Conclusions in persuasive speaking function differently than informative speaking. You will learn how to incorporate a call to action in your persuasive conclusion.
- Create a persuasive conclusion that includes a call to action
Appeals and Challenges
Since the conclusion comes at the end of the speech, it is appropriate to leave the audience with an appeal or a challenge (or a combination of the two). Similar in nature, appeals and challenges are primarily divided by tone. Appeals are generally phrased more as requests, while challenges can take on a more forceful tone, almost ordering or daring audiences to engage in thought or action.
One of the most historically memorable and effective conclusions that utilized appeal and challenge was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that: Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring. And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!
Your persuasive conclusion will look similar to your informative conclusion. You will create three parts, a summary of important pionts and restatement of the thesis, closure, and a clincher. Your call to action will fit into your closure. What do you want the audience to do with the information that you provided?
Your call to action must be:
- Relevant to your topic and audience – what is something they can do to help?
- Realistic – based on your audience, they will resources to do different things.
- Simple – narrow down to 1-2 things, do not provide 7 things you want them to do.
- Convenient – provide links, contact information, hours of operations, and any other important information they will need to carry out your call to action. Make it easy for them!
Acitivty
Now that you understand the importance of a call to action, you can brainstorm effective strategies to implement your own call to action in your speech.
- Incorporate a call to action that is realistic for your audience.
- Ensure your call to action is simple, convenient, and relevant to allow the audience to see themselves taking part in the call to action.
- Deliver the call to action in the conclusion with confidence! Nonverbal strategies are important during this part of the speech, too.
References
King, Jr., M. L. (1963, August 28). I have a dream.” Speech posted at http://www.americanrhetoric.com/sp eeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
