There are some forms of speech-making that do nothing more than convey information, but these forms are rare and quite specific to a particular field. More often, speakers go beyond the simple transmission of information and try to persuade the audience that one ought to hold certain views about the information. To persuade . Most oral communication goes beyond mere reporting of information and attempts to persuade others that a specific conclusion, interpretation, or assessment based on the information is true. The element of persuasion is hardly unique to oral communication, but it usually constitutes a central objective in a speech.
Persuasion occurs when an audience believes that it shares the speaker's conclusions.
It is difficult to determine exactly how this process of persuasion occurs, but the process rests upon the degree to which an audience believes that a speaker ought to be believed. To persuade an audience a speaker must appear to be truthful, well-informed, and sincere. Furthermore, a speaker ought to articulate a conclusion that resonates strongly with the understandings and sentiments of the audience. This link between the information and the conclusion is crucial, and to be persuasive the link must be supported by both the information and a clear explication of the logical relationship between the information and a likely or desired outcome. This connection between the information and conclusion is the argument , a concern which is developed in greater detail below.