A speaker giving a persuasive speech should stand confidently and comfortably. He should not be stiff or make nervous movements. If he uses a podium, he should not lean or rest his hands on the podium for more than a second or two at a time. He should move comfortably around and make natural, effective gestures that emphasize main points. He should not use filler words such as "like," "you know," "ummmm," or "so." He should look directly at the audience, making eye contact frequently. He should not look down at his hands or read notes directly from notecards or a piece of paper. His voice should be loud enough to be heard, and he should use a pleasant pitch that varies throughout the speech. He should use appropriate language for the subject matter and the audience, both in terms of the difficulty of the vocabulary and avoiding slang and profanity.
In the verbal areas of a persuasive speech, first evaluate the introduction. The speech should start off with an interesting fact, a surprising statistic, a story or some other tidbit that grabs your attention immediately. The speaker should tell you what he's speaking about, why it's important and what he thinks should be done. The thesis, or main point, of a persuasive speech should be clear. Generally, the thesis is what the speaker thinks needs to be done about a particular issue. Evaluate the introduction and thesis of the speech using these criteria.
In the body of the speech, the persuasive speaker should build a strong case using strong claims supported by valid evidence. Evaluate the speaker's arguments. Determine if he uses only his own opinions or those of unreliable sources such as talk show hosts or friends, or if he has strong sources. Some strong sources are scientific research, experts who have studied the subject for years and research statistics that back up the speaker's claims. Evaluate whether or not the speaker has presented the problem clearly, told the audience why it is important, then given a reasonable, fact-supported plan for what to do about it and how taking that action will help.
A persuasive speech needs to end with a bang. Evaluate the closing of the speech. A good persuasive speaker will summarize his main points, then tell the audience what should be done to make things better. A good persuasive speech leaves the audience with a call to action; an imperative to do something to solve a problem.