Make the case
Monroe's motivated sequence
Five steps for a speech that moves people to act: attention, need, satisfaction, visualisation and action.
- Time20 to 40 minutes
- People1 to 6 people
- Steps5
What it's for
The sequence follows how people come round to acting: notice something, see why it matters to them, hear a solution, picture the result, and know what to do now. Skipping a step is how persuasive talks fail, usually by jumping from attention straight to the solution.
It works for a fundraising pitch, an internal proposal or a sales presentation.
How to run it
Attention5 min
A hook: a story, a number or a question.
Need6 min
Show the problem and why it matters to this audience.
Satisfaction6 min
Your solution, and how it meets the need.
Visualisation5 min
Picture the future with it, or without it.
Action4 min
Exactly what you want people to do, starting now.
Tips
- Make the action small and specific. "Support us" is vague; "Approve the pilot on Thursday" isn't.
- Visualisation can show the cost of doing nothing. That is sometimes more persuasive.
Where it comes from
Created by Alan H. Monroe, a professor of speech at Purdue University, in the mid-1930s and published in his textbook Principles and Types of Speech.
Pairs well with
Sparkline
A talk that moves back and forth between how things are and how they could be, then ends on the better future.
Situation, complication, question, answer
Open a report or a pitch with what's true, what changed, the question that raises, and your answer to it.
Positioning statement
Who it's for, the need, what it is, the key benefit, and how it differs from the alternative, in two sentences.