Persuasive Speech

Using convincing, persuasive speaking has always been an important part of my job. You see, I am a business analyst. Unlike many people in my profession, I got involved in it not because of my love of explanation or social interaction, but because of my analytical skills which I wished to apply to other people's business problems. The problem is that analysis is only one part of the equation in business consulting. Sure, you need to be able to recommend the right changes in the company, but you also need to be able to recommend them in the right way. I have never been able to master persuasive speech, and it has held me back at every turn. Don't get me wrong – I still seem to make a good living, and I'm relatively happy with my job. Even so, being able to make persuasive speeches would catapult my career forward in a way like never before.

I used to think of the problem was organizing the information along the right lines. I studied persuasive essay topics online to see how the experts organized their thoughts. I would copy them, write my own, and do everything I could to mimic the style. I would even listen to people making persuasive speeches at conferences in an effort to understand their thought processes. Nevertheless, it never helped me. If anything, my persuasive speech skills just got worse. Because I was trying to speak in someone else's voice, I would be less confident than before when I tried to make a persuasive speech. It seemed like I would never get it.

Finally, one day, I finally figured out what the problem was. I had been going about my persuasive speech problem all wrong! My problem was not writing a persuasive speech, but learning how to speak to people. It seems obvious in retrospect, but at the time it came as a revelation. I could make a persuasive speech if I could just become comfortable. I took classes in becoming a confident speaker, and within a year I was much better at doing it. Although I never will be able to make a persuasive speech with the ease of a skilled salesman, I can hold my own nowadays. I have met with more success than ever before in my career, and I continue to advance. It is amazing what delivering a persuasive speech can do!