Monroe’s Motivated Sequence – The 5 Steps, Persuasive Speech Outline

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence is a five-step speech outline that aims to persuade or inspire the audience to take action. It is also popular as the Monroe Persuasive speech outline. It is a simple sequence of 5 steps with a clear structure, making it an effective method to organize and deliver persuasive speeches, and influencing audiences to take action. The five steps are Attention, Need, Satisfaction, Visualization & Call to action.

Alan Monroe, an American psychologist, used the psychology of persuasion to develop an outline for making speeches that will deliver results and wrote about it as “Monroe’s Motivated Sequence” in his book Monroe’s Principles of Speech. Monroe Motivated Sequence is seen in many real-life situations such as infomercials and sales pitches. When using this it is important to have a passionate, confident, and extemporaneous delivery. Here we shall see in detail Monroe’s Motivated Sequence outline and the 5 steps in it and further we shall look into an example of the Motivated sequence.

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence – The 5 Steps, Persuasive Speech Outline 

The 5 steps involved in Monroe’s Motivated Sequence are

1. Get the Attention
2. Establish the Need
3. Satisfy the Need
4. Visualize the future
5. Call to Action or Actualization

Get the ATTENTION

Getting the attention of the audience first is crucial to conveying the information you want. Some good ways to gain attention are through Attention Getters such as the use of a story, shocking statistic or fact, quote, an engaging question, etc. The attention getter is the first thing your audience will hear in every speech or presentation. It should grab their attention and make them want to listen to you as the speaker. When trying to figure out which attention getter to use in your speech, think about who your audience is, what is appropriate for the occasion, and what would grab your attention as an audience member. When developing your speech, try using different types of attention getters to see which works best within your speech.

Establish the NEED

After you have gained your audience’s attention, you need to explain the issue at hand. Ask yourself: is there a problem? Is there a need for change? Tell your audience what the problem is and explain why it’s a problem. Explain who is impacted by this issue and how severe it is. Consider how this problem may affect your audience.

If you are having trouble figuring out a problem, think about things that you think need to be fixed or changed. Think about topics you are passionate about and if there is a problem with the status quo that you would like to see changed.

SATISFY the NEED

Once you have established the issue to your audience, you must present them with a solution. You could start by brainstorming on aspects such as, what is the solution to the problem or need? How to accomplish it? What are the steps to arriving at the solution? What are the things to keep in mind to arrive at the solution (cost, accessibility, time, when this needs to happen, who will be involved, etc.)?

“Satisfy the Need” is the main part of your presentation or speech, and the way you drive it will vary significantly, depending on your purpose. Make sure this section is a clear step-by-step plan of the solution. The solution itself may be complex, so make sure this is easy to follow given the context you established when explaining the problem. Make sure to include as much detail as possible to understand the solution, including steps that may seem obvious. A good way to do this is to assume your audience has no idea how to solve the problem or address the need. Clearly state what you want the audience to do or believe. Discuss the facts and 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.

VISUALIZE THE FUTURE

So far, you have the attention of your audience, they agree there is a problem and knows how to reach a solution. The next step is visualization or explaining to your audience how life is going to become when the solution is applied to the problem. Make sure to focus on the benefits. You would also discuss what the situation will look like if the audience does nothing. This may mean touching back on some of the problems to explain how life will be much better when these problems no longer exist.

CALL TO ACTION or ACTUALIZATION

This is the final step in Monroe’s Motivated Sequence. This will be the last thing your audience hears in your speech. You will want to urge your audience to take action, right now, to fix this problem. By this time, your audience would be itching to know what they can do to make a change. You can start with a simple, easy, and immediate task your audience can do such as passing out a flier, signing a petition you brought in, asking your audience to on your website for more information, etc. You could also focus on the first step of your plan and explain how your audience can take that first step. However, don’t overwhelm them with too much information or too many expectations, and be sure to give them options to increase their sense of ownership of the solution.

Summary

Persuasion is termed an art and it doesn’t come naturally to many. For those who want to organize and improve their persuasion abilities, Monroe’s Motivated Sequence is a technique that helps. It is a five-step process of organizing persuasive speeches, which inspire a call to action that has a real impact.

The 5 steps in Monroes Motivated Sequence are

1. Get the Attention
2. Establish the Need
3. Satisfy the Need
4. Visualize the future
5. Call to Action or Actualization

Try this method in your next presentation or speech, you may be surprised with the results.