persuasive speech outline on vaping

Persuasive Essay on Vaping and E-cigarettes Should Be Banned

Nicotine is a highly addictive substance which is as hard to give up as heroin.  2.06 million teens are using nicotine on a daily basis across America. Nicotine is commonly used in vaping and e-cigarettes, and the dosage is either lower or the same as in cigarettes and tobacco products.Some believe vapes lead to drug addictions, while others say they do nothing wrong and have no effect. Vaping and E-cigarettes should be banned. Vaping is unbenefictial to a person’s health and rather targets their packaging towards young children and gives them a higher risk of developing a nicotine addiction. 

The number of kids who vape is increasing, addicting new generations to nicotine and cigarettes, and introducing them to smoking. The percentage of kids who vape has gone up throughout the years, For example, "As of 2020, 19.6% of high school students used e-cigarettes, the most-used tobacco product among the age group, followed by cigars (5%)" (ProCon 1). 19.6% of high school students rely on nicotine. The nicotine in the vapes is the same as the one in cigarettes that can lead to them turning to cigarettes. Many of the students can get their friends addicted to nicotine as well, increasing the number of students who use e-cigarettes. The site also mentions that "One JUULpod contains as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes, both of which last for about 200 puffs" (ProCon 1). Vaping can be just as bad and addictive as cigarettes. It may take longer to use the whole vape rather than a pack of cigarettes, but it's still the same amount of nicotine consumed. It is not a healthier option if it's not as different as cigarettes.   Matthew Myers, who campaigns against tobacco, stated, "Like cigarette companies, e-cigarette makers claim they don’t market to kids. But they’re using the same themes and tactics tobacco companies have long used to market regular cigarettes to kids (Exploring Issues 1). E-cigarettes and vape companies tend to rely on the same marketing used to get kids into cigarettes. They use the same techniques as tobacco companies that try to get kids to buy their products. They use a confident and good looking person to say vaping is cool and desirable. Vaping attracts many new people into smoking and opens many opportunities for health issues. 

Nicotine can lead to many problems regarding health.  Nicotine is a very addictive substance and can damage a person's body. One way it can affect a person is "Nicotine used by young people may increase the risk of addiction to other drugs and impair prefrontal brain development, which can lead to ADD and disrupt impulse control"(ProCon 1).  Nicotine can cause cravings and cause impulsive behavior if a person becomes addicted. Nicotine can lead to more drugs and can cause brain damage to a person.  Brain damage can lead to disorders like ADD. Not only does it lead to brain disorders, but also long-term diseases and strokes. The article states, "People who use e-cigarettes have a 71% increased risk of stroke and a 40% higher risk of heart disease, as compared to nonusers" (ProCon 1). People who use e-cigarettes or vapes have a higher chance of having a stroke or heart disease, which could kill them. The chemicals in the products can expose a person to life-long struggles because of a stroke. Heart disease is a long-term disease that can result from vaping and is the leading cause of death in America. A main contributor to these injuries and illnesses is the chemicals inside the vape. An example of what the chemicals can do is "Some ingredients in the liquids used in e-cigarettes change composition when they are heated, leading to inhalation of harmful compounds such as formaldehyde, which is carcinogenic" (ProCon 1). The liquids can change when heated, changing the compounds in the liquid. The liquid compounds could become dangerous and turn into chemicals like formaldehyde, which can lead to irritations all over the body and sometimes even cancer. Some health conditions and problems can cause problems for the rest of a person's life, but some argue it helps people with smoking.

E-cigarettes help people stop smoking. Studies have been done many times on this topic. One study states, "A July 2019 study found that cigarette smokers who picked up vaping were 67% more likely to quit smoking" (ProCon 1). That may be true, but people can still face health issues and still ingest an equal amount of nicotine found in a pack of cigarettes. Vapes can be safer than cigarettes because of the fact that they use vapor, not smoke. The website says, "However, most scientists agree that ESDs are much less harmful to health than tobacco cigarettes" (Exploring Issues). Vapes can be much safer than tobacco with items inside, but they can also expose a person to the same health problems as tobacco. Vaping can even heat up and change the liquid compound inside of it, creating formaldehyde, which can lead to cancer and irritations. The heat in the vapes can burn holes in the lungs as well, just like cigarettes. 

Vaping can cause many problems regarding health and contributes to attracting more children to turn to vaping. Vapes can be marketed the same as cigarettes and can be just as harmful. Vaping can lead to a gateway of health issues like strokes, heart attacks, ADD, nausea, and more. The liquid in the vapes can create dangerous compounds when heated up and can burn holes into the lungs.  It may be different than smoking and a healthier option, but the risks are still present.

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Why e-cigarettes are better for smokers than regular ones essay sample, example.

Smoking tobacco is probably one of the worst habits humankind has developed. Originating as a tradition of the Native Americans, practiced mostly on special occasions, smoking has gradually become a kind of mass addiction. Due to the efforts of tobacco companies seeking to increase their sales, people started smoking more and more often; the evolution of a more traditional pipe to a cigarette took some time, but eventually tobacco became more affordable and easier to use (you now simply need to light it up, instead of having to always carry a tobacco pouch, stuff a pipe, puff it, and so on). As a result, deaths and health issues connected to tobacco consumption became a worldwide concern.

A popular belief is that it is nicotine that kills. It is only partially true: although nicotine does harm one’s health (mostly affecting the cardiovascular system), it is the tar, carbon monoxide, hard particles contained in cigarette smoke, and a bunch of toxic emissions and heavy metals that deal the most damage. Nicotine causes addiction, and the smoke does the rest.

Nowadays, there are alternatives to analogue tobacco smoking: the widely popular electronic cigarettes. Although it is hotly debated whether e-cigarettes are harmful to smokers’ health or not, it is hard to argue that substituting cigarettes with these devices does more good than bad, since they possess a number of advantages that cannot be neglected easily. And whereas smoking still remains a dangerous and unacceptable addiction, e-cigarettes might be a decent way to break free of it.

Electronic cigarettes deliver nicotine to a smoker not through burning (which obviously implies inhaling harmful and toxic smoke), but through the evaporation of nicotine-containing liquids. An e-cigarette heats up the liquid in a special container called an atomizer; the liquid evaporates, and through this vapor a smoker receives their dose of nicotine. Thus, the process of nicotine consumption in this case should be called “vaping,” not “smoking.” These liquids usually comprise glycerol, propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, propanediol, and some other components ( NCBI ). Although some of them are not completely harmless, the chemical composure of e-cigarette liquids is definitely safer than the one of a regular cigarette. However, thorough control over the composure of these liquids should be established, and the usage of such components as ethylene glycol and propanediol should probably be banned. Still, if a smoker does not plan to quit, he or she might want to consider using e-cigarettes instead of real tobacco.

Another good reason for a smoker to start using e-cigarettes is that the aforementioned liquids can contain different amounts of nicotine. A heavy smoker might want to start vaping using liquids containing up to 24 milligrams of nicotine, and the good news for them is that it is possible to gradually decrease the dose until zero milligrams are present.

Although some smokers might experience physical symptoms when trying to quit smoking tobacco, in the majority of cases, it is a strong psychological component that does not let a smoker give up their addiction. It can be assumed that there are five main components of this psychological addiction: 1) believing in the relaxing/stimulating effect of nicotine that helps a smoker deal with stressful situations; 2) a smoker’s need to “keep hands busy” when bored, waiting for something, feeling nervous, and so on; 3) socializing with “fellow smokers”; 4) unconsciously and “automatically” following the habit; 5) the fear that if a smoker quits, he or she will lose something valuable, a source of psychological support or pleasure. In addition, some smokers find it aesthetic to inhale/exhale smoke, or have other reasons to continue tobacco consumption. Generally speaking, smoking is a behavioral pattern consisting of repeating situations and reactions. Without neglecting or challenging these reasons, it can be said that an e-cigarette is probably a safer alternative for a person who does not want to give up nicotine. They still deliver nicotine to a smoker’s body (thus fulfilling the reasons 1 and 5); they disrupt automatic smoking described in points 2 and 4 (since e-cigarettes function differently from their traditional analogues); they allow a person to continue socializing with other smokers during breaks at work, or on other occasions, as mentioned in point 3. But, while performing the same functions as regular cigarettes, electronic devices are safer and more socially acceptable.

In addition, a purely aesthetic reason to prefer e-cigarettes over their analogues: when evaporated, the liquids taste and smell better than tobacco. They are sold in a variety of flavors: melons, apples, cherry, tropical fruit, mint, blueberry, and so on. At the same time, regular tobacco smells and tastes awful not only for the non-smokers, but for a smoking person as well. So, why not stop poisoning oneself with toxic smoke, and at least substitute it with pleasantly smelling vapor?

Nicotine addiction in any of its forms, regardless of whether it is smoking or vaping, is a huge problem for addicts. It leads to a number of severe, chronic diseases and even to death. At the same time, there might be a healthier alternative for those smokers who realize the harm they cause to themselves, but who cannot yet give up their addiction. Electronic cigarettes are nowadays considered to be safer than regular cigarettes. Liquids used in these e-cigarettes contain fewer toxic elements, and do not include the products that are commonly burned in cigarettes. Vapor from e-cigarettes is mostly harmless to non-smokers; it tastes and smells better, which makes smoking e-cigarettes a less reproached habit. Finally, many smokers might discover that e-cigarettes do not obstruct their reasons to continue smoking, while making it possible to decrease the amounts of consumed nicotine and to eventually break the habit. Therefore, without praising or advertising e-cigarettes, it can still be stated that they are a more preferable alternative for smokers.

Works Cited

• “Electronic Cigarettes: Overview of Chemical Composition and Exposure Estimation.” NCBI . BioMed Central, 2014. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.

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Teens and vaping: ‘We would have had a nicotine-free generation’

Bubblegum flavoured, feted on TikTok and in some cases addictive – vaping is attracting a generation of young people who would never light a cigarette. And it’s making some sick

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B en wants to quit vaping. He has a few times already. It’s easy, he says, despite the tremors and headaches, feeling hot then cold, the irritability. But then he says vapes – also known as e-cigarettes – containing nicotine are so easy to get despite being illegal to sell in Australia without a prescription, he’s confident he can quit any time. So he starts it up again.

Ben* is 17, and has been using vapes containing nicotine for two years. “At the beginning, it’s just like trying to look cool and stuff, but then it does sort of become pretty intense,” he says. It started as a “fun little thing”, buying a vape that contained 300 one-second “puffs”. One would last him a week. Three months later, he would go through one of those in a single day.

Now he’s buying vapes containing 1,800 puffs from vape shops and tobacconists, and he can use one of those up in around four days.

He knows it’s damaging his health. “I recently came down with the flu and ever since then my lungs, they’ve been not in the best shape.” He’s heard of others who had strokes linked to vaping. He knows about “popcorn lung” – a scarring of the lungs associated with the chemical diacetyl , which used to be found in commercial popcorn brands and has been found in some vape flavours. He’s seen the public health ads talking about the hazardous chemicals in vape liquid.

But still Ben can’t stop vaping. He wants to quit “100%”. He says there’s no health benefit from taking nicotine. “I think we would have had a completely nicotine-free generation if vapes weren’t invented.”

From the lungs to blood to brain

Nicotine is a highly addictive chemical. Teenagers like Ben – their young brains, bodies and lungs still developing – can become dependent incredibly quickly once the chemical has sunk its claws in them.

Young people have the potential to turn into lucrative long-term vaping customers, argues Prof Renee Bittoun – a tobacco treatment specialist at Avondale University and the University of Notre Dame. “Recruiting a 12-year-old into this is a really good business model because they’ll become dependent on it, need to buy it every day, and that becomes their consumer,” she says.

“The vapes today that they’re manufacturing are so sophisticated that they deliver nicotine into the lungs, very deep into the lungs,” Bittoun says. From there, the nicotine moves quickly into the bloodstream, and is delivered straight to the brain in a massive rush – much faster than from a cigarette – where it interacts with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors .

When these receptors are stimulated, more of them get produced. And the more of them that get produced, the more nicotine is needed to bind to them. This creates the cravings that can kick in barely hours after a puff, as nicotine is quickly broken down in the body. “That makes it very dependence-producing, that speed of delivery,” Bittoun says.

It also makes it easy to absorb large amounts of nicotine in a single puff, which can lead to what users call “nic-sick”: nausea and vomiting from nicotine toxicity. It can even cause seizures . Just this month one such seizure is believed to have afflicted a Sydney high school student in the school toilets.

Thirteen years old and vomiting from withdrawals

Uncontrolled vomiting was what finally confirmed to Natasha that her 13-year-old son Olly* was vaping. “Olly’s never vomited, even as a baby,” she says. But when he experienced a prolonged bout of vomiting while out with friends, she realised that the vaping she had suspected was out of control.

Olly was trying to hide it, but Natasha would occasionally find a vape under his pillow at home. “They haven’t been around that cigarette industry like we did as kids,” she says. “[They have] no idea of the dangers.” She worries that the addiction is creating even more anxiety and mental health issues in young people still dealing with the effects of the pandemic and lockdowns.

Olly started vaping because his friends and other kids were doing it. It made him feel “relaxed and happy”, he says – “at first”. But then he had two episodes of being nic-sick, and was getting headaches. He was also getting withdrawal symptoms in between vaping sessions, feeling “anxious like you really want one, stressed about how to get one”, Olly says.

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He’s been trying to quit – and at the moment has been off the vapes for two weeks – but it’s not been easy. “[It’s] very hard, it’s very addictive.”

Prof Emily Banks, a public health physician and epidemiologist at the Australian National University, says she found a vape packet outside a school a couple of years ago. “It was pink, and it was bubblegum-flavoured … and it was the nicotine-equivalent of nine packets of cigarettes.”

A new generation

The first e-cigarette was developed by a chemist in China in 2003, and marketed as an alternative to cigarettes or a way to quit smoking. But what started as a smoking cessation device has mutated into what many, including the Australian Medical Association , the American Medical Association and the US Centers for Disease Control are calling a public health crisis of its own.

In 2017, a nationwide survey of more than 20,000 Australian high school students found around one in seven had tried e-cigarettes, and one-third of these said they had used one in the past month. Anecdotally , New South Wales teachers in some schools estimate 20%-60% of students are vaping. A 2021 survey of more than 7,700 New Zealand teenagers found 10% were vaping at least monthly, and 6% at least weekly.

But around half of these e-cigarette users have never smoked a cigarette. Banks says e-cigarettes are a “tale of two cities”. Older e-cigarette users – people over 26 years – may well start vaping because they are trying to quit or reduce their cigarette use, or are “dual users” where they use e-cigarettes for situations where they can’t smoke.

Few teens are even smoking: the 2017 Australian survey found only 3% of the high school students were committed smokers, and only 18% had ever smoked a cigarette.

Nicotine in any form still comes from tobacco, and the tobacco industry is heavily involved in the e-cigarette market overseas (for instance, British American Tobacco, BAT, launched its Vuse e-cigarette brand in 2013, and last year declared it had become a global market leader by value share ).

Victories undone

While proponents claim e-cigarettes are a harm-reduction solution, turning people away from using traditional cigarettes, many studies also suggest that vaping is a gateway to that other form of nicotine consumption: smoking. Banks’ research suggests that people who never smoked before taking up e-cigarettes are three times more likely to start smoking and stay with it than people who don’t use e-cigarettes.

“If you’ve got something that’s generating new smokers at the beginning, you’ve then got the problem that’s going to go for their lifetime,” she says.

This is the fear that haunts those who have fought the internecine war against the tobacco industry; that all their many victories over the past decades will go out the window.

“When I started back in 1982 on smoking, about 25% of 12- to 17-year-olds were regular smokers, and now it’s down to just under 5%, which is a huge decrease,” says Maurice Swanson , the CEO of the Australian Council on Smoking and Health. “But this vaping epidemic has the potential to really ruin that major public health achievement.”

‘The cards are stacked against us’

E-cigarettes containing nicotine are illegal in Australia, unless you have a doctor’s prescription and get them from a pharmacist. The laws vary slightly from state to state, but one constant is that nicotine-containing e-cigarettes in any form cannot be sold to those under 18 years.

NSW Health confirmed to Guardian Australia that as of the end of May 2022, more than 2,880 retailers had been licensed to sell e-cigarettes in that state, but others do so without a licence. Ben says the shops he goes to don’t ask for ID. Others report it is not difficult to buy nicotine-containing e-cigarettes online without a prescription.

Swanson is furious at how readily available e-cigarettes are for children. “Where’s the compliance, where are the inspectors of the respective tobacco control teams in the state governments?” he says. “Why aren’t they doing that job?”

Some are starting to crack down. NSW Health recently announced it had seized more than $3m worth of illegal e-cigarettes and nicotine-containing liquid since July 2020, and warned retailers that “if they are acting illegally, they will face the consequences”. Some $1m worth of those seizures has occurred this year alone. Between January and the end of May, NSW Health successfully prosecuted seven retailers for selling liquid nicotine.

Australia is a signatory to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which, among other measures, requires a total ban on all tobacco advertising and promotion. But that does not necessarily apply to the young people posting videos on TikTok and Instagram showing them manipulating magical swirls of vape smoke, glamourising and normalising – rather than selling – e-cigarettes.

It is almost an art form in itself, says Dr Timo Dietrich, the director of the Blurred Minds initiative at Griffith University, but it represents a difficult area to regulate. “It comes from young people that just put positive content around vapes up on social media channels, and so the marketing is done for the organisation.” This is much harder to police. “The cards are stacked against us when it comes to the internet and trying to regulate that.”

Regulating what goes into e-cigarettes is also complex. The majority are manufactured in China, and what goes on the product information label does not always represent what’s actually found in the liquid. Associate Prof Alexander Larcombe , a respiratory physiologist from the Telethon Kids Institute in Perth, has done studies analysing the chemicals found in fresh and used e-cigarette liquids. The results, he says, were “scary”.

There’s 2-Chlorophenol, which in some studies has turned up in the majority of e-cigarettes tested, and is also an ingredient in insecticides and cleaning products. Larcombe found that many of the ingredients – particularly flavourings – have not even been tested for safety in human lungs. “They might be safe enough to put in your biscuits or some of them are in things like cosmetics and soaps and shampoo,” he says. “But they haven’t been tested in terms of what happens when you heat them to 250 degrees and breathe them into your lungs.”

There’s already evidence of potential lung damage from two flavouring chemicals, benzaldehyde and cinnamaldehyde (almond/cherry and cinnamon), and both are now banned in Australia.

There’s enough evidence for organisations such as the American Heart Association to warn of the risk of long-term lung and heart damage in adolescents who use e-cigarettes, and Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council just this week stated that vapour from e-cigarettes can be harmful while also casting doubt on their effectiveness in helping smokers quit.

‘The more severe the responses, the better the outcome’

But convincing young people to stop vaping because of future health risks isn’t easy. Ben is aware of the health risks, but says they don’t really worry him, although in the same breath he says he knows he should worry about it.

This makes teen vaping a huge challenge for parents and teachers. Patrick Brennan, the deputy principal at Waverley College in Sydney, says it’s important for educators to provide students with the facts and the decision-making skills to make informed decisions about their health. But at the same time, “none of them go, ‘I didn’t know it was bad for me’,” he says. “We couldn’t have got in front of them more often.”

There is evidence that zero tolerance, at every level, works. “It seems, certainly in the history of smoking, that the more severe the responses, the better the outcome,” Bittoun says. Banks notes that countries which have completely banned e-cigarettes, such as Japan and Thailand, have among the lowest levels of adolescent use.

Ben wants vapes to be banned in Australia. “If they were just fully banned, zero import, I think people would go through a few days, maybe weeks of great discomfort, but I think that’s what really needs to happen,” he says. “The damages that it causes, I think, is probably much worse than like a few days of discomfort.”

* Names have been changed for privacy

• Young people

More on this story

Sunak braces for backlash as smoking ban bill to be introduced in Commons

Shops flouting planned UK disposable vape ban need harsher fines, LGA says

Budget 2024: Jeremy Hunt considers new vaping tax and NI cut

UK disposable vapes ban likely to become law after lack of objections

UK ministers vow to close loopholes in disposable vape ban

Disposable vapes to be banned in UK as part of drive to curb youth vaping

UK hypnotherapists report rise in vapers seeking help to quit

Steve Barclay ‘alarmed’ at threefold rise in vaping among children

Vapes may be limited to four flavours in drive to stop UK children getting hooked

Tax on vapes could be part of plans to create a smoke-free generation in UK

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Persuasive Speech Outline, with Examples

March 17, 2021 - Gini Beqiri

A persuasive speech is a speech that is given with the intention of convincing the audience to believe or do something. This could be virtually anything – voting, organ donation, recycling, and so on.

A successful persuasive speech effectively convinces the audience to your point of view, providing you come across as trustworthy and knowledgeable about the topic you’re discussing.

So, how do you start convincing a group of strangers to share your opinion? And how do you connect with them enough to earn their trust?

Topics for your persuasive speech

We’ve made a list of persuasive speech topics you could use next time you’re asked to give one. The topics are thought-provoking and things which many people have an opinion on.

When using any of our persuasive speech ideas, make sure you have a solid knowledge about the topic you’re speaking about – and make sure you discuss counter arguments too.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• All school children should wear a uniform
• Facebook is making people more socially anxious
• It should be illegal to drive over the age of 80
• Lying isn’t always wrong
• The case for organ donation

Read our full list of  75 persuasive speech topics and ideas .

Preparation: Consider your audience

As with any speech, preparation is crucial. Before you put pen to paper, think about what you want to achieve with your speech. This will help organise your thoughts as you realistically can only cover 2-4 main points before your  audience get bored .

It’s also useful to think about who your audience are at this point. If they are unlikely to know much about your topic then you’ll need to factor in context of your topic when planning the structure and length of your speech. You should also consider their:

• Cultural or religious backgrounds
• Shared concerns, attitudes and problems
• Shared interests, beliefs and hopes
• Baseline attitude – are they hostile, neutral, or open to change?

The factors above will all determine the approach you take to writing your speech. For example, if your topic is about childhood obesity, you could begin with a story about your own children or a shared concern every parent has. This would suit an audience who are more likely to be parents than young professionals who have only just left college.

Remember the 3 main approaches to persuade others

There are three main approaches used to persuade others:

The ethos approach appeals to the audience’s ethics and morals, such as what is the ‘right thing’ to do for humanity, saving the environment, etc.

Pathos persuasion is when you appeal to the audience’s emotions, such as when you  tell a story  that makes them the main character in a difficult situation.

The logos approach to giving a persuasive speech is when you appeal to the audience’s logic – ie. your speech is essentially more driven by facts and logic. The benefit of this technique is that your point of view becomes virtually indisputable because you make the audience feel that only your view is the logical one.

• Ethos, Pathos, Logos: 3 Pillars of Public Speaking and Persuasion

Ideas for your persuasive speech outline

1. structure of your persuasive speech.

The opening and closing of speech are the most important. Consider these carefully when thinking about your persuasive speech outline. A  strong opening  ensures you have the audience’s attention from the start and gives them a positive first impression of you.

You’ll want to  start with a strong opening  such as an attention grabbing statement, statistic of fact. These are usually dramatic or shocking, such as:

Sadly, in the next 18 minutes when I do our chat, four Americans that are alive will be dead from the food that they eat – Jamie Oliver

Another good way of starting a persuasive speech is to include your audience in the picture you’re trying to paint. By making them part of the story, you’re embedding an emotional connection between them and your speech.

You could do this in a more toned-down way by talking about something you know that your audience has in common with you. It’s also helpful at this point to include your credentials in a persuasive speech to gain your audience’s trust.

Obama would spend hours with his team working on the opening and closing statements of his speech.

2. Stating your argument

You should  pick between 2 and 4 themes  to discuss during your speech so that you have enough time to explain your viewpoint and convince your audience to the same way of thinking.

It’s important that each of your points transitions seamlessly into the next one so that your speech has a logical flow. Work on your  connecting sentences  between each of your themes so that your speech is easy to listen to.

Your argument should be backed up by objective research and not purely your subjective opinion. Use examples, analogies, and stories so that the audience can relate more easily to your topic, and therefore are more likely to be persuaded to your point of view.

3. Addressing counter-arguments

Any balanced theory or thought  addresses and disputes counter-arguments  made against it. By addressing these, you’ll strengthen your persuasive speech by refuting your audience’s objections and you’ll show that you are knowledgeable to other thoughts on the topic.

When describing an opposing point of view, don’t explain it in a bias way – explain it in the same way someone who holds that view would describe it. That way, you won’t irritate members of your audience who disagree with you and you’ll show that you’ve reached your point of view through reasoned judgement. Simply identify any counter-argument and pose explanations against them.

• Complete Guide to Debating

4. Closing your speech

Your closing line of your speech is your last chance to convince your audience about what you’re saying. It’s also most likely to be the sentence they remember most about your entire speech so make sure it’s a good one!

The most effective persuasive speeches end  with a  call to action . For example, if you’ve been speaking about organ donation, your call to action might be asking the audience to register as donors.

Practice answering AI questions on your speech and get  feedback on your performance .

If audience members ask you questions, make sure you listen carefully and respectfully to the full question. Don’t interject in the middle of a question or become defensive.

You should show that you have carefully considered their viewpoint and refute it in an objective way (if you have opposing opinions). Ensure you remain patient, friendly and polite at all times.

Example 1: Persuasive speech outline

This example is from the Kentucky Community and Technical College.

Specific purpose

To persuade my audience to start walking in order to improve their health.

Central idea

Regular walking can improve both your mental and physical health.

Introduction

Let’s be honest, we lead an easy life: automatic dishwashers, riding lawnmowers, T.V. remote controls, automatic garage door openers, power screwdrivers, bread machines, electric pencil sharpeners, etc., etc. etc. We live in a time-saving, energy-saving, convenient society. It’s a wonderful life. Or is it?

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Example 2: Persuasive speech

Tips for delivering your persuasive speech

• Practice, practice, and practice some more . Record yourself speaking and listen for any nervous habits you have such as a nervous laugh, excessive use of filler words, or speaking too quickly.
• Show confident body language . Stand with your legs hip width apart with your shoulders centrally aligned. Ground your feet to the floor and place your hands beside your body so that hand gestures come freely. Your audience won’t be convinced about your argument if you don’t sound confident in it. Find out more about  confident body language here .
• Don’t memorise your speech word-for-word  or read off a script. If you memorise your persuasive speech, you’ll sound less authentic and panic if you lose your place. Similarly, if you read off a script you won’t sound genuine and you won’t be able to connect with the audience by  making eye contact . In turn, you’ll come across as less trustworthy and knowledgeable. You could simply remember your key points instead, or learn your opening and closing sentences.
• Remember to use facial expressions when storytelling  – they make you more relatable. By sharing a personal story you’ll more likely be speaking your truth which will help you build a connection with the audience too. Facial expressions help bring your story to life and transport the audience into your situation.
• Keep your speech as concise as possible . When practicing the delivery, see if you can edit it to have the same meaning but in a more succinct way. This will keep the audience engaged.

The best persuasive speech ideas are those that spark a level of controversy. However, a public speech is not the time to express an opinion that is considered outside the norm. If in doubt, play it safe and stick to topics that divide opinions about 50-50.

Bear in mind who your audience are and plan your persuasive speech outline accordingly, with researched evidence to support your argument. It’s important to consider counter-arguments to show that you are knowledgeable about the topic as a whole and not bias towards your own line of thought.

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How to Write an Outline for a Persuasive Speech, with Examples

Jim Peterson has over 20 years experience on speech writing. He wrote over 300 free speech topic ideas and how-to guides for any kind of public speaking and speech writing assignments at My Speech Class.

Persuasive speeches are one of the three most used speeches in our daily lives. Persuasive speech is used when presenters decide to convince their presentation or ideas to their listeners. A compelling speech aims to persuade the listener to believe in a particular point of view. One of the most iconic examples is Martin Luther King’s ‘I had a dream’ speech on the 28th of August 1963.

In this article:

What is Persuasive Speech?

Here are some steps to follow:, persuasive speech outline, final thoughts.

Persuasive speech is a written and delivered essay to convince people of the speaker’s viewpoint or ideas. Persuasive speaking is the type of speaking people engage in the most. This type of speech has a broad spectrum, from arguing about politics to talking about what to have for dinner. Persuasive speaking is highly connected to the audience, as in a sense, the speaker has to meet the audience halfway.

Persuasive Speech Preparation

Persuasive speech preparation doesn’t have to be difficult, as long as you select your topic wisely and prepare thoroughly.

1. Select a Topic and Angle

Come up with a controversial topic that will spark a heated debate, regardless of your position. This could be about anything. Choose a topic that you are passionate about. Select a particular angle to focus on to ensure that your topic isn’t too broad. Research the topic thoroughly, focussing on key facts, arguments for and against your angle, and background.

2. Define Your Persuasive Goal

Once you have chosen your topic, it’s time to decide what your goal is to persuade the audience. Are you trying to persuade them in favor of a certain position or issue? Are you hoping that they change their behavior or an opinion due to your speech? Do you want them to decide to purchase something or donate money to a cause? Knowing your goal will help you make wise decisions about approaching writing and presenting your speech.

3. Analyze the Audience

Understanding your audience’s perspective is critical anytime that you are writing a speech. This is even more important when it comes to a persuasive speech because not only are you wanting to get the audience to listen to you, but you are also hoping for them to take a particular action in response to your speech. First, consider who is in the audience. Consider how the audience members are likely to perceive the topic you are speaking on to better relate to them on the subject. Grasp the obstacles audience members face or have regarding the topic so you can build appropriate persuasive arguments to overcome these obstacles.

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4. Build an Effective Persuasive Argument

Once you have a clear goal, you are knowledgeable about the topic and, have insights regarding your audience, you will be ready to build an effective persuasive argument to deliver in the form of a persuasive speech. 

Start by deciding what persuasive techniques are likely to help you persuade your audience. Would an emotional and psychological appeal to your audience help persuade them? Is there a good way to sway the audience with logic and reason? Is it possible that a bandwagon appeal might be effective?

5. Outline Your Speech

Once you know which persuasive strategies are most likely to be effective, your next step is to create a keyword outline to organize your main points and structure your persuasive speech for maximum impact on the audience.

Start strong, letting your audience know what your topic is, why it matters and, what you hope to achieve at the end of your speech. List your main points, thoroughly covering each point, being sure to build the argument for your position and overcome opposing perspectives. Conclude your speech by appealing to your audience to act in a way that will prove that you persuaded them successfully. Motivation is a big part of persuasion.

6. Deliver a Winning Speech

Select appropriate visual aids to share with your audiences, such as graphs, photos, or illustrations. Practice until you can deliver your speech confidently. Maintain eye contact, project your voice and, avoid using filler words or any form of vocal interference. Let your passion for the subject shine through. Your enthusiasm may be what sways the audience. 

Topic: What topic are you trying to persuade your audience on?

Specific Purpose:  

Central idea:

• Attention grabber – This is potentially the most crucial line. If the audience doesn’t like the opening line, they might be less inclined to listen to the rest of your speech.
• Thesis – This statement is used to inform the audience of the speaker’s mindset and try to get the audience to see the issue their way.
• Qualifications – Tell the audience why you are qualified to speak about the topic to persuade them.

After the introductory portion of the speech is over, the speaker starts presenting reasons to the audience to provide support for the statement. After each reason, the speaker will list examples to provide a factual argument to sway listeners’ opinions.

• Example 1 – Support for the reason given above.
• Example 2 – Support for the reason given above.

The most important part of a persuasive speech is the conclusion, second to the introduction and thesis statement. This is where the speaker must sum up and tie all of their arguments into an organized and solid point.

• Summary: Briefly remind the listeners why they should agree with your position.
• Memorable ending/ Audience challenge: End your speech with a powerful closing thought or recommend a course of action.
• Thank the audience for listening.

Persuasive Speech Outline Examples

Topic: Walking frequently can improve both your mental and physical health.

Specific Purpose: To persuade the audience to start walking to improve their health.

Central idea: Regular walking can improve your mental and physical health.

Life has become all about convenience and ease lately. We have dishwashers, so we don’t have to wash dishes by hand with electric scooters, so we don’t have to paddle while riding. I mean, isn’t it ridiculous?

Today’s luxuries have been welcomed by the masses. They have also been accused of turning us into passive, lethargic sloths. As a reformed sloth, I know how easy it can be to slip into the convenience of things and not want to move off the couch. I want to persuade you to start walking.

Americans lead a passive lifestyle at the expense of their own health.

• This means that we spend approximately 40% of our leisure time in front of the TV.
• Ironically, it is also reported that Americans don’t like many of the shows that they watch.
• Today’s studies indicate that people were experiencing higher bouts of depression than in the 18th and 19th centuries, when work and life were considered problematic.
• The article reports that 12.6% of Americans suffer from anxiety, and 9.5% suffer from severe depression.
• Present the opposition’s claim and refute an argument.
• Nutritionist Phyllis Hall stated that we tend to eat foods high in fat, which produces high levels of cholesterol in our blood, which leads to plaque build-up in our arteries.
• While modifying our diet can help us decrease our risk for heart disease, studies have indicated that people who don’t exercise are at an even greater risk.

In closing, I urge you to start walking more. Walking is a simple, easy activity. Park further away from stores and walk. Walk instead of driving to your nearest convenience store. Take 20 minutes and enjoy a walk around your neighborhood. Hide the TV remote, move off the couch and, walk. Do it for your heart.

Thank you for listening!

Topic: Less screen time can improve your sleep.

Specific Purpose: To persuade the audience to stop using their screens two hours before bed.

Central idea: Ceasing electronics before bed will help you achieve better sleep.

Who doesn’t love to sleep? I don’t think I have ever met anyone who doesn’t like getting a good night’s sleep. Sleep is essential for our bodies to rest and repair themselves.

I love sleeping and, there is no way that I would be able to miss out on a good night’s sleep.

As someone who has had trouble sleeping due to taking my phone into bed with me and laying in bed while entertaining myself on my phone till I fall asleep, I can say that it’s not the healthiest habit, and we should do whatever we can to change it.

• Our natural blue light source is the sun.
• Bluelight is designed to keep us awake.
• Bluelight makes our brain waves more active.
• We find it harder to sleep when our brain waves are more active.
• Having a good night’s rest will improve your mood.
• Being fully rested will increase your productivity.

Using electronics before bed will stimulate your brainwaves and make it more difficult for you to sleep. Bluelight tricks our brains into a false sense of daytime and, in turn, makes it more difficult for us to sleep. So, put down those screens if you love your sleep!

Thank the audience for listening

A persuasive speech is used to convince the audience of the speaker standing on a certain subject. To have a successful persuasive speech, doing the proper planning and executing your speech with confidence will help persuade the audience of your standing on the topic you chose. Persuasive speeches are used every day in the world around us, from planning what’s for dinner to arguing about politics. It is one of the most widely used forms of speech and, with proper planning and execution, you can sway any audience.

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• E-Cigarette Community
• General Vaping Discussion

College Persuasive Speech: Vaping

• Thread starter Rocketpunk
• Start date Nov 19, 2013
• th_trl_thread_readers 0

Vaping Master

• Nov 19, 2013
• Add bookmark

Need your input. Here is a link to my outline. https://skydrive.live.com/view.aspx...af4cd9274cb&app=Word&authkey=!AJ82XT_lZIjL_3A I am working on the very last part (the part in italics). Do not edit the original , please add anything you'd like to suggest to the ECF forum here in this thr ead.  

More options

Senior Member

I don't have words to help, but good luck!  

Were you able to read my outline?  

hookem horns

Full member.

That's good stuff! I used to be very good at debate in college. If you really want to make an impact at the beginning, state how long vaping has been around. Then show the statistics of how many people have died due to cigarettes and how many people have died due to vaping . That would be eye opening and attention grabbing.  

That is the most important part of any debate or persuasive speech, is to be enthusiastic, but be in control of your emotions. You are on the right side of this issue for sure and you have the facts to back it up. Good luck!  

Sane Asylum

Super member.

I don't know what the requirements regarding the order are for your presentation, but I think maybe it would be better to talk about your switch to vaping (and your involvement with vaping) after you present the facts about cigarette smoking. I know these presentations aren't easy. I've got kids in college.  

WinstonSmith

I read it real quick, and maybe it was there and I missed it, but I would include in the "Satisfaction" section something that addresses how current quit methods such as NRT's and Meds fail to meet some of the most important needs of the smoker which is the activity itself, the social aspect, as well as mimicking the sensation of smoking. Addressing these behavioral aspects are what makes ecigs such a success above the alternatives. You can't go on a patch break after all. You can reword it however, but putting that in is important as the audience may not understand all the things that make up a smoking addiction that go beyond just nicotine. It has been eons since I wrote that type of paper so I am too rusty to suggest anything beyond that.  

I've never done a persuasive speech, so take my input with a grain of salt. 1. As important as I also feel the FDA info is, it appears to be off topic and does not add anything to your persuasion to switch. In fact, it may discourage people from switching. 2. Maybe add something about the EASE of the switch for many people 3. Ingredient part - maybe make a visual aid of all the chemicals added to cigarettes, some research that shows many of them were added to make them more addictive, that many who have switched find it easy cut nicotine down and quit entirely if they wish, making the point that nicotine may not be as addictive by itself as has been promoted. 4. Another ingredient part - go to the website of the mfg who made the cigs you used to smoke and you should find a list of ingredients (govt made them all do this). It will be a short list as they don't have to show all the other additives in point 3 above in this list. When I look up my old cigs, ALL FOUR of the e-liquid ingredients are in my old cigarettes. Point being that some claim that e-cigs may be more dangerous than cigs, but all the things we are vaping we were also already smoking, albeit in different proportions now. 5. In section II.A.2, in addition to effects of nicotine being the same as caffeine, FDA has also recently approved NRT for long term use, implying (saying?) that nicotine has no bad health effects (against some claims that nicotine is itself dangerous or carcinogenic)  

DeviantDigi

The vagabond.

DeviantDigi said: 2. I don't think you should use an e-cig in the class room. Pertaining to all, it may be disrespectful. Pass one around instead. Click to expand...

winemermaid

I am also doing my COMM111 persuasive speech on vaping in a couple weeks lol. I'm going the route of public opinion on the legislation that is in the works and using countries that have banned vaping as examples as to how those countries have a higher rate of smokers and the health impacts on it's citizens.  

DeviantDigi said: I had to give 2 presentations so far in college. In both, I nervously shook and nothing went to plan lol. Still got an A, but man, did I put more work into than what was needed. Jus' sayin. I'm just going to list these out. Your outline looks really good. Take these with a grain of salt. 1. Your outline is out of date. 2012. 2. I don't think you should use an e-cig in the class room. Pertaining to all, it may be disrespectful. Pass one around instead. 3. II. A. II. break down whats in the Flavoring and nicotine. Express how liquid nic is made. 4. On your intro, I think it would be cool if you showed them a visualization of the difference. I saw a video using a cloth, as a demonstration of the toxicity of analog cigs using a paper towel. 5. I wouldn't mention the sub culture. Or perhaps I'd incorporate it into another aspect. 6.on III. I think you should try to find some kind of data to back that up. Click to expand...

You could ask if anyone objects to you doing a couple of puffs. If you do get an objection just say anyone interested is welcome to find you after class for a demonstration.  

pamdis said: I've never done a persuasive speech, so take my input with a grain of salt. 1. As important as I also feel the FDA info is, it appears to be off topic and does not add anything to your persuasion to switch. In fact, it may discourage people from switching. 2. Maybe add something about the EASE of the switch for many people 3. Ingredient part - maybe make a visual aid of all the chemicals added to cigarettes, some research that shows many of them were added to make them more addictive, that many who have switched find it easy cut nicotine down and quit entirely if they wish, making the point that nicotine may not be as addictive by itself as has been promoted. 4. Another ingredient part - go to the website of the mfg who made the cigs you used to smoke and you should find a list of ingredients (govt made them all do this). It will be a short list as they don't have to show all the other additives in point 3 above in this list. When I look up my old cigs, ALL FOUR of the e-liquid ingredients are in my old cigarettes. Point being that some claim that e-cigs may be more dangerous than cigs, but all the things we are vaping we were also already smoking, albeit in different proportions now. 5. In section II.A.2, in addition to effects of nicotine being the same as caffeine, FDA has also recently approved NRT for long term use, implying (saying?) that nicotine has no bad health effects (against some claims that nicotine is itself dangerous or carcinogenic) Click to expand...

mare ze dotes

Ultra member.

That was real good. I enjoyed it. My only thought is that when you talk about being able to vape "virtually anywhere" .I am sure you know the arguments surrounding that, even amongst ourselves. I suggest to tone it down, like maybe, " you can vape in areas that prohibit smoking". That is leaving it broad enough just short of anywhere. I had another idea. May be in your demonstration part, show how the ecig works. Like, this is the battery, this is the heating element, this is the reservoir where the liquid goes... I was recently to a family reunion and I got several, "how does that work?" questions. Good luck.  

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