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Learning Objectives

  • Grab the audience’s attention with rhetorical strategies that are memorable and effective.
  • Organize your introduction to gain the audience’s attention.

Introductions

Speech introductions are an essential element of an effective public speech. Introductions have four specific functions that must be met in a short period of time. In a proper introduction you will want to:

  1. Gain the audiences attention
  2. Provide background information
  3. Establish credibility
  4. State the purpose of the speech (thesis statement) and preview the main points

Gaining the audience’s attention

Yelling mouth

“Yell” by Vetustense Photorogue. CC-BY-NC.

The first function of the introduction is to get the attention AND the interest of the audience. The “and” here is important. Anyone can walk into a room full of people sitting quietly, and YELL AT THE TOP OF THEIR LUNGS. That will get attention. However, it will probably not garner much interest—at least not much positive interest.

Gaining attention and interest is essential if you want the audience to listen to what you have to say, and audiences will decide fairly quickly if they want to pay attention. Standing in front of an audience, slouched, hands in pockets, cap pulled low over your head, and mumbling, “my name is… and I am going to tell you about…” is an effective method of NOT getting attention and interest. Before you even open your mouth, your attire, stance, and physical presence are all sending out loud signals that you have no interest in the speech, so why should the audience.

 

 

There are several ways to captivate an audience. Here are a few ideas to gain the audience’s attention:

  • Startling statistics – “23 percent of Facebook’s users check their account five or more times every day”. Source Link
  • Story telling – “There was a time in my life when I decided to quit working, sell my house, and backpack through Europe. One day, I met the most interesting person that changed the outlook of my life”
  • Refer to recent or historical events – During the recent pandemic…
  • Directing the audience to do something – Close your eyes and imagine… turn your head and look at…
  • Analogy – “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get”.
  • Quotation – “Well behaved women seldom make history.” Eleanor Roosevelt
  • Use Humor – “Knock-knock…” In all seriousness, if you are not funny or do not have a gift of joke-telling, you might consider steering clear of this one!
  • Ask a Rhetorical Question – “What is the purpose of life?”

Deciding on an attention getting strategy

Great, you now have a few options in your tool-kit; but, which one do you choose? Consider the audience – how effective will this attention getter be for this audience? How confident and comfortable are you in delivering these first few sentences? For example, if you choose story-telling but are uncertain you can be clear and concise, perhaps that strategy is not for you. You might refer back to the brainstorming process to narrow down the attention getter – what are you planning on telling this audience later in the speech? Your attention getter can serve as a way to hook them in… how will you keep them engage throughout the rest of the speech? These are important questions to ask when developing the introduction. Often times students over-load their introductions with TOO MUCH INFORMATION. If you do not nail down a proper attention-getter, it is easy to get off track right away and engage in information overload. To avoid this, decide on ONE attention getter and move on to your next step.

 

Activity

Background information

The background information will demonstrate a basic understanding of the speech topic and the specific purpose of the speech. Background information should follow the attention-getter and set the tone of the speech. If you are speaking about the use of social media across college students you might consider defining what social media is or how college students are using social media. The background is brief, you are attempting to give general information about your speech topic in this section. You will elaborate on these ideas in the main point.

Credibility

This is vital to the success of your speech. Credibility lets the audience know you are qualified to speak on the topic; it gives them a reason to trust and believe the information you are sharing. Ask yourself: Why am I credible to speak on this topic to this audience? What credentials do I have? What former training do I have? What research and/or classes have I taken? Any and/or all of these questions can lead to your credibility. Knowledge or experience you have are considered your internal credibility. When you use and state sources the audience finds credible, it is considered external credibility.  Your credibility should be stated in a succinct sentence or two.

As a college student interested in the effects of social media, I have spent the past two years reading the effects of social media on students in my age-group. During these two years, I have taken 3 courses that covered social media and self-esteem, social media and culture, and social media and peer-pressure.

Thesis/Preview

A thesis is a declarative statement that lets your audience know what your speech is about. The preview is often referred to as a “road map”. We will cover the construction of thesis statements in a future reading. It is important to note that the thesis statement comes after your credibility and builds to the preview of the speech. Some instructors teach these separately or as a conjoined sentence. Either way, you will want to have a clear thesis statement and a preview of the main points of your speech.

 

Preview of Speech

The final part of an introduction contains a preview of the major points to be covered within your speech. The preview statement will come directly after you state your thesis statement. I’m sure we’ve all seen signs that have three cities listed on them with the mileage to reach each city. This mileage sign is an indication of what is to come. A preview works the same way. A preview foreshadows what the main body points will be in the speech.

  • For example, to preview a speech on bullying in the workplace, one could say:
    • “To understand the nature of bullying in the modern workplace, I will first define what workplace bullying is and the types of bullying, I will then discuss the common characteristics of both workplace bullies and their targets, and lastly, I will explore some possible solutions to workplace bullying.”
      • In this case, each of the phrases mentioned in the preview would be a single distinct point made in the speech itself. In other words, the first major body point in this speech would examine what workplace bullying is and the types of bullying; the second major body point in this speech would discuss the common characteristics of both workplace bullies and their targets; and lastly, the third body point in this speech would explore some possible solutions to workplace bullying.

Key Takeaways

Now that you know the Introduction basics, you can begin considering how to format an introduction and connect to the audience by utilizing a strong attention getter.

  • In order to start a speech that is coherent and captivating, students must spend time crafting a well-developed introduction.
  • Attention-getters are the first thing your audience should hear, be sure that it is verbally and nonverbally enticing.
  • The introduction should be carefully planned and executed; the introduction lasts with the audience throughout the speech.

References

  1. Aristotle (1982). The art of rhetoric. (J.H. Freese, Trans.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ↵
  2. Townsend, C. (2007, February 5). Spring break in Mexico. Speech posted at http://msustr0.campus.mnsu.edu:8080/cah/gorgias/333/MMS/Cassie.wmv ↵

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Public Speaking Copyright © by Dr. Layne Goodman; Amber Green, M.A.; and Various is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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