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I used to think of the problem was organizing the information along the right lines. I studied persuasive essay topics online to see how the experts organized their thoughts. I would copy them, write my own, and do everything I could to mimic the style. I would even listen to people making persuasive speeches at conferences in an effort to understand their thought processes. Nevertheless, it never helped me. If anything, my persuasive speech skills just got worse. Because I was trying to speak in someone else's voice, I would be less confident than before when I tried to make a persuasive speech. It seemed like I would never get it.
Finally, one day, I finally figured out what the problem was. I had been going about my persuasive speech problem all wrong! My problem was not writing a persuasive speech, but learning how to speak to people. It seems obvious in retrospect, but at the time it came as a revelation. I could make a persuasive speech if I could just become comfortable. I took classes in becoming a confident speaker, and within a year I was much better at doing it. Although I never will be able to make a persuasive speech with the ease of a skilled salesman, I can hold my own nowadays. I have met with more success than ever before in my career, and I continue to advance. It is amazing what delivering a persuasive speech can do!
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