Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

The Five Steps

STEP FUNCTION IDEAL AUDIENCE RESPONSE

To get the audience to listen,
Attention ‘I want to hear what you have
consider these examples:
to say.’
• Rhetorical Questions
• Startling Statement
• Quotations
• Humorous Anecdote
• Illustrations (factual or
hypothetical)
To get the audience to see a
Need ‘I agree. I have that
problem,
need/want.’
• State the problem
• Give examples of the
problem using statistics,
testimony and illustrations
• Explain how the problem
affects listeners
To tell the audience how to fill a
Satisfaction ‘I see your solution will work.’
need or want
• Provide a solution to the
problem, explaining how
your solution addresses the
need.
• Be sure to also address
counter-arguments to your
proposal.
To get the audience to see
Visualization ‘This is a great idea.’
benefits of the solution
• Explain what will happen if
listeners adopt or fail to
adopt your proposal
• Give an actual example of
success
To get the audience to take
Action ‘I want it.’
action
• Explain exactly what you
want the audience to do
and how to do it
• Provide specific information
(who, what, when, where,
how)
• End with strong closing
thought that motivates
listeners to act

SOFT SKILLS 105X PUBLIC SPEAKING