Persuasive Speech

John Perry
11/20/19

Persuasive Speech: Audience Assessment

Specific Goal: My audience will want to implement reframing in their lives.

Type of Claim: This is a claim of ____Value____.

Ethos: Primary Ethos:

a) Competence: This is a subject I am passionate about and have done a few studies on.
b) Fairness: I will not treat reframing as a way t cure any mental health issues

Secondary Ethos: I will be using 5 sources

Audience Assessment: Most of my audience members will probably be unfamiliar with the practice of reframing

Adaptation to Audience Attitude:

a. Common ground: I will use analogies and examples that can happen in any normal person’s life.
b. Latitude of acceptance: My proposition will be in my audience’s latitude of acceptance because it is a way to better their
own life without costing them a dime.

Baby Steps: I have decided to try and encourage the audience to start small and build on from that.

Pattern of Organization: I will be using a motivational sequence.

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Persuasive Speech: Outline
We have a Problem with being Wrong

Introduction

I. Hook: I want you to imagine something you are passionate about, whatever that may be. Now, imagine me coming to you and
telling you that you are wrong. Your initial response might be anger, to get defensive, or even dismissive. Most of the time
our response is a negative one. But why is being wrong a bad thing?

II. Ethos: Like most of you, I have found myself expressing similar reactions before. However, I have been studying and trying to
implement a strategy in my life that helps me understand and manage situations like this. It wont just make you happier, but
it can also make you more successful in life too.

III. Proposition (or Hint at Proposition): This strategy is called cognitive reframing, or reframing, and I want to show you how it can
benefit your life too.

IV. Definition: Amy Morin, a psychotherapist, states, “The essential idea behind reframing is that a person's point-of-view depends on
the frame it is viewed in. When the frame is shifted, the meaning changes and thinking and behavior often change along
with it.” (Amy Morin, 2019)

V. Preview: There are three basic parts to this and each one will influence the other.
1. Thought
2. Words
3. Actions
Transition: So, as with most things, lets starts with our thoughts.

Body

I. With every experience, we can let it tear us down or build us up. It is all a matter of the perspective we decide to adhere to.
A. With every failure I decide how I will act.
i. I can choose to negatively internalize failures
1. “I failed because I am not smart enough"
2. “I am not good enough”
3. etc.
B. For example, Imagine I work up the courage to ask a girl out on a date. Unfortunately, I get rejected.
i. I can internalize this failure by thinking it is because I am not attractive or that I am too weird.
1. Or any number of reasons why.
2. I am defining my self-worth!
a. By thinking this way, I give myself an incentive or an excuse not to try again in the future.
ii. Rather than thinking about it this way I can chose to reframe the way I see this and look at it in a new light.
1. She turned me down because the timing wasn’t right.
2. Maybe she is in a relationship
3. Or even, that approach didn’t work.
iii. By thinking with the mindset of ‘my failures define me’ I limit myself and the chance that I go out and try again
is greatly reduced. By looking at the failure as a result of the situation I set myself up for success later.
C. Blaz Kos states “you can’t always control what happens to you, but you can certainly control how you react to
different situations – no matter how tough your position might be. And that’s the ultimate power you always
possess.” (Kos, 2019)

Transition: Another thing that can also set us up for success in life is our words.

II. Our word choice or the way we phrase things can define our direction in life. If given the chance our words can guide our
thoughts and our thoughts direct our actions.
A. Use words to change your situation, not describe it (Colan, 2014)
i. For example: When asked about you’re doing, instead of answering “I am hanging in there” “I am surviving” or
my favorite “not too bad”
ii. Try responding in the way you want to feel. “Great!” “Fantastic” or “Fantastic”
B. Use the words to describe the future that you want.
i. In a study on changing the mindset of children, Carol Dweck said this…
1. “Just the words "yet" or "not yet," we're finding, give kids greater confidence, give them a path into
the future that creates greater persistence. And we can actually change students' mindsets.” (Dweck,
2014)
ii. Example: Use the word "yet" more.
1. I am not at my ideal weight, yet.

Transition: Together our good thoughts and good words can inspire us to do.

III. Our actions are essentially the culmination of our thoughts and words. We do what we think about and say.
A. By reframing our thoughts to be more positive we set ourselves up for success
i. Go back to the example of me getting rejected by the girl.
1. If I think of the reason I was rejected as being a result of internal error or flaw I will not want to try
and ask another girl out the next time the opportunity arises.
2. If I think of it as a result of the situation though, I will be far more likely to put myself in that situation
again.
B. Good thought can lead to more chances being taken. This means more success
i. You can’t expect to achieve anything if you never take any risks.
1. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
a. If I keep applying for my dream job, I will eventually get it.
b. If I am persistent about getting to an ideal weight, I will get there.
 c. If I keep asking girls out, I will eventually get a date.
ii. Example: Thomas Edison. In an interview BEFORE the successful lightbulb. When asked about his lack of results
he said this…
1. “Results? Why, man, I’ve had plenty of results. I know several thousand things that don’t work!”
(Tarrell, n.d.)

Transition to close: So, in conclusion I want to leave you with a challenge. I want to challenge you to…

Conclusion:

Change your thoughts about who you are and the situations you are in. Keep striving for success.
Change the words you use to describe your desired outcome, even if you haven’t got there yet.
By acknowledging our fallacies and shortcomings we open ourselves up to succeed.
Change your FRAME of mind by REFRAMING

Bibliography
Amy Morin, L. (2019, 10 6). How Cognitive Reframing Is Used in Mental Health. Retrieved from 
VeryWellMind.com: https://www.verywellmind.com/reframing­defined­2610419
Colan, L. (2014, April 30). 10 Words That Can Make You More Powerful. Retrieved from Inc.com: 10 Words 
That Can Make You More Powerful
Dweck, C. (2014, November). The power of believing that you can improve. Retrieved from Ted.com: 
https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve
Kos, B. (2019). Cognitive reframing – it’s not about what happens to you, but how you frame it. Retrieved from
Agileleanlife.com: https://agileleanlife.com/cognitive­reframing/
Tarrell, A. (n.d.). Thomas Edison Was A Big Failure. Retrieved from hni.com: 
https://www.hni.com/blog/bid/76349/thomas­edison­was­a­big­failure