Advice on Speaking from Flatland

The Persuasive Speaking Unit from Iowa State University makes many specific recommendations, but the overall theme is to use multiple lines of evidence. Consider this example structure:


Monroe’s Motivated Sequence
Best pattern to use for a personal action appeal.
Five Parts: Attention, Need, Satisfaction, Visualization, Action; but only three main points.
ATTENTION
In the Introduction
A scenario of a heart attack
NEED:
I. We have a problem with heart disease and heart failure in America.
A. Every year thousands of Americans die from heart attacks.
B. Only a small part of the population knows how to save someone who is suffering from a heart attack.
SATISFACTION:
II. If more people were trained in CPR more lives could be saved.
A. You can get trained in CPR by attending a Red Cross class.
B. You can get trained in CPR here on campus.
VISUALIZATION:
III. Once you are trained in CPR, you can save a life.
A. Let's look again at the opening scenario.
B. Statistics show that communities that have a large percentage of the population CPR certified have lower rates of death from heart attacks.
ACTION:
In the conclusion
Call to the audience to get trained in CPR

The speaker uses a story with emotional appeal, statistic, and facts about the audience to make his/her point. This same multi-pronged approach appears repeatedly throughout the unit.