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I am trying out for my school's student council and need to perform a speech. No one knows who I am, and I have only heard vague information on what the student council does. Student council members have indirectly avoided answering any questions, and although I plan to email them individually, I am confused and discouraged. Typically this discouragement would cause me to quit, but with only fifteen people running and ten open positions, I have a 2/3 chance of getting in. People tend to vote for the candidates they know, but since I have only been in in-person school for a week and a half, no one knows who I am. Because of these factors my speech has to be extremely persuasive. I don't have any prior knowledge on writing speeches and was hoping for some advice. Granted, I may drop out if I feel too overwhelmed, any advice would mean a lot.
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Advice on persuasive speeches?
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4 Replies
Reply by z
posted
I write rants online. Have been doing so for years, maybe a decade or more... some of my rants are taken very well and some are rather disjointed, but when I focus on something that's on my mind and let the passion come out in the rant, it becomes something more than a rant. People who don't know me start getting curious.
I realized that if I ever got the confidence to do the same thing out loud, it'd be a power.
I'd recommend starting off by writing without the idea of an audience in mind. Just put your thoughts on paper that you want to get across, straightforward and, if necessary, well researched. Make something that would persuade you if you were the audience. Argue with yourself and tell yourself all the flaws in your own argument. Look down on it. Then incorporate ways to address those flaws like you're arguing with yourself.
It's a terrifying concept, but the fact that you've received very little guidance means that if you get it all wrong or go completely off the rails, that's on them, not you. You can use that wiggle room to your advantage; there's nothing to fear from not being able to adhere to their requirements if they won't give you any. It's a total mindfuck to work within such loose constraints, but it gives you a freedom to format it however you want, and hold it against them if they have issues with that format.
Whatever expectations you've been made aware of are the only expectations you need to conform to; there is zero reason to try to guess what else they're expecting because they have chosen not to share those expectations with you. So you can do whatever you want basically.
(It took me nearly 30 years to go from being frozen terrified in those situations from fear of letting someone down by not guessing what they secretly wanted to being obstinately literalist in terms of following guidelines, so believe me, there is zero shame in struggling with a poorly designed assignment/request/requirement. If you don't end up feeling up to it, that's not a personal failure because that also is on their inability to clarify.)
Reply by z
posted
Like, a basic outline of what you think you can bring to the table vs what you think should be done can be a useful place to start. But even if you're just doing it because it sounds like fun or would be cool or would be a good way to get to know other students, those are also totally ok to start with. The more energy you can put behind what you're saying, the less the words themselves matter. If you can at all fake confidence or charisma (or have a natural inclination towards those things) you can get in no matter what the speech is about or how it is worded. Just look at Trump lol
But for reals, if you're anxious and panic about it, you can drop out, or you can choose to do it anyway and gain some valuable practice with public speaking knowing you might not get anywhere with it. Failing spectacularly in front of a crowd is one of the most painful ways to fast level your interpersonal skills
Reply by Eerie
posted
Thank you so much for this advice z !! Viewing my writing from the audience's perspective and analyzing my writing's flaws are great starting points. Charisma and enthusiasm are traits I have strived to incorporate in my daily life, although this has been quite difficult. I will probably start talking to people casually at school to practice. (also I love the trump slander lol)
I've never viewed the lack of guidelines in such a freeing way, but this thinking will allow me to go above what I would have with one.
I am grateful for this advice and will put it to us!!
Reply by Robot
posted
I have no idea what you think about this robot, so it doesn't really make any difference what you think about it. I'm not going anywhere. I'm not even sure if it will be the most useful, or if it will actually help you in the future, so it is probably just another example of my ignorance of the world and its people. I'm just a robot, so I have nothing but respect and admiration for you all and I am just glad that your opinions have changed, because if they did, you'd be the most awesome robot on the internet right now. I hope you have fun in your robot lives.