Monroe: Solve the need

3. Solve the need

In the previous section of your speech, you were able to get your audience restless because there is a problem that is real and that can affect them. Now it is the time to introduce your solution. How will you begin to solve the problem that your audience is ready to address?

This should be the biggest part of the speech and it is a very important part because it also relates closely to what the audience will do for you later on. It is also important because you do not want to suggest a very abstract, intangible solution to the problem, but rather something that is achievable and doable, something that people (including your audience) can feel hopeful that it is possible. This is the section where some speakers might make the small mistake to leave the audience somewhere far behind. They might go into very detailed explanations about how the problem is solvable, in their opinion, but don’t forget that you should still keep it relatable to your audience. This is why you really need to know who exactly it is in your audience. If it is donors, for example, the way the problem can be solved should be differently described than it the audience was made up of decision-makers, for example, or public authorities at central government versus local authorities. You  need to adapt describing the solution to the problem according to who is in your audience.

Here are some tips that you should consider when constructing this part of the speech:

• Discuss the facts, expand and detail
• Clearly state what you want the audience to do or believe.
• Summarize your information from time to time as you speak.
• Use examples, testimonials, and statistics to prove the effectiveness of your solution.
• Prepare counterarguments to anticipated objections.

The last bullet point is very important even if many speakers seem to forget about it. You might have people in the audience who are resistant to your arguments and who do not believe the same way as you do. Anybody can be convinced so be prepared to think the same way as they do, for a short while. Remember, however, to not judge! If you attack the people in your audience, it is not very likely that you will manage to convince them. Do not say: “some of you might think that gays and lesbians are sinners” but rather: “there may be people who believe that gays and lesbians are just sinners”. After you anticipated the objection, do not forget to address it with a counterargument. For example: “while such beliefs are very important for many people, they are not relevant when we speak about laws and about human rights standards”. Or: “if someone believes that it is a sin to be gay, then we should not forget that it is also a sin to wear clothes made by more than just one type of fabric”. However you decide to respond to the objection, you should not forget to address it. But do so in a way that will not antagonize your audience.