PERSUASIWE SPEECI~S ON QUESTIONS OF POLICY
Main Points:
L Unstaffed scientific missions are far less costly than
staffed space flights.
II. Unstaffed scientific missions provide many more practical benefits than staffed space flights.
Monroe’s Motivated Sequence Developed in the 1930s by Alan Monroe,
a professor of speech at Purdue University, the motivated sequence is tailormade for policy speeches that seek immediate action, The sequence has five
steps that follow the psychology of persuaaion:12
1. Attention. First you gain the attention of your audience. You do this in
the introduction by using one or more of the methods described in Chapter
9: relating to the audience, showing the importance of th~ topic, making
a starting statement, arousing curiosity or suspense, posing a question,
telling a dramatic story, or using visual aids. ¯
2. Need. Having captured the interest of you~ audience, you next make them
feel a need for change. You sh~w there is a serious problem with the existinE situation. It is important to state the need clearly and to illustrate it
with strong supporting materials--statistlcs, examples, and testimony-that relate directly to the audience’s values or vital interests. By the end
of this step, listeners should be so concerned about the problem that they
are psychologically primed to hear your solution.
¸3, Satisfaction. Having aroused a sense of need, you satisfy it by providing
a solution to the problem. You present your plan and show how it will
work. Be sure to offer enough details about the plan to give listeners a
clear understanding of it.
4. Visualization. Having given your plan, you intensify desire for it by visualizing its benefits. The key to this step is using vivid imagery to show
your listeners how they wflI profit from your policy. Make them see how
much bett~r conditions will be once your plan is adopted.
5. Action. Once the audience is convinced your policy is beneficial, you
are ready to call for action. Say exactly what you want the audience to
do--and how to do it. Give them the address to write. Tell them where
they should gore join the Young Republicans. Show them how to sign
up for counseling. Then conclude with a final stirring appeal that reinforces their commitment to act.
Many students prefer the motivated sequence because it is more detailed
than problem-solutlon order. It follows the process of human thinking and
leads the listener step by step to the desired action. One indication of its
effectiveness is that it is widely used by people who make their living by
persuasion--especlalfy advertisers. The next time you watch television, pay
close attention to the commercials. You will find that many of them follow
the motivated sequence, as in this example;
Cross-Refe~eece
For a student speech that
follows Monroe’s motivated sequepce, see
Sandy Hefty, "A Friend in
Need~’ which is reprinted
on pp, 372-373 of the
Instructor’s Mantml.
Attention: ~Yi~@lf~ib lafe in the day. We see a business conference room. A
project manager and several others are gathered around a
table! Some are sitting, others are standing. They are putting
the fine] touches on the company’s bid for an important conL~act. Tightly framed close-ups and quick snatches of conversation heighten the sense of tension and drama.
A
"This is great work," says an associate seated to the mm~ager’s
left. "I don’t see how the competition can beat it." "They
can’t," the manager replies. "Now we have to get it to the
coast by tomorrow morning. If we don’t, we’re all in trouble."
Sadsfaedon:
The manager a~d her associate exchange knowing looks.
"U.S. Express," they say in unison, nodding their heads in
agreement. The announcer, in voice-over, tells us: "U.S.
Express guarantees overnight delivery--without fail."
Class Activity
As a homework assignment, have each student
Visualization: We see the business conference room the next day. The manselect a television com_ mercial that is organized
ager is listening to the speaker phone. "Your bid arrived this
according to Monroe’s
morning," the voice on the phone annom~ces. "You really
motivated sequence. Each
put all the pieces .together. The competition couldn’t come
student should prepare a
close." The manager and her Colleagues smile in satisfaction.
brief arlalysis (!) identifyOne person raises his right arm in a signal of triumph.
ing the target audience
for the commercial and
Acdon:
The audience is urged to rely on U.S. Express whenever ship(2) describing each step
ments have to azrlve overnight.
in the motivated sequence
as it appears in the comTry using the motivated sequence when you want to spar listeners to
mercial. Lead a clsss disaction.
You should, find it easy and effective, as did one student who used
cussion in which students
present the results of their it in a speech urging classmates to work for passage of a local tenants’ rlg~ts
work. Be sure to make
bill. Here are the b~ghlights of h~s speech:
connections between the
commercials and the ways A~ention:
Have you ever had cockroaches running through ~he cupstudents can use the motiboards
in your aparhment? Have you s~altered in the heat
vated sequence in their
because the air conditioning didn’t work? Or shivered in the
speeches.
cold because the furnace was broken? Ot waited months for
the security deposit you never got back even though you left:
your apartment as clean as when you moved in?
Need:
Throughout this city students and other apartment tenants
are being victimized by unresponsive and unethical landlords. Just last year more than 200 complaints were filed with
the city housing department, but no action has been taken
against the landlords.
Sad ac on:
These problems could be solved by passing a strong tenants’
rights bill that defines the rights of tenants, specifies the obligations of landlords, and imposes strict penalties for violators.
Cont
PERSUASIVE SPEECHES ON QUESTIONS OF POLICY
Visualization:
Such bills have worked in a number of college communities
across the nation, If one were .passed here, you would no
longer have to worry about substandard sanitary or safety
conditions in your apartment. Your landlord could not vio- ~;peec,h Assignment
late the terms of your lease or steal your security deposit. At some point in the term,
Action:
A tenants’ rights bill has been proposed to the city cmmcfl. persuasive speech on a
You can help get it passed by signing the petition I will pass question of policy. Some
around altar my speech. I also urge you to help by circulating require that the speech
petitions among your friends and by turning out to support seek immediate action and
the bill when it is debated in the city commfl next week. K be organized according
Monroe’s motivated
we all work together, we can get this bill through the counci!. to
sequence. Others leave
most instructors assign a
Monroe’s motivated sequence is entirely compatible wtih the standard
method of speech outlining discussed in Chapter lo. The fallowing outline
shows how one speaker incorporated the sequence into a speech supporting legislation to protect the personal privacy of Americans against electronic data gathering. In its ful! form, the outline included, supporting
materials for all the subpoints in the body of the speech.
the assignment more
open-ended. V’,/hich ever
approach you take, check
the Instructor’s Manual,
pp. 52-53 for evaluation
forms designed specif[oalfy for the policy speech.
Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience that the United States should
act now to protect its citizens against electronic invasions
of their personal privacy.
Central Idea:
The loss of persona! privacy in our electronic society is
a serious problem that requires deolsive action.
Introduction
Attention:
I. Would you let a perfect stranger examine your medical files, peek at your personal finances, eavesdrop
on your phone calls, or invade other aspects of your
personal life?
II. Yet all of these axe happening as a result of privacyinvading technology by businesses and government
agencies.
I!L The erosion of parsonal privacy has become one of the
most serious problems facing Americans in our highto?h, electronic age.
W. Today I would like to explain the extent of this problem and encourage you to support a solution to it.
Body
L The use of electronic data gathering by business and
government poses a serious threat to personal privacy.
Class Activit~
See the third and fourth
Additional Exercises
for CriticaI Thinking on
pp. 284-285 of the
Instructor’s Manual for
enjoyable activities that
give students practice
working with the motivated sequence.
A. Businesses and government agencies
piled massive amounts of information on the personal lives of most Americans.
B. There are few laws protecting Americans against
the gathering or misuse of personal information by
businesses and government agencies.
’reaching Tip
Remind students who use
the motivated sequence
that the attention step is
completed in the introduction, that the need, satisfaction, and visualization
steps each constitute a
main point in the body of
the speech, and that the
action step is taken in the
conclusion, Encourage
students to refer to the
sample outline on this
page if they have questions as they construct
their speeches,
The problem could be greatly reduced by the passage
of federal privacy laws.
A. These laws should impose strict controls on the
collection of personal information by businesses
and government agencies.
B. These laws should also include stiff penalties on
anyone who uses personal information for unauthorized purposes.
Visualizafion:
III. Similar laws have worked in other countries and can
work in the United States.
A. The practicality of privacy laws has been demonstrated by their success in almost al! the countries
of westarn Europe.
B, If the U.S. had such laws, you would once again
have control over you~ medical files, financial
records, and other kinds of personal information,
Conclusion
AcHon:
I. So I urge you to support privacy legislation by signing the petition I am passing aronnd to be sent to our
state’s U.S. Senq~ors and Representatives.
II. As Congressman Jack Fields has stated, "This is not a
Democratic or Republican issue .... Privacy is a basic
human right."
Try using the motivated sequence when you seek innnediate action from
your listeners. Over the years it has worked for countless speakers--and it
can work for you as wall.
MPLF. SP £CH WiTH COK M£NTARY
The following persuasive speech was presented in a public speaking class
at the University of Wisconsin,as It deals with a question of policy and provides an excellent example of problem-solution structure.
As you read the speech, notice how the speaker deals with the issues
of need, plan, and practicality, Notice also how she anticipates the potan-