Gurney-Hydro Toastmasters Club

Persuasive speaking is considered one of the most challenging in the art of public speaking.   Many people find themselves unable to speak in a way that is convincing enough to influence their listeners. Perhaps they think that persuasive speaking is “selling” because this is something that sales people need to master in order to sell their product. However, bear in mind that in every conversation that you have with someone, you are actually “selling” something.   Even if you are asking your friends to go for drinks after work, you are in effect, selling them the idea that it will be wonderful to get together and chill over beer after a long day. No doubt they don’t need much convincing in this scenario but you still need to put the idea in their head in order for them to make an effort to show up at your little gathering. But if you need to convince a tougher crowd like when you're making a pitch for your proposal to investors or a sales event, here are s...

There are many different types of speeches and depending on the audience and/or topic, a good public speaker will be able to tailor his/her speech in the right format, delivery and style accordingly in order to have the most impact. Here are the most common types of speeches and our take on how/when to use them. 1. The Narrative The narrative speech is most suitable for when you are telling a story.  This is the easiest speech but yet so many people fall flat when attempting it.  Everyone thinks that telling a story is a piece of cake, but it is an art that takes some finesse. The most important ingredient in a narrative speech is being as descriptive as possible but keeping your language plain and easy to understand.  Remember, this is your story and you want your audience to be interested in it.  The only way they can follow the story is through your words.  You need to be able to paint a visual picture so that they can see in their imagination how ...