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

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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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)

6. 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?

7. 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.”

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

9. 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