2004 FIRST PLACE WINNER
PSALT Scholarship Essay
Amy Mashburn

I remember the first time I set foot in a debate class. It was in September of 2002. I had desired to take debate ever since I could remember, and now - finally - my chance had come. I was not nervous, I had given speeches in public settings before. Little did I realize how much I had to learn.

That first class seems ages ago now. Not because of the passage of time, but because of how much I have learned since then. I look back on the persuasive papers and essays I had written before and am astounded by how far I have come. My persuasive skills have increased so much! Over these past four semesters I have learned to be more persuasive in these five ways:

Prepare for opposition. Prior to taking debate, I was often unable to defend my ideas. Through debate, I have found ways analyze at my opinions from an opposition's perspective and prepare to defend my opinions accordingly. This is a valuable life-skill to have learned. Often in this world, we as Christians are questioned about our beliefs. I have learned how to clearly articulate my response.

Support your beliefs with logical, convincing reasons. I've learned that just having a good idea is not enough. There must be supporting reasons for my idea; otherwise, there is no reason to believe it. Support is key in persuasion. If someone walked up to you on the street and said, "Hey, you should buy this car." Surely you would ask the seller, "Why should I buy that car? I already have a car!" If the seller could give you no reason, would you buy the car? Of course not! But if the seller answered you by saying, "Well, the company that makes your current car just announced that it's not safe to drive," you would be more likely to buy the new car. This principle applies to other areas of life, but especially when presenting the Gospel to unbelievers.

Analyze your arguments. Before debate, I would become emotional during arguments and say the first thing that came to my mind. I have discovered that this is not very effective; in fact, this sometimes hurt my ability to persuade others. I can be much more persuasive by carefully scrutinizing which arguments to use. For example, if one is trying to persuade a group of wealthy businessmen to take the subway instead of a cab in order to save them money; they will not be persuaded by this argument because money is not an issue for them. The support for ideas must be something that the listener cares about; otherwise, my words will just go in one ear and out the other.

Listen! This is a huge part of persuasion because it ties the first three ideas together. By listening to what the opposition has to say, I have learned to plan in advance for their arguments and know better how to tailor my arguments to best support my ideas. This increases my ability to persuade my opponents.

Truly believe what you are saying. In other words, be sincere! If I do not believe what I am saying, how can I persuade others? Being genuine can greatly increase one's persuasive powers.

How will these lessons in persuasion help me in the future? Learning to be persuasive reaps great benefits in a Christian's life. Colossians 4:6 states, "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you will be prepared to answer every man." By learning to be persuasive, I am more prepared to defend my faith. That is the ultimate enrichment PSALT has brought to my life.