Aristotle made a famous distinction among kinds of speeches.  He said speeches could be persuasive, informational, or decorative.  It’s a useful distinction that has stood for a couple of thousand years, but it has been misused.

All too often, people say, “my speech about 2Q numbers is just informational.”  Or, “the talk I have to give to the shareholders is just informational.”  They use this as a way to avoid giving a persuasive speech, which feels more risky.

Persuasive speeches, again according to the ancient Greeks, should use the problem-solution format, and therein lies the rub for our modern avoiders.  They instinctively shy away from talking about problems.  They’d rather be boring. 

And overwhelming – speeches are a bad way to convey information.  We’re too easily lost in the thickets of information when they come to us via the ear.  If you’ve got a lot of information to get across, don’t use a speech.  Use a memo.

Speeches are a great medium for persuasion.  And to be persuaded of something, we need to wallow in the problem for about the same length of time that we enjoy the solution.  That’s because persuasion means changing someone’s mind, and to change the mind is emotional.  We’re motivated to change if we’ve felt the problem, lived with it, and worked through it with the speaker, in real time. 

So if you want to persuade someone, use a speech.  Start with the problem and then, once you’ve fully investigated it, move to the solution.  You’ll take your audience with you if you done a good job and spoken authentically. 

Aristotle was wrong in the sense that there really is only one reason to speak, and that is to persuade.  To change someone’s mind.  To change the world.