The art of persuasion in public speaking (expected and unexpected gifts)

What if your next persuasive speech leaves your audience with gifts they never saw coming?

Gifts they will remember and treasure – long after they leave the room?

Read on to learn the expected and unexpected gifts of persuasion, and why the art of persuasion in public speaking is an act of service, not self-promotion.

The only question now is this:

Will you be the speaker who gives these gifts?

One piece of advice I give to public speakers who need to convert their nervous energy into radiant energy ahead of a persuasive presentation or keynote speech is this:

What comes next from them is always a smile – a visible sign of relief.

Make no mistake:

When you’re on stage, what you have to share – your words, your stories, your message – is a gift to your audience.

What’s more? If you are 100% intentional about what you have to say in remarks designed to persuade – you have many gifts to give that your audience will carry with them long after they leave the room.

These are the obvious, expected gifts you give when you create and deliver an effective persuasive speech – but as a speaker, you may not take the time to think about or even acknowledge them as gifts to your audience.

These expected gifts that come from the art of persuasion in public speaking are:

• The gift of perspective – a new way to view a problem or opportunity in the world
• The gift of recognition – an assurance that struggles, fears and hopes are seen
• The gift of hope – a belief, grounded in truth, that something better awaits
• The gift of clarity – no more confusion; just clear steps ahead
• The gift of courage – the strength to face a change with confidence and conviction

Indeed: Persuasion IS an act of service.

It’s about giving – not taking.

Providing something of value that helps other people move forward.

In a persuasive speech, the gifts of perspective, recognition, hope, clarity and courage are valuable gifts for this reason:

They show people what is possible so they can move forward.

When was the last time you heard a persuasive speech that gave you these gifts?

A speech that moved you so deeply you couldn’t stop thinking about it?

A speech that showed you what is possible?

And helped you move forward?

‘Air’ monologue mastered the art of persuasion in public speaking

Over the weekend, my husband and I watched the 2023 movie “Air,” based on the true story of how Nike revolutionized sports marketing by signing rookie Michael Jordan to create the Air Jordan brand beginning in 1984.

Matt Damon plays Sonny Vaccaro, a Nike talent scout who risks his career to persuade Jordan’s family and Nike executives – against all the odds – to take a risk and make a deal.

Vaccaro champions Jordan’s potential, ultimately securing a groundbreaking partnership that forever reshaped basketball, sneaker culture and brand endorsements.

This movie is a story of vision, persuasion and transformation.

If you haven’t seen it, watch it.

Listen to it.

At the very least, watch and listen to Vaccaro’s monologue toward the end: 2 minutes, 17 seconds of breathless, impassioned persuasion.

Because by then, it’s down to the wire: Vaccaro has one last chance to persuade Jordan’s mother and father, Deloris and James, and Jordan himself, to sign with Nike.

Everything’s on the line.

The deal would either make Nike – or break it.

Here are several standout excerpts from the monologue.

Vaccaro says:

I’m gonna look you in the eyes, and I’m gonna tell you the future. …

You’re gonna win championships.

It’s an American story, and that’s why Americans are gonna love it. …

People are gonna build you up.

God, are they going to! …

Once they’ve built you as high as they possibly can, they’re gonna tear you back down.

It’s the most predictable pattern.

We build you into something that doesn’t exist, and that means you have to try to be that thing all day, every day.

That’s how it works. …

Who are you, Michael?

That will be the defining question of your life, and I think you already know the answer, and that’s why we’re all here.

A shoe is just a shoe until somebody steps into it.

Then it has meaning.

The rest of us just want a chance to touch that greatness.

We need you in these shoes, not so you have meaning in your life, but so that we have meaning in ours. …

You’re gonna be remembered forever, because some things are eternal.

You’re Michael Jordan.

And your story is gonna make us want to fly.

Surprises all around

When I heard Vaccaro’s speech in its entirety?

It literally took my breath away.

When the stakes were the absolute highest, Vaccaro gave a speech that led to YES.

Despite all the odds, Michael Jordan signed with Nike.

If you saw the movie, you know that all the expected gifts were there:

Perspective. Recognition. Hope. Clarity. Courage.

But here’s the thing:

There were also unexpected gifts – surprise gifts! – that made this speech in the movie extraordinary.

And ultimately led to YES.

What were these unexpected gifts connected to the art of persuasion in public speaking?

Gifts that people in the room with Vaccaro never saw coming?

Here they are:

1. The gift of self-discovery

Vaccaro deftly held up a mirror. And in mere minutes, Michael Jordan saw himself more clearly (and so did his family) in ways they did not anticipate.

2. The gift of permission

Vaccaro gave Jordan permission to dream bigger based on Nike’s vision of the future. With this vision, Vaccaro freed Jordan and his family from silent, self-imposed constraints based on what they thought they knew about endorsements.

3. The gift of unity

With every word Vaccaro spoke, each person in that boardroom became bound in tight community: every Nike executive around the table, together with Jordan, his mother and his father. They became one.

4. The gift of breakthrough

Vaccaro put into words what Jordan and his parents dared not say aloud. A heavy weight was lifted. And suddenly, the way ahead was clear (especially for the assertive, intuitive Deloris Jordan, who drove the negotiation).

5. The gift of shared vulnerability

Vaccaro demonstrated empathy and a profound understanding of the human condition when he said to Jordan: “You’re going to be attacked, betrayed, exposed and humiliated, and you’ll survive that. A lot of people can climb that mountain. It’s the way down that breaks them, ’cause that’s the moment when you are truly alone.” Expressing our shared vulnerability as human beings made Vaccaro powerfully persuasive.

6. The gift of beauty

Vaccaro’s line – “A shoe is just a shoe until somebody steps into it” – is simple, rhythmic, poetic, metaphoric. Unforgettable. Beauty persuades because it delights.

7. The gift of wonder

On paper, the Nike deal was a long shot for Jordan and his family. But the story Vaccaro told in person that day struck with unexpected resonance. Deloris Jordan, for one, reimagined what was possible. Soon after, she single-handedly made a new deal – and forever changed the rules of the game.

Let’s sum it all up: the art of persuasion in public speaking

Yes indeed: Persuasion is service.

An act of generosity.

As a public speaker, you go on stage to give – to provide something of value that helps everyone in your audience move forward.

So here’s the question to ask yourself the next time you apply the art of persuasion in public speaking:

Beyond the expected gifts of perspective, recognition, hope, clarity and courage, what unexpected gifts will you give?

The kind audiences don’t see coming, but will carry out of the room and treasure long after your speech is over?

Need help ensuring your speeches and presentations will persuade?

Contact Teresa Zumwald: a 21-time winner of the Cicero Speechwriting Awards who delivers custom speechwriting services, plus executive speech coaching, executive communication, and speaking and training.