Outcomes and Skills

Year 9 Power of Speech • Persuasion • Outcomes

Persuasive speaking is the art of making a case that an audience can accept, resist or question. It combines reasoning, evidence, emotion and presence. The unit teaches students to advocate honestly, to understand the other side and to notice when a speaker is trying to bypass judgement rather than address it.

Unit outcomes

Explain the difference between informing, persuading and manipulating.
Build a clear claim supported by relevant, credible evidence.
Structure a persuasive speech with reasons, evidence and a call to action.
Use rhetorical devices purposefully and sparingly.
Anticipate and refute counterarguments fairly.
Identify common logical fallacies in speech and advertising.
Analyse audience values and adapt an argument without abandoning truth.
Deliver a persuasive speech with credible presence and ethical judgement.

Informing, persuading, manipulating

Mode	Goal	Method	Ethical test
Informing	Understanding.	Explanation, evidence, context.	Is it accurate and complete enough?
Persuading	Agreement or action.	Reasons, evidence, emotion, credibility.	Does it respect the audience's judgement?
Manipulating	Compliance without informed consent.	Deception, pressure, hidden framing, exploitation.	Would the audience agree if it knew the method?

Emotion is not manipulation. A story about a family affected by a policy can be a legitimate reason to care. Manipulation begins when emotion replaces evidence, when facts are hidden, or when the audience is pressured into a decision it cannot properly assess.

How the skills connect

Skill	What it looks like	How to practise it
Claim	A clear, contestable statement.	Turn a topic into a claim someone could disagree with.
Evidence	Relevant, credible support.	Test each claim with “How do you know?”
Reasoning	A visible link between evidence and claim.	Explain the warrant aloud.
Structure	A case the audience can follow.	Build a skeleton before drafting.
Rhetoric	Language that makes the case memorable.	Mark one device and explain its effect.
Refutation	A fair answer to the strongest objection.	Steelman, concede, answer.
Audience	Framing that fits the listeners' values.	Rewrite for a sceptical audience.
Call to action	A specific, realistic next step.	Test the action with a listener.
Ethics	Honesty, fairness and respect.	Audit the speech for manipulation.

I can statements

I can state a claim that someone could disagree with.
I can distinguish evidence from opinion.
I can explain how my evidence supports my claim.
I can structure a persuasive speech with a clear through-line.
I can use a rhetorical device for a specific effect.
I can state the strongest version of the opposing view.
I can answer an objection without misrepresenting it.
I can identify a fallacy and explain why it fails.
I can adapt my argument to a sceptical audience.
I can design a specific and realistic call to action.
I can speak with conviction without aggression.
I can explain the ethical limits of persuasion.

Success criteria for a persuasive speech

Element	A strong speech	A weaker speech
Claim	Clear, contestable and stated early.	Vague or hidden until the end.
Evidence	Relevant, credible and explained.	Unsourced statistics or anecdotes treated as proof.
Reasoning	The audience can see why the evidence supports the claim.	Evidence is dropped in without a link.
Structure	Reasons build in a logical order.	A list of unrelated points.
Rhetoric	Devices sharpen the argument.	Devices decorate or distort.
Refutation	The strongest objection is answered fairly.	A straw man is knocked down.
Audience	Framing fits the listeners' values and knowledge.	The speaker talks only to people who already agree.
Call to action	Specific, realistic and proportionate.	Vague, impossible or coercive.
Ethics	Honest about evidence, uncertainty and method.	Hides information or exploits fear.

Key terms

Term	Working definition
Claim	The position the speaker wants the audience to accept.
Evidence	Information used to support a claim.
Warrant	The reasoning that connects evidence to a claim.
Counterargument	An objection to the claim.
Refutation	A response to a counterargument.
Steelman	The strongest version of an opposing view.
Straw man	A weakened version of an opposing view, set up to be defeated.
Rhetoric	The art of using language to persuade.
Ethos	Credibility or character as projected by the speaker.
Pathos	Emotional appeal.
Logos	Logical appeal.
Fallacy	An error in reasoning that makes an argument unreliable.
False dilemma	Presenting two options when more exist.
Ad hominem	Attacking the person rather than the argument.
Call to action	A specific request for what the audience should do.

Knowledge and skills

Knowledge

Persuasion and manipulation.
Claim, evidence and warrant.
Persuasive structures.
Rhetorical devices.
Common fallacies.
Audience values and framing.

Skills

Building a case.
Selecting evidence.
Refuting fairly.
Using rhetoric purposefully.
Adapting to an audience.
Delivering with conviction.

Next, read what persuasion does for the conceptual foundation. The claims and evidence page begins the practical work.