Distinguish Between Informative and Persuasive Speaking.

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The Differences between informative and persuasive speaking are vast. In informative speaking we as speakers are acting more like teachers, or less significantly, maybe no more that the pages of an open manual on a given subject, not attempting to change opinion but rather to just inform. Whereas when we are attempting to give a persuasive speech we may be attempting to move a person from a polar opposite position than the one we are speaking on, a pretty tall order in this day of extreme opinions. I would equate it to the two big political parties, trying to sway those of the opposing party to come their way, or lesser degree, but probably more importantly in election years, swaying the independent voter their way. A university of Pittsburg article on this subject tells the informative speaker that “Your job in an informative speech is to be a teacher. Most of us, in our learning experiences, have encountered both effective and ineffective teachers. One of the things that often separates the effective teachers from the ineffective teachers is their ability to show the audience the relevance of the information to their lives” (U.Pitt). Also in the same article it describes the persuasive speaker “In a persuasive speech your purpose will be to persuade. You are an advocate, you take a position and defend it. In this speech, your problem with supporting materials or evidence is not to show its inherent subjectivity, but to show how your evidence has more weight that any that might contradict it” (U.Pitt). Yes the job of the informative speaker can be rather momentous and daunting, but I also believe this is the avenue that allows you to project more of your own personality, and your beliefs, whereas an informative speech you are more confined and not allowed to have any opinion on the topic you are speaking

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