Podcast | Intermediate Resource

Posted April 2021

  • Context

    — We see lots of speeches on the environment: climate change, pollution, endangered species.

    — The connection between environmental issues and animal welfare, and how we might approach it.

    The Consensus Approach

    — Don’t try to convince us of climate change or environmental facts and examples that are already well known. Try to explore unusual perspectives that might convince us of a new realisation instead.

    — Avoid spending lots of time recounting statistics to make your point. That’s veering us down that path towards an information report rather than a speech. Humanise the costs so that we can understand them rather than quoting numbers.

    — Avoid melding many factors into one speech instead of choosing something specific.

    Takeaways

    — Speeches that are fabricated to be impressive because they deal with a big issue are much less engaging than speeches that come from someone's real heart and interest.

    — Consider what you are going to leave the people who already agree with you. How are you going to extend them through your speech and through your research?