This course is part of the Dynamic Public Speaking Specialization

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Dr. Matt McGarrity

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Dynamic Public Speaking SpecializationUniversity of Washington

About this Course

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In the professional realm, we need to be able to argue without being argumentative. Whether you are fundraising for a nonprofit, pitching a business proposal, or suggesting a change to company policy, you are making arguments. In making the case for your topic, you often want to raise awareness, identify a pressing problem, discuss appropriate solutions, and outline specific steps for the audience. 
To be persuasive, you must be clear (the audience may have little to no existing knowledge), you must be convincing (you are trying to sway the audience that your argument is valid), and you must be compelling (you are trying to motivate the audience enough so that they want to take specific actions). Persuasive speaking thus requires clarity, strategy, topic mastery, plus a sense of style and presence. 

By the end of this course, you should be able to design persuasive speeches that address problems and solutions and that motivate audience members. You should be able to use rhetorical style strategically and deliver passionate and compelling speeches. Learners will record speeches, providing and receiving peer feedback.

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Course 3 of 4 in the

Dynamic Public Speaking Specialization

Beginner Level

Approx. 15 hours to complete

English

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Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Course 3 of 4 in the

Dynamic Public Speaking Specialization

Beginner Level

Approx. 15 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.83/5 (74 Ratings)

Dr. Matt McGarrity

Teaching Professor

UW Department of Communication

745,740 Learners

8 Courses

Offered by

University of Washington

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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating97%(2,485 ratings)

Week1

Week 1

3 hours to complete

Welcome. Let's develop a persuasive argument.

In this module, we’ll focus on the key strategies for designing persuasive speeches. In examining persuasive speaking, we tackle both solid argument and eloquent writing. After sorting through the broad concerns about persuasion, we start with some of the most powerful argumentative tools you can have: status quo and stock issues. By the end of the week, these two ideas will have helped us figure out what we need to argue (and what we don’t) and how to go about it. If you want some feedback, you’ll be able to upload an introductory speech for peer review.

3 hours to complete

15 videos (Total 56 min), 5 readings, 3 quizzes

15 videos

Welcome to persuasive speaking!1mWhat’s this course about?3mWhat are the assignments?4mWhat is persuasion?4mGood persuasion requires careful planning.3mGood persuasion involves logos, pathos, and ethos4mGood persuasion responds to questions of fact, policy, and value.3mWhat’s the status quo and burden of proof?4mWhat are the stock issues and how do they help?4mStock issue: Ill. Something demands our attention.2mStock issue: Blame. Why does the ill persist?2mStock issue: Cure. What should we do?3mStock issue: Consequences. What happens if we act?3mUsing these tools to build arguments for and against.4mHow to record speech videos4m

5 readings

Week 1 preview2mPersuasive speech assignment description10mStock issues in action--Barack Obama15mWeek one lesson summaries10mWeek one assignment check-in15m

2 practice exercises

Persuasion30mWeek one quiz10m

Week2

Week 2

4 hours to complete

Designing your persuasive speech

Having mapped out a basic strategy, we now need to think more about the audience and how to respond to their concerns. Additionally, we need to build the speech logically. We will examine how to design congruent speeches that build to clear and motivational calls to action. By the end of the week, you will have a number of techniques for making your case in a way that invites agreement rather than disagreement. If you want strengthen these skills, you’ll be able to engage in some speech analysis.

4 hours to complete

13 videos (Total 53 min), 8 readings, 4 quizzes

13 videos

What are key arrangement concerns?2mCongruency. Everything should fit together.5mCalls to action. What should the audience do?5mCalls to action. Highlighting audience efficacy.3mStock issues arrangement. Building to the call to action.5mMonroe's motivated sequence. Helping the audience visualize the cure.2mGo big. Move from policy to value.4mGo small. Protect the argument from larger issues.4mChallenge softly. Introduce new evidence.3mFind your cost-benefit balance2mShow, don't tell. Include a story.3mValidate your argument. Include some testimony.3mSample persuasive speech #16m

8 readings

Week 2 preview2mCongruencey--Bill Gates on education spending15mArrangement--driving to a clear cure12mArgument tactics. Reading and responding to audience concerns.1mSpeech analysis #1 overview5mMatt's feedback10mWeek two lesson summaries10mWeek two assignment check-in10m

3 practice exercises

Persuasive arrangement30mArgument tactics30mWeek two quiz30m

Week3

Week 3

3 hours to complete

Strategic and motivational language

In this module, we'll move from persuasive ideas to a completed argument and speech draft. I think everyone should take the time to become familiar with the fallacies discussed in this module. Globally, the quality of argumentation and reasoning would be better if everyone had a stronger grasp of these concepts. As you well know, persuasion isn't just argument - it's also the crafting of strategic and stylistic language. When people think about the most famous speeches in history, they tend to think of stylistically rich speeches. By the end of the week, you will have a list of strategies for avoiding fallacies and framing your case strategically and stylistically. If you want some feedback, you’ll be able to upload a persuasive speech outline for peer review and engage in some speech writing.

3 hours to complete

13 videos (Total 58 min), 5 readings, 4 quizzes

13 videos

That doesn’t sound right! Avoiding fallacies.2mFallacies of reasoning. Something is missing4mFallacies of reasoning. Flawed causality.3mFallacies of relevance. Bad evidence.3mFallacies of relevance. Bad response.3mFraming. Building credible commonalities.3mIdentification. We're on the same side.4mTopic value. Finding the best words for your subject.5mStylistic devices are easy equations for eloquence.2mSound repetition. Assonance, consonance, alliteration, asyndeton, and polysyndeton.6mPhrasing repetition. Anaphora, epistrophe, and symploce.6mWriting big applause lines. Anadiplosis, antimetabole, and maxims.6mStylistic hotspots. Where to include style in your speech.3m

5 readings

Week three preview2mBuilding common identities--Maria Ressa15mIntegrating style--Advocating for St. Jude's10mWeek three lesson summaries10mWeek three assignment check-in10m

3 practice exercises

Fallacies30mStyle30mWeek three Quiz14m

Week4

Week 4

3 hours to complete

Compelling delivery

In this module, we’ll finish our work on persuasive speaking. We'll talk about the dreaded "UM", a bane of speakers and an issue that merits study. We'll also go over some tips for reducing these sorts of disfluencies. We'll spend a bit of time thinking about some good delivery practices. Finally, we'll explore some models of imitation. By the end of the week, you will have a couple of speaking techniques to make every speech you give sound more confident and moving. If you want some feedback, you’ll be able to upload a practice persuasive speech for peer review.

3 hours to complete

10 videos (Total 41 min), 5 readings, 3 quizzes

10 videos

Why do I say um?3mHow can I avoid saying um?4mDressing for a successful speech.3mPreparing your speaking space.3mEngaging the audience by working the room.4mMaking good eye contact.3mWho is a good model of imitation for you?3mBarack Obama. A model of stylistic energy.6mBobby Jindal. Beware of over-relying on your scripts.4mStylistic delivery requires your commitment.3m

5 readings

Week four preview2mSpeech analysis #2 overview2mMatt's feedback10mWeek four lesson summaries10mWeek four assignment check-in10m

2 practice exercises

Um30mWeek four quiz30m

Reviews

4.8

92 reviews

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TOP REVIEWS FROM SPEAKING TO PERSUADE: MOTIVATING AUDIENCES WITH SOLID ARGUMENTS AND MOVING LANGUAGE

by RSJun 2, 2020

Great course! I highly recommend this if you're looking into improving your communication skills, especially communicating ideas.

by PSOct 2, 2018

Another great course by Matt. Really breaks down what you learned in the first course to use with persuasive speeches. Really enjoyed.

by GMMay 31, 2020

Loved it! Doing the whole 4 courses specialization. And the entire series is extremely interesting, quite fun to go through, and last but not least, very useful!

by KCJun 2, 2020

I thoroughly enjoyed this course. Professor has a good sense of humor. He did a good job at explaining what makes a persu

View all reviews

About the Dynamic Public Speaking Specialization

Good speaking is your most enduring job skill. This four-course specialization will provide you with the instruction, experience, and practice to develop and deliver compelling presentations. Drawing from the established knowledge in communication, rhetoric, linguistics, and argumentation, each course balances proven ideas with lots of speech practice.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

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Speaking to persuade: Motivating audiences with solid arguments and moving language

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