Don't Expect Too Much

Persuasion is the influence of beliefs, attitudes, intentions, motivations, or behaviors to convince an audience of something. A persuasive speech should move the audience further along the pathway to believing that the espoused point of view is correct, but not all views can be explained in one speech and not every audience can be swayed at once.

The expectations of each persuasive speech should be tailored to the context of the speech. Factors such as the speech itself, the audience, the venue, the time allotted, and the speaker's experience all need to be considered. For example, if you are not a doctor but are asked to give a five minute speech to the American Heart Association about why fast food is the best food for heart health, your chances of persuading everyone is pretty low. Even if you are the expert in the room, not everyone will be persuaded because each person requires different processes to be convinced. The purpose of the persuasive speech is to get the audience to think about your point of view and to accept some of the vital points, not necessarily to make them buy everything you're selling .

Similarly, the expectations for the delivery of the speech should not be set too high. For a novice speaker to expect that he/she will never mispronounce a word, get nervous, or skip a paragraph is unreasonable. Every speaker goes through the process of making mistakes, and few, if any, speakers ever deliver a perfect speech. The expected quality of the delivery of the speech depends on each individual speaker's experience and comfort level, though even the most gifted orators make mistakes.

Some of the anxiousness that often accompanies preparing for a speech is derived from the idea that the audience expects perfection. However, the surprising truth is that, in most cases, the audience is a sympathetic friend. Whether or not the audience knows who you are, human nature dictates that they are very sympathetic to you and what you have to say. Most people appreciate the difficulty of your role, understand that you have something to say, and want the time they spend listening to you to be worthwhile. In other words, before you start speaking, most audiences have a vested interest in wanting you to succeed, and that translates into an attentive, supportive group.