Digital Commons @ George Fox University

Faculty Publications - Department of

Communication Arts

Department of Communication Arts

2004

Book Chapter: Persuasive Speaking

Kevin Jones
George Fox University, kevinj@georgefox.edu

Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/comm_fac

Recommended Citation
In Smith, R. & Taylor, M (Eds.) Focus, Control, Communicate: An Introduction to Individual Events. Snoqualmie, WA: West Coast
Publishing, 2004. pp. 42-62

This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Communication Arts at Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has
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CHAPTER 4: PERSUASIVE SPEAKING

Kevin Jones
Understanding the Event
The American Forensics Association provides the following official definition
of persuasive speaking:
An original speech by the student designed to inspire, reinforce, or change the
beliefs, attitudes, values or actions of the audience. Audio-visual aids may or
may not be used to supplement and reinforce the message. Multiple sources
should be used and cited in the presentation of the speech. Speech should be
memorized but minimal notes are permitted. Maximum time limit is 10
minutes.1
For the beginning speaker, this definition provides a good start from which you
can build your speech. In addition to the formal definition it will be helpful to keep in
mind that another goal of your speech is to generate and/or alter belief and/or action.
You want to do more than just present or confront a problem. You want to provide a
practical solution that audience members can apply to their lives or act upon within a
short period of time. A good persuasive speech makes numerous well-supported and
well-documented arguments that are cogent and well developed. In order to provide a
solid speech, you will need to write your speech making argumentative claims. You want
to do more than just present information or provide concerns. However, while you need
to be aggressive in speech writing style you will need to find a good balance. Speakers
that are too intense or too argumentative can offend and lose their audiences. Work for
several highs and lows in your arguments. For example, after making an argument, you
can illustrate the argument or provide a brief example of what the argument represents
that supports the point but is informative and strengthens your point rather than make it
more intense.
Once the problem has been established and the cause of the problem identified,
viable and practical solutions to that problem need to be provided by the speaker. You
want to do more than just inform the audience about a problem or arouse them. For every
argument you presented in the first part of your speech, you will need to provide a
solution. Strong speeches always provide solutions that the audience can be involved
with in some capacity. If your problem is sweatshops in China and your solution is for
China to pass a law prohibiting sweatshops, then there is very little that an audience of
college students can do about getting a law passed in China. However, if you provide a
list of name brand products that use sweatshops in China that the audience can boycott or
not purchase, that is a more practical solution. As the audience members leave the
tournament, they can go shopping the very next day and enact your solution. The
audience members can also inform their friends and family members about the problem
and encourage them to practice the same solution step.

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Visual aids (VAs) are not required in persuasive speaking but are often used if
appropriate. You will always want to avoid having token visual aids that do nothing to
help advance the speech. Your topic and the content of the speech will dictate if a VA is
needed. Do not worry about visual aids until after the speech is written. The final speech
will dictate what visual aids, if any, will need to be prepared.
Getting Started
Before you begin preparing a Persuasive speech, you must read Chapter 2 of this
book regarding Public Address or Platform events. Chapter 2 provides extremely
important background information and material regarding the purpose, function and
development of Public Address events. If you have not read Chapter 2 yet, read it now
and then return to this chapter. If you have already read Chapter 2, then you are ready to
proceed. As always, since different regions of the country have different preferences for
persuasive speech topics and speech structure, always check with our coach to see how
those preferences might differ from what is presented in this chapter.
Topic Selection
Selecting a good persuasive topic can often prove challenging. Many topics that
are very persuasive in nature are often overdone or fail to contain a practical and viable
solution. You may need to plan on taking a great deal of time to find the right topic for
you. You will not want just any topic. You need a topic that you can really care about
and deliver with some element of passion. If you do not communicate that you really care
about the issue, then how can you expect your audience to care?
A good persuasive topic is one that is relevant, timely, practical, and possesses a
solution that can be addressed in a ten-minute time limit. You may find several excellent
topics but they might require far more time than you have to truly address them fully and
accurately. Also, many topics can be very persuasive in nature but do not make good
competition speech topics. Broad topics such as a balanced budget, the federal deficit,
capital punishment, or abortion should generally be avoided. If the United States
Supreme Court cannot resolve the abortion issue in thirty years, then chances are pretty
good that you are not going to be able to in less than ten-minutes!
A good persuasive topic will answer the question whats the news? What
makes this topic relevant and timely? Why is this topic so important for the audience to
hear? How does it affect everyone in the room? How are people harmed by this topic?
How wide spread is this problem? There is an old debate clich that states, nobody dies,
nobody cries! Not every topic has to cause death and destruction but there needs to be a
clearly identifiable harm that you can connect to the topic and to the audience. Also, the
harm needs to be significant. The harm needs to affect enough people to justify taking
the corrective measures provided in the speech. For example, you may find in your
research that a bolt on an Olympic bobsled broke once and one person was paralyzed
from an ensuing accident. Your proposed solution is for Olympic teams to spend
millions of dollars redesigning the flaw and building all new equipment. While the

43

paralyzed person is a tragic event, one accident in the history of Olympic bobsledding
hardly justifies radically changing the entire process. You would be hard pressed to
convince a judge that your speech was significant and relevant.
Your topic also needs to be practical and relevant to the audience in the room.
The people to whom you are speaking need to be able to feel the effects of the problem
and be able to physically do something about it themselves. The action can be to change
an attitude or perception or it may be to actually go out and take some sort of action such
as donating money or boycotting a product. For example, you may discover in your
research that there is a terrible problem in Germany regarding how milk is sold to
schoolchildren. You can identify a clear problem, a cause for the problem and even
provide a practical solution. But the only real harm you provide is that some
schoolchildren do not get milk every day with their lunch and those that do get it have to
pay extra for it. Your solution is for the German government to subsidize the whole
program.
This would not be a good competitive speech because many judges would view
the problem as not relevant to the audience in the room, there is no real harm taking
place, and the audience is really incapable of doing anything about it. However, if you
were to take the same topic and discover that a large number of children are dying in
Germany because of a calcium deficiency and that the United States has a program in
place to get milk to the children but the government needs money or volunteers to help,
then you could make the speech more competitive. The dying children argument
establishes harm because it is hard to ignore a problem when you can directly link it to
death. The U.S. program links the topic to the audience in the room by bringing the issue
onto our turf. And the solution is one that everyone in the room is capable of helping
with whether it is to send some money or volunteer some time.
When selecting a persuasive speech topic remember the following guidelines: 1)
A good persuasive speech topic needs to clearly establish harm for the audience in the
room; 2) The harm must be practical, relevant, and significant to the audience; 3) The
effects of the harm should be felt by the members of the audience; 4) A specific cause or
causes can be identified as creating the established harm; and 5) The solution should be
something practical that the audience members can directly engage in, whether mental or
physical.
Resources/Research
So where does a beginning speaker find a topic like this? You have to be
creative, patient, and persevere. On rare occasions, some students are able to stumble
across a great topic with little effort. But for the majority of students, it will take some
legwork. There are several places to look but the same resources you can use for
informative speaking are excellent resources for persuasive speaking as well. Look
through periodicals such as Science, Discover, Psychology Today, Scientific American,
or Health. Newsletters such as The University of Berkeley Wellness Letter, Health
News, or Nutrition Action provide excellent ideas for current, relevant issues of concern.

44

The health sections of major newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times or the New York
Times often run stories on state-of-the-art research. The Life section of USA Today
regularly provides stories of interest and significance regarding health, science, and
research around the world. On-line sources such as CNN or MSNBC provide up-to-date
stories on events around the world as well as many other Internet outlets.
Once you find a topic do a database search on it in your schools library. If you
cannot find any other information on the topic other than the one original small paragraph
in a magazine, then you will probably need to keep looking and find another topic. A
good, current, relevant topic should easily produce 3-4 other articles or pieces of
information on it with little trouble. You will need 3-4 articles to get started on the
speech. However, to write the speech you will need a minimum of around six-ten
different source citations for Novice competition and a minimum of eight-fifteen source
citations for Open competition. These are just the number of sources you will need to
cite when presenting the speech. The actual number of sources you may have to find,
research, and read may be quite higher. You need to become an expert on the topic and
that will require a great deal of background reading.
It is also helpful to keep in mind that you need to draw upon topic appropriate
resources for your arguments. For example, if you are doing a speech on the need of the
public to be able to check on the credentials of doctors who have lost their medical
license in other states or have had numerous malpractice lawsuits, then a good,
competitive speech will use sources that are specific to the medical field. Specific
sources will help develop your credibility as a speaker as well as build the credibility of
your topic. Periodicals such as Good Housekeeping or Redbook are excellent magazines
when looking for information on caring for your home or new recipes. Periodically these
magazines may carry special articles on topics that the editors feel would be of interest
to their readers. If Good Housekeeping were to run an article on doctors and license
checks it would be a good idea to read the article for background information but you
would probably not want to cite Good Housekeeping as a source when speaking. You
can build greater credibility by finding the author of the piece and discovering where he
or she obtained their information. Often times, these types of stories are purchased by
Good Housekeeping from freelance writers. Try to contact the author of the piece and
find out where they found the majority of their research. If you explain that you are a
student doing a speech on the topic, they are generally more than willing to help. Try to
find source citations from periodicals that specialize in the topic area you are speaking
about. Citing a periodical such as The Journal of the American Medical Association
would be much more credible on the topic of doctors and license checks then Good
Housekeeping.
Another good resource for information is contacting an expert or a specialist in an
area that you find cited in your research. Most experts are very willing to talk about their
research. On numerous occasions I have had students call doctors, researchers, or
university professors who are the leading experts in a particular field. Seldom have I had
a student denied at least a brief conversation. Often the conversations are long and
detailed and can include follow up calls. Also, you can usually track down a specialist

45

via e-mail quickly and easily. I have rarely had a student not receive a response when
requesting information via e-mail. These experts can be cited in the speech as Recently,
in a personal interview with Dr. Smith, Head of Cardiology at Johns Hopkins University
on October 14, 2001, Dr. Smith told me . . .
While doing your research remember to watch for material that would make a
good attention getter, a qualifier, a closing statement, and examples, illustrations, and
stories in the body of the speech. If you take your time with your research writing the
speech will be easy. Do not take any shortcuts! Set aside the time and do your research
right!!!
Writing the Speech
Once you believe you have found a good topic clear it with your coaching staff.
You always want to avoid duplicating a popular topic. Once you have cleared your topic
begin your research. The key to a persuasive speech is that the speech needs to be
designed to make an argument. The topic and thesis statement should make a clear
claim, an argument that you spend the rest of the speech supporting and defending. Try
to gather as much information as you can on the topic that is as current as possible. You
will want to draw upon credible sources that are generally one to two years old.
Anything over three to five years old will be considered out of date. As you gather your
research and read through it, your first priority is to watch for the types of arguments that
this topic will lend itself to. You will also want to watch for examples, illustrations, and
other forms material that will either make arguments or support the arguments you are
making in the speech.
There are two common formats that a persuasive speech generally follows:
Problem-Solution or Problem-Cause-Solution. A problem-solution format has just two
main parts to the body of the speech: the problem and the solution. This format is used
for a speech topic that does not have a definite cause or the cause is closely linked to the
problem and does not justify a separate point. In the problem section of the speech you
will need to establish several important aspects of the speech. You will need to show that
a problem exists and that there is a problem. You will need to identify the harms of the
problem such as how extensive is it, how bad is it, etc. You will also need to establish
the effects of the harm such as who is hurt, who dies, how many people are affected, etc.
If possible it is always useful to show the cost of the problem to the audience. How does
this problem trickle down to the people sitting in the room either physically or
financially? Also, if possible, in the problem section of the speech you need to show
what is causing the problem and why does the problem persist.
Once you establish the problem, you can move on to the second part of the
speechthe solution. The solution should address problem issues as if a present solution
to the problem exists. You will need to show how the present solution is not working or is
ineffective. Then, you will want to propose your solution and identify how the new
solution will work. Often, it is appropriate to have several solutions at different levels. A
stronger speech might show solutions at the federal level, the local level and on a

46

personal level. However, not all topics can follow this format so do not force or create
solutions at these levels just to have them. If a current solution exists and you argue that
it is ineffective or not working, you will have to explain how your solution is better and
tell the audience why your solution will work when the status quo (current system) will
not. It is also effective to show how the proposed solution will work and identify the
benefits of the new solution. By the time the solution stage of your speech is done, you
should have specifically addressed the problems you identified in the problem stage of
your speech. Simply statedyou have to solve the problems you identify.
If your topic has a clear cause to the problem then you might select a ProblemCause-Solution format. In this format you would follow the same guideline provided
above for the problem stage. You will need to establish that a problem exists, show the
harms of the problem, and then the effects of the problem. Once the problem has been
developed, you would add a second point specifically addressing the cause of that
problem. In the cause point you will need to identify what is causing the problem.
Explain the direct link between the topic and the harms established in point one. If the
problem persists, you will need to identify why it is allowed to continue. This might
include arguing that there are no current restrictions or laws about this issue. Or, you
may note that current laws are ineffective or unable to be enforced. Your goal in this
second point is to clearly identify the specific causes of the specific harms/problems you
presented in your first point.
Once you have presented the cause of the problem, you will need to present a
third and final point to the body of your speechthe solution. The guidelines for the
solution in the Problem-Cause-Solution format are the same as the Problem-Solution
format discussed above. Remember to present the solution, identify how and why it will
work, provide as many solutions on as many levels as possible (federal, local, and/or
personal), and identify how the solution(s) address the problem(s) and cause(s) you
identified in the first two main points of the speech.
Writing the Introduction
You will recall from Chapter 2 that the introduction to the speech should capture
the attention of the audience, draw them into the topic and make them want to listen to
the speech. The introduction to a persuasive speech needs to do all of those areas PLUS
set up the argument(s) for your speech. Once you introduce your topic and present your
thesis statement, you should establish an argument that you spend the rest of your speech
developing, supporting, and defending. This is accomplished through the use of an
attention-getting device, a qualifier, presenting the thesis statement, and previewing the
main points of the speech. The following sections of this chapter will demonstrate how
to write a persuasive speech using the topic of Questionable Doctors.
Attention Getter
An attention getter should be designed to grab the attention of the audience and
slowly reveal the speech topic. Never begin your speech with Today I want to talk

47

about This does little to grab the attention of the audience. Begin with a story, a
quotation, or a hypothetical situation that is directly related to the topic. Once you have
grabbed the audiences attention, you should reveal the speech topic. The sample
attention getter below begins with a story of a person who had been directly hurt by the
speech topic. By telling a story of a person who was killed by a questionable doctor, the
audience is drawn into the topic immediately with empathy for the victim. Once the
audience is caught up in the story the speaker introduces the topic (but does not provide
the thesis statement yetthat comes later).
SAMPLE ATTENTION GETTER:
When Tillis James Churchill agreed to have his stomach stapled, a
routine procedure to help him lose weight, he trusted his doctors claim
that he had never lost a patient. When Churchill died of an infection from
the surgery a few weeks later, his family began to question their trust in
his doctor. After they filed a lawsuit against the Florida doctor, they
discovered that not only had he paid out over one million dollars in the
previous 13 years, but ten of his patients had died as well. Churchills
son, T.J., commented that had they known about the doctors questionable
history, they would have steered clear of the physician.
Qualifier
The purpose of the qualifier is to provide a brief explanation of the significance of
the speech topic. It is generally a good idea to cite an expert or provide some sort of
source citation in the qualifier. This not only builds your credibility as a speaker but also
adds enormous credibility to your topic. The qualifier addresses the questions roaming
around in the judges mind of why should I listen to this speech? What is so important
about this topic? By addressing these questions early in the introduction you have a
much better chance of winning over the judge and wining the round. In the sample
qualifier below, the author shows how big the problem is (20,000 exist) then cites a
credible source (Los Angeles Times) to show how the problem can hit closer to home
than the audience realizes. The relevance and significance of the topic is clearly
established.
SAMPLE QUALIFIER:
Unfortunately, the Churchills case is not an isolated one. His
doctor is just one of the more than 20,000 questionable if not incompetent
doctors across the United States, who, despite multiple malpractice
claims and disciplinary actions, are allowed to continue to practice
medicine. What makes the situation worse is that most patients will
never know if their doctor has been the subject of disciplinary actions or
malpractice suits.
According to the Los Angeles Times of August 14, 2000, from
1990 through 1999, in California alone, there were 2,670 disciplinary
actions taken against 2,309 physicians. Since the possibility of

48

encountering one of these questionable doctors is increasing, it is

imperative that we take a few minutes to examine this situation.
Thesis Statement
The thesis statement is a single, declarative statement that tells the audience
exactly what the speech is going to be about. The thesis statement is a single idea and
does not try to present too much information. The thesis statement usually includes some
sort of reference to the current moment, i.e. Today
SAMPLE THESIS STATEMENT:
So today, I would like to take a few minutes and explain to you the
dangers and perils surrounding questionable doctors.
Preview of Main Points
Before beginning the speech, the speaker needs to provide an overview of what
the main points of the speech are going to be. In addition to enhancing audience
retention, a preview allows the judge to write down your main points, which allows her
or him to follow along while you are speaking. The main points previewed need to
parallel the same main points in the body of the speech. The following sample preview
for the Questionable Doctor speech will preview a Problem-Cause-Solution format.
SAMPLE PREVIEW OF MAIN POINTS:
In order to reveal the dangers of incompetent doctors, we will first
examine what the problem with questionable doctors is. Second, we will
move on to explore some of the causes that allow them to remain in the
system. And finally, we will look at some practical solutions on federal,
state, and personal levels.
Once combined, the above samples create the following complete speech introduction.
SAMPLE SPEECH INTRODUCTION:
When Tillis James Churchill agreed to have his stomach stapled, a
routine procedure to help him lose weight, he trusted his doctors claim
that he had never lost a patient. When Churchill died of an infection from
the surgery a few weeks later, his family began to question their trust in
his doctor. After they filed a lawsuit against the Florida doctor, they
discovered that not only had he paid out over one million dollars in the
previous 13 years, but ten of his patients had dies as well. Churchills son,
T.J., commented that had they known about the doctors questionable
history, they would have steered clear of the physician.
Unfortunately, the Churchills case is not an isolated one. His
doctor is just one of the more than 20,000 questionable if not incompetent
doctors across the United States, who, despite multiple malpractice claims

49

and disciplinary actions, are allowed to continue to practice medicine.

What makes the situation worse is that most patients will never know if
their doctor has been the subject of disciplinary actions or malpractice
suits.
According to the Los Angeles Times of August 14, 2000, from
1990 through 1999, in California alone, there were 2,670 disciplinary
actions taken against 2,309 physicians. Since the possibility of
encountering one of these questionable doctors is increasing, it is
imperative that we take a few minutes to examine this situation.
So today, I would like to take a few minutes and explain to you the
dangers and perils surrounding questionable doctors. In order to reveal the
dangers of incompetent doctors, we will first examine what the problem
with questionable doctors is. Second, we will move on to explore some of
the causes that allow them to remain in the system. And finally, we will
look at some practical solutions on the federal, state and personal levels.
This introduction has presented the topic to the audience and in so doing, made an
argument regarding the severity of the problem by noting how a person has lost their life
because of the topic.
Writing the Body
The body of your speech is extremely important because the bulk of your
argumentation and logical appeals appear in the body of your speech. As previously
mentioned, the body of your speech will include three main points: problems, causes, and
solutions. However, between these main points you need transitions.
Transitions
Good, solid transitions are essential in a public address speech. Remember from
the material on transitions in Chapter 2 that transitions serve as a roadmap for the
audience by helping to guide them through the speech. You will want to include
transition statements when beginning the body of the speech and between each main
point. Also, if you use several sub points within a main point, you may wish to use
transitions between the sub points as well. Our sample speech uses the following
transition from the introduction to the first main point (the problem) in the body of the
speech.
SAMPLE TRANSITION FROM INTRODUCTION TO FIRST POINT
(Problem):
Lets first take look at the problem itself.
SAMPLE TRANSITION FROM FIRST POINT TO SECOND POINT
(Cause):

50

While the harmful effects of the presence of questionable doctors

in the system is readily apparent, the reasons incompetent doctors can
continue to practice medicine requires a somewhat closer investigation.
SAMPLE TRANSITION FROM SECOND POINT TO THIRD POINT
(Solution):
With a clear understanding of the problems posed by the presence
of questionable doctors in the system, and the reasons why they are
allowed to continue to practice medicine, we need to turn out attention to
some solutions that may be taken on the federal, state, and personal levels.
Internal Transitions
Within a main point, an internal transition may help guide the audience through
specific areas of the speech. For example, in the sample speech the problem is divided
into three separate areas. The speaker guides the audience through the three areas by
using simple internal transition statements such as:
SAMPLE INTERNAL PREVIEW BETWEEN PROBLEM #1 AND #2:
In addition to the lack of discipline, there is currently no standard
by which information and disciplinary actions are recognized or upheld
from one state to another.
SAMPLE INTERNAL PREVIEW BETWEEN PROBLEM #2 AND #3:
Third and finally, many Americans today are simply unaware of
their doctors disciplinary history.
Source Citations
Whenever you make an argument, a factual claim, or provide a statistic you need
to support the claim with a source citation. As you recall form reading the information
on source citations in Chapter 2, source citations are used to add credibility to your
speech and support your arguments making them harder to refute. Remember to always
place the reference before the information to better set up the argument and make it easier
for the judge to write down.
SAMPLE SOURCE CITATION:
The Los Angeles Times of August 14, 2000 documents the case of
a Virginia physician who inseminated a woman with semen from a known
HIV-positive man.
Formats
Remember from the previous section in this chapter Writing the Speech, that
the best persuasive speeches are organized as either a Problem-Solution format or a
Problem-Cause-Solution format. The sample speech we are using for this chapter is a

51

Problem-Cause-Solution format. In the problem section, you want to clearly establish

that the problem exists, that there are specific harms you can directly tie to the problem,
and that the harms are significant and harmful on as many levels as possible. The sample
speech has identified three specific areas where the problem exists. By exploring the
three areas, the problem is identified and the harms are explained. Also, remember to use
examples and real life illustrations whenever possible. Showing how a person was
directly affected by the problem makes it easier for the audience to connect the problem
to a tangible face.
SAMPLE PROBLEM SECTION:
The problems of questionable doctors in the system are threefold.
There is a lack of discipline, a lack of state-to-state cooperation, and a lack
of public awareness as to how bad the situation really is. First, even
doctors with a history of complaints against them often go undisciplined
by state medical boards. Last year a non-profit organization known as
Public Citizen released a study of these doctors entitled, 20,125
Questionable Doctors. The study lists doctors who have been disciplined,
often for multiple offenses but are allowed to practice medicine.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune of September 1, 2000 gives a face to
this problem in the case of Dr. Frederick Reed, Jr. South Carolinas state
medical board disciplined Dr. Reed by fining him a mere three thousand
dollars for using an amputated human foot in a crab trap. Despite this
action, Dr. Reed is still licensed to practice medicine.
In addition to the lack of discipline, there is currently no standard
by which information and disciplinary actions are recognized or upheld
from one state to another. A doctor disciplined in one state can often
simply move to another state and continue to practice medicine without
fear of repercussions. The Los Angeles Times of August 14, 2000
documents the case of a Virginia physician who inseminated a woman
with semen from a known HIV-positive man. When the woman
contracted the virus, the doctor received a reprimand from the state board.
He later moved to North Carolina, where he continues to practice
medicine without any suspension or oversight by the North Carolina
Board. Under the current system, doctors can simply move from one state
to another without having to face consequences from another state board.
Third and finally, many Americans today are simply unaware of
their doctors disciplinary history. As Congressman Thomas Bailey of
Virginia stated, the American public has more comparative information
about the used cars we purchase and the snack foods we eat, than the
doctors in whose care we entrust our health. Even when doctors have a
history of disciplinary actions, their records are often restricted from
public view. The most complete source of information on doctors
histories is usually the 10-year-old National Practitioner Data Base, a

52

source that is unavailable to the public. Patients can usually access a

partial history of their doctors disciplinary record by checking with their
states medical board. However, the amount of information available
varies from state to state.
When addressing the cause, remember to link the identified causes directly to the
problems you established in the previous problem section of the speech. The causes also
need to show a link to the harms and harmful effects attributed to problem. The sample
speech identifies three specific causes that warrant attention and all three are linked to the
problem.
SAMPLE CAUSE SECTION:
The problems with questionable doctors in the system stem from
three key causes, a failure of state boards to obtain crucial information on
their doctors, a system which allows each state to make its own rules, and
lobbying on behalf of doctors themselves to keep the public uninformed.
First, the lack of discipline within the system is due in part to the
information which state boards do not receive. The USA Today of
October 11, 2000 notes that only 15 states require hospitals to report
serious mistakes, and only twelve of those states require hospitals to report
unexpected deaths. However, there is a trend in hospitals to evade
reporting requirements in an attempt to shield hospitals and doctors from
legal scrutiny and unwanted publicity. Many of these questionable
doctors are allowed to remain in they system simply because their
mistakes are not being reported to the state medical boards. Even when
the state board is aware of these problems, they seldom take action. In
fact 66% of doctors cited for incompetence, negligence, and substandard
care are allowed to continue practicing.
The second major source of these problems lies with the state
medical boards themselves. The very agencies which are supposed to
protect the patients often create obstacles to the patients accessing much
needed information. The mission statement of the Medical Board of
California is to protect consumers though proper licensing of physicians
and surgeons. This protection of consumers, however, often does not
involve allowing consumers to have easy access to the disciplinary records
of doctors over the past twelve months. The State Medical Board of
Arizona gave the reason for one doctors disciplinary action as simply a
failure to follow board requirements. The disciplinary history gives no
indication whether these requirements dealt with quality care problems or
simply an administrative requirement of the board.
Third and finally, the ten-year-old National Practitioner Database
was created to be the most complete source of information on doctors in
the country. This information is unavailable to the public and is only

53

available to hospitals, insurers, and a very small number of people who are
authorized to check a doctors qualifications. Since the NPDB is such a
comprehensive source of information, many consumer groups have tried
to make the information contained in the NPDB available to the public,
but such efforts have been blocked by organizations representing the
doctors themselves. In fact, as the Columbus Dispatch of October 16, 2000
reports, Congress has kept access to the NPDB closed, due in large part to
the intensive lobbying by the American Medical Association.
Additionally, Public Citizen notes on their web page that the American
Medical Association passed a resolution at their 1993 AMA convention
calling for the dissolution of the NPDB. The AMA seems intent on
keeping the physicians listed in the NPDB safe from public scrutiny.
The solution section of your speech needs to provide specific solutions to the
problem that the members of the audience can realistically engage in. Merely arguing
that laws need to be enacted or peoples biased attitudes need to change is not enough.
Enacting legislation may be a very real solution for the problem, as it is for the sample
speech, but you also need to provide the audience with something they can personally do
to solve the problem. This will help to make the issue real and encourage the audience to
get involved. If a solution seems out of reach or impossible for the audience members to
engage in, then you risk losing your audience and ultimately the judges ballot! Your
solutions also need to be directly linked to the problem and the cause. You need to show
how you are solving the harms you identified earlier in the speech. If the judge cannot
see how your solutions fix all the problems and causes you addressed in the speech then
you will most likely not win the round. The sample speech provides three possible
solutions on three different levelsfederal, state, and personal.
SAMPLE SOLUTION SECTION:
First, on the federal level, the National Practitioner Data Bank
must be opened to the public. Currently, the House of Representatives is
considering legalization to open the databank. House Resolution 5122, the
Patient-Protection Act of 2000 would open the NPDB to the public.
Congress needs to pass this important legislation to provide the public
access to the disciplinary histories of their doctors.
Second, on the state level, state medical boards need to develop
more accurate reporting procedures for problem doctors and convey that
information to the public. The New York Times of October 7, 2000
reports that New York provides a system which allows the public to
examine risk-adjusted death rates for hospitals and doctors and mandates
that they post notices informing patients how to access their statistics.
Systems such as this for reporting and providing public access to
important statistics need to be modeled in other states.
Finally, on the personal level, we need to educate ourselves about
doctors. While we may not have access to the National Practitioner Data

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Bank right now, there are several methods open to consumers to access
their doctors disciplinary histories. Some state medical boards do provide
limited access to groups which research and list such disciplinary
information. Healthgrades.com for example, provides access to
information about health care providers, hospitals, and physicians. Their
website gives health care report cards, which include patient satisfaction
surveys and some disciplinary records, which can be accessed by entering
a specialty, state, and zip code. We must make use of the resources
available to us if we are to protect ourselves.
The Conclusion
The conclusion aspect of persuasive speech is designed to quickly wrap up the
speech, tie everything together, and usually includes a final plea or call to action of some
sort. Avoid providing important information or compelling arguments in the conclusion.
All significant information or arguments belong in the body of the speech. The
conclusion is designed to bring the speech to a close and provide a solid ending so you
can finish on firm ground. If appropriate, many speakers include a final brief call to
action or plea to the audience to get involved or to address the problem. You will
remember from Chapter 2 that there are three distinct parts to the conclusion: summary
or restatement of the thesis, review of the main points, and a closing statement/thought.
It is in the closing statement/thought that the final plea or call to action would be placed.
Summary/Review of Thesis
Upon completing the body of your speech you need to move into the conclusion
section of the speech. Using a transition statement that includes a review of your thesis
statement generally does this. Your goal is to briefly remind the audience of what the
speech topic was. You do not need to engage in a lengthy explanation. Generally, a onesentence statement will suffice. You should speak in the past tense since the speech is
over and can modify the thesis slightly to adapt to the information you have presented in
the speech. However, remember to keep the thesis review brief and simple.
SAMPLE SUMMARY/REVIEW THESIS:
Today, we have spent just a few minutes examining the very real
problem of questionable doctors who are allowed to continue to practice
medicine while their patients remain unaware of their disciplinary
histories.
Review of Main Points
At this point in the speech your goal is to provide a brief review of the main
concepts in the body of the speech. Whereas the preview of the main points in the
introduction gave the audience a sense of direction as to where the speech was headed,
the review of main points is designed to quickly remind the audience of what they just
heard. It also serves to aid in the retention of information. The review of main points

55

should mirror the preview since both address the main points of the speech. However,
the review does not have to present the exact same wording. Since you have provided the
audience with a great deal of information regarding your topic in the body of the speech,
the review can reflect the information presented. Often due to time constraints of
competition, the review may be reduced to serving merely a functional form rather than
providing any lengthy dialogue.
SAMPLE REVIEW OF MAIN POINTS:
We have taken a look at the root of the problem within the system,
the causes fostering the problems, and finally seen some practical steps
that must be taken to correct this problem.
Closing
Your speech is not complete until you have provided a solid closing statement or
comment that leaves the audience with a desire to act on what you have challenged them
with. You can relate back to the attention getter and tie it in or you can make a brief
comment. It is also at this point of the conclusion that you might want to include a final
plea or call for your audience to take action on your topic. Whatever you chose, the
closing should only be a sentence or two and should not consume a great deal of time.
Remember, in tournament competition your time is limited and you want to avoid going
overtime. Often a speech rapidly approaches the ten-minute mark. The closing statement
should be quick and brief yet appropriate and get the job done.
SAMPLE CLOSING STATEMENT:
While the solutions at the federal and state level are helpful, they
wont solve the problem alone. We must take action to protect ourselves.
Go to Healthgrades.com, be pro-active and find out the history of any
medical official you trust your life with. Hopefully, by informing
ourselves and taking action to protect ourselves from questionable doctors,
we can avoid falling victim to a needless death like that of Tillis Churchill.
Sample Persuasive Speech
The following manuscript is a sample persuasive speech complete with all of the
required components of structure and organization. All of the sample components
presented in this chapter have been combined to create this manuscript. Use this
manuscript as a guideline when preparing your own persuasive speech. As always, check
with your coach for regional nuances or preferences for persuasive speaking.
Questionable Doctors
When Tillis James Churchill agreed to have his stomach stapled, a
routine procedure to help him lose weight, he trusted his doctors claim
that he had never lost a patient. When Churchill died of an infection from
the surgery a few weeks later, his family began to question their trust in

56

his doctor. After they filed a lawsuit against the Florida doctor, they
discovered that not only had he paid out over one million dollars in the
previous 13 years, but ten of his patients had died as well. Churchills
son, T.J., commented that had they known about the doctors questionable
history, they would have steered clear of the physician.
Unfortunately, the Churchills case is not an isolated one. His
doctor is just one of the more than 20,000 questionable if not incompetent
doctors across the United States, who, despite multiple malpractice claims
and disciplinary actions, are allowed to continue to practice medicine.
What makes the situation worse is that most patients will never know if
their doctor has been the subject of disciplinary actions or malpractice
suits.
According to the Los Angeles Times of August 14, 2000, from
1990 through 1999, in California alone, there were 2,670 disciplinary
actions taken against 2,309 physicians. Since the possibility of
encountering one of these questionable doctors is increasing, it is
imperative that we take a few minutes to examine this situation.
In order to reveal the dangers of incompetent doctors, we will first
examine what the problem with questionable doctors is. Second, we will
move on to explore some of the causes that allow them to remain in the
system. And finally, we will look at some practical solutions on the
federal, state and personal levels. Lets first take a look at the problem
itself.
The problems of questionable doctors in the system are threefold.
There is a lack of discipline, a lack of state-to-state cooperation, and a lack
of public awareness as to how bad the situation really is. First, even
doctors with a history of complaints against them often go undisciplined
by state medical boards. Last year a non-profit organization known as
Public Citizen released a study of these doctors entitled, 20,125
Questionable Doctors. The study lists doctors who have been disciplined,
often for multiple offenses but are allowed to practice medicine.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune of September 1, 2000 gives a face to
this problem in the case of Dr. Frederick Reed, Jr. South Carolinas state
medical board disciplined Dr. Reed by fining him a mere three thousand
dollars for using an amputated human foot in a crab trap. Despite this
action, Dr. Reed is still licensed to practice medicine.
In addition to the lack of discipline, there is currently no standard
by which information and disciplinary actions are recognized or upheld
from one state to another. A doctor disciplined in one state can often
simply move to another state and continue to practice medicine without

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fear of repercussions. The Los Angeles Times of August 14, 2000

documents the case of a Virginia physician who inseminated a woman
with semen from a known HIV-positive man. When the woman
contracted the virus, the doctor received a reprimand from the state board.
He later moved to North Carolina, where he continues to practice
medicine without any suspension or oversight by the North Carolina
Board. Under the current system, doctors can simply move from one state
to another without having to face consequences from another state board.
Third and finally, many Americans today are simply unaware of
their doctors disciplinary history. As Congressman Thomas Bailey of
Virginia stated, the American public has more comparative information
about the used cars we purchase and the snack foods we eat, than the
doctors in whose care we entrust our health. Even when doctors have a
history of disciplinary actions, their records are often restricted from
public view. The most complete source of information on doctors
histories is the 10-year-old National Practitioner Data Base, a source that
is unavailable to the public. Patients can usually access a partial history of
their doctors disciplinary record by checking with their states medical
board. However, the amount of information available varies from state to
state. While the harmful effects of the presence of questionable doctors in
the system is readily apparent, the reasons incompetent doctors can
continue to practice medicine requires a somewhat closer investigation.
The problems with questionable doctors in the system stems from
three key causes, a failure of state boards to obtain crucial information on
their doctors, a system which allows each state to make its own rules, and
lobbying on behalf of doctors themselves to keep the public uninformed.
First, the lack of discipline within the system is due in part to the
information which state boards do not receive. USA Today of October 11,
2000 notes that only 15 states require hospitals to report serious mistakes,
and only twelve of those states require hospitals to report unexpected
deaths. However, there is a trend in hospitals to evade reporting
requirements in an attempt to shield hospitals and doctors from legal
scrutiny and unwanted publicity. Many of these questionable doctors are
allowed to remain in they system simply because their mistakes are not
being reported to the state medical boards. Even when the state board is
aware of these problems, they seldom take action. In fact 66% of doctors
cited for incompetence, negligence, and substandard care are allowed to
continue practicing.
The second major source of these problems lies with state medical
boards. The very agencies which are supposed to protect the patients
often create obstacles to the patients accessing much needed information.
The mission statement of the Medical Board of California is to protect

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consumers though proper licensing of physicians and surgeons. This

protection of consumers, however, often does not involve allowing
consumers to have easy access to the disciplinary records for the past
twelve months. The State Medical Board of Arizona gave the reason for
one doctors disciplinary action as simply a failure to follow board
requirements. The disciplinary history gives no indication whether these
requirements dealt with quality care problems or simply an administrative
requirement of the board.
Third and finally, the ten-year-old National Practitioner Database
was created to be the most complete source of information on doctors in
the country. This information is unavailable to the public and is only
available to hospitals, insurers, and a very small number of people who are
authorized to check a doctors qualifications. Since the NPDB is such a
comprehensive source of information, many consumer groups have tried
to make the information contained in the NPDB available to the public,
but such efforts have been blocked by organizations representing the
doctors themselves. In fact, as the Columbus Dispatch of October 16, 2000
reports, Congress has kept access to the NPDB closed, due in large part to
the intensive lobbying by the American Medical Association.
Additionally, Public Citizen notes on their web page that the American
Medical Association passed a resolution at their 1993 AMA convention
calling for the dissolution of the NPDB. The AMA seems intent on
keeping the physicians listed in the NPDB safe from public scrutiny.
With a clear understanding of the problems posed by the presence
of questionable doctors in the system, and the reasons why they are
allowed to continue to practice medicine, we need to turn out attention to
some solutions that may be taken on the federal, state, and personal levels.
First, on the federal level, the National Practitioner Data Bank
must be opened to the public. Currently, the House of Representatives is
considering legalization to open the databank. House Resolution 5122, the
Patient-Protection Act of 2000 would open the NPDB to the public.
Congress needs to pass this important legislation to provide the public
access to the disciplinary histories of their doctors.
Second, on the state level, state medical boards need to develop
more accurate reporting procedures for problem doctors and convey that
information to the public. The New York Times of October 7, 2000
reports that New York provides a system which allows the public to
examine risk-adjusted death rates for hospitals and doctors and mandates
that they post notices informing patients how to access their statistics.
Systems such as this for reporting and providing public access to
important statistics need to be modeled in other states.

59

Finally, on the personal level, we need to educate ourselves about

doctors. While we may not have access to the National Practitioner Data
Bank right now, there are several methods open to consumers to access
their doctors disciplinary histories. Some state medical boards do provide
limited access to groups which research and list such disciplinary
information. Healthgrades.com for example, provides access to
information about health care providers, hospitals, and physicians. Their
website gives health care report cards, which include patient satisfaction
surveys and some disciplinary records, which can be accessed by entering
a specialty, state, and zip code. We must make use of the resources
available to us if we are to protect ourselves.
Today, we have spent just a few minutes examining the very real
problem of questionable doctors who are allowed to continue to practice
medicine while their patients remain unaware of their disciplinary
histories. We have taken a look at the root of the problem within the
system, the causes fostering the problems, and finally seen some practical
steps that must be taken to correct this problem. While the solutions at the
federal and state level are helpful, they wont solve the problem alone.
We must take action to protect ourselves. Go to Healthgrades.com, be
pro-active and find out the history of any medical official you trust your
life with. Hopefully, by informing ourselves and taking action to protect
ourselves from questionable doctors, we can avoid falling victim to a
needless death like that of Tillis Churchill.
Practice Tips
There is no one set way that you should practice. However, you should always
practice with intensity and dedication. Practice is the only way one can ensure good
performances and ultimately, you are in control of you own practice schedule so you
must be disciplined enough to stick to it. The following guidelines will provide you with
structure that will keep you practice time efficient and useful.
Memorizing
One of the greatest challenges facing the beginning speech competitor is
memorizing the written speech. Even though the official definition of persuasive
speaking states minimal notes are permitted, chances are your rank in the competition
round will be lowered for using notes. Novices are granted a little more dispensation on
this issue than Open speakers, especially early in the year. However, by mid-season,
most judges expect competitors to be memorized, conversational, and relaxed.
Sometimes a difficult combination!
Everyone has her or his own tricks for memorizing something. Try to use what
works for you in other situations. How do you prepare for an exam? Some students read
the script over and over. Others re-write the text over and over. One trick is to read a

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line, say it over and over until it is memorized, then read the next line and say the
previous line with the new line until the new line is memorized. Do the next line the
same way, then the next line, and the next line, etc. This format is repeated until the
entire manuscript is memorized.
Learning the text should not be that difficult. If you have researched the
information, written the speech, and edited the speech, you should be very familiar with
the material. Besides, your goal is not to simply recite a memorized speech. Your goal
should be to communicate ideas. Technically, you should never give the exact same
speech twice. You should be able to modify or adapt a few words here and there and not
lose any of the impact of the speech. If you memorize the script to the point that you
become too dependent upon saying the speech exactly the way it was written, you can
cause yourself enormous stress and grief. If you blank on a word, you will find yourself
standing there searching for that one exact word. But, if you are communicating ideas,
when you stumble on a word you can quickly replace it and keep moving with the
speech.
Practice your speech as much as you need to in order to get comfortable with it.
Whenever possible find an audience. Use family members, significant others,
roommates, fellow team members or anyone you can talk into sitting and listening to
you! There is no substitute for learning how to deliver your speech while receiving
audience feedback. Often audiences may react to material you never expected them to.
They may laugh at something you never thought was funny but it is! Learning these
types of reactions before getting into a competition round can be invaluable!
Once you have learned your speech be careful not to over practice. You can
become stale and too memorized. This tends to happen more toward the end of the
season after you have delivered you r speech several times
Presenting the Speech
Chapter 16 of this book provides insight into delivering your platform speech so
we will not go into too much detail here. However, you will need to keep in mind that
persuasive speaking judges are sitting and listening to speaker after speaker of terrible
and rampant problems harming and often killing people. Your delivery should be firm
and appropriate for the topic, but you do not want to be overly serious and somber.
When a judge sits and listens to heavy speech after heavy speech, you might be able to
gain their attention and fair better in the round by having a little more up delivery. This
does not mean to be un-natural in your delivery, but work to maintain a positive, upbeat
conversational tone that will hold the judges attention yet remain appropriate for the
topic.
While not required, some persuasive speeches incorporate the use of visual aids
into the presentation. Visual aids in a persuasive speech tend to be the exception and not
the norm, but it is appropriate on a rare occasion. Often, the type of material covered in a
persuasive speech can be enhanced and have added impact if illustrated or presented in

61

visual form. Check with your coach and see if your speech might benefit form visual
aids. Review the material on using visual aids in Chapter 16 of this book for a complete
overview of how to use visual aids in your speech.
Conclusion
You are now ready to begin preparing your persuasive speech. Be prepared to
spend some time looking for a topic. It may take you several weeks to find the right one
for you, but it will be worth it in the long run. Commit to doing some serious research.
Explore various periodicals and only use credible sources. Find as many source citations
as you can. Remember, the more, the better in your speech. Make sure your solution
section has some very real and practical solutions that the audience can engage almost
immediately. Memorize your speech and work on a professional, confident, and
energetic delivery and you will be all ready to go. Have fun and enjoy your speech
writing experience!
1

Southern Utah University Forensics Event Descriptions, 8 June 2000, Dept. of

SpeechCommunication, 29 Jul. 2003 <http://www.suu.edu/hss/comm/forensics/event.html#ies>.

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