2.03 Page 2 Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

Persuasion is the art of convincing people to do what you want them to do, but we all know that getting someone to do what we want is easier said than done. There are lots of different "formulas" proposed by a variety of scholars, authors, and business people, but we're going to focus on one of the structures that you can use for your persuasive presentation.

Alan H. Monroe was an American psychologist, author, and professor who developed what became known as Monroe's Motivated Sequence (read more about Monroe here). This structure is specifically designed for getting the listener to take some sort of action at the end of your speech - do something, believe something, buy something, contribute to a cause, participate in a protest, support a policy proposal, etc.

As you watch this video introducing the five elements of Monroe's Motivational Sequence, think about how this structure compares to the traditional persuasive essay you learned how to write in fourth or fifth grade.