Persuasion: Using Infomercials

I’ve been using this idea for years. I’m not sure I can claim it’s original but I don’t remember where I first heard it and it’s certainly my own version at this point. I created these slides for my public speaker instructors.

Break your class into groups and have each group pick a product to make an infomercial for.  The following slides introduce the activity and give them things to think about. Encourage them to use “testimonials” , “statistics”-they can make them up etc. Each group gets up to enact their commercial while the other groups watch and see if they can see Monroe’s steps and any appeals. Ask for volunteers to tell what they heard/saw and then asked the group who presented if that is what they were going for. This has been a really fun activity that students often point to on their end of year evaluations.