“The beginning is the most important part of the work.” -Plato SPEECH INTRODUCTIONS “The beginning is the most important part of the work.” -Plato

Introduction Basics… The beginning section of your speech May be as short as a few sentences No more than 10% of the speech

What is its Purpose? Grabs the attention of the audience Gains the goodwill of the audience and establishes your credibility as a speaker Develops the audience’s interest in the topic of the speech

Attention, Goodwill, Interest: Attention: find a way to get your inherently distracted audience to FOCUS on YOU! Goodwill: Audience respect or positive feeling for the speaker as a person; what you say in your opening remarks and the way you say it (tone, inflection, non- verbals) Interest: Refers to the involvement or concern your audience shows about topic

SIX Introduction Techniques Relate the topic to the audience Startling statement; arouse curiosity Question the audience (Rhetorical) Quotation Tell a Story (could be an anecdote) or tell a Joke (must apply to your topic.) Imagery (usually this happens in a story)

DON’T FORGET You must clearly state the topic of your speech. You must prepare your audience for the rest of the speech by establishing and PREVIEWING your topic. It is possible to state your topic without saying “My topic is…” Listen to this sample introduction. What technique is being used, and what is the topic?

The DO NOT’S of Intro’s… “Today I want to talk to you about bicycle maintenance.” “My speech is about calligraphy—the art of handwriting.” “My topic is how to buy a pet.”

Listen and Guess Volunteers will read sample introductions. You must guess to see which technique is being used.

What is the Preview Statement? One sentence in length Identifies the subtopics from the outline of your speech (A, B, C) It prepares the audience for what they will hear in the body of your speech Similar to a thesis statement in a paper