How to create a rhetorical speech for a video

Prelude: For anyone, new ideas are hard to present to others for three main reasons. First, people might not be as excited by your product or service as you are. Second, people might not see the opportunity you have seen. Third, people might not know as much as you do.

The entrepreneur (or the person leading the project) needs to make a good speech to inspire others. It will help him/her to overcome difficulties to get understood.

Here is one type of solution that I am introducing.

1st Step – Call for a common ground

Firstly, you will call for common ground between your prospects/customers and your solution. Something that your potential client will agree with you directly. It will tie yourself and your potential customer to a subject.
To do so, you will need to write a list of introduction sentences that will tie you and your prospect. Those arguments need to align with what you sell.

I advise you to write a bunch of them. Pause for hours or days and decide which one is the best.

Example with good quality AirPod -> Sound quality is important Example with cheap AirPod -> Wireless AirPods do not need to be so expensive Example with AirPod for sport -> Is going to the gym without music an option?

Example with Nightclub lighting system -> People come to clubs for unique experiences, and when we think about it, lights play a big responsibility. Example with a special mustard -> Would you like to have a solution to make your food taste great at any time?

Write all the common ground sentence you can have with your clients here.

2nd Step – Logically present your solution.

Now that your audience is listening to you because they agreed with you, it is time to present all the logical arguments that made your offer.

First, you should list all your arguments to start. This needs to present all the benefits of why one should buy from you. Here, you are offering something that will be valuable in the future. The value of what you’re offering is more important than the solution.

Second, think of your funnel. You need to provide arguments to anyone depending on where they are placed on your funnel. From the person who visits your website for the first time to the one who is almost ready to buy. All of them need to find themselves in what you’re saying and why you’re giving arguments.

Third, add any authority argument, no matter what it is. If you have diplomas, experience, worked more than the average, etc. This needs to push the reason for your solution by showing that you know what you are talking about.

Fourth, you can add facts by adding numbers and percentages, etc. This counts as an argument. You should just be careful about how you use them.

Fifth (optional), compare yourself with a stronger competitor. It gives you credit for the ones who are not aligned with the competitor’s position. For example Burger King vs Mcdonald’s. Or Apple vs Microsoft or Apple vs Samsung.

Be careful: Using arguments of money can get you bad customers that subscribe to your offer not for their characteristics but more for the price.

Example of AirPods JBL: List of possible arguments:

● They have a beautiful design

● They have a long battery

● They are lights

● They charge fast

● They fit in a pocket

● They are cheaper/cost their price

● They have great sound

● They are more efficient

● They are life-changing as they simplify your

Here, we have our list of arguments. It’s a bit too much so we need to select only the convincing one.

Top of funnel

● They are more efficient for the same price Middle of the funnel

● They have great sound Bottom of the funnel

● They have a long battery (take out all the doubts and risk one can have)

Authority argument: JBL is already making (good) sound equipment so it’s a good investment.

Comparative argument: For half the price of Apple, you can get the same quality, even superior to Apple.

Write all the arguments you can logically give to your clients.

3rd Step – Call to Action with emotion

In this section, you need to insert a call to action through emotions. Something that will logically say “Subscribe/buy and you’ll receive this positive emotion”. This will close the whole rhetoric loop, the one that will relieve the prospect. The goal here is to let the viewer know that buying your service or product will provoke a positive emotion in him. More time, less stress, more freedom. If a service or a product responds to a need, it will provoke emotion and you should capitalize on that.

I believe this section is the hardest because feeling an emotion is something, but expressing it is something else. For the same prospect, an emotion can be meaningful or meaningless. Someone having children would love to feel freer, while someone who wants to build his career would prefer to feel more powerful/important in his/her work. Both can eventually subscribe to your offer.

I advise you to write a list of emotions that your offer suggests, wait several hours or days, and decide after a certain period which one is the most relevant.

Write all the emotions your can eventually offer to your clients.

4th Step – Write your entire speech

With all the elements we gathered, it is up to you now to write your speech.

Do not hesitate to share that with your friends, family, and people you work with. Honest feedback is needed here even though you need to take into consideration that they are not your prospects.

Do not hesitate to add figures of speech. This will add rhythm to your speech.

I will hence write the speech for you here.

5th Step – Generate the storyboard

Once your speech is written, it will help to generate a storyboard. Your words will be transformed into something visible. Drawings and plans. This will help you to take your video further in the creative process.

Bonus: I once had a classmate who started her speech by presenting a person. Let’s call this person Anna. She explained briefly Anna’s background and her story and why she was using it. First, Anna was someone we all knew.

Then Anna used a solution for logical reasons. Then it gave Anna those feelings.

2 things to notice here:
1. We related to a human for the story. Which was a powerful way of considering the solution.
2. The approach was pretty creative. So nothing stops you from coming up with a creative speech for your ideas.