming students?
  • Students should not have to ask to use the restroom
  • Is having a handwriting class beneficial?
  • Is there a point to giving homework?
  • Education needs to be available in prisons
  • We are being overcharged for education
  • Online learning should be held to equal importance as schools
  • Are teachers paid enough?
  • Is there room for commercial advertisement in schools?
  • Are study halls still relevant?
  • Are our children safe at school?
  • School trips are a waste of money
  • Educational institutes should be more welcoming to technological changes
  • Schools should teach multiple languages
  • Public schools are better than private schools
  • Why meditation should be included in the daily curriculum
  • Are scholarships reaching the right people?
  • Current environmental laws are insufficient
  • Green energy is the future
  • The environmental impact of palm oil
  • The environmental impact of single-use bags
  • Fishing restrictions need to be stricter
  • Oil spills are deadly to marine life
  • Leaving fossil fuels behind
  • Pollution has reached alarming levels
  • Garden owners should be allowed to grow exotic plants
  • Switch to hybrid cars to help the environment
  • Rainforests are going extinct at an alarming rate
  • Why natural resources are quickly going extinct
  • Alternative energy sources should be pushed by governments
  • Euthanasia should be legalized
  • Why eating meat does not make me a bad person
  • Can true equality ever really be achieved?
  • Is messing with unborn children’s genetics ethical?
  • Stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason
  • Animal testing is a necessary part of production
  • Why we need to stop producing and buying fur
  • Prostitution should be legalized
  • Doping and it’s place in sports 
  • Why workplace relationships should be avoided
  • Is religion a cult?
  • Should prayers be included in schools?
  • Parents should not be able to choose the sex of their unborn child
  • Donating to charities is a scam
  • Aborting fetuses with birth defects is not immoral
  • Wars have positive consequences as well
  • Why genital mutilation in infants needs to be stopped
  • Conventional beauty standards are misleading
  • China’s One-child policy was a good idea for population control
  • Animal testing and why it is immoral
  • Why banning cigarettes and alcohol from advertisements is not effective
  • Sugar is added to everything we eat
  • Children should be taught to cook
  • Why growing your own food will help both you and the environment
  • Peanuts: The secret superfood
  • We should be more open to genetically engineered food products
  • The proper way to dispose your food waste
  • The loopholes in labelling laws
  • Keto goes against the natural human evolution
  • Artificial chemicals in our food products is harming us
  • The legal age for contraceptive treatment should be lowered
  • Fast food is slowly killing you
  • How positive thinking can change your life
  • Breakfast isn’t the most important meal of the day
  • Stomach stapling should not be normalized
  • If you don’t wear a seat belt, you are putting yourself at great risk
  • How diabetes can affect your work
  • How daily exercise can change your life
  • Stress as the leading cause of teen suicide
  • Diet pills are a scam
  • Body shaming is putting lives at risk
  • Contraceptive education is an effective solution for teen pregnancy
  • There is such a thing as too much soda
  • Free condom distribution at schools is better than teaching about abstinence
  • The toothpick you pick matters
  • Surrogacy should be more widely accepted
  • Why insomnia should be taken as a more serious health concern
  • Helmets and seatbeat save lives
  • Restaurants need to be more vigilant about handling allergies
  • How Big Pharma is controlling your life
  • The medical field is criminally underfunded
  • We are eating too much salt
  • Organ donation should be an opt-out system
  • The dangers of an anti-vaxxers movement
  • Why fire drills are ineffective
  • Why you need to take that vacation
  • Good sleep is underrated
  • Why vaping is not a better alternative
  • Your stress is killing you
  • It is not healthy for children to be vegetarians
  • Parents don’t need to be informed about underage abortions
  • Donating blood should be encouraged early
  • How much do you know about what’s in your food

I hope you find the tips for persuasive speech and persuasive speech topics useful. Let me what you think of them by commenting below.

My Speech Class

Public Speaking Tips & Speech Topics

34 Topics For a Great Motivational Speech

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Jim Peterson has over 20 years experience on speech writing. He wrote over 300 free speech topic ideas and how-to guides for any kind of public speaking and speech writing assignments at My Speech Class.

Good public speaking speech topics and topics for an actuating speaker.

motivational speech topics

And a set of brand new ideas to prompt and propel your listeners to discover new views, contemporary worlds and unfamiliar opinions.

Let’s start with the behavior-altering speech topics.

If you succeed to get them to act like you propose, then you happen to be expert as a motivational speaker!

  • How to motivate the audience members to change their nutrition and diet food behavior and consume enough of fruit and vegetables daily.
  • Does the iPod speech technology foreced PC users to migrate to Apple? Or work out other issues related to computers and stuff like that for alternative good public speaking speech topics.
  • Five strategies to promote savings for a comfortable life when you are retired. (You know, for example, the earlier students start with a solid personal pension plan, the better their retirement situation later … )
  • Five humanitarian things you can do to help other people after a hurricane, tropical cyclone or other natural disaster.

E.g. tell about a non-governmental organization (NGO) like the International Red Cross or Red Crescent Movement.

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  • How to motivate scouts to get a complicated job done as a team?
  • Free coffee service at work helps to increase the productivity and loyalty of employees.
  • How to convince an African tribe that there has been a man on the moon. That is a real big challenge for motivational public speaking 🙂 – a good idea for some interaction with your listeners.
  • Methods for coaching and training a cheerleader team, and show how you motivate them to win competitions.
  • Scientific discoveries that make living with color blindness easier.
  • What the heck, just go after your dreams and your own pursuit of happiness!

Motivational Speech Topics

Good public speaking speech topics for the cause of changing opinions on hot topics, or amazing undiscovered ideas that could give insight in not very well-known themes and subjects:

  • Measuring national well-being is measuring national happiness.
  • Conscious living results in personal growth.
  • Managing people means leading, motivating, inspiring, and encouraging workers by applying motivational and other persuasive speech topics in chats in between the official functioning interviews that are held often each half a year.
  • Why and how to re-program your own memory structures with wise vizualisation techniques and avoid expectation failure.
  • Be pro-active in all you want to achieve, it pays off in the end.
  • Having to do things that we do not enjoy doing is called discipline.
  • Why people are never satisfied with what they have.
  • Happiness can be measured.
  • Making fun in life is more important than working.
  • Personal experience is more valuable than knowledge gained at school.
  • Time is much more worth than money.
  • Waiting is the hardest part of life.
  • Why nasty radio, television and internet programs should be banned.
  • Congress shall not abridge the freedom of speech, under no circumstances. (Retrieved from the constitutional fundamental political principles)
  • Convince your public that playing golf after someone’s retirement is not a complete waste of time.
  • How to motivate students to see the relevance of researching education resources for good public speaking speech topics.
  • Teens who play violent games do worse in school than teens who do not.
  • Botox injections make women look unnatural with an artificial facial expression.
  • Do not take illegal steroids in sports activities, they are dangerous!
  • The One Minute praising method is the ultimate answer on the How to Motivate Your Employees question.
  • Video games encourage teamwork and cooperation when played with others.
  • Football stadiums are modern equivalents of Ancient Roman amphitheatres.

Not found what you like? Try my other list:

  • Local veterinarians should make health care control visits for the animals in pet shops. Because sometimes you have no idea what you notice in such animal so-called welfare stores – not to mention the smell 🙂
  • Why an implanted microchip is the most reliable identification purpose system for the recovery of your companion animals. Put between one of the shoulder blades that are just beneath the surface.
  • Architects and urban planners should be more aware of the values of a rich wildlife population in urban areas – e.g. squirrels, skunks, raccoons.
  • Global environmental issues can only be solved by discussing an interdisciplinary and multicultural approach.
  • The planet’s ecosystem is the base of the human race.
  • The effects of wind turbines, or so-called wind farms, on the weather, bird population and local communities. And do not forget to explicate the effects on human health of the loud noise the sometime make. And the impact on the landscape views.
  • How to earn and implement an ISO 14001 certification on Environmental Management, and why it is important.
  • How climate change affects society; federal, state and cities.
  • What are the costs of an earthquake, a tsunami, a volcanic eruption or a hurricane hurricanes or a wild fire? Evacuation, rescueworkers, rebuilding, et cetera.
  • If the sea level rises by over 1 feet, what are the consequences? What about 2 feet? 3 perhaps? Those are variation public speaking persuasive speech topics. And: what if our temperature rises with 1 degree, 2, or even 3?
  • The quality of our water supplies is threatened by many pollutants, causing water-related diseases.
  • Why you, as a speechwriting student, need to learn about earth sciences in class, including biology, chemistry and physics.
  • Ocean acidification on marine organisms intensifies and there is a relation with the CO2 increase in our atmosphere.

Motivated Sequence Patterns

These patterns are often applied by famous speakers. If you follow the order precisely nothing can go wrong.

The Monroe’s Motivated Sequence Pattern

A very useful to elaborate on motivational speech topics. When professor Alan Monroe designed this sequence in the thirties of the previous century he uses elements of the psychology of persuasion.

Step #1 – Attention Get the attention of your public. State the importance of your specific angle of approach. List the main benefits to arouse interest.

Step #2 – Need State the need for change. Show why it should concern them. Relate the issue or problem to the values, attitudes, interests and needs of the listeners.

Step #3 – Satisfaction Satisfy their needs. Provide the details and interesting facts. Show how your solution works.

Step #4 – Visualization Visualize the benefits. That is the heart of the message. Illustrate them with examples, anecdotes, comparisons, statistics, definitions and visual aids. Show successful implementation in other organizations. Tell your public what’s in it for them.

Step #5 – Call to Action Call to action. Show them what to do to implement your plan.

Comparative Advantages Pattern

This looks like the one above and is often used for business presentations. The big difference occurs in the  satisfy  and  visualization  steps. In those steps you have to compare and contrast two or more plans, solutions or alternatives.

Show your listeners which one is the best. E.g.: Compare and contrast two cellphones and tell which one is the first-class one for your job or personal life and why.

You have just one goal: to instigate your audience to act or to agree. Write down what you want them to do, and how you are going to persuade them that you are right. Phrase your goal in a declarative statement, in a way that will motivate.

There are two ways:

1. The first way is the use of the imperative mood in relation to activities, issues or problems at college, in your work environment, or in your community. Examples:

Become involved in …, Buy …, Change …, Choose …, Do …, Donate …, Establish …, Join …, Make …, Pay …, Quit …, Sell …, Sign …, Study …, Support …, Take …, Volunteer …, Vote …

2. Another way to create good verbal addresses is to relate these general themes below to personal, educational or professional activities, issues or problems:

Breakthroughs – Career Development – Challenge – Change – Coaching – Commitment – Communication – Competence – Competitiveness – Confidence – Decision Making – Discipline – Effective Meetings – Ensure Safety – Ergonomics – Focused Thinking – Future – Involvement – Inspiration – Integrity – Interpersonal Skills – Leadership – Negotiation Tactics – Personal Effectiveness – Personal Growth – Personal Improvement – Personal Productivity – Personal Wellness – Responsibility – Self Respect – Set Realistic Goals – Stress – Teambuilding – Teamwork – Trends – Values – Work Ethics

Call To Action Speech Topics

Call to action speech topics are equal to (specimen):

  • Sharing emotions,
  • Initiating a debate on a hot topic,
  • Promoting your book or other craftsman project,
  • Forcing a change in daily habits,
  • Motivating them to achieve something in life,
  • Persuading your listeners to vote for you in some kind of an election campaign.

For example:

  • Protest Against Nuclear Testing.
  • Sign up For My Newsletter.
  • Make Every Workday Feel Like a Lazy Sunday.
  • Remember The Oath You Took For Your Country.
  • Sponsor Our Center for Community Innovation.
  • Improve Your Concentration Skills With Mind and Mental Exercises.
  • Provide Good Conditions For Teambuilding and Cooperating.
  • Just Think Positive!
  • Always Affirm Your Business Deals in Writing.
  • Set at Least One Career Goal a Year.
  • Relax, and Your Presentation Will Be Better.
  • Enjoy Walking the Great Wall of China.
  • Release Your Life With Energy Psychology and Meridian Energy Therapies.
  • Do Not Hesitate, Make a Decision About Your Future.
  • Prioritize Your Daily Goals.
  • Volunteer in Thailand For Tsunami Reconstruction Jobs.

These are random Toastmasters International examples. Watch the so-called  action words and verbs , I have written them in italic style. As you perhaps have noticed, the list of phrases and terms is open to your sole discretion …

Other action terms could be:

change, profit, produce, nominate, sale, master, save, vote, help, reward, reveal, map out, manage, organize, invent, modernize, et cetera.

You see, almost every active verb can be the base of an appealing motivational call to action speech topics. Be creative and find yourself a way in discovering other words

120 History Speech Topics [and Cultural Artifact Speech]

200+ Good Impromptu Speech Topics

5 thoughts on “34 Topics For a Great Motivational Speech”

My topic is “your ability”. In this topic we can tell listeners about their ability by giving some examples and thoughts and can motivate them to do a work / task in which they are able and interested . This speech motivate them to identify their ability and to become a successful person.

All people in society need motivation. It plays a very good role in the success of the people.I am agree with this article.

Surviving h.I.v. I’ve been positive for 28 years

The Face Behind The Mask

Your article is great but I would like to point out that I don’t understand where you would get an African tribe that would be hard to convince that there has been a man on the moon. Why would that be a challenge??? I quote you below: “How to convince an African tribe that there has been a man on the moon. That is a real big challenge for motivational public speaking – a good idea for some interaction with your listeners.”

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Article • 8 min read

Monroe's Motivated Sequence

Perfecting the call to act.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

persuasive speech topics for monroe's motivated sequence

Is persuasion a gift? Are some people born with the ability to speak well and "sell" their ideas successfully?

It sure seems that way when you're wowed by a motivational speaker, or galvanized into action by a thought-provoking presentation.

In your role, do you ever need to motivate, inspire, or persuade others? Whether you're a senior executive giving a presentation to the Board, a manager giving a morale-boosting speech to your team, or a production manager giving a presentation on safety standards, at some point, you'll probably have to move people to action.

While there are certainly those who seem to inspire and deliver memorable speeches effortlessly, the rest of us can learn how to give effective presentations, too. In this article, we'll look at the key factors you need to put together a clear and engaging call to action using a five-step process known as Monroe's Motivated Sequence.

Monroe's Motivated Sequence: The Five Steps

Alan H. Monroe, a Purdue University professor, used the psychology of persuasion to develop an outline for making speeches that will deliver results, and wrote about it in his book Monroe's Principles of Speech . It's now known as Monroe's Motivated Sequence.

This is a well-used and time-proven method to organize presentations for maximum impact. You can use it for a variety of situations to create and arrange the components of any message. The steps are explained below:

Step One: Get Attention

Get the attention of your audience. Use storytelling , humor, a shocking statistic, or a rhetorical question – anything that will get the audience to sit up and take notice.

This step doesn't replace your introduction – it's part of your introduction. In your opening, you should also establish your credibility (see The Rhetorical Triangle for tips), state your purpose, and let the audience know what to expect. Delivering Great Presentations provides a strong foundation for building the steps in Monroe's Motivated Sequence.

Lets use the example of a half-day seminar on safety in the workplace. Your attention step might be as follows.

Step Two: Establish the Need

Convince your audience there's a problem. This set of statements must help the audience realize that what's happening right now isn't good enough – and needs to change.

  • Use statistics to back up your statements.
  • Talk about the consequences of maintaining the status quo and not making changes.
  • Show your audience how the problem directly affects them.

Remember, you're not at the "I have a solution" stage yet. Here, you want to make the audience uncomfortable and restless, and ready to do the "something" that you recommend.

Step Three: Satisfy the Need

Introduce your solution. How will you solve the problem that your audience is now ready to address? This is the main part of your presentation. It will vary significantly, depending on your purpose. In this section:

  • Discuss the facts.
  • Elaborate and give details to make sure the audience understands your position and solution.
  • Clearly state what you want the audience to do or believe.
  • Summarize your information from time to time as you speak.
  • Use examples, testimonials, and statistics to prove the effectiveness of your solution.
  • Prepare counterarguments to anticipated objections.

Step Four: Visualize the Future

Describe what the situation will look like if the audience does nothing. The more realistic and detailed the vision, the better it will create the desire to do what you recommend. Your goal is to motivate the audience to agree with you and adopt similar behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs. Help them see what the results could be if they act the way you want them to. Make sure your vision is believable and realistic.

You can use three methods to help the audience share your vision:

  • Positive method – Describe what the situation will look like if your ideas are adopted. Emphasize the positive aspects.
  • Negative method – Describe what the situation will look like if your ideas are rejected. Focus on the dangers and difficulties caused by not acting.
  • Contrast method – Develop the negative picture first, and then reveal what could happen if your ideas are accepted.

Step Five: Action/Actualization

Your final job is to leave your audience with specific things that they can do to solve the problem. You want them to take action now.

Don't overwhelm them with too much information or too many expectations, and be sure to give them options to increase their sense of ownership of the solution. This can be as simple as inviting them to have some refreshments as you walk around and answer questions. For very complex problems, the action step might be getting together again to review plans.

For some of us, persuasive arguments and motivational speaking come naturally. The rest of us may try to avoid speeches and presentations, fearing that our message won't be well received.

But Monroe's Motivated Sequence can help you to improve the quality of your message, and create a call of action that has real impact.

The model includes five key steps:

  • Get attention.
  • Establish the need.
  • Satisfy the need.
  • Visualize the future.
  • Action/Actualization.

It's a straightforward formula for success that's been used time and again. Try it for your next presentation, and you'll no doubt be impressed with the results!

Monroe, A. (1951). ' Monroe's Principles of Speech (Revised Brief Edition) ,' Scott, Foreman and Company.

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How to Motivate Yourself

Get Yourself Moving and Beat Procrastination

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Comments (1)

Nathanial Glockania

Ay bruh facts ima use this to convince the bank to gimme some money on the down low, thanks for the advice lil bro

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17.3 Organizing Persuasive Speeches

Learning objectives.

  • Understand three common organizational patterns for persuasive speeches.
  • Explain the steps utilized in Monroe’s motivated sequence.
  • Explain the parts of a problem-cause-solution speech.
  • Explain the process utilized in a comparative advantage persuasive speech.

A classroom of attentive listeners

Steven Lilley – Engaged – CC BY-SA 2.0.

Previously in this text we discussed general guidelines for organizing speeches. In this section, we are going to look at three organizational patterns ideally suited for persuasive speeches: Monroe’s motivated sequence, problem-cause-solution, and comparative advantages.

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

One of the most commonly cited and discussed organizational patterns for persuasive speeches is Alan H. Monroe’s motivated sequence. The purpose of Monroe’s motivated sequence is to help speakers “sequence supporting materials and motivational appeals to form a useful organizational pattern for speeches as a whole” (German et al., 2010).

While Monroe’s motivated sequence is commonly discussed in most public speaking textbooks, we do want to provide one minor caution. Thus far, almost no research has been conducted that has demonstrated that Monroe’s motivated sequence is any more persuasive than other structural patterns. In the only study conducted experimentally examining Monroe’s motivated sequence, the researchers did not find the method more persuasive, but did note that audience members found the pattern more organized than other methods (Micciche, Pryor, & Butler, 2000). We wanted to add this sidenote because we don’t want you to think that Monroe’s motivated sequence is a kind of magic persuasive bullet; the research simply doesn’t support this notion. At the same time, research does support that organized messages are perceived as more persuasive as a whole, so using Monroe’s motivated sequence to think through one’s persuasive argument could still be very beneficial.

Table 17.1 “Monroe’s Motivated Sequence” lists the basic steps of Monroe’s motivated sequence and the subsequent reaction a speaker desires from his or her audience.

Table 17.1 Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

The first step in Monroe’s motivated sequence is the attention step , in which a speaker attempts to get the audience’s attention. To gain an audience’s attention, we recommend that you think through three specific parts of the attention step. First, you need to have a strong attention-getting device. As previously discussed in Chapter 9 “Introductions Matter: How to Begin a Speech Effectively” , a strong attention getter at the beginning of your speech is very important. Second, you need to make sure you introduce your topic clearly. If your audience doesn’t know what your topic is quickly, they are more likely to stop listening. Lastly, you need to explain to your audience why they should care about your topic.

In the need step of Monroe’s motivated sequence, the speaker establishes that there is a specific need or problem. In Monroe’s conceptualization of need, he talks about four specific parts of the need: statement, illustration, ramification, and pointing. First, a speaker needs to give a clear and concise statement of the problem. This part of a speech should be crystal clear for an audience. Second, the speaker needs to provide one or more examples to illustrate the need. The illustration is an attempt to make the problem concrete for the audience. Next, a speaker needs to provide some kind of evidence (e.g., statistics, examples, testimony) that shows the ramifications or consequences of the problem. Lastly, a speaker needs to point to the audience and show exactly how the problem relates to them personally.

Satisfaction

In the third step of Monroe’s motivated sequence, the satisfaction step , the speaker sets out to satisfy the need or solve the problem. Within this step, Monroe (1935) proposed a five-step plan for satisfying a need:

  • Explanation
  • Theoretical demonstration
  • Reference to practical experience
  • Meeting objections

First, you need to clearly state the attitude, value, belief, or action you want your audience to accept. The purpose of this statement is to clearly tell your audience what your ultimate goal is.

Second, you want to make sure that you clearly explain to your audience why they should accept the attitude, value, belief, or action you proposed. Just telling your audience they should do something isn’t strong enough to actually get them to change. Instead, you really need to provide a solid argument for why they should accept your proposed solution.

Third, you need to show how the solution you have proposed meets the need or problem. Monroe calls this link between your solution and the need a theoretical demonstration because you cannot prove that your solution will work. Instead, you theorize based on research and good judgment that your solution will meet the need or solve the problem.

Fourth, to help with this theoretical demonstration, you need to reference practical experience, which should include examples demonstrating that your proposal has worked elsewhere. Research, statistics, and expert testimony are all great ways of referencing practical experience.

Lastly, Monroe recommends that a speaker respond to possible objections. As a persuasive speaker, one of your jobs is to think through your speech and see what counterarguments could be made against your speech and then rebut those arguments within your speech. When you offer rebuttals for arguments against your speech, it shows your audience that you’ve done your homework and educated yourself about multiple sides of the issue.

Visualization

The next step of Monroe’s motivated sequence is the visualization step , in which you ask the audience to visualize a future where the need has been met or the problem solved. In essence, the visualization stage is where a speaker can show the audience why accepting a specific attitude, value, belief, or behavior can positively affect the future. When helping people to picture the future, the more concrete your visualization is, the easier it will be for your audience to see the possible future and be persuaded by it. You also need to make sure that you clearly show how accepting your solution will directly benefit your audience.

According to Monroe, visualization can be conducted in one of three ways: positive, negative, or contrast (Monroe, 1935). The positive method of visualization is where a speaker shows how adopting a proposal leads to a better future (e.g., recycle, and we’ll have a cleaner and safer planet). Conversely, the negative method of visualization is where a speaker shows how not adopting the proposal will lead to a worse future (e.g., don’t recycle, and our world will become polluted and uninhabitable). Monroe also acknowledged that visualization can include a combination of both positive and negative visualization. In essence, you show your audience both possible outcomes and have them decide which one they would rather have.

The final step in Monroe’s motivated sequence is the action step , in which a speaker asks an audience to approve the speaker’s proposal. For understanding purposes, we break action into two distinct parts: audience action and approval. Audience action refers to direct physical behaviors a speaker wants from an audience (e.g., flossing their teeth twice a day, signing a petition, wearing seat belts). Approval, on the other hand, involves an audience’s consent or agreement with a speaker’s proposed attitude, value, or belief.

When preparing an action step, it is important to make sure that the action, whether audience action or approval, is realistic for your audience. Asking your peers in a college classroom to donate one thousand dollars to charity isn’t realistic. Asking your peers to donate one dollar is considerably more realistic. In a persuasive speech based on Monroe’s motivated sequence, the action step will end with the speech’s concluding device. As discussed elsewhere in this text, you need to make sure that you conclude in a vivid way so that the speech ends on a high point and the audience has a sense of energy as well as a sense of closure.

Now that we’ve walked through Monroe’s motivated sequence, let’s look at how you could use Monroe’s motivated sequence to outline a persuasive speech:

Specific Purpose: To persuade my classroom peers that the United States should have stronger laws governing the use of for-profit medical experiments.

Main Points:

  • Attention: Want to make nine thousand dollars for just three weeks of work lying around and not doing much? Then be a human guinea pig. Admittedly, you’ll have to have a tube down your throat most of those three weeks, but you’ll earn three thousand dollars a week.
  • Need: Every day many uneducated and lower socioeconomic-status citizens are preyed on by medical and pharmaceutical companies for use in for-profit medical and drug experiments. Do you want one of your family members to fall prey to this evil scheme?
  • Satisfaction: The United States should have stronger laws governing the use of for-profit medical experiments to ensure that uneducated and lower-socioeconomic-status citizens are protected.
  • Visualization: If we enact tougher experiment oversight, we can ensure that medical and pharmaceutical research is conducted in a way that adheres to basic values of American decency. If we do not enact tougher experiment oversight, we could find ourselves in a world where the lines between research subject, guinea pig, and patient become increasingly blurred.
  • Action: In order to prevent the atrocities associated with for-profit medical and pharmaceutical experiments, please sign this petition asking the US Department of Health and Human Services to pass stricter regulations on this preying industry that is out of control.

This example shows how you can take a basic speech topic and use Monroe’s motivated sequence to clearly and easily outline your speech efficiently and effectively.

Table 17.2 “Monroe’s Motivated Sequence Checklist” also contains a simple checklist to help you make sure you hit all the important components of Monroe’s motivated sequence.

Table 17.2 Monroe’s Motivated Sequence Checklist

Problem-Cause-Solution

Another format for organizing a persuasive speech is the problem-cause-solution format. In this specific format, you discuss what a problem is, what you believe is causing the problem, and then what the solution should be to correct the problem.

Specific Purpose: To persuade my classroom peers that our campus should adopt a zero-tolerance policy for hate speech.

  • Demonstrate that there is distrust among different groups on campus that has led to unnecessary confrontations and violence.
  • Show that the confrontations and violence are a result of hate speech that occurred prior to the events.
  • Explain how instituting a campus-wide zero-tolerance policy against hate speech could stop the unnecessary confrontations and violence.

In this speech, you want to persuade people to support a new campus-wide policy calling for zero-tolerance of hate speech. Once you have shown the problem, you then explain to your audience that the cause of the unnecessary confrontations and violence is prior incidents of hate speech. Lastly, you argue that a campus-wide zero-tolerance policy could help prevent future unnecessary confrontations and violence. Again, this method of organizing a speech is as simple as its name: problem-cause-solution.

Comparative Advantages

The final method for organizing a persuasive speech is called the comparative advantages speech format. The goal of this speech is to compare items side-by-side and show why one of them is more advantageous than the other. For example, let’s say that you’re giving a speech on which e-book reader is better: Amazon.com’s Kindle or Barnes and Nobles’ Nook. Here’s how you could organize this speech:

Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience that the Nook is more advantageous than the Kindle.

  • The Nook allows owners to trade and loan books to other owners or people who have downloaded the Nook software, while the Kindle does not.
  • The Nook has a color-touch screen, while the Kindle’s screen is black and grey and noninteractive.
  • The Nook’s memory can be expanded through microSD, while the Kindle’s memory cannot be upgraded.

As you can see from this speech’s organization, the simple goal of this speech is to show why one thing has more positives than something else. Obviously, when you are demonstrating comparative advantages, the items you are comparing need to be functional equivalents—or, as the saying goes, you cannot compare apples to oranges.

Key Takeaways

  • There are three common patterns that persuaders can utilize to help organize their speeches effectively: Monroe’s motivated sequence, problem-cause-solution, and comparative advantage. Each of these patterns can effectively help a speaker think through his or her thoughts and organize them in a manner that will be more likely to persuade an audience.
  • Alan H. Monroe’s (1935) motivated sequence is a commonly used speech format that is used by many people to effectively organize persuasive messages. The pattern consists of five basic stages: attention, need, satisfaction, visualization, and action. In the first stage, a speaker gets an audience’s attention. In the second stage, the speaker shows an audience that a need exists. In the third stage, the speaker shows how his or her persuasive proposal could satisfy the need. The fourth stage shows how the future could be if the persuasive proposal is or is not adopted. Lastly, the speaker urges the audience to take some kind of action to help enact the speaker’s persuasive proposal.
  • The problem-cause-solution proposal is a three-pronged speech pattern. The speaker starts by explaining the problem the speaker sees. The speaker then explains what he or she sees as the underlying causes of the problem. Lastly, the speaker proposes a solution to the problem that corrects the underlying causes.
  • The comparative advantages speech format is utilized when a speaker is comparing two or more things or ideas and shows why one of the things or ideas has more advantages than the other(s).
  • Create a speech using Monroe’s motivated sequence to persuade people to recycle.
  • Create a speech using the problem-cause-solution method for a problem you see on your college or university campus.
  • Create a comparative advantages speech comparing two brands of toothpaste.

German, K. M., Gronbeck, B. E., Ehninger, D., & Monroe, A. H. (2010). Principles of public speaking (17th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, p. 236.

Micciche, T., Pryor, B., & Butler, J. (2000). A test of Monroe’s motivated sequence for its effects on ratings of message organization and attitude change. Psychological Reports, 86 , 1135–1138.

Monroe, A. H. (1935). Principles and types of speech . Chicago, IL: Scott Foresman.

Stand up, Speak out Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Module 10: Persuasive Speaking

Monroe’s motivated sequence, learning objectives.

  • Explain the use of Monroe’s motivated sequence to motivate listeners.

Monroe’s motivated sequence is the best-known organizational pattern focused on motivational appeals. It is especially useful in situations where the speaker is proposing a solution to an existing problem.

If you use Monroe’s motivated sequence, you’re asking your audience to visualize the consequences of what will happen if they are persuaded to engage in the action you are arguing for. Health-related appeals often use this strategy: for example, smoking, seat belts, mask-wearing in a pandemic, etc.

Alan H. Monroe was a Purdue University psychology professor who used what he knew about the psychology of persuasion to write a book called “Monroe’s Principles of Speech.” He outlines a speech organizational pattern which is most effective in speeches of persuasion. It involves five key steps for which to order the speech.

  • Get attention. This involves calling the audience’s attention to a problem. It may occur in the introduction part of the speech or as the first point in the body of the speech. For example, according to the New England Medical Journal in their 2018 June article, four out of five people do not get more than five quality hours of sleep per night.
  • Establish the need. Show that there is a problem or a need for something to be done. Use statistics, evidence, etc., to prove the need. This establishment may occur in the introduction or the body of the speech. For example, lack of sleep depletes productivity.
  • Satisfy the need.  Offer a solution to the issue and explain how the solution would work. This usually is in the body of the speech as a main point. Take a sleep workshop.
  • Visualize the future. Paint a picture of what the world would be like if the need is satisfied using your proposed solution. For example, how productive the world would be on seven hours of sleep per night? The visualization could be in the body or conclusion.
  • Action/Actualization.  Call the audience to take action and commit to doing something such as signing a pledge to get better sleep, going to a sleep workshop, etc. The call for action is usually in the conclusion.

In this video, Eric Robertson breaks down the components of Monroe’s Motivated Sequence.

You can view the transcript for “Monroe’s Motivated Sequence | COMMUNICATION STUDIES” here (opens in new window) .

To watch: Ron Finley, “A guerilla gardener in South Central LA”

In this TED talk, fashion designer and urban gardener Ron Finley talks about creating gardens in a South Central food desert.

You can view the transcript for “A guerilla gardener in South Central LA | Ron Finley” here (opens in new window) .

What to watch for:

Finley’s speech is a good example of Monroe’s Motivated Sequence. Here’s how it fits into the five steps:

Attention : “I live in South Central. This is South Central: liquor stores, fast food, vacant lots.”

Need : “Just like 26.5 million other Americans, I live in a food desert, South Central Los Angeles, home of the drive-thru and the drive-by. Funny thing is, the drive-thrus are killing more people than the drive-bys.”

Satisfaction : “So me and my group, L.A. Green Grounds, we got together and we started planting my food forest, fruit trees, you know, the whole nine, vegetables. . . . I have witnessed my garden become a tool for the education, a tool for the transformation of my neighborhood. To change the community, you have to change the composition of the soil. We are the soil.”

Visualization : “Now this is one of my plans. This is what I want to do. I want to plant a whole block of gardens where people can share in the food in the same block. I want to take shipping containers and turn them into healthy cafes.”

Action : “If you want to meet with me, come to the garden with your shovel so we can plant some sh*t.”

  • Monroe's Motivated Sequence | COMMUNICATION STUDIES. Authored by : Eric Robertson. Located at : https://youtu.be/NdrJX5b4R-0 . License : Other . License Terms : Standard YouTube License
  • A guerilla gardener in South Central LA | Ron Finley. Provided by : TED. Located at : https://youtu.be/EzZzZ_qpZ4w . License : Other . License Terms : Standard YouTube License
  • Monroeu2019s Motivated Sequence. Authored by : Mike Randolph with Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution

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Mastering Monroe’s Motivated Sequence: A guide to persuasive speaking

Georgina Guthrie

Georgina Guthrie

April 19, 2023

Have you ever watched a skilled chef prepare a meal? They don’t just toss ingredients together and hope for the best. Instead, they follow a carefully crafted recipe that guides them through each step to ensure a delicious outcome. 

Similarly, persuasive speakers need a recipe for success, and that’s where Monroe’s Motivated Sequence comes in. This persuasive speaking technique is like a recipe for a great speech, guiding speakers through each step of the process. Following the sequence ensures that they capture their audience’s attention and motivate them to take action, two crucial goals for any speaker. 

Whether you’re presenting to your colleagues, making a pitch to potential investors, or simply trying to convince a friend to try a new restaurant, understanding Monroe’s Motivated Sequence can help you become a more persuasive and effective communicator. Here’s what you need to know to start using it.

What is Munroe’s motivated sequence?

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence was developed by Alan H. Monroe , a professor of speech at Purdue University, in the 1930s. At the time, Monroe was studying psychology and persuasion principles, and he wanted to develop a framework for creating more effective speeches.

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence was the result of years of research and experimentation. He analyzed thousands of speeches and identified the most effective elements for persuading audiences to take action. He then combined these elements into a five-step framework for structuring persuasive speeches.

The five steps of Monroe’s Motivated Sequence are:

  • Attention : Grab the audience’s attention with a compelling opening statement or question.
  • Need : Identify a problem or need that the audience has.
  • Satisfaction : Present a solution to the problem or need.
  • Visualization : Help the audience visualize the benefits of adopting your solution.
  • Action : Call the audience to action, and provide a clear and actionable next step.

Since its development, Monroe’s Motivated Sequence has become one of the world’s most widely used persuasive speaking techniques. Its effectiveness is clear in everything from political speeches to advertising campaigns.

How to follow Munroe’s Motivated sequence

Here is how to follow each step.

Step 1: Attention 

First, you must grab the audience’s attention with a compelling opening statement or question. This step is crucial because it sets the tone for the rest of the speech and determines whether the audience will be engaged. Here are some practical tips for effectively grabbing the audience’s attention:

  • Use a surprising statistic or fact. People are naturally drawn to numbers and statistics, especially if they’re surprising or shocking. For example, you might begin by saying, “Did you know that approximately 1 in 3 people worldwide do not have access to safe drinking water?” before starting a talk on improving water quality. 
  • Ask a rhetorical question . A well-placed rhetorical question can be a powerful way to engage the audience and get them thinking. For example, if you’re giving a speech on wild animal preservation, you might begin by asking, “How many more species need to be lost before we take action?”
  • Use a personal anecdote . Sharing a personal story can be an effective way to connect with the audience on an emotional level. For example, if you’re giving a speech on the importance of education, you might begin by telling a story about how education changed your life.
  • Use humor. Humor can be a great way to break the ice and put the audience at ease. Just be sure to keep it appropriate and relevant to your topic.
  • Use a powerful quote. A powerful quote can be a great way to set the tone for your speech and get the audience thinking. For example, if you’re giving a speech on leadership, you might begin by quoting John F. Kennedy’s famous line, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

Step 2: Need 

This step involves convincing the audience that a problem or issue needs to be addressed. Here are some practical tips for effectively establishing a need for change or action:

  • Identify a problem or issue. First, identify a problem or issue that is relevant to your audience. This could be a societal issue, a personal problem, or something else entirely. For example, if you’re giving a speech on mental health, you might identify the problem of stigmatization surrounding mental illness.
  • Use evidence and statistics. To convince your audience there’s a problem, you must provide objective evidence supporting your claims. This could include data from scientific studies, government reports, or other credible sources. For example, if you’re giving a speech on climate change, you might use data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to demonstrate the severity of the issue.
  • Use personal stories or examples. Again, sharing personal stories or examples can be a powerful way to illustrate the need for change or action. For example, if you’re giving a speech on the importance of organ donation, you might share a story of someone whose life was saved by an organ transplant.
  • Appeal to emotions. Emotions can be a powerful motivator for change or action. Appealing to your audience’s emotions can help them connect with the issue more deeply. For example, if you’re giving a speech on animal rights, you might use images or videos to show the mistreatment of animals and appeal to your audience’s sense of empathy.

Step 3: Satisfaction

Next, it’s time to offer a salve to those issues you just raised. This step involves providing a clear and actionable plan for addressing the problem. Here are some practical tips:

  • Identify the key components of the solution. To effectively present a solution, you must break it down into its key features. This will help your audience understand how the solution works and what steps they need to take to implement it. For example, if you’re giving a speech on reducing plastic waste, you might break your solution down into components such as using reusable bags, reducing single-use plastics, and recycling.
  • Explain how the solution works. Once you’ve identified the key components of the solution, you need to explain how it works. This could involve demonstrating a product or service, providing instructions for using a particular tool or resource or showing before-and-after examples. For example, suppose you’re giving a speech on reducing plastic waste. In that case, you might show your audience how to properly use a reusable water bottle or provide before-and-after examples of how much plastic waste you can reduce by using reusable bags.
  • Highlight the benefits of the solution. To motivate your audience to take action, highlight the solution’s benefits. This could include environmental benefits, health benefits, cost savings, or other positive outcomes. For example, suppose you’re giving a speech on the benefits of exercise. In that case, you might highlight the health benefits such as improved cardiovascular health, reduced risk of chronic disease, and improved mental health.
  • Address potential objections. When presenting a solution, it’s important to address any potential objections or concerns your audience may have. This could involve addressing common misconceptions, providing evidence to support your claims, or providing counterarguments to common objections. For example, suppose you’re giving a speech on the benefits of renewable energy. In that case, you might address common objections such as the installation cost or the green credentials of renewable energy sources.

Step 4: Visualization

This step involves painting a vivid and compelling picture of what the world will look like after the solution. Here are some practical tips for effectively visualizing outcomes:

  • Use storytelling. By telling a story that illustrates the positive outcomes of the solution, you can help your audience imagine what the future could look like. For example, if you’re giving a speech on the benefits of education, you might tell a story about a student who overcame adversity and achieved academic success.
  • Use statistics and data. As with the other steps, statistics and data can be powerful tools. You can help your audience understand the solution’s impact by providing concrete numbers and data points. For example, suppose you’re giving a speech on the benefits of renewable energy. In that case, you might provide statistics on how much carbon emissions can be reduced by switching to renewable energy sources.
  • Use visual aids. Visual aids such as graphs, charts, and images can help you illustrate the outcomes of the solution. If you’re giving a speech on reducing poverty, you might use a graph to show how poverty rates have declined in other countries that have implemented poverty reduction programs.
  • Paint a picture. Use descriptive language to paint a vivid picture of what the world will look like if everyone makes the change. Use sensory language to help your audience imagine the sounds, smells, and feelings associated with the positive outcomes. For example, if you’re giving a speech on the benefits of public transportation, you might describe a city with clean air, quiet streets, and happy commuters.
  • Show the consequences of inaction. Sometimes, it can be effective to highlight the consequences of inaction to motivate your audience to take action. This could involve describing the negative outcomes that will occur if the solution is not implemented. For example, if you’re giving a speech on climate change, you might describe the catastrophic effects of rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and food shortages. 

Speaking of negative approaches: when it comes to helping your audience visualize the future, there are three approaches you can take. 

  • The Positive Method: This method involves describing what the situation will look like if everyone adopts your idea. It emphasizes the positive aspects of the solution and focuses on the benefits and opportunities that will arise.
  • The Negative Method: This method involves describing what the situation will look like if people reject you. It focuses on the dangers and difficulties caused by not acting and highlights the negative consequences of inaction. 
  • The Contrast Method: This method involves developing the negative picture first and then revealing what could happen if things change. This method can be effective because it creates a sense of contrast between the negative outcomes of inaction and the positive outcomes of taking action. For example, if you’re advocating for education reform, you might describe the negative outcomes of a broken education system, such as high dropout rates and low test scores, before highlighting the positive outcomes of reform, such as better-prepared students and a more educated workforce.

When deciding which method to use, it’s important to consider your audience and the context of your message. The positive method is more effective for inspiring and motivating your audience, while the negative method highlights the situation’s urgency more effectively. The contrast method is good for creating a sense of contrast and emphasizing the importance of taking action in general. 

 Step 4: Call to action 

This is the sequence’s final and arguably most important step: you ask your audience to take a specific action. Here are some practical tips.

  • Be specific. Whether signing a petition, donating to a cause, or making a personal change, provide clear instructions on how to take action.
  • Make it urgent. Create a sense of urgency around your call to action. Explain why taking action now rather than later is important and use strong language to convey the situation’s urgency.
  • Use emotional language. Use emotional language to connect with your audience and inspire them to take action. Use words that evoke compassion, empathy, or urgency to motivate.
  • Provide a reason why. Explain why taking action is essential and how it will make a difference. Provide evidence or personal stories that illustrate the impact of taking action, and show your audience how their efforts can make a positive change.
  • Offer alternatives. Sometimes, the action you’re asking your audience to take may not be feasible for everyone. Offer alternative activities that your audience can take to support the cause, such as sharing information on social media or volunteering their time.

Three famous speeches that follow Munroe’s Motivated sequence 

Martin luther king jr’s “i have a dream”.

Martin Luther King Jr. used Monroe’s Motivated Sequence in his “I Have a Dream” speech . He first identified the need for racial equality and presented a solution. King then helped the audience visualize the benefits of his solution, which was a world free of discrimination and prejudice. Finally, he called upon the audience to take action and join him in the fight for civil rights.

By using Monroe’s Motivated Sequence, King effectively communicated his message and inspired his audience to take action. His speech remains a powerful example of how this persuasive speaking technique can create lasting change.

Steve Jobs’s 2007 iPhone launch

Steve Jobs used Monroe’s Motivated Sequence in his 2007 iPhone launch keynote . During his keynote speech, Jobs hooked the audience’s attention with a powerful opening statement: “Every once in a while, a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything.” He then identified the need for a better mobile device and presented the iPhone as the solution. Jobs highlighted the benefits of the iPhone, which combined a phone, music player, and internet browser into one device, and helped the audience visualize its potential. Finally, he called upon the audience to take action and go out to buy the iPhone.

Using this approach, Jobs effectively communicated the iPhone’s value and created a buzz around the product. His presentation remains a classic example of how to use Monroe’s Motivated Sequence to market a product successfully.

Winston Churchill’s “We Shall Fight on the Beaches”

Winston Churchill used Monroe’s Motivated Sequence in his “We Shall Fight on the Beaches” speech . Churchill’s famous speech began with a powerful opening statement, “We shall fight on the beaches,” which captured the audience’s attention. He then identified the need for a strong defense against the Nazis and presented a solution: to fight them on the beaches, fields, and streets. Churchill helped the audience visualize the benefits of victory, which would be a world free of Nazi tyranny. Finally, he called upon the audience to take action and join him in the fight against the Nazis.

By using Monroe’s Motivated Sequence, Churchill delivered a powerful speech that motivated the British to fight against the Nazis during World War II. His speech remains a classic example of using persuasive techniques to inspire action and create change.

Applying Monroe’s Motivated Sequence in the digital world 

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence is a powerful tool for crafting persuasive and memorable messages. By following the five steps — attention, need, satisfaction, visualization, and call to action — you can effectively grab your audience’s attention, create a sense of urgency, offer a solution, paint a picture of the future, and inspire action. 

When working remotely, this sequence can help you communicate more effectively with your remote team and leave a lasting impression on others. With the increasing use of chat apps in today’s world, it’s important to adapt your communication style so that your messages have as much impact as face-to-face interactions. The same rules apply, but you’ll need to consider factors like accessibility, reliability, engagement (using tools like images, polls, and video), and email or direct message best practices (avoid sending someone a ‘ wall of text ’!). 

Whether you’re messaging a friend, emailing a colleague, or having a video chat with a client, remember the power of Monroe’s Motivated Sequence and use it to create more impactful messages.

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Speech: Monroe’s Motivated Sequence Persuasive Speech

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persuasive speech topics for monroe's motivated sequence

  • only enter your topic  keywords  into the search box
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It is useful to think of alternative keywords to search for. There are no right and wrong answers when doing this - it should help narrow the focus of your topic a way that is unique to you. If a topic is about how  technology  affects the  relationships  of  young people  we can think of related words and phrases to search for: 

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Data associated with public opinion can support persuasive arguments by demonstrating majority or minority opinions, or the shift of general beliefs over time.

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Monroe’s Motivated Sequence: Definition & Examples

monroe’s motivated sequence outline: your best speech ever

In the age of information, one critical skill is the ability to engage and lead the masses. Learn it, and you can land a better job, a higher salary, and, maybe, even a promotion. While some are born with that inner ability to gain followers, others need to set up a time tracker to see how much time they’re taking, practice in the mirror, and do everything else to develop this skill. That’s where the help of Monroe’s motivated sequence outline comes in.

In this article, we will learn what Monroe’s motivated sequence is and what best techniques you can use to develop the art of giving public speeches.

​What is Monroe’s Motivated Sequence?

monroe’s motivated sequence outline: your best speech ever

Alan Monroe, a professor at Purdue University, used the psychology of persuasion to develop an outline for making speeches. This system helps to deliver the best public presentations that motivate people to act. It’s now known as Monroe’s Motivated Sequence outline.

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence finds application in various real-world scenarios. It helps to organize and structure speeches, making them clear and ensuring their point hits home. The implementation of the elements of persuasion psychology, keeps the audience focused and inspired to act. That’s why Monroe’s motivated sequence outline is so effective. Its five key stages include attention, need, satisfaction, visualization, and call to action.

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Monroe’s Motivated Sequence Steps

Let’s dive right in and have a look at the five steps of Monroe’s motivated sequence that you need to follow to get your speeches to work.

Step 1: Grab attention

Depending on how well you introduce the topic people will decide whether your performance is worth their attention or not.

Getting listeners’ attention may seem challenging. However, it’s a chance to make a solid foundation for your speech. If you grab your audience’s attention at the start, they are more likely to listen to you till the end. 

Use your imagination here. You’re basically looking for a way to get your audience to sit up and pay attention. Make your listeners realize that you have something fascinating to say. In general, people have very short attention spans. Once you have their attention you need to move on quickly.

Identify with your listeners

Begin your presentation with a story related to your topic, tell a dramatic tale, pose a question, make a shocking statement, use a historical fact… This will work as a great ice-breaker, relieving your inner tension and helping you capture listeners’ interest.

Make your audience trust you

Tell them why the topic is interesting to them. State clear and practical purposes, so people will know what to expect. Raise curiosity by asking questions or sharing unexpected facts related to the topic. 

Show authority and reputation

Make yourself more credible by sharing a set of reliable statistics or mentioning that you’ve investigated the topic thoroughly before. Add some visual content to your presentation, such as videos, charts, and images, as well as solid statistics. This will show that you’re well-prepared and ready to teach your listeners about the issue.

Step 2: Define the need

This step is important because you make people feel the need to solve the problem.

At this stage, you need to raise awareness of the problem you’re presenting. Don’t suggest any solutions in this step. Use this part to help people understand that there is a problem and that the challenge needs to be undertaken.

Elaborate the issue

Explain the way things work right now and that this needs to change. Show the consequences of keeping the issue as it is right now. At the same time, there is no need to increase tension or invoke panic. It’ll seem unrealistic. Just support your topic. Use reliable information, such as statistical data and evidence from the people involved. At this point, the visual data prepared in advance will be your most valuable asset.

Make it urgent

Imply the idea of time limits. Using statistics, make your audience realize how important the topic is and that it requires determined action right now. Show the dynamics of the issue becoming worse, explain if the consequences are irreversible or not. 

Highlight how it affects your listeners

Your audience may be concerned about a lot of issues around the world but never take action. This is mainly because these issues aren’t directly related to your listeners. Demonstrate how the problem affects each person in the room. Make your listeners accumulate tension until they feel the need to resolve the issue themselves.

Step 3: Satisfy the need

You have to persuade your listeners that the solution you’re proposing is the most effective strategy out there.

When you see that the audience is ready for action, it’s time to show them the way. Here you need to provide your solution. It should be concise, simple to follow, and easily understood by every listener. 

Present your idea in detail

Formulate your position and provide your solution. Divide your proposal into simple steps and clearly state what you want your listeners to do, believe, or understand.

Provide examples and summarize the idea

Find some fitting examples that demonstrate how your solution should work. Charts and statistics will also add to your arguments. Think of how your solution could benefit your audience and remember to include this information into your presentation.

Suggest your idea for discussion

You need to be prepared for possible questions and have a few counterarguments in your back pocket to show that your solution works. Fear no question. Instead, take the interest as a positive sign that your audience is listening.

Step 4: Visualize the future

This step helps you show your audience your perspective of your plan’s implementation; preparing them for the next stage – taking action.

At this point, you present to your audience what will the future be like if they implement or refuse your solution. You can do it using the following methods:

Positive attitude

Emphasis should be on the positive sides of your plan’s realization. Explain to your listeners how good the future will be if they agree to follow your idea.

Negative attitude

The focus should be on the negative consequences if your plan is rejected. Explain to your audience how bad the future will be if they reject your solution.

This is used to compare positive and negative attitudes. First, start with a negative scenario and after contrast it with a positive one. Make the contrast vivid and feasible. Your listeners should feel that your solution is the only and best choice out there. 

Step 5: Actualization

This final part of your presentation is vital. This is because you need to make sure that the audience knows how to solve the problem and is ready to get down to it.

At the end of your speech, your listeners shouldn’t feel overwhelmed with information. It’s important to concisely summarize and propose steps of action to your audience. 

  • Tell your listeners exactly what steps they need to take to resolve the issue.
  • Explain to your listeners which tools they have to address the problem.
  • Invite your listeners to ask you additional questions .

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence Outline Examples

Many public speakers, vendors, CEOs, students, and those who want to succeed in giving presentations, in general, employ Monroe’s motivated sequence speech technique to ensure that when they talk, they hit the mark. For example, almost every TED talk presentation is built with Monroe’s Motivated Sequence to engage fully with the audience. That’s why they’re so popular. It’s the science of public speaking. 

Let’s take a look at this example here and analyze it.

Melissa Marshall, communications teacher and faculty member of the Department of Communication Arts & Sciences at Penn State University, clearly follows Monroe’s motivated sequence outline.

Here’s the outline of Monroe’s motivated sequence example:

  • Grab attention. Melissa identifies herself with the audience by saying that she felt scared when teaching nerdy guys communication skills. Most of us would feel scared taking on a responsible task. Also, she wittily uses the allegory of Alice in Wonderland, talking about the hidden and fascinating world of science she discovered.
  • Define the need. The speaker talks about the importance of developing great communication skills for scientists and engineers so that they will be able to share their ideas with regular people.
  • Satisfy the need. Melissa explains the steps on how to boost communication and story-telling skills by avoiding jargon, giving simple comparisons, and avoiding bullet points in presentations.
  • Visualize the future. The speaker explains how beneficial it’ll be for scientists and engineers to obtain communication skills as they will be able to share their ideas with a greater audience.
  • Actualization. Melissa wraps up her topic with a simple formula:  (science – (jargon + bullets) / relevance) x passion ) that can be easily implemented in practice by nerdy guys.

Now, think, what in this speech made you want to act? Pinpoint that and you’ll know what to aim for in your next big talk.

Remember, Monroe’s motivated sequence outline isn’t just for conference presentations. You can use it for your daily office work to make great and persuasive speeches during meetings or giving presentations. 

What Else Do You Need For a Good Presentation

Monroe’s motivated sequence outline will form a strong foundation for your speech, but what else will help drive the point home? Here are some additional tips on how to prepare beforehand and what to do after your presentation:

Stay motivated 😌

Many of us often feel that the most unpleasant tasks should be done last. Creating speeches may be one of them. They require lots of preparation and, something scary, talking in front of people. Don’t fall into this common misconception! Start preparing early and you’ll be more likely to have success. We’ve gathered the most effective tips on how to stay productive and motivated here . 

Keep your time 🕒

Use special time tracking software that is easily integrated into your daily apps. They will help arrange, monitor, and devote working time evenly through working processes. This allows you to prepare well-designed and thoroughly-considered speeches that will win over your audience.

Consider the best time for your presentation 🌇

Timing is essential for your speech just like in the workflow process. Think when most of your colleagues can spare some time to see your presentation. A simple time tracker can help you match your co-workers’ schedules to arrange your meeting at the best time. 

Use diagrams, flowcharts and mind maps 📈

Structure your speech and highlight the most important parts of your presentation. Never read your speech from a sheet, use cards or diagrams to see the key points you’re going to talk about. This will make your presentation more vivid and show that you know the subject well.

Release tension 🧘

Balance your working time and time-off. It’s important to rest enough before writing your speech as it’s a creative process and the best ideas hit fresh brains. Measure your productivity and stay creative at work to produce inspirational ideas and presentations.

Keep track of the goals set during your presentation ✅

Monitoring task fulfillment after your presentation gives you valuable data on how well the project is moving forward. A good estimation is important! You can present the information gathered in the form of statistics at the next meeting, showing the progress of the project and your contribution to it.

That’s a Wrap for Monroe’s Motivated Sequence Outline

Knowing how to best utilize Monroe’s motivated sequence outline to create great speeches is step 1 for anyone who wants to influence people, have the ability to persuade and upgrade their employability potential. It’s an essential skill for all successful business people, no matter the field.

Although not all people possess the skill of public speaking, it’s possible to develop and maintain it. What’s needed is practice, some knowledge of specialized techniques, such as Monroe’s motivated sequence outline, and more practice.

Mike Kulakov

Mike Kulakov

IT entrepreneur, executive and a former engineer. Responsible for company growth as well as the team’s motivation. Big fan of playing tennis, snowboarding, traveling, reading books, and (of course) I live and breathe our product.

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Persuasive speech ideas

100 good persuasive speech topics for high school students

By:  Susan Dugdale  | Updated: 02-15-2024

Potentially interesting persuasive speech topics are everywhere - billions of them! But how do you choose exactly the right topic for yourself?

My goal is to help you do that easily! ☺ 

What you'll find on this page:

  • 100+ persuasive speech ideas  grouped by theme: animals/birds, arts/culture, automotive, business/economy, social/community, environment, education, ethics, global/world, sports... 

Notes covering:

  • what makes a speech topic 'good'
  • why some topics are potentially boring for an audience to listen to and best left alone
  • local and 'happening now' (current) persuasive speech ideas
  • the best way to use this list of topics

Reading the notes  before trying to decide what you'll talk about will make the process of choosing the perfect persuasive speech topic simpler.    

How to pick the right persuasive speech topic

The trick to picking the best topic from the bewildering mass of possibilities begins with understanding what makes a speech topic idea 'good'.

What makes a speech topic good?

While there are many factors that combine to make a 'good' speech topic, the three main ones are:

  • the subject matter is something you are genuinely interested in. If you're enthusiastic about your subject, you'll enjoy doing the research required and you'll do it thoroughly. What's more, your interest will show in the way you give your speech. A passionate person is a great deal more persuasive than someone who is ambivalent about what they're talking about.
  • something your audience will be interested in hearing about. Before you make a final choice consider carefully who you are talking to. As a group what particular topic, subjects or issues will make them want to sit up and listen? You'll want to avoid topics that have limited or little appeal to your audience. For example, you may be fascinated by your Great-Grandmother's hand crocheted doily collection, but will your audience really share your opinion that everyone would benefit from learning to crochet? Unless they're all like you, I don't think so! Find out more about the  benefits of audience analysis  in effective persuasive speech preparation.
  • something that has not been covered a 'squillion' times, already. You want a fresh topic!

Image: colorful crochet doily. Text: 100+ good persuasive speech topics - Everyone will benefit from learning to crochet. Mmm. Perhaps not.

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Beware! Some persuasive speech topics are tired

All the engaging 'wow, that's interesting' energy has been squeezed out of them because they have been covered over and over again.  Those topics are exhausted through overuse. They've become cliches.

Most people do not want to listen to another speech:

  • smoking/vaping should be banned,
  • the legal drinking age should be raised to 21,
  • wearing seat belts in vehicles should be compulsory, or
  • the voting age should be lowered.

Even if the issues they raise are unresolved choose something else rather than risk boring your audience.

Of course, there are exceptions!   If you have a genuinely fresh and interesting angle to bring, perhaps new information or research to share, then go ahead. However, make that clear from the outset, otherwise you'll risk losing your audience's interest before you've had a chance to get your speech underway.

Remember - local and topical is GOOD

Before settling on a  persuasive speech topic from my list  check what's going on right under your nose. 

Great persuasive speech topics can pop out of your local community newspaper, radio, TV, or even your Facebook page. These could genuinely interest your audience. 

After all it's where you all live and the issues in your community have an impact on everyone's wellbeing.

The 'Wellywood' sign saga

I've just flicked through a copy of the local community news I picked up at my supermarket.

There were articles about a huge sign Wellington airport is considering placing on a prominent hill alongside the runway. It will read "Wellywood".

Image -The hill above Miramar Wharf, Wellington, NZ with a sign saying Wellywood.

Airport authorities say it supports our thriving film industry, celebrating and building on the success of "The Lord of the Rings".

Those against it argue it's cheap copycatting of the famous Hollywood sign. They say the thousands of overseas visitors per day who see it will hoot and snort with derisive laughter.

There are two potential persuasive speech ideas right there: depending on your point of view, either for or against the sign.

Another piece was on the mixed success of a newly introduced recycling scheme.

Yet another was on depression alongside the story of a young man who suffered from it. What angles could be taken on either of those?

How to use this list of speech topic suggestions

Note down 3 possibilities as you go through the list of speech topics below.

As you read apply the three 'tests' for selecting a good persuasive speech topic I've already mentioned: your interest in the topic, its appeal to your audience and its freshness.

In addition to those there are a few other factors to bear in mind before committing yourself. 

Other important factors to consider

Any of these could also influence your choice.

  • the time you have to research the topic thoroughly If it's a complex topic and you have limited time to prepare you may want to reconsider.
  • your desired outcome A successful persuasive speech persuades!  It challenges and seeks to change the way people think, feel and behave. What do you want your audience to do as a result of hearing you speak? Sign a petition, make a donation, vote for you, volunteer ...? What you want to happen is often called a ' most wanted response ' or MWR. Being clear about that will help you choose your topic as well as shape your speech.
  • your credibility How qualified are you to speak on the topic you've chosen? Do you have personal experience on your side?  How long have you been interested in it?  Have you done your research? Have you found reliable resources from reputable sources covering all angles of your topic?

100+ good persuasive speech ideas

Image:- street art- two girls writing on wall - 'Please no more war. Love.' Text: 100 persuasive speech ideas - Graffiti is a justifiable form of social protest.

Animals/birds ...

  • Factory farming of animals (e.g. of cows, sheep, pigs or chickens) is inhumane.
  • Humane meat production is an oxymoron.
  • Exotic animals can make excellent pets.
  • Should rats, mice and birds be used in scientific experimentation?
  • Pit-bull dogs are dangerous.
  • There are significant advantages to animal testing.
  • Puppy mills should be illegal.
  • The domestic cat is a serious threat to endangered birds.
  • Pet therapy should receive more funding.
  • Birds should not be kept in cages.
  • Wild animals should be left in the wild.

Arts/Culture

  • Artists should be supported and funded by the state.
  • Cultural appropriation in any form is an insult.
  • No subject should be considered taboo in art.
  • Graffiti is art.
  • Indigenous artifacts should be returned to their rightful owners.
  • Famous artists are entitled to have their rights to privacy respected.
  • Music videos are an art form in their own right.
  • Art should be freely accessible to all.
  • Tattooing is a modern form of Fine Art.
  • Art appreciation and practice should be compulsory subjects.
  • Respecting cultural difference should be taught in all schools.
  • Everyone should know about the culture(s) they are born into.
  • Culture is essential, just like fresh air and food.
  • Hands-on defensive driving training should be compulsory.
  • Electric vehicles should be subsidized.
  • Internal combustion engine powered vehicles should be taxed to cover emissions.
  • Bicycles and cars should have separate roads.
  • Children under the age of 10 should not ride bicycles on public roads.
  • Everybody who holds a driving license should be regularly retested.
  • Driving while using a cell phone should be illegal.
  • Private vehicle ownership and use in cities should be restricted.
  • Public transport in cities should be readily available and affordable.

Business/Economy

  • Money is not the root of all evil.
  • Power does not necessarily corrupt.
  • All workers should at least receive the minimum wage.
  • All workers should be paid equitably for the same job regardless of differences in race, gender or sexuality. 
  • The minimum wage should be increased.
  • Local businesses deserve more support.
  • Using cheaper foreign labor for manufacturing is ruining our economy.

Social/Community

  • Homelessness is the result of choice.
  • Becoming a parent should be an earned privilege.
  • Same-sex marriage should be accepted in the same way that heterosexual marriage is.
  • Juvenile crime is a cry for help not punishment.
  • Guns should not be allowed in public places.
  • Helping those who need it in the community should be everyone's responsibility.
  • Food should never be wasted.
  • Community service projects create healthier communities.
  • All education should be free.
  • Higher education is over-rated.
  • Boys and girls should be educated separately.
  • Students should wear uniforms.
  • GPAs (Grade Point Averages) are more harmful than helpful.
  • The state colleges versus private colleges debate is meaningless.
  • Sex education is essential.
  • Mental health should be a mandatory subject in schools.
  • Private (fee-paying) schools achieve better results.
  • Everybody who wants to go to school should be able to.
  • Ranking student ability using traditional examinations should be stopped.
  • Assessment of a student's progress should be measured against themselves not their peers.
  • Class sizes should be smaller.
  • What is right? Choosing a major on the basis of personal interest or because of a potential salary? 
  • On-line teaching is as effective as classroom-based teaching.

Environment

  • Being 'green' is a fashionable fad.
  • Many current farming practices damage the environment and should be banned.
  • All plastic packaging must be banned.
  • Disposable diapers need to be biodegradable.
  • Should fracking be illegal?
  • Renewable energy schemes should be supported.
  • Climate change is a fact.
  • Mining in environmentally vulnerable areas should be stopped.
  • 'Green' spaces are good for mental health. There should be more parks. 
  • Lying is always wrong.
  • Truth is never debatable, or alternative. 
  • There is never an excuse or reason good enough to declare war.
  • Free speech should not be confused with hate speech.
  • What is 'right' and 'wrong' changes from generation to generation, from culture to culture.
  • Is it right to allow white supremacists to hold rallies?
  • Should drones be allowed in military warfare?
  • Ethical considerations should underpin stem-cell research.
  • Disabilities of any sort (mental, emotional, or physical) are an opportunity for personal growth.
  • Healthcare is the responsibility of the individual, not the state.
  • What we eat, we become.
  • What we think, we are.
  • Drug addicts are chronically sick. They have a disease.
  • Access to effective, safe birth control should be a right.
  • Plastic surgery should be only for those who really need it.
  • Assisted dying (suicide) should be legal.
  • Vaccinations in schools for common infectious diseases should be compulsory. 
  • A tax on sugar would help lessen the spread of diet related health problems.
  • Fast foods should not be blamed for health concerns.
  • Good affordable housing would solve many chronic health problems.
  • Therapies, like art or music, should be government funded. 

Global/World

  • Global warming is real.
  • The idea of peace on earth is naive.
  • Nationalism creates and sustains enemies.
  • Cultural difference should be celebrated.
  • First world countries should meaningfully and freely assist countries who need help.

Government/Law/Politics

  • Religion has no place in government.
  • State censorship or surveillance is never a right course of action.
  • That giant international companies should not be able to dodge paying tax.
  • Military service should be compulsory.
  • It should be illegal to own or have a semi-automatic or assault weapon.
  • Modern media is to blame for lowering moral standards/ reading levels/ escalating violence. (Select one!)
  • Online games can be good for you.
  • Internet chat rooms should be monitored.
  • Facebook (or any other form of social media) is replacing the need for face-to-face communication.
  • Cyberbullying controls should be more actively put in place.
  • Monitoring media of any sort should be banned.
  • Religious tolerance should be encouraged.
  • All religious institutions should be monitored by the state.
  • Animal sacrifices as part of religious practice need to be viewed in context.
  • Should students be allowed to follow their religious practices in public schools?

Science/Technology

  • Food engineering is the way of the future.
  • Cell phone use in public places should be controlled.
  • Should the government put restrictions on the development and use of AI?
  • Designer children - is this good for future generations?
  • Cloning is justifiable.
  • Self-driving cars should be legal.
  • Should schools teach the use of AI tools?
  • The use of robots should be limited.
  • All professional athletes should be required to take regular drug tests.
  • Professional male and female athletes in the same sport should be paid equally.
  • Children should not be allowed to play collision sports.
  • Is cheerleading a sport?
  • Competitive sports teach us valuable life lessons.
  • Physical education should be a compulsory subject.
  • No-one should be barred from a sport because of their gender.

persuasive speech topics for monroe's motivated sequence

Getting from compelling topic to persuasive speech

For help turning your chosen persuasive speech idea into a fully-fledged speech check these pages.

Resources for preparation 

  • Persuasive Speech Outline Find out more about structuring an effective persuasive speech using Monroe's Motivated Sequence, the classic 5 step pattern used by all professional persuaders: politicians, the advertising industry, and PR experts. There's a step-by-step example outline and a printable blank persuasive speech outline template for you to use too.

Alan H Monroe

Image per courtesy Purdue University

  • And here's a  persuasive speech example  that uses Monroe's Motivated Sequence.  Before you go to look I'd like you know its content is potentially controversial: suicide and the impact it has on close family and friends.
  • Sample Speech Outline This is the familiar 3 part speech outline - good for any type of speech. Read the step by step instructions then download a free blank speech outline to complete. Fill it in and you're ready to go!
  • How to Write a Speech Step by step easily followed instructions for shaping your material into an effective speech.

More persuasive speech topics to choose from

Image:-piece of half eaten chocolate cake on a plate. Text: Fun persuasive speech topics - Having you cake and eating it too is fair.

And if you're still in need of persuasive speech ideas check these pages:

  • 50   good persuasive speech topics  
  • 105 fun persuasive speech topics  
  • 309 'easy' persuasive speech topics
  • 108  feminist persuasive speech topics    
  • 310 persuasive speech topics for college . 

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persuasive speech topics for monroe's motivated sequence

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The Monroe’s Motivated Sequence: Perfecting the Art of Persuasive Speech

What is the monroe’s motivated sequence.

The Monroe’s Motivated Sequence is a persuasive speech framework that guides speakers in delivering compelling and effective presentations. It is a step-by-step process that helps speakers structure their speeches to capture the audience’s attention, create a need or problem, propose a solution, and visualize the desired outcome. This sequence is widely used in public speaking and is particularly useful for persuasive speeches, sales presentations, and marketing pitches. By following the Monroe’s Motivated Sequence, speakers can engage their audience, build credibility, and effectively communicate their message.

Why is the Monroe’s Motivated Sequence important?

The Monroe’s Motivated Sequence is important because it provides a structured framework for delivering persuasive speeches. This sequence helps speakers effectively capture the audience’s attention, create a sense of urgency, propose solutions, and paint a vivid picture of the desired outcome. By following this sequence, speakers can engage and persuade their audience more effectively. The Monroe’s Motivated Sequence is especially valuable when addressing persuasive speech topics as it helps speakers organize their thoughts and arguments in a logical and compelling manner. It ensures that the audience is engaged throughout the speech and increases the likelihood of achieving the speaker’s desired outcome.

How does the Monroe’s Motivated Sequence work?

The Monroe’s Motivated Sequence is a persuasive speech framework that follows a specific structure to effectively influence and persuade an audience. It consists of five steps: Attention, Need, Satisfaction, Visualization, and Conclusion. In the Attention step, the speaker captures the audience’s attention using powerful opening statements and engaging storytelling. The Need step involves identifying the problem or need, creating a sense of urgency, and presenting evidence and statistics to support the need for a solution. In the Satisfaction step, the speaker proposes a solution, explains the benefits of the solution, and addresses potential objections. The Visualization step focuses on painting a vivid picture of the desired outcome, using storytelling to evoke emotions, and helping the audience imagine the future. Finally, the Conclusion step summarizes the main points, reinforces the call to action, and leaves a lasting impression. The Monroe’s Motivated Sequence provides a comprehensive and effective framework for persuasive speeches, allowing speakers to strategically influence their audience. To learn more about persuasive speaking techniques and improve your public speaking skills, check out Unifire’s resources and courses.

Step 1: Attention

Capturing the audience’s attention.

When it comes to capturing the audience’s attention, content creators and educators understand the importance of making a strong first impression. They know that in order to stand out in a sea of information, they need to grab the audience’s interest right from the start. One effective way to do this is by using powerful opening statements that immediately pique curiosity. By starting with a compelling hook or an intriguing question, content creators can instantly engage the audience and make them want to learn more. Another effective technique is storytelling. By sharing personal anecdotes or captivating narratives, content creators can create an emotional connection with the audience, making them more receptive to the message being conveyed. Capturing the audience’s attention is the crucial first step in delivering a persuasive speech that leaves a lasting impact.

CTA: Unifire

Are you a content creator or educator looking to take your persuasive speeches to the next level? Unifire is the tool you need. With Unifire, you can transform your webinars, podcasts, and conference talks into compelling content that resonates with your audience. Say goodbye to generic content and hello to unique, insightful, and engaging material. Try Unifire today and see the difference it can make in your content creation journey.

How to Captivate Your Audience:

  • Start with a powerful opening statement or hook that grabs attention
  • Incorporate storytelling to create an emotional connection
  • Use visuals, such as images or videos, to enhance engagement
  • Make your content relatable and relevant to the audience
  • Practice and refine your delivery to ensure a confident and engaging presentation

By following these steps, you can captivate your audience and deliver persuasive speeches that inspire and motivate.

Engaging the audience with storytelling

Engaging the audience with storytelling is a crucial step in the Monroe’s Motivated Sequence. Storytelling has the power to captivate listeners and create an emotional connection . By sharing personal anecdotes or relatable narratives, speakers can effectively convey their message and make it more memorable. Storytelling allows the audience to visualize the problem or need, making it more relatable and compelling. It helps create a sense of empathy and urgency, encouraging the audience to pay attention and take action. Through the art of storytelling, speakers can paint a vivid picture of the desired outcome, helping the audience imagine a better future. By incorporating storytelling techniques, speakers can keep the audience engaged throughout the speech and leave a lasting impression.

Step 2: Need

Identifying the problem or need.

The first step in the Monroe’s Motivated Sequence is identifying the problem or need that your audience is facing. This is a crucial step because it sets the stage for the rest of your persuasive speech. To effectively identify the problem or need, you should conduct thorough research and gather relevant data and evidence. This will help you understand the magnitude of the issue and its impact on your audience. Once you have identified the problem or need, you can create a sense of urgency by highlighting the consequences of not addressing it. Presenting compelling evidence and statistics can further reinforce the importance of finding a solution. By clearly articulating the problem or need, you can capture your audience’s attention and motivate them to listen to your proposed solution. Unifire is a platform that can help you craft persuasive speeches using the Monroe’s Motivated Sequence. With its user-friendly interface and comprehensive resources, Unifire makes it easy to create impactful speeches that resonate with your audience. Sign up for Unifire today and take your persuasive speaking skills to the next level!

Creating a sense of urgency

Creating a sense of urgency is a crucial step in the Monroe’s Motivated Sequence. By highlighting the immediate and pressing nature of the problem or need, you can captivate the audience’s attention and motivate them to take action. Presenting compelling evidence and statistics that demonstrate the negative consequences of not addressing the issue can further enhance the sense of urgency. Additionally, sharing real-life stories and examples that illustrate the urgency can help the audience connect emotionally and understand the need for immediate action. By emphasizing the time-sensitive nature of the problem, you can effectively persuade the audience to prioritize finding a solution. To create a sense of urgency, consider using powerful language, visuals, and storytelling techniques that convey the gravity of the situation. Remember, the goal is to make the audience feel a sense of urgency and compel them to act now. Act today and join Unifire in making a difference!

Step 3: Satisfaction

Proposing a solution.

After identifying the problem or need, the next step in the Monroe’s Motivated Sequence is proposing a solution. This is where the speaker presents a clear and actionable solution to address the problem or fulfill the need. The solution should be practical and feasible, offering a way forward for the audience. It is important to explain the benefits of the solution, highlighting how it can effectively solve the problem or fulfill the need. Additionally, the speaker should address potential objections or concerns that the audience may have, providing reassurance and building credibility. By proposing a solution, the speaker aims to convince the audience that taking action is necessary and beneficial. The proposed solution should be compelling and persuasive , appealing to the emotions and logic of the audience. By offering a concrete solution, the speaker guides the audience towards a desired outcome and motivates them to take action. In the case of persuasive speeches, the proposed solution often includes a call to action, urging the audience to support a particular cause or take specific steps towards a desired change. By actively involving the audience in the solution , the speaker increases their engagement and commitment to the message. Ultimately, the goal of this step is to convince the audience that the proposed solution is the best course of action and that they should act upon it. To learn more about the Monroe’s Motivated Sequence and how to perfect the art of persuasive speech, visit Unifire .

Explaining the benefits of the solution

The Monroe’s Motivated Sequence provides a comprehensive and effective framework for persuasive speech. By following the 5 step structural pattern, speakers can strategically capture the audience’s attention, identify and create a sense of urgency around the problem or need, propose a solution, paint a vivid picture of the desired outcome, and reinforce the call to action. This sequence helps speakers engage the audience, evoke emotions, and ultimately persuade them to take action. By utilizing powerful opening statements, storytelling techniques, evidence and statistics, and addressing potential objections, speakers can effectively communicate the benefits of their proposed solution. The Monroe’s Motivated Sequence is a valuable tool for anyone looking to deliver a persuasive speech that leaves a lasting impression.

Addressing potential objections

In order to effectively address potential objections, it is important to anticipate and acknowledge any concerns or doubts that the audience may have. By doing so, you can demonstrate that you have considered all perspectives and are prepared to provide a compelling response. One strategy is to use the Rhetorical Triangle , which consists of ethos , pathos, and logos, to appeal to the audience’s emotions, credibility, and logic. By incorporating these elements into your persuasive speech, you can build trust and credibility, evoke empathy and connect with the audience on an emotional level, and present logical arguments supported by evidence and reasoning. This comprehensive approach helps to counter potential objections and strengthen your overall persuasive message.

Step 4: Visualization

Painting a vivid picture of the desired outcome.

After presenting the proposed solution and explaining its benefits, the next step in the Monroe’s Motivated Sequence is to paint a vivid picture of the desired outcome. This step aims to create a compelling vision in the minds of the audience, helping them visualize the positive impact of accepting the proposed solution. By using storytelling techniques and evoking emotions, speakers can engage the audience on an emotional level and make the desired outcome feel more tangible and achievable. Imagine a world where everyone has access to clean drinking water . Picture children smiling as they quench their thirst with safe and pure water. Envision communities thriving, free from the burden of waterborne diseases. By painting this vivid picture, speakers can inspire and motivate the audience to take action. The visualization step is crucial in connecting the audience’s emotions to the proposed solution and reinforcing the urgency and importance of addressing the problem at hand.

To learn more about the Monroe’s Motivated Sequence and how to perfect the art of persuasive speech, visit Unifire . Unifire offers a comprehensive platform that helps you craft and deliver impactful speeches that drive change. Take your persuasive speaking skills to the next level and make a lasting impression on your audience. Start using Unifire today!

How to Paint a Vivid Picture of the Desired Outcome:

  • Use descriptive language and vivid imagery to create a mental image of the desired outcome.
  • Incorporate storytelling techniques to engage the audience’s emotions and make the desired outcome feel more real.
  • Highlight the positive impact and benefits that the desired outcome will bring.
  • Connect the desired outcome to the proposed solution, reinforcing the importance of taking action.
  • Use visual aids, such as photos or videos, to enhance the audience’s visualization experience.
  • Encourage the audience to imagine themselves experiencing the desired outcome, fostering a sense of personal connection and motivation.
  • End with a powerful statement that leaves a lasting impression and reinforces the call to action.

Using storytelling to evoke emotions

Storytelling is a powerful tool in persuasive speech, as it has the ability to evoke emotions and create a deep connection with the audience. By telling a compelling story that relates to the topic at hand, the speaker can engage the audience on an emotional level and make the message more relatable and memorable. Stories have the power to transport the audience to a different time and place, allowing them to experience the emotions and events firsthand. This emotional connection can help to build trust and credibility, as well as inspire the audience to take action. When using storytelling to evoke emotions, it is important to choose stories that are relevant and impactful, and to use vivid language and imagery to paint a vivid picture in the audience’s minds. By tapping into the power of storytelling, speakers can create a lasting impact and drive their message home.

CTA: Visit Unifire to learn more about the power of storytelling in persuasive speech and discover tools to enhance your persuasive speaking skills.

How to Use Storytelling to Evoke Emotions:

  • Choose a relevant and impactful story that relates to your topic.
  • Use vivid language and imagery to paint a vivid picture in the audience’s minds.
  • Connect the story to the main message or call to action.
  • Practice delivering the story with emotion and passion.
  • Pay attention to the audience’s reactions and adjust your delivery accordingly.
  • Use storytelling strategically throughout your speech to engage and captivate the audience.
  • Reflect on the impact of the storytelling after the speech and make adjustments for future speeches.

By following these steps, you can harness the power of storytelling to evoke emotions and create a persuasive and impactful speech.

Helping the audience imagine the future

After going through the steps of the Monroe’s Motivated Sequence, it is crucial to help the audience imagine the future. By painting a vivid picture of the desired outcome, using storytelling to evoke emotions, and providing concrete examples, you can create a powerful vision in the minds of your listeners. This step is essential because it allows the audience to connect with the proposed solution on a deeper level and understand the potential impact it can have on their lives. By helping them visualize the positive changes that can occur, you can inspire them to take action and support your cause. The Monroe’s Motivated Sequence provides a structured framework for persuasive speeches , and by following its steps, you can effectively engage your audience and motivate them to act.

Summarizing the main points

The Monroe’s Motivated Sequence is a powerful framework for persuasive speech that consists of five steps: Attention, Need, Satisfaction, Visualization, and Conclusion. In the Attention step, the speaker captures the audience’s attention using powerful opening statements and engaging storytelling. The Need step involves identifying the problem or need, creating a sense of urgency, and presenting evidence and statistics. In the Satisfaction step, the speaker proposes a solution, explains the benefits of the solution, and addresses potential objections. The Visualization step focuses on painting a vivid picture of the desired outcome, using storytelling to evoke emotions, and helping the audience imagine the future. Finally, in the Conclusion step, the main points of the speech are summarized, the call to action is reinforced, and a lasting impression is left on the audience. The Monroe’s Motivated Sequence is important because it provides a structured approach to persuasive speech, ensuring that the speaker effectively communicates their message and motivates the audience to take action. To perfect the art of persuasive speech, it is crucial to prioritize depth over high-level explanations and to be comprehensive when addressing each step of the sequence. If you’re looking to enhance your persuasive speaking skills, consider using Unifire, a tool that can help you create compelling content and scale your operations. With Unifire, you can turn webinars into weeks’ worth of unique content that resonates with your audience. Try Unifire today and see how it can be a game changer for content creators, educators, and anyone who wants to win the content game.

Reinforcing the call to action

After presenting a compelling solution and addressing potential objections, it is crucial to reinforce the call to action and leave a lasting impression on the audience. This is the final opportunity to motivate them to take the desired action. Summarize the main points of the persuasive speech, emphasizing the problem, the proposed solution, and the benefits of taking action. Use powerful language to evoke emotions and create a sense of urgency. Remind the audience of the consequences of inaction and the positive outcomes that can be achieved by following through with the call to action. Finally, provide clear and specific instructions on how to take action, whether it’s signing a petition, making a donation, or spreading the message on social media. Remember, the success of a persuasive speech lies in the ability to inspire action, so make sure to leave a strong and memorable impression.

Call to Action: Unifire

Are you ready to take your content creation to the next level? Unifire is here to help you scale your content production effortlessly. With Unifire, you can turn your webinars, podcasts, and workshops into a torrential downpour of valuable content. Say goodbye to manual tasks and hello to super efficiency. Upload your content for free and unlock its organic website potential. Engage your customers through new channels and dominate your social niche. Develop thought-leadership by transforming your workshops into comprehensive e-books. Don’t miss out on this game-changing opportunity. Visit Unifire today and start creating content that truly stands out!

Leaving a lasting impression

In conclusion, the Monroe’s Motivated Sequence is a powerful framework for delivering persuasive speeches. By following the sequence, speakers can effectively capture the audience’s attention, identify a problem or need, propose a solution, and paint a vivid picture of the desired outcome. One key insight from this article is the importance of engaging the audience through storytelling, which helps evoke emotions and create a lasting impact. Another important point is the need to address potential objections and present evidence and statistics to support the proposed solution. By using the Monroe’s Motivated Sequence, speakers can leave a lasting impression on their audience, motivating them to take action. Armenian genocide is a tragic example of a problem that could be addressed using this persuasive framework.

In conclusion, Unifire is the ultimate tool for extracting summaries, keywords, and titles from your podcast and repurposing your content. With Unifire, you can save time and effort by automating the process of creating engaging content. Whether you’re a podcaster, content creator, or marketer, Unifire can help you optimize your content strategy and reach a wider audience. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to enhance your content creation workflow. Visit Unifire today and start maximizing the potential of your podcast content!

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15.7: Sample Outline- Persuasive Speech Using Monroe's Motivated Sequence Pattern

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Speech to Actuate:

Sponsoring a Child in Poverty

Specific Purpose:

to actuate my audience to sponsor a child through an agency such as Compassion International.

Introduction (Attention Step)

I. How much is $38? That answer depends on what you make, what you are spending it for, and what you get back for it. (Grabber)

II. $38 per month breaks down to a little more than $1.25 per day, which is probably what you spend on a snack or soda in the break room. For us, it’s not very much. (Rapport)

III. I found out that I can provide better health care, nutrition, and even education for a child in Africa, South America, or Asia for the $38 per month by sponsoring a child through Compassion International. (Credibility)

IV. If I can do it, maybe you can too: (Bridge)

Through a minimal donation each month, you can make the life of a child in the developing world much better.

In the next few minutes I would like to discuss the problem, the work of organizations that offer child sponsorships, how research shows they really do alleviate poverty, and what you can do to change the life of a child. Body

I. The problem is the continued existence and effects of poverty. (Need Step)

A. Poverty is real and rampant in much of the world.

1. According to a 2018 report of the Secretary General of the United Nations, 9.2% of the world lives on less than $1.90 per day.

a. That is 600 million people on the planet.

2. This number is supported by the World Poverty clock of the World Data Lab, which states that 8% of the world’s population lives in extreme poverty.

a. The good news is that this number is one third of what it was in 1990, mostly due to the rising middle class in Asia.

b. The bad news is that 70% of the poor will live in Africa, with Nigeria labeled the “Poverty Capital of the World,” according to the Brookings Institute.

B. Poverty means children do not get adequate health care.

1. One prevalent but avoidable disease is malaria, which takes the lives of 3000 children every day, according to UNICEF.

2. According to the World Health Organization, diarrheal diseases claimed 2.46 million lives in 2012 and is the second leading cause of death of children under 5.

C. Poverty means children do not get adequate nutrition, as stated in a report from UNICEF.

1. Inadequate nutrition leads to stunted growth.

2. Undernutrition contributes to more than one third of all deaths in children under the age of five.

D. Poverty means children are unlikely to reach adult age, according to the CIA World Fact Book quoted on the Infoplease website.

1. Child mortality rate in Africa is 8.04% (percentage dying before age 5), while in North American is .64%

2. Life expectancy in Sub-Saharan Africa is almost 30 years less than in the U.S.

E. Poverty also means children are unlikely to receive education and be trained for profitable work.

1. Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names, states the Global Issues website on Poverty Facts.

2. UNESCO, a part of the United Nations, reports that less than a third of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa have completed primary education.

Transition:

Although in all respects poverty is better in 2019 than it has been in the past, poverty is still pervasive and needs to be addressed. Fortunately, some great organizations have been addressing this for many years.

II. Some humanitarian organizations address poverty directly through child sponsorships. (Satisfaction Step)

A. These organizations vary in background but not in purpose. The following information is gleaned from each organization’s websites.

1. Compassion International is faith-based, evangelical.

a. Around since early 1950s, started in Korea.

b. Budget of $887 Million.

c. Serves 1.92 million babies, children, and young adults.

d. Works through local community centers and established churches.

2. World Vision is faith-based, evangelical.

a. Around since the 1950s.

b. Budget of far over $1 Billion.

c. 60% goes to local community programs but more goes to global networks, so that 86% goes to services.

d. World Vision has more extensive services than child sponsorship, such as water purification and disaster relief.

e. Sponsors three million children across six continents

3. Children International is secular.

a. Around since 1936.

b. Budget of $125 Million.

c. 88% of income goes directly to programs and children.

d. Sponsors children in ten countries on four continents

e. Sponsors X across X continents

4. Save the Children is secular, through…

a. One hundred years of history, began in post WWI Europe.

b. Budget of $880 Million.

c. 87% goes to services.

d. Sponsors 134 million children in 120 countries, including 450,000 in U.S.

5. There are other similar organizations, such as ChildFund and PlanUSA.

B. These organizations work directly with local community, on-site organizations.

1. The children are involved in a program, such as after school.

2. The children live with their parents and siblings.

3. The sponsor’s donation goes for medicine, extra healthy, nutritious food, shoes for school, and other items.

4. Sponsors can also help donate for birthdays and holidays to the whole family to buy food or farm animals.

Of course, any time we are donating money to an organization, we want to be sure our money is being effectively and ethnically used.

III. This concern should be addressed in two ways: Is the money really helping, and are the organizations honest? (Continuation of Satisfaction Step)

A. The organizations’ honesty can be investigated.

1. You can check through Charity Navigator.

2. You can check through the Better Business Bureau-Charity.

3. You can check through Charity Watch.

4. You can check through the organizations’ websites.

B. Secondly, is sponsoring a child effective? Yes.

1. According to Bruce Wydick, Professor of Economics at the University of San Francisco, child sponsorship is the fourth most effective strategy for addressing poverty, behind water purification, mosquito nets, and deworming treatments.

2. Dr. Wydick and colleagues’ work has been published in the prestigious Journal of Political Economy from the University of Chicago.

3. He states, “Two researchers and I recently carried out a study (sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development) on the long-term impacts of Compassion International’s child sponsorship program. The study, gathering data from over 10,000 individuals in six countries, found substantial impact on adult life outcomes for children who were sponsored through Compassion’s program during the 1980s and ’90s…In adulthood, formerly sponsored children were far more likely to complete secondary school and had a much higher chance of having a white-collar job. They married and had children later in life, were more likely to be church and community leaders, were less likely to live in a home with a dirt floor and more likely to live in a home with electricity.”

To this point I have spoke of global problems and big solutions. Now I want to bring it down to real life with one example.

IV. I’d like to use my sponsored child, Ukwishaka in Rwanda, as an example of how you can. (Visualization Step)

A. I have sponsored her for five years.

B. She is now ten years old.

C. She lives with two siblings and both parents.

D. She writes me, I write her back, and we share photos at least every two months.

E. The organization gives me reports on her project.

F. I hope one day to go visit her.

G. I believe Ukwishaka now knows her life can be more, can be successful.

We have looked at the problem of childhood poverty and how reliable, stable nongovernmental organizations are addressing it through child sponsorships. Where does that leave you?

V. I challenge you to sponsor a child like Ukwishaka. (Action Step)

A. Although I sponsor her through Compassion International, there are other organizations.

B. First, do research.

C. Second, look at your budget and be sure you can do this.

1. You don’t want to start and have to stop.

2. Look for places you “waste” money during the month and could use it this way.

3. Fewer snacks from the break room, fewer movies at the Cineplex, brown bag instead of eating out.

D. Talk to a representative at the organization you like.

E. Discuss it with your family.

F. Take the plunge. If you do.

1. Write your child regularly.

2. Consider helping the family, or getting friends to help with extra gifts.

I. In this speech, we have taken a look at the state of poverty for children on this planet, at organizations that are addressing it through child sponsorships, at the effectiveness of these programs, and what you can do.

II. My goal today was not to get an emotional response, but a realistically compassionate one.

III. You have probably heard this story before but it bears repeating. A little girl was walking with her mother on the beach, and the sand was covered with starfish. The little girl wanted to rescue them and send them back to the ocean and kept throwing them in. “It won’t matter, Honey,” said her mother. “You can’t get all of them back in the ocean.” “But it will matter to the ones that I do throw back,” the little girl answered.

IV. We can’t sponsor every child, but we can one, maybe even two. As Forest Witcraft said, “What will matter in 100 years is that I made a difference in the life of a child.” Will you make a difference?

AGScientific. (2019). Top ten deadly diseases in the world. Retrieved from http://agscientific.com/blog/2016/04/top-10-deadly-diseases/

Compassion International. (2019). Financial integrity: The impact of our compassion. Retrieved from https://www.compassion.com/about/financial.htm

Children’s International. (2019). Accountability. Retrieved from https://www.children.org/learn-more/accountability

Global Issues. (2013, January 7 ). Poverty facts and stats. Retrieved from https://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stat s

Infoplease. (2019). What life expectancy really means. Retrieved form https://www.infoplease.com/world/health-and-social-statistics/life-expectancy-countries-0

Kharas, H., Hamel, K., & Hofer, M. (2018, Dec. 13). Rethinking global poverty reduction in 2019. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2018/12/13/rethinking-global-poverty-reduction-in-2019/

Roser, M. (2019). Child and infant mortality rates. Retrieved from https:// ourworldindata.org/child-mortality

Save the Children. (2019). Financial information. Retrieved from https://www.savethechildren.org/us/a...al-information UNICEF.(2008).

Tracking progress on child and maternal nutrition: A survival and development priority. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/media/files/Tracking_Progress_on_Child_and_Maternal_Nutrition_EN_110309.pdf UNICEF 2019.

The reality of Malaria. Retrieved from https://www.unicef . org/health/files/health_africamalaria.pdf United Nations. (2019). Poverty eradication. Retrieved from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics/povertyeradication

World Vision. (2019). Financial accountability. Retrieved from https:// www.worldvision.org/about-us/financial-accountability-2 Wydick, B., Glewwe, P., & Rutledge, L. (2013).

Does international child sponsorship work? A six-country study of impacts on adult life outcomes. Journal of Political Economy, 121(2), 393–436. https://doi. org/10.1086/670138 Wydick, B. (2012, Feb.).

Cost-effective compassion. Christianity Today, 56(2), 24-29. Wydick, B. (2013). Want to change the world? Sponsor a child. Christianity Today, 57(5), 20–27.

Frantically Speaking

All You Need To Know About ‘Monroe’s Motivated Sequence’

Hrideep barot.

  • Public Speaking , Speech Writing

Monroe's Motivated Sequence (Complete Guide)

Do you remember all the speech writing lessons you had in school? Well, most of these lessons missed out on an important chapter- Monroe’s Motivated Sequence .

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence is a five-step organizational framework that acts as a guiding line for writing a persuasive speech. It organizes the content of a persuasive speech and helps the orator to align his audiences’ thoughts with his ideas by allowing him to inspire the audience to take action after the speech. This technique was developed by Alan H. Monroe at Purdue University in the early 1930s.

Since time immemorial, this concept has been the reason behind the success of MANY persuasive speeches. To name a few-

  • I Have A Dream By Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • We Shall Fight on the Beaches By Winston Churchill
  • The Gettysburg Address By Abraham Lincoln

Alright, let’s dive into it!

A Quick Overview

Overview of Monroe's Motivated Sequence

The concept of Monroe’s Motivation Sequence was introduced as early as the 1930s. Just like mathematical formulae, even the domain of persuasive speaking now had a formula. If you’ll have a closer look, you’ll find the application of this concept in a number of famous speeches.

Who was Alan H. Monroe?

Alan H. Monroe, a renowned American Psychologist, introduced ‘Monroe’s Motivated Sequence’. He’s considered to be a pioneer in the field of communications.

Having focused his entire career around public speaking and studying the psychology of persuasion, Alan H. Monroe wished to disseminate his learnings and experiences with all the public speakers out there. To top it all, he spent a significant amount of time as a professor of communications at Purdue University. So, when the University asked him to draft a special communications course for its students, he was overjoyed.

As a result, he crafted an outline for persuasive speeches and mentioned this outline in one of his books, ‘ Monroe’s Principles of Speech ‘. With the popularization of this concept, this outline later came to be known as ‘Monroe’s Motivated Sequence’.

As the name suggests, this sequence helps the audience to stay motivated to listen to your speech in its entirety and at the same time, calls for initiation of action from the audience.

Why you should bother learning ‘Monroe’s Motivated Sequence’?

importance of learning monroe's motivated sequence

Universality of Persuasion

Persuasive speaking is an inescapable skill. Be it something as huge as a professional workspace or something as tiny as daily conversations, we all are required to convince people one way or another. Now, not everyone wishes to devote their time and energy to honing the skill of persuasive speaking. Some just wish to be good enough to influence small groups of people if not mammoth gatherings and that’s perfectly alright!

No matter what your aim is, ‘Monroe’s Motivated Sequence’ is the foundation stone of persuasive speaking for all the beginners out there. It’s a MUST-LEARN concept for every adult who wishes to excel in his professional life.

Give the power in the hands of the audience

You know what most of us lack as speakers? It’s the care for the audience members.

As a consequence to this, after most of the speeches, audience members are clueless about the way forward just because you failed to guide them towards the way forward with a takeaway. Monroe’s Motivated Sequence carries an entire technique of ‘call-to-action- that will help you tailor your speech from an audiences’ perspective and establish you as a likeable personality over other speakers.

The potency of human psychology

Unlike other techniques, Monroe’s Motivated Sequence has been created after an in-depth study of human psychology and leads the listeners gradually to a desired action. Alan H. Monroe himself was a great psychologist and a devoted public speaker. So, if that doesn’t establish the credibility of this sequence to you, I don’t know what will.

Everything About ‘Monroe’s Motivated Sequence’

For the sake of your better understanding, let’s break down this concept into five sections-

1. What is Monroe’s Motivated Sequence?: Definition, Steps, and More

2. application of monroe’s motivated sequence’ in persuasive speaking, 3. why is monroe’s motivated sequence so effective, 4. learning resources to help you out.

Stay till the very end of this article as we’ve come up with bonus tips to aid this learning process, just for you!

Meaning of Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence is a five-step organizational framework that is designed to ace the art of persuasive speaking. Keeping in view the aim of persuasive speaking, it is designed to induce the audience to take some sort of action once you are done speaking. It makes sure that your call-to-action has been implemented by the audience.

With the help of this technique, one can organize and structure a persuasive speech to maximize its impact. This technique has been derived by Monroe after studying the decision-making abilities and working of the human brain in great detail.

The five steps of Monroe’s Motivated Sequence can be stated as follows-

Satisfaction

Visualization.

Remember that all of these steps must be incorporated in a persuasive speech in this very order to maximize the impact. Without any further delay, let’s understand what each of these steps really means.

Steps of Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

Steps in Monroe's Motivated Sequence

Have you ever noticed people yawning and checking their wristwatches as you delivered a speech? It’s one of those embarrassing situations that we all have faced at least once in our lifetimes. But can you blame your audience? NO!

As it turns out, your speech is just not persuasive and gripping enough for the audience to pay their attention. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!

The mantra of attention requires you to have a strong opening line and establish your credibility as a speaker.

audiences' attention

Did you know that the audiences’ attention span is maximum at the beginning? So, the next time when you are walking up the stage to deliver the speech, know that you need to kick start your speech with a strong hook.

Instead of sticking with a bland ‘Good Morning’ or ‘Good Evening’, bring out the crystal of creativity to use. Here are a few tips for you to incorporate a strong hook-

  • Narrate a story (be it fictional or real, make it believable)
  • Use prop or placard to make an impact
  • Shoot an intriguing question
  • Ask the audience to imagine and dive deeper into the magical realm of imagination
  • Cite an unpopular opinion related to the topic of your speech

Want to know more speech opening ideas? We’ve written an article on ‘ 15 Powerful Speech Opening Lines and How to Create Your Own ‘. Check it out to master the art of drafting a killer speech opening line.

And in order to establish your credibility as an orator, the audience must first have a reason to trust you. You can establish your credibility as a speaker either by stating your credentials or establishing a relatability quotient with the audience.

As you have successfully captured that attention, it’s now time to tell your audience as to why they should change their existing thought lines, just to believe you?

why should the audience care?

So, start listing logical arguments to back up your ideas and tell them the need associated with the topic. Why, you ask?

Do you buy a television set just because you woke up one day and felt it’s cool? No, right? You analyze your need. You aware yourself of the requirements and then, invest your time, money and energy in something.

Likewise, for the audience to take some action after the delivery of your speech, they must realize the need and urgency of the situation.

Here, present your audience four-five logical arguments to support your ideas (Don’t bombard your listeners with too many facts, remember that less is more). Make a point to connect each of these logical arguments with a sense of emotion. This way, you’ll have your audience at the edge of their seats wanting to know more.

If you are still not sure on how you should go about incorporating facts in your speech, make sure you check this article.

If you are someone who has just graduated high school, you now realize the ‘need’ for a good application essay to get into your dream college. But what’s the thing that keeps us motivated to work harder to make sure we get admission there?

For most of us, it’s the efforts we can put in to achieve that goal.

Likewise, when your audience realizes the need, they would think about putting in efforts to get it fulfilled. But will they be determined? Chances are unlikely. For us to work harder towards a goal, we need an anticipated satisfaction to cheer us up from time-to-time.

So, in your persuasive speech, you need to provide your audience a sense of what all good is in store for them if this need gets fulfilled. Keep it realistic, it needs to be relatable enough. One way to do that is to give your audience a list of solutions.

Tell them the solutions to satisfy that need. State the exact steps they would be required to undertake to reach their ultimate goal. Here, avoid being generic with the process. Think from an audiences’ perspective.

Remember that the solutions need to be clear and precise for the audience to remember in long-term.

imagination

When you read a book, you get immersed in a fictional world. You can picture the scenario with your eyes wide open. It’s exactly what you need to do here. Help the audience rip the fruits of benefit through their eyes. The key is to list the benefits of listening to you.

In this step, you need to draw a picture in the minds of the audience. Visualize a world where things are all hunky-dory as they’ve followed those solutions.

This visualization can either be positive or negative. It all depends on the impact you wish to create.

In the positive visualization, you can provide a picture of a welcoming scenario where the problem you presented has been solved with the help of solutions listed by you.

In the negative visualization, you can provide a picture of a scary and traumatizing scenario where things have gone downhill just because the audience didn’t follow those solutions.

Call-to-action

If you have reached this stage, give yourself a pat on the back! You’re almost close to winning your audiences’ hearts.

Your audience should know what to do once the speech has ended and that’s where a Strong Call-to-Action comes to play.

call-to-action in speeches

Initiate a strong call-to-action by summing up the essence of your speech and tell what exactly does the audience needs to do once your speech has ended. Make sure you cite a key takeaway from your speech.

If possible, leave the audience with a thought to ponder over. But how do you do it? Just like a strong opening statement, one needs to have a memorable takeaway highlighting your key takeaway and call-to-action. Here are a few tips for you to add a memorable ending-

  • The good old charm of poetry
  • Use of rhetorical devices
  • Intriguing Question
  • The classic hook of quote

Which step is the most important in Monroe’s Motivated Sequence?

Undoubtedly, ‘attention’ is the most important step in Monroe’s Motivated Sequence.

If you don’t have your audiences’ attention, they won’t listen to your problem-solution-visualization approach. Consider the attention step to be that lesson on alphabets. You cannot form meaningful sentences until and unless you know the basics of alphabets.

Likewise, the attention technique in the beginning of your speech is what grips the audience to want to know more about the rest of your talk.

The point of having a strong opening is to change the vibe of the room in your favor so you have the undivided attention of your audience. With this undivided attention, you will be able to put forth your ideas in a convincing manner and the audience will actually listen to the content of your speech. If delivered well, you will be able to win over the hearts of your audience with the utmost certainty.

When should you use ‘Monroe’s Motivated Sequence’?

We have witnessed what this technique is and how exactly we can use it to our benefit to convince people. But here’s the catch, even after knowing what it is, most of you must be wondering where do you use it? Allow us to enlighten you with the help of these pointers-

  • Works great in persuasive and demonstrative speeches

While delivering a persuasive speech, you want the audience to truly believe in your point-of-view and Monroe’s Motivated Sequence provides the right step-by-step guidance for you to achieve this goal.

When it comes to demonstrative speeches, the audience members won’t just believe you. You need to tell a story, present the right facts at the right time and project a tempting positive scenario that awaits their presence. Well, Monroe’s Motivated Sequence does the job for you here as well.

  • Convince your stakeholders to invest by delivering a great pitch note

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence consists of the buzzword ‘attention’, which is why it will help you catch the attention of your stakeholders in work meetings. In addition to this, call-to-action will help you win over your investors.

  • In work meetings, to put forth your ideas in a convincing manner

In order to be persuasive, you must sound believable. The problem and solution pattern encompassed in Monroe’s Motivated Sequence will help you convince your fellow team-mates without them even realizing it.

  • It hones your leadership skills in college and work assignments

Being a great leader requires you to convince your fellow team members to follow your lead and put in the same amount of dedication and efforts that you are willing to put in a project. Monroe’s Motivated Sequence will help you do justice to it.

You must be wondering where exactly do each of those five steps can be applied within the structure of a speech ?

Well, as you all know, any speech can be divided into three sections: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. That being said, Monroe’s Motivated Sequence is particularly designed to hone each of these three sections. To list the bifurcations-

The Introduction: Attention

The body: need, satisfaction, visualization.

  • The Conclusion: Call-to-action

structure of the speech

Deliver your introductory statement by keeping just one goal in preview, that is, attention. Ace your introduction with three simple steps-

A. Strong Hook

Always begin your speech with a strong opening line (we possibly cannot stress this more). We have already discussed how to incorporate a strong hook in the section where we discussed ‘attention’. So, we won’t bore you to sleep with repetition but check this article out to really ace this art of penning down a killer opening statement.

B. Establishing Credibility

Speaker’s credentials play a huge role in making the audience decide whether they should listen to you or not. Why does it matter, you ask?

The catch is, in order to be convinced, the audience must first trust you. You can established credibility amongst your audience by simply following one of these three hacks-

  • Relatable Personal Experiences
  • State your Credentials
  • Narrate a story
  • Sound Confident and Smile

C. Thesis Statement

Here, just like the trailer of a movie, you provide your audience with a sneak peek into the content of your speech. How do you do it? Simply provide a preview of the theme of your speech.

Need, Satisfaction, and Visualization forms the body of the speech. Remember that you cannot change this order. The body has to highlight these three main points in the exact same order.

body of the speech

After a gripping introduction, you need to highlight the problem and explain it in such a way that it resonates with your audience. The best way is to bring out the emotional appeal here. Give them a purpose as to why should they care.

This step of need is crucial because when you begin your speech, the audience in their minds are thinking positively about the issue. They’re of the opinion that everything’s just fine and you need to break it!

Your ‘need’ statement should be so powerful that after listening to your statement the audience must go bonkers thinking, ‘Whoa, is that so? It is scary’.

Be as descriptive as you can while explaining the problem because the more vivid you explain, the more the audience will be able to visualize. This way, the audience will retain it for a much longer time.

B. Satisfaction

With such a vivid description of the problem, the audience must now be thirsty for the solutions. You will come to their rescue and be the anchor to drive them out of the stormy ocean and put them at ease.

To quench their thirst for solution, you now need to state the solution to the problem at hand.

Be very specific and realistic while giving the solutions. The ideal way would be to list the solutions from an individual’s perspective, something you and I can do. If you go all broad in terms of your solutions by listing the solutions at the national or even international level, the audience would much likely lose their interests. You won’t want that, would you?

So, maintaining the right balance is of key importance here. Also, remember not to burden your audience with too many facts as they will go all haywire and possibly end up remembering nothing.

C. Visualization

Using the power of imagination is gonna come in handy here. Ask your audience to imagine a hypothetical situation as reality. To list-

Positive Visualization: Imagine the good world where things are fine, just because you decided to implement the previously mentioned solutions

Negative Visualization: Even this can turn out to be effective by prompting the fear emotion. As we know that the negative emotions overpower the positive ones, you can actually use it to your ethical advantage.

Contrast Visualization: It calls for drawing a comparison between the above-mentioned points and then, asking the audience to choose the better one. They would obviously prefer the positive scenario.

Whenever you are asking your audience to visualize, give a detailed description. It’ll help them picture your thoughts with better clarity.

The Conclusion: Call-to-Action

Appeal to the sentiments of your audience while reiterating the core message of your speech and providing a takeaway to the audience. While stating the takeaway, you sum up your speech and provide a direction to your audience as to what exact action they need to take once the speech has ended.

Of course, you need to incorporate a killer ending line as well. To your relief- we’ve written an entire article on how you can draft a killer and memorable concluding statement . Make sure that you check it out!

Why is Monroe's Motivated Sequence so effective?

Since time unknown, scholars have been debating as to why exactly is Monroe’s Motivated Sequence so effective? We have researched the answers for you-

The first and foremost reason behind its effectiveness is that it takes into account the audiences’ perspective. It might sound obvious and lame but the thing is, we get so engrossed in honing our speaking skills that we often forget the aim of public speaking, the aim of adding some value to the listeners’ lives. In this quest, our audiences lose and are left clueless even after the speech has ended. The entire sequence is constructed in such a way that a speaker devotes his entire time and energy just to initiate some action from the audience members.

The second key reason would be the simplification of the concept. Monroe has simplified the concept to such a level that even a kid with just enough dedication could get a hang of this technique.

The third reason would be the universal use and relevance of this concept. People from all walks of life can learn it to excel in their respective professional workspaces. Essentially, it’s not an advanced learning concept but more of a must-have learning concept.

 learning resources

To help you guys better understand this concept with real-life examples, we’re offering you three things in this section. First off, we’ll discuss three sample speech notes written with the help of this technique. Secondly, we’re gonna provide you with a speech outline template to help you draft your own speech accordingly. Last but not the least, as promised, we’ll give you a bonus checklist for you to make sure you’ve incorporated all the elements in your persuasive speech.

Examples of Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

  • Speech Topic: ‘How Gossip Sessions Do More Harm Than Good?’
  • Speech Topic: ‘Why Addressing Mental Health Is Necessary?’
  • Speech Topic: ‘Afraid of dogs? Know why running isn’t the best but the worst way out’

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence: Speech Topic Ideas

Now that you are well-acquainted with the Monroe’s Motivated Sequence, you must be wondering as to what all topics you can speak on.

We’ve got you covered! Here’s a list of 5 speech topics on which you can apply the Monroe’s Motivated Sequence-

  • Why watching dark content is bad for your mental health?
  • How is your favorite show ‘Tom and Jerry’ promoting violence among children?
  • How is Instagram a privacy peril?
  • How is Instagram leading to body dysmorphia among today’s youth?
  • Romantic Comedies are not ‘goals’ but a toxic representation of women.

Want to get more Speech Topic Ideas? We have an article dedicated just for that with HUNDREDS of persuasive speech topics you to choose from. Check this out.

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence: Speech Outline Template

The next time you sit to write a speech, feel free to put all your fears and concerns away as this speech outline template will help you structure and organize your speech. All you gotta do is find a comfortable space, grab a mug of coffee, and put your thoughts into words to write a strong narrative. Sounds simple, right? That’s because it is.

Monroe's Motivated Sequence Speech Outline

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence: Sample Speech

Speech Topic- How Gossip Sessions Do More Harm Than Good?

The first time I actually discovered the “power of gossip” was when I accidently spilled the beans of one of my colleague’s misadventures at Bali to my lunch buddy. Two hours later, I heard the same piece of gossip from one of my friends and by the end of the day, my whole tribe knew about it. ‘HOW???’ To my surprise, this incident somehow led to me becoming one of the “popular kids” at work. Though I did not feel very ecstatic, I did enjoy all the attention I received thereafter. Somehow, I gained the reputation of being the go-to-person for all the new hearsay around the place. What you just heard is the key element of our daily conversations and one of my personal experiences. Yes, I’m talking about the inevitable gossip sessions, the sessions where you and I discuss IMPORTANT SHIT. I mportant shit that doesn’t concern our lives but the personal lives of others. I mportant shit that may not be true. T his is the ocean where you dive into the secrets of others, the secrets you weren’t meant to know in the first place. But do you hesitate?  N O, you continue to listen and react. S o, let me ask you, are you a gossip?  “ No, I hate people who gossip!’ That’s how most of us will react to that question. Trust me, I’d react the same way because guess what? The word, ‘Gossip’ in itself has a negative connotation.  S o, I’m here to tell you how nothing ever good follows the phrase, ‘Tell me, What’s the goss?’ and how these little gossip sessions can destroy your social sanity. I magine this! You had a really bad day at work and got yelled at by your boss. Feeling overwhelmed, you reach home and call one of your closest friends to vent it all out. After an hour-long conversation, your mind is at ease, you feel a lot better, and thank your friend for just being there and listening. T he next day, an acquaintance calls you and asks you how you were coping in a sarcastic tone. As it turns out, your closest friend couldn’t keep a secret and breached that circle of trust. How would you feel? S ad? Disheartened? Betrayed?  W ould you be able to trust this close friend of yours? NO, Never. A nd that’s exactly what’s wrong with these gossip sessions. The moment you start passing on secrets about someone else’s life, you are diminishing your own social credibility. After all, no one trusts a gossip. B ut diminishing credibility is just ONE of the reasons why gossiping is bad for you. There’s more harm to it! H ave you ever gotten along with someone just because you share a common foe? Here’s an interesting fact for you- this bond is even more toxic than a bad relationship.  W hen you make friends because your personalities clicked, you have a reason to stick by. But what would happen if your friend suddenly starts to get along with your foe? DISASTER, right? Then, you’re the one who’s portrayed in the negative light and you’re the one who’s considered a gossip. Within the blink of an eye, you have destroyed your social life just because gossip spreads like wildfire. G ossip sessions may sound enticing at first. It comes off as a messiah for your non-existent social life but the more indulged you get, the more you mess up your social image.  W hat we need is ‘meaningful conversations’. W hat we need is ‘quality friends with whom you can even enjoy the silence’. After all, you don’t need to talk just for the sake of it. Even a meaningful silence is better than a piece of gossip. But how do you really escape these inescapable gossip sessions? F irstly, the next time you hear someone gossiping something to you. Go ahead and tell them to sort things out with the person they’re gossiping about. Back bitching isn’t gonna help them in any way possible. S econdly, begin to have conversations that DO MATTER. Talk about life decisions, career choices, even current affairs for that matter. This world encompasses a billions of things, gossiping is just petty and a complete wastage of your time. Consider gossip sessions as those weeds you pluck out from your garden. ‘ The less people you chill with, the less shit you deal with’. This is the mantra for your third and final solution. Keep your friend circle tight and have people who contribute to your growth and not get carried forward in petty gossips. G ossiping is most definitely the devil’s talk show. Socrates once said, ‘ Strong minds discuss ideas, A verage minds discuss events, W eak minds discuss people.’ E ssentially, the ball of your social credibility is in your court. Do you make it or break it? The choice is yours and completely yours.

Bonus Tip: Checklist for Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

If you’ve worked on all of these pointers, trust me no one can stop in becoming a great persuasive speaker.

In Conclusion

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence is your secret recipe to craft a perfect persuasive speech. Bearing this in mind, this article is your one-stop destination for everything you need to know about this brilliant technique.

From what does this concept really mean to provide learning resources to help you out in the process, we have tried our level best to help you become a persuasive speaker.

Smile, be confident, and put your worries away as this technique is going to take care of the content of your speech. All you now need to focus upon is your presentation skills and don’t worry, we ain’t gonna leave you clueless. Here are a few articles to help you with your speech delivery techniques-

  • Body Language Guide to Public Speaking (The Do’s & Don’ts)
  • All You Need to Know about Voice Modulation & Tonality for Public Speaking
  • How to Improve Your Stage Presence for Public Speaking

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48 Monroe’s Motivated Sequence, Problem-Solution, Comparative Advantages

Learning objectives.

  • Understand three common organizational patterns for persuasive speeches.
  • Explain the steps utilized in Monroe’s motivated sequence.
  • Explain the parts of a problem-cause-solution speech.
  • Explain the process utilized in a comparative advantage persuasive speech.

Organizing Persuasive Speeches

A classroom of attentive listeners

Previously in this text, we discussed general guidelines for organizing speeches. In this section, we are going to look at three organizational patterns ideally suited for persuasive speeches: Monroe’s motivated sequence, problem-cause-solution, and comparative advantages.

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

One of the most commonly cited and discussed organizational patterns for persuasive speeches is Alan H. Monroe’s motivated sequence. The purpose of Monroe’s motivated sequence is to help speakers “sequence supporting materials and motivational appeals to form a useful organizational pattern for speeches as a whole” (German et al., 2010).

While Monroe’s motivated sequence is commonly discussed in most public speaking textbooks, we do want to provide one minor caution. Thus far, almost no research has been conducted that has demonstrated that Monroe’s motivated sequence is any more persuasive than other structural patterns. In the only study conducted experimentally examining Monroe’s motivated sequence, the researchers did not find the method more persuasive but did note that audience members found the pattern more organized than other methods (Micciche, Pryor, & Butler, 2000). We wanted to add this sidenote because we don’t want you to think that Monroe’s motivated sequence is a kind of magic persuasive bullet; the research simply doesn’t support this notion. At the same time, research does support that organized messages are perceived as more persuasive as a whole, so using Monroe’s motivated sequence to think through one’s persuasive argument could still be very beneficial.

Below are the basic steps of Monroe’s motivated sequence and the subsequent reaction a speaker desires from his or her audience.

The first step in Monroe’s motivated sequence is the  attention step , in which a speaker attempts to get the audience’s attention. To gain an audience’s attention, we recommend that you think through three specific parts of the attention step. First, you need to have a strong attention-getting device. As previously discussed, a strong attention getter at the beginning of your speech is very important. Second, you need to make sure you introduce your topic clearly. If your audience doesn’t know what your topic is quickly, they are more likely to stop listening. Lastly, you need to explain to your audience why they should care about your topic. If this sounds familiar, it should! The attention step uses the same elements as an introduction for any speech: The attention getter, relevance, credibility, thesis statement, and preview.

In the  need step of Monroe’s motivated sequence, the speaker establishes that there is a specific need or problem. This will be your first main point. In Monroe’s conceptualization of need, he talks about four specific parts of the need: statement, illustration, ramification, and pointing. First, a speaker needs to give a clear and concise statement of the problem. This part of a speech should be crystal clear for an audience. Second, the speaker needs to provide one or more examples to illustrate the need. The illustration is an attempt to make the problem concrete for the audience. Next, a speaker needs to provide some kind of evidence (e.g., statistics, examples, testimony) that shows the ramifications or consequences of the problem. Lastly, a speaker needs to point to the audience and show exactly how the problem relates to them personally.

Satisfaction

In the third step of Monroe’s motivated sequence, the  satisfaction step , the speaker sets out to satisfy the need or solve the problem. This will be your second main point. Within this step, Monroe (1935) proposed a five-step plan for satisfying a need:

  • Explanation
  • Theoretical demonstration
  • Reference to practical experience
  • Meeting objections

First, you need to clearly state the attitude, value, belief, or action you want your audience to accept. The purpose of this statement is to clearly tell your audience what your ultimate goal is.

Second, you want to make sure that you clearly explain to your audience why they should accept the attitude, value, belief, or action you proposed. Just telling your audience they should do something isn’t strong enough to actually get them to change. Instead, you really need to provide a solid argument for why they should accept your proposed solution.

Third, you need to show how the solution you have proposed meets the need or problem. Monroe calls this link between your solution and the need a theoretical demonstration because you cannot prove that your solution will work. Instead, you theorize based on research and good judgment that your solution will meet the need or solve the problem.

Fourth, to help with this theoretical demonstration, you need to reference practical experience, which should include examples demonstrating that your proposal has worked elsewhere. Research, statistics, and expert testimony are all great ways of referencing practical experience.

Lastly, Monroe recommends that a speaker responds to possible objections. As a persuasive speaker, one of your jobs is to think through your speech and see what counterarguments could be made against your speech and then rebut those arguments within your speech. When you offer rebuttals for arguments against your speech, it shows your audience that you’ve done your homework and educated yourself about multiple sides of the issue.

Visualization

The next step of Monroe’s motivated sequence is the  visualization step , in which you ask the audience to visualize a future where the need has been met or the problem solved. This will be your third main point. In essence, the visualization stage is where a speaker can show the audience why accepting a specific attitude, value, belief, or behavior can positively affect the future. When helping people to picture the future, the more concrete your visualization is, the easier it will be for your audience to see the possible future and be persuaded by it. You also need to make sure that you clearly show how accepting your solution will directly benefit your audience.

According to Monroe, visualization can be conducted in one of three ways: positive, negative, or contrast (Monroe, 1935). The positive method of visualization is where a speaker shows how adopting a proposal leads to a better future (e.g., recycle, and we’ll have a cleaner and safer planet). Conversely, the negative method of visualization is where a speaker shows how not adopting the proposal will lead to a worse future (e.g., don’t recycle, and our world will become polluted and uninhabitable). Monroe also acknowledged that visualization can include a combination of both positive and negative visualization. In essence, you show your audience both possible outcomes and have them decide which one they would rather have.

The final step in Monroe’s motivated sequence is the  action step , in which a speaker asks an audience to approve the speaker’s proposal. For understanding purposes, we break the action into two distinct parts: audience action and approval. Audience action refers to direct physical behaviors a speaker wants from an audience (e.g., flossing their teeth twice a day, signing a petition, wearing seat belts). Approval, on the other hand, involves an audience’s consent or agreement with a speaker’s proposed attitude, value, or belief.

When preparing an action step, it is important to make sure that the action, whether audience action or approval, is realistic for your audience. Asking your peers in a college classroom to donate one thousand dollars to charity isn’t realistic. Asking your peers to donate one dollar is considerably more realistic. In a persuasive speech based on Monroe’s motivated sequence, the action step will end with the speech’s concluding device. As discussed elsewhere in this text, you need to make sure that you conclude in a vivid way so that the speech ends on a high point and the audience has a sense of energy as well as a sense of closure.

This step will be your conclusion. Again, it will have the same elements as a conclusion you would use for any speech.

Application

Now that we’ve walked through Monroe’s motivated sequence, let’s look at how you could use Monroe’s motivated sequence to outline a persuasive speech:

Specific Purpose:  To persuade my classroom peers that the United States should have stronger laws governing the use of for-profit medical experiments.

Main Points:

  • Attention:  Want to make nine thousand dollars for just three weeks of work lying around and not doing much? Then be a human guinea pig. Admittedly, you’ll have to have a tube down your throat most of those three weeks, but you’ll earn three thousand dollars a week.
  • Need:  Every day many uneducated and lower socioeconomic-status citizens are preyed on by medical and pharmaceutical companies for use in for-profit medical and drug experiments. Do you want one of your family members to fall prey to this evil scheme?
  • Satisfaction:  The United States should have stronger laws governing the use of for-profit medical experiments to ensure that uneducated and lower-socioeconomic-status citizens are protected.
  • Visualization:  If we enact tougher experiment oversight, we can ensure that medical and pharmaceutical research is conducted in a way that adheres to basic values of American decency. If we do not enact tougher experiment oversight, we could find ourselves in a world where the lines between research subject, guinea pig, and patient become increasingly blurred.
  • Action:  In order to prevent the atrocities associated with for-profit medical and pharmaceutical experiments, please sign this petition asking the US Department of Health and Human Services to pass stricter regulations on this preying industry that is out of control.

This example shows how you can take a basic speech topic and use Monroe’s motivated sequence to clearly and easily outline your speech efficiently and effectively.

Below is a checklist that contains a simple checklist to help you make sure you hit all the important components of Monroe’s motivated sequence.

The following video further details Monroe’s Motivated Sequence outlining each component and providing examples to provide an in-depth understanding of the organizational pattern.

For Future Reference | How to organize this in an outline |

Introduction: Attention Step

Main Point #1: Need Step

Main Point #2: Satisfaction Step

Main Point #3: Visualization Step

Conclusoin: Action Step

Problem-Cause-Solution

Another format for organizing a persuasive speech is the problem-cause-solution format. In this specific format, you discuss what a problem is, what you believe is causing the problem, and then what the solution should be to correct the problem.

Specific Purpose:  To persuade my classroom peers that our campus should adopt a zero-tolerance policy for hate speech.

  • Demonstrate that there is distrust among different groups on campus that has led to unnecessary confrontations and violence.
  • Show that the confrontations and violence are a result of hate speech that occurred prior to the events.
  • Explain how instituting a campus-wide zero-tolerance policy against hate speech could stop the unnecessary confrontations and violence.

In this speech, you want to persuade people to support a new campus-wide policy calling for zero-tolerance of hate speech. Once you have shown the problem, you then explain to your audience that the cause of the unnecessary confrontations and violence is prior incidents of hate speech. Lastly, you argue that a campus-wide zero-tolerance policy could help prevent future unnecessary confrontations and violence. Again, this method of organizing a speech is as simple as its name: problem-cause-solution.

Comparative Advantages

The final method for organizing a persuasive speech is called the comparative advantages speech format. The goal of this speech is to compare items side-by-side and show why one of them is more advantageous than the other. For example, let’s say that you’re giving a speech on which e-book reader is better: Amazon.com’s Kindle or Barnes and Nobles’ Nook. Here’s how you could organize this speech:

Specific Purpose:  To persuade my audience that the Nook is more advantageous than the Kindle.

  • The Nook allows owners to trade and loan books to other owners or people who have downloaded the Nook software, while the Kindle does not.
  • The Nook has a color-touch screen, while the Kindle’s screen is black and grey and noninteractive.
  • The Nook’s memory can be expanded through microSD, while the Kindle’s memory cannot be upgraded.

As you can see from this speech’s organization, the simple goal of this speech is to show why one thing has more positives than something else. Obviously, when you are demonstrating comparative advantages, the items you are comparing need to be functional equivalents—or, as the saying goes, you cannot compare apples to oranges.

Key Takeaways

  • There are three common patterns that persuaders can utilize to help organize their speeches effectively: Monroe’s motivated sequence, problem-cause-solution, and comparative advantage. Each of these patterns can effectively help a speaker think through his or her thoughts and organize them in a manner that will be more likely to persuade an audience.
  • Alan H. Monroe’s (1935) motivated sequence is a commonly used speech format that is used by many people to effectively organize persuasive messages. The pattern consists of five basic stages: attention, need, satisfaction, visualization, and action. In the first stage, a speaker gets an audience’s attention. In the second stage, the speaker shows an audience that a need exists. In the third stage, the speaker shows how his or her persuasive proposal could satisfy the need. The fourth stage shows how the future could be if the persuasive proposal is or is not adopted. Lastly, the speaker urges the audience to take some kind of action to help enact the speaker’s persuasive proposal.
  • The problem-cause-solution proposal is a three-pronged speech pattern. The speaker starts by explaining the problem the speaker sees. The speaker then explains what he or she sees as the underlying causes of the problem. Lastly, the speaker proposes a solution to the problem that corrects the underlying causes.
  • The comparative advantages speech format is utilized when a speaker is comparing two or more things or ideas and shows why one of the things or ideas has more advantages than the other(s).

German, K. M., Gronbeck, B. E., Ehninger, D., & Monroe, A. H. (2010). Principles of public speaking  (17th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, p. 236.

Micciche, T., Pryor, B., & Butler, J. (2000). A test of Monroe’s motivated sequence for its effects on ratings of message organization and attitude change.  Psychological Reports, 86 , 1135–1138.

Monroe, A. H. (1935).  Principles and types of speech . Chicago, IL: Scott Foresman.

Public Speaking Copyright © by Dr. Layne Goodman; Amber Green, M.A.; and Various is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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COMMENTS

  1. 100 Easy Persuasive Speech Topics: A Guide

    Presentation- Monroe's motivated sequence Attention Need Satisfaction Visualization Action Writing Introduction for Persuasive Speech Persuasive Speech Videos Persuasive Speech Topics Some more Persuasive Speech Topics: Persuasive Speech Topics about Animals and Pets Persuasive Speech Topics about Automobiles

  2. 34 Topics For a Great Motivational Speech • My Speech Class

    In this article: Motivational Speech Topics Motivated Sequence Patterns The Monroe's Motivated Sequence Pattern Comparative Advantages Pattern Call To Action Speech Topics If you succeed to get them to act like you propose, then you happen to be expert as a motivational speaker! Can We Write Your Speech?

  3. Persuasive Speech Example: Monroes Motivated Sequence in Action

    The persuasive speech example below uses the classic 5 step structural pattern called Monroe's Motivated Sequence *. I've laid the speech out labeling each step of the sequence from beginning to end so that you might see how, and why it works effectively.

  4. 13.7: Sample Outline- Persuasive Speech Using Monroe's Motivated

    This page titled 13.7: Sample Outline- Persuasive Speech Using Monroe's Motivated Sequence Pattern is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Kris Barton & Barbara G. Tucker (GALILEO Open Learning Materials) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a ...

  5. Monroe's Motivated Sequence

    Step One: Get Attention Get the attention of your audience. Use storytelling, humor, a shocking statistic, or a rhetorical question - anything that will get the audience to sit up and take notice. Note: This step doesn't replace your introduction - it's part of your introduction.

  6. 17.3 Organizing Persuasive Speeches

    Needs In the need step of Monroe's motivated sequence, the speaker establishes that there is a specific need or problem. In Monroe's conceptualization of need, he talks about four specific parts of the need: statement, illustration, ramification, and pointing. First, a speaker needs to give a clear and concise statement of the problem.

  7. Persuasive speech outline: Monroe's Motivated Sequence in action

    This persuasive speech outline example uses Monroe's Motivated Sequence (MMS) - a 5 step structural pattern for organizing material focusing on, as its name suggests, motivational appeals. The sequence forms the basis of many of the successful political, public awareness or advertising campaigns you see and hear around you on a daily basis.

  8. Monroe's Motivated Sequence

    Recap In this video, Eric Robertson breaks down the components of Monroe's Motivated Sequence. You can view the transcript for "Monroe's Motivated Sequence | COMMUNICATION STUDIES" here (opens in new window). To watch: Ron Finley, "A guerilla gardener in South Central LA"

  9. Mastering Monroe's Motivated Sequence: A guide to persuasive ...

    Need: Identify a problem or need that the audience has. Satisfaction: Present a solution to the problem or need. Visualization: Help the audience visualize the benefits of adopting your solution. Action: Call the audience to action, and provide a clear and actionable next step.

  10. Monroe's Motivated Sequence

    The five steps are: attention, need, satisfaction, visualization & call to action. Attention The attention getter is the first thing your audience will hear in every speech or presentation. It should grab their attention and make them want to listen to you as the speaker.

  11. Speech: Monroe's Motivated Sequence Persuasive Speech

    Step 2: Search Words only enter your topic keywords into the search box use quotes to search as a phrase e.g. "climate crisis" use the asterisk to extend a word e.g. child* = children, childhood limit search results to make them more relevant: by date by format - books, journal articles, newspapers or other options by peer-reviewed or scholarly

  12. Monroe's Motivated Sequence Outline: Your Best Speech Ever

    Monroe's Motivated Sequence Outline: Your Best Speech Ever Productivity Tips Monroe's Motivated Sequence: Definition & Examples Mike Kulakov, November 13, 2023 In the age of information, one critical skill is the ability to engage and lead the masses. Learn it, and you can land a better job, a higher salary, and, maybe, even a promotion.

  13. Persuasive speech ideas

    Persuasive Speech Outline Find out more about structuring an effective persuasive speech using Monroe's Motivated Sequence, the classic 5 step pattern used by all professional persuaders: politicians, the advertising industry, and PR experts.

  14. 16.5.1: Monroe's Motivated Sequence extended

    Key Takeaway. Alan H. Monroe's (1935) motivated sequence is a commonly used speech format that is used by many people to effectively organize persuasive messages. The pattern consists of five basic stages: attention, need, satisfaction, visualization, and action. In the first stage, a speaker gets an audience's attention.

  15. The Monroe's Motivated Sequence: Perfecting the Art of Persuasive Speech

    The Monroe's Motivated Sequence is especially valuable when addressing persuasive speech topics as it helps speakers organize their thoughts and arguments in a logical and compelling manner. It ensures that the audience is engaged throughout the speech and increases the likelihood of achieving the speaker's desired outcome.

  16. Monroe's Motivated Sequence

    Monroe's Motivated Sequence is explained and examples are provided for how to use it in a persuasive speech. This video would be helpful for an introductory...

  17. 15.7: Sample Outline- Persuasive Speech Using Monroe's Motivated

    Thesis: Through a minimal donation each month, you can make the life of a child in the developing world much better. Preview: In the next few minutes I would like to discuss the problem, the work of organizations that offer child sponsorships, how research shows they really do alleviate poverty, and what you can do to change the life of a child.

  18. Monroe's Motivated Sequence

    Monroe's Motivated Sequence includes the attention step (hook), the need step (presents the problem), the satisfaction step (presents the solution), the visualization step (allows the...

  19. All You Need To Know About 'Monroe's Motivated Sequence'

    Monroe's Motivated Sequence is a five-step organizational framework that acts as a guiding line for writing a persuasive speech. It organizes the content of a persuasive speech and helps the orator to align his audiences' thoughts with his ideas by allowing him to inspire the audience to take action after the speech.

  20. Monroe's Motivated Sequence

    Monroe's Motivated Sequence explanation with examples for persuasive speeches. FREE 7 Instant Tips for Confident & Composed Public Speakinghttps://www.alexan...

  21. Persuasive Speech

    In this video, you'll watch my student's persuasive speech that follows the Monroe's Motivated Sequence. ****For public-speaking training videos: Here's anot...

  22. Monroe's Motivated Sequence, Problem-Solution, Comparative Advantages

    Needs In the need step of Monroe's motivated sequence, the speaker establishes that there is a specific need or problem. This will be your first main point. In Monroe's conceptualization of need, he talks about four specific parts of the need: statement, illustration, ramification, and pointing.

  23. Persuasive Speech: Monroe's Motivate Sequence

    This persuasive speech discusses the dangers of cell phone use using, Monroe's Motivated Sequence.