The most effective pattern for outlining a persuasive speech is Monroe's Motivated Sequence.
In the mid-1930's, Alan H. Monroe developed a pattern for persuasive messages that has become something of a standard because of its effectiveness. It is both logically and psychologically sound. It is known as the motivated sequence. It is explicitly designed to move an audience to action.
Attention: This step is designed to gain the interest of the listeners. One of the biggest problems here is assuming you have the audience's attention. In fact, assuming the step as a given causes problems throughout the entire speech. You cannot persuade someone unless you have his or her attention. Simply stating the topic, or reading a prepared introduction with poor eye contact will not fulfill this requirement.
This step is very similar to the traditional introduction.
You can capture attention using the various methods discussed in class and in our text including relating to the audience, showing the importance of the topic, making a startling statement, arousing curiosity or suspense, posing a question, telling a dramatic story, or using visual aids.
Need: The need step is used for developing or describing some problem or for demonstrating that the audience has a need for the speech you are giving. You want them to say to themselves, "I need to hear this," or "Something needs to be done about this!" Again, don't assume the need is obvious. Remember that this step involves need from the standpoint of the audience member. The door-to-door salesperson who says "I need one more sale so I can go to Hawaii" is being ineffective; s/he should address the prospect's need.
You want to answer the question in the mind of the audience, "Why should I care?" It is important to state the need clearly and to illustrate it with strong support materials, statistics, examples, stories, and testimony that relate directly to your audience's values or vital interests. By the end of this step, the audience should be so concerned about the problem that they are psychologically primed to hear your solution.
Satisfaction: Next, present a solution to the problem you put forth in the Need step. Show how to satisfy the need. Scratch the itch. The Need step and the Satisfaction step appeal primarily to left-brained, logical thinking (although you always need some appeal to the right-brain thinking as well, especially in terms of clarifying information). In this step, you want the audience to think, "That will work!" Be sure to offer enough details about the plan to give listeners a clear understanding of it. Support materials are also useful here, such as pilot programs that have proven successful or study results demonstrating the potential of your proposed solution to solve the need.
Visualization: This is where we get into true persuasion. The purpose of this step is to develop within your audience an image of the consequences of their choices. If you want them to do something, you have to help them create in their minds an image of the good things that will happen if they do what you want them to do. Or, help them imagine the bad consequences of not adopting the policy.
In this step you are appealing more to right-brain thinking; you want to get them emotionally as well as logically involved, and you want them to feel those consequences on a gut level. In the Satisfaction step, you wanted them to think, "That will work." In the Visualization step, you want them to think, "That will work for me. I can do that. I can see myself doing that."
The key to this step is using vivid imagery to show your audience how they will profit from your policy or proposal. Make them see how much better conditions will be once your plan is adopted, or how much worse things will be if no action is taken. You want to answer the question in the mind of the audience, "Why should I become involved?"
Action: The action step should move your audience to actually do something about your speech. To do this, you need to have some clear and specific action for them to take. "Somebody should do something" only frustrates them, because they have no direction. Even "give some money to this cause" lacks motivation. Tell them, "I want each of you to give just $10 to this. If you can do more, fine. But don't you agree that $10 is within reach of all of us?" You should know from the beginning of your speech what exact action you are going to ask them to take.
You need to make it as easy as possible for the audience to take the action you want them to take. You need to provide them with phone numbers, addresses, Internet addresses, or even maps to the location of an event. The more the audience has to work to implement your solution, the greater probability that few will actually do anything.
Conclusion: You should conclude the action step with a final stirring appeal that reinforces their commitment to act.
The following video reviews the basic steps of the Monroe's Motivated Sequence and helps to clarify how to use this pattern effectively.
Published on Aug 16, 2014
Based on Monroe's Motivated Sequence this cartoon uses the five steps as Crow (1) Gets Hawks Attention, (2) Addresses and Fills a Need, (3) Offers a Solution, (4) Gets Hawk to Visualize and (5) finally Take Action. A time tested method that gets results in all forms of verbal and written communication!
The following video was in the previous lesson but it bears repeating here!
Speech Outline Template
Monroe's Motivated Sequence
Copyright © 2011 Rate Speeches, Inc. (www.RateSpeeches.com)
You may copy and print for your use. However, you may not sell, publish, or embed in online content.
Speaker: Your name goes here.
Date: The date of your speech goes here.
Speech Topic: The topic of your speech goes here.
Specific Purpose: The specific purpose statement of your speech goes here.
I. Step 1 – Attention: the text of your attention getter goes here.
A. The first subpoint or supporting material of the attention goes here.
B. The second subpoint or supporting material of the attention goes here.
C. The third subpoint or supporting material of the attention goes here, or delete this numbered item if you have fewer than three.
D. The fourth subpoint or supporting material, if any, of the attention goes here; or delete this numbered item if you have fewer than four.
E. The fifth subpoint or supporting material, if any, of the attention goes here; or delete this numbered item if you have fewer than five.
The transition from attention getter to the need goes here.
II. Step 2 – Need: the description of the need (problem) goes here.
A. The first subpoint or supporting material of the need goes here.
B. The second subpoint or supporting material of the need goes here.
C. The third subpoint or supporting material of the need goes here, or delete this numbered item if you have fewer than three.
D. The fourth subpoint or supporting material, if any, of the need goes here; or delete this numbered item if you have fewer than four.
E. The fifth subpoint or supporting material, if any, of the need goes here; or delete this numbered item if you have fewer than five.
The transition from the need to the satisfaction goes here.
III. Step 3 – Satisfaction: the description of the satisfaction (solution) goes here.
A. The first subpoint or supporting material of the satisfaction goes here.
B. The second subpoint or supporting material of the satisfaction goes here.
C. The third subpoint or supporting material of the satisfaction goes here, or delete this numbered item if you have fewer than three.
D. The fourth subpoint or supporting material, if any, of the satisfaction goes here; or delete this numbered item if you have fewer than four.
E. The fifth subpoint or supporting material, if any, of the satisfaction goes here; or delete this numbered item if you have fewer than five.
IV. Step 4 – Visualization: the visualization goes here.
A. The first subpoint or supporting material of the visualization goes here.
B. The second subpoint or supporting material of the visualization goes here.
C. The third subpoint or supporting material of the visualization goes here, or delete this numbered item if you have fewer than three.
D. The fourth subpoint or supporting material, if any, of the visualization goes here; or delete this numbered item if you have fewer than four.
E. The fifth subpoint or supporting material, if any, of the visualization goes here; or delete this numbered item if you have fewer than five.
The transition from the visualization to the action goes here.
V. Step 5 – Action: the action description goes here.
A. The first subpoint or supporting material of the action goes here.
B. The second subpoint or supporting material of the action goes here.
C. The third subpoint or supporting material of the action goes here, or delete this numbered item if you have fewer than three.
D. The fourth subpoint or supporting material, if any, of the action goes here; or delete this numbered item if you have fewer than four.
E. The fifth subpoint or supporting material, if any, of the action goes here; or delete this numbered item if you have fewer than five.
Bibliography
Your bibliography in MLA or APA format goes here.
The following outlines are examples using Monroe's Motivated Sequence.
iPads Vs. Textbooks
I. Attention
A. As college students, we all run on different schedules but what are some ways that we can become more efficient with our studies?
B. All of our lives we have had to carry books around with us regardless of how heavy they were, so what if there was a way to make the load a little lighter?
C. Technology has become increasingly popular in today's world. With the inventions of the smartphone, iPad, and E-Reader, we can start to incorporate this technology in the learning process and phase out the use of textbooks.
D. Today I will talk about why textbooks are such a hassle to use, why we still see textbooks in use, ways that we can eliminate the problem of carrying around textbooks, and how they can all be replaced with iPads.
E. I will start with why textbooks are such a problem to use.
II. (NEED) Now that we are college students, we obviously require more responsibilities; I know one of mine was having to pay for my textbooks. After I was done making my purchase off of Amazon, I noticed that I no longer had that much money left on my account.
A. Textbooks are becoming increasingly expensive and we need ways to drive down these costs.
1. The National Association of College Stores (2013) says "the average college student will spend $655 on textbooks each year, but with a single textbook easily costing as much as $300, that total can easily be much higher."
2. According to the Government Accountability Office (2013), "publishers often include supplemental materials such as CD-ROMs and access to websites, which drive up the sticker price for textbooks." Not only are you paying for the price of the book, you are paying for the extra materials that you may or may not need.
3. If we get rid of textbooks, it will have an impact on today's society. Nothing has ever been changed without a consequence.
B. Places such as public libraries will also notice a change but not just for the worst.
1. In a research project by the Pew Research Center (2012) "Book-borrowing habits are changing. Some of the most avid library users report they are going to library branches less and using the library website more for book and audio downloads. Additionally, patrons' browsing is moving from in-library catalogs to online searches of library websites. As a result, Routine traditional library interactions between patrons and librarians are receding in some places as interactions shift to online communications and download." This doesn't mean that libraries are "suffering" it just means that more of their interactions with customers are online.
2. The study also found that "A number of librarians report that some funds for purchasing printed books have been shifted to e-book purchases. Other libraries have cut back on other media purchases, such as CD audio books, to free up funds for purchases of e-books." People are starting to shift more towards online books instead of regular text.
a. For example, in a book by David Baldacci titled "First Family" the bookstores sold the book for about $26. The book was available on the Kindle for $9.99. Imagine what this could mean for textbooks!
C. I know some of you are thinking "well if we are using IPads something is bound to go wrong since we are dealing with technology." This can be prevented with services that are offered even here at Cal; we have U-Tech which helps fix any of our technology needs.
D. There are some steps that can be taken to eliminate the use of textbooks from our daily lives and replace them with technology.
III. (SATISFACTION) A way that we can rely more on technology is to simply get all of our books on an iPad or E-Reader.
A. Most of us probably already personally own an iPad or an E-Reader, and if we don't there are some schools even offer them in the tuition fees! We can simply download our entire book onto it and now we have all of our classes at the tip of our fingers.
1. According to Fox News article (2012) "Among college students, 25% already own their own tablet and close to half plan on purchasing one within the next six months".
2. There are many apps that help college students in the learning process, but some apps that I use and find the most useful are "ITalk" which is a recording app that is used in recording lectures; Inkling, which can provide online textbooks and "Fast Finga" which converts hand written notes into text.
B. By implementing the use of iPads in our education system, not only are we helping to teach future generations, but we are also relating to them. Think about it, future generations would be more willing to learn if it's something fun and engaging rather than reading from a textbook which is boring.
1. In a news article written by USA Today (2011), it stated that "Brookfield High School in Connecticut estimates it spends at least that much yearly on every student's textbooks, not including graphing calculators, dictionaries and other accessories they can get on the iPads."
2. In an article completed by the Wall Street Journal (2012) "A well-designed iPad app is more engaging because often the place on the screen that a child touches is the same as where the action happens. One study using an iPod Touch and sponsored by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop found children 4- to 7-years-old improved on a vocabulary test after using an educational app called "Martha Speaks."
C. The iPad provides for unique learning opportunities that cannot be found in a textbook.
IV. (VISUALIZATION) Imagine a world with lighter backpacks and fewer items to carry.
A. iPads are always ready to use!
1. They can be charged overnight and used during the day without any need for charging or concern for cords or outlets and are long lasting.
2. The ability to pull out an iPad, press a button and start work is a very significant advantage.
B. Jonathan Pratt, Assistant Head of School for Academics at Foxcroft Academy makes the case that it's more cost efficient in the long run to invest in applications for the iPad rather than buying textbooks every few years.
1. Pratt stated "the iPad helps students engage with what they're learning, and promote the skills needed to effectively present information to a room of colleagues--something that's bound to come in handy in college or a career."
2. Most schools get 10 cycles out of $100 textbooks, so $15 for a yearly digital copy would be a bit pricier, but the trade-off could be worth it in the long run. "You could argue that the ability to own that resource, take notes, and add multimedia is worth the extra cost per student use," he adds. With every student having immediate access to the Internet, Pratt posits that it may be the end of an era. "I don't know that we need textbooks from traditional publishers now as we did in the past."
C. The end of an "era" might be closer than we think with seeing the brightness of an iPad has in store.
V. Conclusion
A. Today I discussed why technology is a better option for learning than boring old textbooks.
B. Technology is changing and so should the future of our learning and since this is the 21st century we should try and keep up with all the technological advances and begin to incorporate them in our learning.
C. I urge you to go home and take a look around at your books and then look at your smart device and ask yourself "Do I really need all of these books?"
References
Associated Press. (September 3, 2011). Many U.S. schools adding iPads, trimming textbooks. USA Today. Retrieved from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/education/story/2011-09-03/Many-US-schools-adding-iPads-trimming-textbooks/50251238/1
Henderson, B. (April 11, 2011). Books without batteries: the negative impacts of technology. Publishers Weekly. Retrieved from http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/columns-and-blogs/soapbox/article/46793-books-without-batteries-the-negative-impacts-of-technology.html
Hutsko, J. (August 31, 2009). Are e-readers greener than books? The New York Times. Retrieved from http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/31/are-e-readers-greener-than-books/
Ion, F. (April 18, 2012). iPads in the Classroom are Changing the Face of Education. Retrieved from http://www.maclife.com/article/features/ipads_classroom_are_changing_face_education
Kingkade, T. (Janurary 4, 2013). College textbook prices increasing faster than tuition and inflation. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/04/college-textbook-prices-increase_n_2409153.html
Quinn, M. (April 19, 2012). College students jump on the tablet train. Fox News. Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2012/04/19/college-students-jump-on-tablet-train/
Rich, M. (May 16, 2009).Steal this book (for $9.99). The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/weekinreview/17rich.html?pagewanted=all
Weisbaum, H. (n.d.) Solution to textbook enflation: Just rent 'em. NBC News. Retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/id/44179193/#.Ul21OlCkqC8
Worthen,B. ( May 22, 2012). What happens when toddlers zone out with an ipad. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304363104577391813961853988
Zickuhr,K. Rainie,L. Purcell,K. Madden, M. & Brenner, J. (June 22, 2012). Libraries, patrons, and e-books. Retrieved from http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2012/06/22/libraries-patrons-and-e-books/
A Child's Life is Worth Every Penny
I. Introduction
A. I will start of my presentation with a popular television advertisement.
B. I am sure we all have seen at least one of these charity commercials.
C. Donating money to the St. Jude's Children's hospital is very important because it helps save children's lives.
D. I ask you to take a second to imagine a scenario in which your little brother, little sister, son, or daughter suffers from cancer.
E. During this presentation I will address how important donations are for this hospital, a simple plan that Cal U students could do for this hospital, and finally ways in which this plan could help the children.
F. Let me begin by first stressing how important it is for us to donate to this organization.
II. First, St. Jude's Children Research Hospital's motto "Finding Cures, Saving Lives," was created for a reason (St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, 2013).
A. The number one cause of death in children is cancer (American Childhood Cancer Organization, 2013).
1. 13,400 children between the ages of infancy to 19 years is diagnosed with a form of cancer yearly (American Childhood Cancer Organization, 2013).
2. One in 300 boys and one in 333 girls are diagnosed before their 20th birthday (American Childhood Cancer Organization, 2013).
B. The founder of St. Jude has been quoted stating that "no child should die in the dawn of life." (St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, 2013) and I am a true believer in this statement.
1. The protocols established at this hospital has increased the children's survival rate from 20% to 80 % (St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, 2013).
2. Although this seems like a miracle, St Jude's needs your donations to help them save lives since it costs $ 1.8 million dollars a day to operate the facility (St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, 2013).
C. Now that I have introduced to you how important it is for you to donate to this hospital, I will now describe a simple plan that everyone can be a part of.
III. To continue, a plan as small as four quarters per month can make a big difference.
A. The students and faculty at Cal U can all come together to donate to this hospital.
1. An average of 10,000 students attend Cal U every year (Findthebest.com).
2. There is about 250 faculty professors at the college (Calu.edu)
B. If everyone donated four quarters a month, the results would be remarkable.
1. For every month we would be donating on average $ 10,250 every month.
2. If we did this for a year, we would donate $123,000.
C. Now that I have discussed the plan, I will discuss how this plan can help the children at St. Jude's Children hospital.
IV. Finally, the results of this plan would have amazing outcomes for these children.
A. The donations that are given to St. Jude's Children hospital are used for a variety of purposes.
1. $100 dollars provides St. Jude's with a two platelet count test for a patient. (St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, 2013).
2. $750 helps St. Jude offer a half day of chemotherapy for a St. Jude patient (St. Jude's Children research Hospital).
3. $1,000 helps St. Jude provide two days of oxygen (St. Jude's Children research Hospital).
B. Donating to this hospital not only has benefits for the patients, but also for you.
1. The donation is very small so it would not put a financial strain on your budget.
2. Donating will also make you feel very good about yourself, knowing that you're helping to save a child's life.
C. Now that I have discussed how our plan would help, take a second to imagine the lives we could help save.
V. Conclusion
A. Today, I talked to all of you about why it is so important to donate, a simple plan that we can all be a part of, and ways in which this plan would help the hospital.
B. Donating money to St. Jude's Children Research hospital is important because it helps save children's lives.
C. So I ask you, please donate four quarters a month to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital and help save a life, such as five year old Aaron.
References
American Childhood Cancer Organization. (2013). Childhood cancer statistics. Retrieved from: http://www.acco.org/information/aboutchildhoodcancer/childhoodcancerstatistics.apsx .
Bikini Commercial. (2013, August, 30). St. Judes children research hospital commercial
"Give thanks". Retrieved on November 3, 2013 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =
EahAqTT4rd0.
California University of Pennsylvania. (2013). Faculty by academic interest: All. Retrieved from
http://calu.edu/academics/faculty/by-academic-interest/all/htm .
Find the Best. (2013). Questions and answers. Retrieved from http://colleges.findthebest.com/q/
3952/22/How-many-students-go-to-California-University-of-Pennsylvania-CUP.
St. Judes Children Research Hospital. (2013). Finding cures, saving children. Retrieved from