Ministers, politicians, business people, lawyers ? they all want to persuade when they present. So do we. Here are suggestions on how to be more persuasive.

1. Touch both the emotions and the intellect.

People buy on emotion and justify with logic. The speaker should not only give good reasons for the topic but also create emotional goodwill about the topic.

2. Tell how your recommended procedure worked somewhere else.

As you research information on your topic or issue, find examples on how it has worked elsewhere.

3. Use testimonials from people your audience respects.

Always look for credible people to testify that those skills helped them become more successful . If you know your audience, you will have a good idea of who they respect and thus cite those authorities to reinforce your ideas.

4. Use several resources as evidence.

Using just one source makes you appear biased. Incorporating several sources gives depth to your ideas, and you have a better chance that at least one or two of the sources will be accepted by your audience. Several sources strengthen your claim and make you look more objective.

5. Make it clear what you want your audience to do.

Somewhere in your presentation you need to complete this sentence : ?What I want you to do as a result of this presentation is?? This move-to-action step usually works best at the end, but you can also mention it in the early part of the presentation to let the audience know the direction of your message.

6. Don't supply too much information.

Avoid saying ?I want to give you eight reasons why you should accept my proposal?. Audiences will lose interest quickly. Don't overwhelm them with too much evidence. Instead limit your reasons to two or three, four at the most.

7. Save your best evidence for the end.

People tend to remember what you say last. Build your speech to a climax. Spend the early part setting the stage and providing good formative material. Keep building your argument so that your strongest reasons and evidence come near the end.

?Because there has been implanted in us the power to persuade each other? not only have we escaped the life of the wild beast but we have come together and founded cities and made laws and invented arts??