As public speakers, we all want to be as persuasive as possible. By being persuasive, we’re better able to convince people to buy what we’re selling or simply to take action if we’re giving them relevant information.
Whatever the case and whichever industry you work in, learning to be more persuasive will help you throughout your career and make you the best public speaker you can be.
But what exactly can you do to become a more persuasive public speaker? Let’s take a look, shall we?
Knowing your audience is the first and most important step to becoming a persuasive public speaker, no matter what industry you’re working in. You need to know your audience so that you can tailor your speech to the people you’re talking to. When you do so, it becomes much easier for you to persuade them because you know and can address their pain points.
Once you know your audience, you’re better placed to develop a message and understand it inside and out. If you want to persuade your audience, you first need to persuade yourself, and that begins by knowing exactly what you’re talking about. Much of this will come from your existing subject matter expertise, but it never hurts to do some extra research. The more you know, the better.
Stories are what make us human, but they also make it much easier for us to remember information. For example, the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf helps children remember not to tell lies, while The Pied Piper of Hamelin teaches us to beware of strangers—although I think the real message is to always pay freelancers. By using storytelling as a part of your presentations, you’ll make it easier for people to remember your message.
Nonverbal communication is said to make up as much as 93% of all communication, although that figure is disputed. Either way, it’s hard to deny that nonverbal communication is important, which is why the most persuasive public speakers spend a huge amount of time perfecting it. We’ve written tons of articles on the different aspects of nonverbal communication, but start by maintaining eye contact and adopting a confident posture.
Active listening is the skill and practice of paying full attention to the person you’re speaking to, prompting them when necessary by asking them questions that encourage them to keep talking. Now, this might not sound too relevant to someone whose job is to speak, but there are plenty of reasons why it’ll come in handy. For example, if you’re holding a Q&A session, you’ll want to properly understand people’s questions before you answer them.
If you want to be persuasive, provide evidence. Statistics and scientific studies can be worth their weight in gold, especially if you’re trying to sell something compared to just persuading people to change their minds. There’s a big difference between telling a potential investor that your company will grow and showing them the metrics proving your user base is increasing by 60% month-on-month.
Storytellers and public speakers use the rule of three to tap into an instinct that we all have. Three is the smallest number required to form a list, which is why we see it so often. That’s why we have Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and it’s also why we remember iconic lines like, “I came, I saw, I conquered.” Using the rule of three won’t necessarily make you more persuasive, but it will help people remember what you say.
This builds on the rule of three because using that will encourage people to engage with what you’re talking about. Other ways to engage your audience include asking them for a show of hands, maintaining eye contact, and using visual instead of text-heavy slides. The more you can engage your audience, the more likely they are to be persuaded.
Contrasts are a great way to persuade people because they highlight the differences between two options. Let’s say you’re trying to persuade people to use your marketing agency. You could contrast how one of your clients was doing before you started working with them with how they did after you took over their marketing. Verbal contrasts can be just as attention-grabbing and persuasive as visual contrasts.
One of the best ways to convince people to see things from your point of view is to anticipate any questions they might have and to answer them during your talk. That shows them that you understand them (which goes back to knowing your audience) and that the solution you have to offer is right for them. If you can’t cover the answer as part of your presentation, you can at least practice your responses for when they ask questions during Q&A.
Now that you know how to become a more persuasive public speaker, it’s over to you so you can put the tips we’ve talked about today into practice. Try adding them into the mix one at a time so you can measure how much of an impact they have.
As always, we’d love to hear from you. Be sure to share your persuasive public speaking tips in the comments so we can keep the discussion going.
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