How to sound convincing

Introduction

Whether you’re speaking to one or a hundred people, sounding convincing and countering hostile opinions can be a tricky business…

Making an impact

Using the press and doing actions are both effective ways to communicate your message, but sometimes nothing is as good as an impassioned and informing conversation, or a rousing speech. There are a lot of simple things you can do to make yourself clearer. But first some facts…

People compare the different messages to see if they are consistent. If the words you are saying don´t match the way you are saying them, and most importantly the way you look, your message is undermined.

So the most important thing is to be consistent and aware of your body language and the tone of your voice. Don’t worry if the words you say aren’t perfect - said with conviction and body language to match, they can be convincing. Equally, no matter how articulate you are, if your tone of voice or body language contradict what you’re saying, you won´t win people over. Being persuasive even if you don´t know it all

Knowing your stuff

It is impossible to collect all the facts on a issue! So what can you do to convince someone of the need to campaign?

• Identify a clear problem/area of need that isn´t being met, then keep coming back to it when you talk.
• Try to research one level deeper than the knowledge you think the people you are approaching will have.
• As a group, read up on an issue, then discuss all of the questions you can think of.
• Get some practice - approach people you think know about the issue and see if they can pose any questions you can´t answer. This will help you build up some set responses, and also build your confidence!
• If you can´t answer a question, don´t try to get out of it: admit that you don´t know, suggest where the answer could be found, and explain why it does not weaken your point. Go back to that clear area of need.

Grey areas

In many issues there are a lot of grey areas. For example, there are many questions surrounding the science of climate change. When you are challenged about something complex it can be useful to refer to the precautionary principle - okay, so you can’t be 100% sure, if the evidence goes both ways, surely it’s better to err on the side of caution?

• Restate the problem, the evidence for it, and identify any areas that would not be affected by their point. If you can do that, then, no matter what the objections people have, they will have to concede that there is a basis for some action. (For example, they can disagree with your solutions to the problems of world trade, but they can´t deny that it is currently failing to benefit millions of starving people).
• Don’t get bogged down. You can challenge their facts, but don’t get drawn into debating a side issue.
• Take an interest in their point of view, and make an effort to find out if they’re right. It’s much easier to challenge their opinion with your facts.
• Take your time - if you try to rush out a response you could miss out important parts of the argument, or make a mistake with your facts, which could further undermine you.

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