You can never learn enough about good writing
I’m a huge fan of Ragan Communication’s PR Daily. This video interview of speech writer Bob Lehrman was quite interesting to me because Bob is a corporate speech writer, but what captured my attention was his mention of using Monroe’s Motivated Sequence for persuasive speeches. So, I started digging and this is what I found:
This is a simple sequence of steps for persuading that John Monroe developed in the 1930s and which was based on John Dewey’s original work.
Attention
A simple attention grabber is their name. You can also demonstrate emotion (‘Oh no!’) or physically grab them (if it is socially valid). Longer attention grabbers include jokes and dramatic stories.
Attention can be very brief, so once you have it, you need to move on quickly. Attention-grabbing should also move them towards interest. If you annoy them, then you will have your work cut out to recover the situation.
Need
The next step is to trigger a need that the listener has. There are many of these, although the CIN Needs Model helps simplify this. A stimulated need leads to the person seeking a solution.
Satisfaction
This is not about creating satisfaction, but proposing a way in which satisfaction may be gained by meeting the need that you have just stimulated.
Visualization
Now that you have proposed a solution, the next step is to move the listener to see it as the right answer for them to meet their need. Help them visualize the solution in place, such that it is complete and successful. If it involves them doing something, get them to see themselves in action.
Action
Finally, you need to prompt the person into action, implementing the solution that you both now know is the right thing to do.
Monroe’s Motivating Sequence (n.d.) ChangingMinds.org. Retrieved 3/9/2011 from http://changingminds.org/techniques/general/overall/monroe_sequence.htm
Seeing this video could not have happened at a better time. I have a presentation coming up in June and will see how this model works. Ragan also has an excellent video interview of Kennedy speech writer, Ted Sorensen: http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/7496.aspx
You can never learn enough about good writing.
Links:
PR Daily: http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Home.aspx
PR Daily article: http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/Former_Al_Gore_speechwriter_dispenses_advice_on_sp_7445.aspx
