VOA教育报道2022--发表有说服力的演讲

Give a Persuasive¹ Speech

In his speech to the United States Congress, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked for help. His message was short and clear: "We need you right now."

In recent weeks, Zelenskyy spoke² to world leaders in one country after another by video link. His speeches are excellent examples of persuasive speaking. The persuasive speech is one common exercise that teachers give to students in communication or speech classes.

Let us look at what makes an effective persuasive speech.

Choose a good topic

First, you should choose a topic you know something about or have researched well to prepare for your speech. Make sure it is a subject about which people have different opinions. It would not be logical to speak about a fact recognized by everybody.

It is also best to choose a subject your listeners care about or can act on. Do you see people in your town littering? You can expect that they care about how the town appears, or that they can change their actions. So, giving a speech about why littering harms your town's appearance might persuade people who do it to stop.

Know your audience

You should consider your listeners as you plan your speech. What do they value? President Zelenskyy spoke about protecting democracy to everyone. But he changed his speech to world leaders a little depending on the history of each country. For the United States, he compared the Russian invasion with the attack on Pearl⁴ Harbor and the September 11 attacks. Both those events were important turning points in U.S. history. In his speech to the leaders of Israel, he spoke of the Holocaust⁵ and how Ukrainians helped to save Jews during World War II.

Thinking of the things your listeners value will help you form arguments in your speech. If you want them to stop eating unhealthy foods, for example, you may appeal to the value of their appearance. You will talk about how healthy foods result in good-looking skin and an attractive body.

Prepare your argument

There are three common ways to persuade people of your way of thinking. We use Greek words to describe them because the ancient Greeks developed and appealed to these ideas. They are:

Ethos – appeal to the listeners' ethics⁶ or morals

Pathos⁷ - appeal to the listeners' emotions

Logos - appeal to the listeners' logic³ or intelligence

Again, President Zelenskyy's speeches are excellent examples of how to use these three ideas to persuade listeners to act. Representing Ethos, in speaking to the German leaders, he said some German businesses had put more importance on economic gain than on morality⁸.

In an appeal to Pathos, Zelenskyy played a video showing injured Ukrainian children to the U.S. Congress to appeal to our emotions.

And in his speech to the British Parliament in London, he made an appeal to Logos. He said that like the British in World War II, Ukrainians will never stop fighting, and so they need Britain's help to continue. He used words similar to former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's famous words: "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets..." The English translation of Zelenskyy's words is: "We will fight in the forests, in the fields, on the shores, in the streets."

Organize your speech

After you plan the subject, appeal to your listeners, and the arguments you will use, you should make an outline of your speech. Start with an attention-getting statement. Then explain your main idea and give evidence to support your argument. List the points you want to make and think of how to answer arguments against your position.

Finish with a call to action – what do you want your listeners to do? Finally, practice at home until you need only a note card with your main points on it when you give the speech. Do not plan to read the speech word-for-word from a paper.

For more tips on how to give a speech, see our series on public speaking.

Words in This Story

logical – adj. apply reason, or the science of using reason

litter – v. to drop waste or unwanted objects on the ground

ethics - n. ideas and beliefs about what type of behavior is morally right and wrong

practice –n. to do something repeatedly until you improve

1 persuasive   

adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的

参考例句：

• His arguments in favour of a new school are very persuasive.他赞成办一座新学校的理由很有说服力。
• The evidence was not really persuasive enough.证据并不是太有说服力。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

4 pearl   

n.珍珠，珍珠母

参考例句：

• He bought his girlfriend a pearl necklace.他给他女朋友买了一条珍珠项链。
• The crane and the mother-of-pearl fight to death.鹬蚌相争。

5 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

6 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

7 pathos   

n.哀婉，悲怆

参考例句：

• The pathos of the situation brought tears to our eyes.情况令人怜悯，看得我们不禁流泪。
• There is abundant pathos in her words.她的话里富有动人哀怜的力量。

8 morality   

n.道德（性），德行，品行，道德观（规范）

参考例句：

• Morality was the emphasis of his speech.道德是他讲话的重点。
• He has overthrown the basic standards of morality.他已摒弃了基本的道德标准。