A persuasive speech is a type of speech where the goal is to convince the audience to accept the speakers point of view or perform a desired action. The speaker seeks to influence the beliefs, attitudes, values, or behaviors of audience members. Persuasive speaking is very connected to the audience, as the speaker must, in a sense, meet the audience halfway. To be successful, a persuasive speech must effectively convince the audience to the speakers point of view, providing the speaker comes across as trustworthy and knowledgeable about the topic being discussed.

Here are some tips for creating a persuasive speech:

• Identify the target audience and tailor the speech to their interests and values.
• Choose a topic that is thought-provoking and has a clear opinion.
• Use ethos (credibility), logos (logic), and pathos (emotion) to enhance persuasive power.
• Use a clear and concise structure, such as problem-solution, cause-effect, cause-effect-solution, or Monroe’s Motivated Sequence.
• Use examples, statistics, and other evidence to support arguments.
• Address counterarguments and refute them.
• Use rhetorical devices, such as repetition and rhetorical questions, to engage the audience.
• Use a strong closing line that summarizes the main points and ends with a call to action.

Persuasive speeches can concern questions of fact, value, or policy. Issues of fact are similar to informative speeches in that they review findings, but persuasive speeches make judgments about which findings are correct. Issues of value involve making judgments about the worth of something, such as whether a particular policy is good or bad. Issues of policy advocate that something "should or shouldnt" be done.

In summary, a persuasive speech is a type of speech that seeks to influence the beliefs, attitudes, values, or behaviors of audience members. To be successful, a persuasive speech must effectively convince the audience to the speakers point of view, providing the speaker comes across as trustworthy and knowledgeable about the topic being discussed.