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Analysing Persuasive Speeches

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Analysing Persuasive Speeches

Read the speech below, then analyse how the speaker uses persuasive choices to influence an audience. Support your answers with details from the speech. In the final task, write a short speech of your own.

Read the speech

Dylan is a finalist in a local dance competition. The organisers are considering removing the free weekly practice session to reduce costs. Dylan is speaking to the competition committee and other dancers. Keep the free practice session Good afternoon, committee members and dancers. I’m Dylan, and I have trained with this competition group for three years. I know how much a regular practice session can change a performance—not because it makes every dancer perfect, but because it gives every dancer a fair chance to improve. Last month, our junior team struggled to keep time during a routine. At the free session, older dancers stayed behind to practise the tricky transitions with them. At the next rehearsal, the team moved together with confidence. I still remember the grin on one dancer’s face when the group finally landed the ending in unison. That moment did not come from expensive costumes. It came from having time and people to practise with. Some people say the session is an extra cost. But removing it may create other costs. The committee’s attendance records show that 42 dancers used the session at least twice last month. If even a portion of those dancers need to pay for private coaching instead, families could face a much bigger expense. A shared session also lets experienced dancers help beginners, so skills move through the whole group. What does a competition celebrate: only polished performances, or the effort it takes to create them? A free practice session is not a luxury. It is a bridge between wanting to improve and having a real opportunity to do so. Keep the session, even if we shorten it to 45 minutes or ask teams to take turns booking the space. Let’s make the budget work without closing the door on dancers who cannot afford extra coaching. Give every dancer a place to practise, a team to learn with and a fair chance to shine.

Analyse the speaker’s choices

Use evidence from the speech. More than one interpretation may be reasonable if it is supported by the text.

1.Which statement best expresses Dylan’s central contention?

The competition should spend more money on costumes.
The free practice session should continue, perhaps with changes to manage costs.
Only experienced dancers should use the practice space.
The competition should replace team rehearsals with private coaching.

2.Dylan begins by mentioning that he has trained with the group for three years. Which persuasive appeal is this mainly intended to build, and why?

3.Find one detail that appeals to the audience’s emotions. Explain the feeling it may create and how that feeling supports Dylan’s argument.

4.What evidence does Dylan use to appeal to logic? Explain one way it supports his contention and one limitation of that evidence.

5.In “A free practice session is not a luxury. It is a bridge between wanting to improve and having a real opportunity to do so”, identify the main figurative device and explain its effect.

6.What persuasive purpose does the question “What does a competition celebrate: only polished performances, or the effort it takes to create them?” serve?

7.Dylan offers two possible changes at the end of the speech. Name one and explain how this concession or compromise could make his argument more persuasive to the committee.

8.True or false: Dylan argues that the session should continue exactly as it is, without any changes. Support your answer with a detail from the speech.

TrueFalse

9.How does the order of Dylan’s ideas help develop his argument? Refer to at least two stages of the speech.

Try the technique

A strong persuasive speech uses a clear position, purposeful evidence and language suited to its audience.

10.Write a 100–150 word speech to the competition committee arguing either to keep the free practice session or to replace it with another affordable option. Include a clear contention, one logical reason, one emotional or credibility appeal, and a persuasive device such as repetition, a rhetorical question or a metaphor. Label each technique in brackets.