Such talks are called informational . Now we move to talks in which you may provide some information, but your primary purpose is to persuade and then start or lead a discussion. When you aim to persuade an audience you want them to adopt a new position or belief, to change their minds, to sway their opinions, or perhaps even to be move them to action. Persuasion calls for a speaker to advocate one position among others that are possible and to be willing to defend it against challenges. When you introduce a discussion, you will need to know something about what some would call argument .
Arguments are claims backed by reasons that are supported by evidence .
Argumentation is then a social process of two more people making arguments, responding to one another not simply restating the claims and reasons and modifying or defending there positions accordingly. Claims are statements about what is true or good or about what should be done or believed. Claims are potentially arguable. The rest of the world can t really dispute whether I liked the book or not, but they can argue about the benefits of liberal arts. Reasons are statements of support for claims, making those claims something more than mere assertions.