Introductions:

Attention Material:

Scene set:

--Description of a setting using vivid imagery

--War

--Pollution

--Romance

Tell a Story:

--A narrative account that leads into or exemplifies your topic

--Real

--Hypothetical

Real

Shocking/Startling fact (Make a Provocative Statement)

--Shock or surprise the audience with a statement or fact they don’t expect.

--Turn a statistic into a startling fact

--“25% “1/4of Americans will get cancer” becomes “Of the 30 of you in the class right now, seven of you will be stricken with cancer.”

Ask a question

--Rhetorical

--You don’t neither want nor expect a response

--USE CAREFULLY; BEWARE OF IDIOTS

--Overt Response

--You DO want a response

--Raised hands are better than vocal responses

--USE CAREFULLY AND RARELY; BEWARE OF IDIOTS

--General guidelines:

--Don’t drag out guessing game too long

--Avoid embarrassing or personal questions

--Don’t ask loaded questions (How many of you are smart enough to realize….)

--Be prepared for them not to give the answer you want

--Best to ask for a show of hands so they KNOW how you want them to respond

--Ask for the show of hands first, then ask the question

Quotation

--Use powerful words (preferably of an expert) to interest your audience

--Must be on topic!

--Keep it short enough to keep our interest but long enough to cover the subject

--Introduce the speaker first, THEN give the quote

--If it’s too short or complicated, feel free to repeat it and really draw the attention of the audience to the quote

Arouse curiosity

--Make a statement that makes the reader want to hear more

--You’re addicted to a drug (Television, video games, internet….)

Give an incentive to listen

--Answer WIIFM (What’s in it For Me?)

--relate your relate the topic to their lives and interests

Orienting the audience:

Preview the body of the speech:

  • State the central idea
  • State the main points

Give background information

--Define any unfamiliar terms for your audience

Establish Credibility

--Tell how and why you’re an expert

--Provide names and credentials of the experts you used

Guidelines:

Don’t prepare the introduction before the body of the speech (Attention material is prepared last; orienting material is prepared first)

Simple & easy to follow; not too brief

Obvious, direct tie-in with body of speech

NEVER APOLOGIZE