Assignment 6.2: Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

This assignment supports the following lesson objectives:

• 6.2 Demonstrate knowledge of efficient organizational methods and good form in speech writing

Assignment Overview
This web research assignment explores the use of Monroe’s Motivated Sequence, one of the most common organizational patterns used in sales presentations. By examining a short presentation designed to persuade an audience to buy a product, you will learn more about the persuasive power of the Motivated Sequence pattern. This will not only prepare you to use this organizational pattern, it will make you a more informed consumer.

Deliverables

• A document (12-point font) written in a word processor, such as MS Word

Assignment Details
In this activity, you will watch a short sales presentation for an “As Seen on TV” product. You will match sections of the presentation to the five steps used in the Motivated Sequence pattern for organizing a speech.

Perform the following tasks:

Step 1: Review the information presented in the lesson that discusses the Motivated Sequence pattern for organizing a speech.

Step 2: Copy and paste the table below into a word processing document.

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence Pattern

StepPresentation Content for StepAttention Need Satisfaction Visualization Action
Step 3: Select a short infomercial presentation to watch.
Navigate to the website (Links to an external site.)
Select one of the top selling products featured on the home page and click it to navigate to the main page for the product.
Toward the top of the page, a small window featuring a condensed version of the video commercial presentation is presented. Click the Play button to start the presentation.Step 4: Watch the presentation video.
Watch the short video all the way through once. Then review the five steps of Monroe’s Motivated Sequence pattern.

Step 5: Categorize the information presented in the infomercial into the corresponding steps in Monroe’s Motivated Sequence pattern.
Watch the video a second time, pausing as necessary to fill in the cells in the Presentation Content for Step column in the Motivated Sequence Pattern table in your word processing document. Watch, pause, and rewind as needed to fill in as many examples of statements and information in the table as possible.

Step 6: Below the table, answer the following questions.
What function does the need step serve in the presentation? Why is it included?
What was going through your mind when the content that represented the visualization step was being presented? Did this affect your opinion of the product?
Which step of the Motivated Sequence pattern contained content that you found to be the most interesting?
Why do you think the information presented in this step was the most interesting?
Did the presentation convince you of the value of the product? Why or why not?
How can understanding the Motivated Sequence pattern help you when delivering a persuasive speech? How can it help you as a consumer?Step 7: Save and submit your document.
When you have completed the assignment, save a copy for yourself in an easily accessible place and submit a copy to your instructor using the drop box.