“KICKING OFF” WITH POWER How to write an effective introduction (this method will be in effect for the rest of the semester)

THE 4 PARTS OF THE INTRODUCTION… 1. Attention Getter -- ALWAYS FIRST! These next 3 can come in the order most logical for your speech: 2. Ethos 3. Pathos 4. Logos

YOUR ATTENTION GETTER… Ordinary Ones for an EssayOrdinary Ones for a Speech Question Quote Compare / Contrast Fact- Odd or Unexpected VERY short narrative / storyLonger Narrative / Story Costume / Appearance (reference it) Props / Pictures (reference them) Something that incorporates movement

YOUR ATTENTION GETTER  You can combine types of Attention Getters! You might even be able to “invent your own” Attention Getter or come up with something not on the list.

YOUR ATTENTION GETTER Biggest mistake you’ll make: Your Attention Getter is too short, and is over too fast to impact the audience or really grab their attention

YOUR ATTENTION GETTER  Another mistake some of you will make: “Hi, my name is _____. I’m going to talk about ______.” That’s not an attention getter. Don’t use it. The first words out of your mouth are your attention getter. Don’t make these the first words out of your mouth.

HERE’S AN EXAMPLE OF AN ATTENTION GETTER “There is something you have to know about me: I love baseball! I’ve been a fan for many years, and spend a lot of time in the summer watching and talking to my friends about games. I especially love seeing a player get a clutch hit, or smacking a home run. I love the crack of the bat when someone really gets ahold of a pitch. For a long time, I wished I knew how to hit a baseball. Now I don’t have to wish anymore—I know how to do it!” Notice that it’s not a short statement -- I go into some details. I’m conveying my enthusiasm, and stating a few casual facts about myself. It is likely that while delivering this, I would have a bat in my hands and even take a few swings (because incorporating movement would fit this real well).

ETHOS…  “ethics;” “it is ethical for me to speak about this because…”  “I know what I’m talking about because…”  “I’m qualified and experienced because…”  “This is what makes me the expert…”

ETHOS… Biggest mistake you’ll make: You won’t give yourself enough credit for being the expert. You’ll gloss over important experiences because you don’t think they’re worth mentioning, and as a result you won’t portray yourself as qualified and knowledgeable.

HERE’S AN EXAMPLE OF ETHOS “I’ve been studying hitting for quite some time. I’ve read several books about it (including one by the greatest hitter in baseball history—Ted Williams’ The Art of Hitting.300), I’ve practiced for years, I’ve had private tutoring from a pitcher and a hitting coach, and most important: I’ve been that guy who got an important hit when the team needed it most. In fact, I’ve won a few games with my clutch hitting.” This is what qualifies me to speak as an expert (ethos). The direct experience I have with the task is what speaks the loudest and gives me the most credibility. Things like “I watched it,” or “I love doing it” are nice to know, but they don’t help your ethos too much.

PATHOS…  “sympathy / empathy”  “You will be better off for listening to me because…”  “Some things you will gain from this speech are…”  “It is to your advantage to listen to me because…”

HERE’S AN EXAMPLE OF PATHOS “By the end, you’ll probably understand a little more about hitting if you don’t know anything already, and if you do know some things, maybe my tips and insights will help you become a better hitter. If nothing else, you’ll be able to talk a little bit about hitting if you’re ever at a game or watch one with friends, or if you find yourself in a baseball conversation. And who knows? Maybe this will interest you so much that you’ll pick up a bat, take some cuts, and find out you have a talent.” Notice how I’m telling the audience directly how they will benefit. I tell them hypothetically, too, how this might help them.

LOGOS…  “This speech will unfold in a logical, reasonable order that will be easy to follow…” (preview your structure)  “These are the main points of my speech…”  “logic”

HERE’S AN EXAMPLE OF LOGOS “I’ll tell you a lot of what you need to know if you want to hit a baseball. This will cover holding a bat, getting into a batting stance, swing mechanics, what to do with your eyes, and following through after you swing. I might throw in a story along the way about one of my batting experiences.” There’s no doubt about how my speech will proceed. Also: Logos should be the shortest part of your introduction.

REMEMBER THESE 4 PARTS:  Attention Getter (always first) Pathos Ethos Logos The last three parts can come in the order that is best for your speech. How will you know the best order?

AND FINALLY… DIGRESSIONS!  A digression is a short anecdote related to what you are presenting Anecdote: a short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident You are required to use it in the demonstration speech You might use it during the Final Exam speech

HERE’S AN EXAMPLE OF A DIGRESSION: “Now I’m going to caution you about getting into your batting stance. If you’re wearing spikes, you’ll be able to dig in nice and solid—but you don’t want to be dug in so hard that you can’t move. Here’s why: You might have a pitcher who pitches inside a lot, and you don’t want to get hit by one of his pitches. You might even have a pitcher with an attitude problem who wants to hit you on purpose. These things happen during games! So stay in your stance, but be light on your feet so you can move quickly if you have to. “I wish I had done that one day six years ago when a former student of mine was pitching to me. We’d been jawing at each other most of the afternoon, and to tell you the truth I was really crushing some of his pitches. One pitch I hit right back at him and knocked him off the mound. I was laughing about it, and he warned me I shouldn’t embarrass a pitcher like that. I dug in nice and firm for his next pitch, and he hurled it right at me. I didn’t even see it break towards me. It plunked me on my left calf, and it hurt! It was a reminder that the pitcher can throw the ball a lot harder than I can hit it—I think he threw it about 75 MPH. The next day, I could see the stitch marks from the ball on my calf. It left a huge ugly bruise on my calf for about two weeks. Plus, I limped around for three days until the swelling finally went down. “So I guess I’m really telling you a few things: Don’t embarrass a pitcher, don’t mouth off when you’re in the heat of the competition, and don’t dig in too hard when you’re at the plate.”

BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR DIGRESSION  Directly applicable to your content; preferably it will tie directly into one of the steps you are demonstrating Short. Short. Short. Tight. Tight. Tight. Don’t “wander around” with it—it will eat up time on your speech if you do, and might cause you to go over time Embarrassing? Humorous? Cautionary?

QUESTIONS?  Remember that the new introduction procedures are in effect the rest of the semester