Back to Speaking to persuade: Motivating audiences with solid arguments and moving language
University of Washington

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

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.

Status: Communication Strategies
Status: Action Oriented
BeginnerCourse17 hours

Featured reviews

GM

5.0Reviewed May 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!

RS

5.0Reviewed Jun 2, 2020

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

PS

5.0Reviewed May 9, 2020

I liked it and I can say for sure it clears the doubts of a speaker and gives a clear understanding of how one can write effective speeches.Regards

CW

5.0Reviewed May 3, 2021

This is an engaging course that sharpens skills on good and sound speeches that make sense and communicate ones key points with an argumentative but motivating speech.

ME

5.0Reviewed Jul 17, 2020

Really recommend completing this course, gives great tips on how to convey your point across in a comprehensive and persuasive manner!

KC

5.0Reviewed Jun 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

YK

5.0Reviewed Nov 19, 2020

One of my best learning experiences. Matt has worked extremely hard to create comprehensive content. Huge thanks to him for that. Happy learning!!

SS

5.0Reviewed Oct 31, 2020

This is an outstanding course for all type of professional be it in the field of sales/marketing, manufacturing and or any other industries .

CC

5.0Reviewed Dec 3, 2020

Dr. Matt McGarrity, is an excellent lecturer and this course is a must have regardless of your field of study/expertise.

SN

4.0Reviewed Dec 11, 2021

Well-structured course with ample examples to follow the intrinsic components of speaking and presentation skills. Great Job done by Dr. Matt!

VS

5.0Reviewed Nov 14, 2017

A really exceptional course. I have done eulogies and ceremonial speeches before, but I always felt that I wasn't quite connecting with the theme. This course helped to complete the jigsaw. Thank you.

FA

5.0Reviewed Jul 20, 2017

very interesting and helpful course, taught by a great professor in a lovely, easy and sometimes even funny way.

All reviews

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Prerna Srivastava
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Reviewed May 10, 2020
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