Speech introduction has five purposes: 1: Get the audience\'s attention; 2: intr

Question

Speech introduction has five purposes: 1: Get the audience's attention; 2: introduce (announce) the subject; 3: Give the audience reason to listen; 4: Establish credibility; 5: Preview your main ideas.

For effective introduction, you can utilize several methods of introducing a speech (illustration, audience-involve questions, quotes, startling facts, reference to occasion, humor, etc....).

Read the two introductions below and tell us what types of methods (informative, persuasive, entertaining, none) the speakers are using, were all the purposes of the introduction achieved, identify the central idea, and were each introduction effective? Why or why not?

1: Libby was running late to a banquet in which she was the spotlight speaker. She didn’t get time to eat with everyone and barely made it into her seat before she was introduced to the audience and expected to speak. When she began her speech, she offered an extensive apology for being late, attempting to explain in a humorous way how she fought traffic to get to the event. Because she was rattled, the story ran long and was disjointed. Finally, Libby made a rather abrupt shift into her first main point.

2: Miguel spoke to dorm residents about stress and depression leading to suicide. He gave current statistics on the rising rate of suicide among college-aged persons and offered useful suggestions for spotting depression in oneself and friends, so as to prevent someone’s suicide attempt or back away from the thought ourselves. After his summary of points, Miguel told a moving story about his brother’s suicide attempt – how he pulled him from the “clutches of death.” His last line in the speech was, “Life really is precious, no matter how bad it seems in one moment, one day, one year, I know, my brother knows, that the sun really does come up again in the morning and it can be an incredible day.”

Explanation / Answer

1) Libby didnot do a good job with this type of introduction. Libby has already been late. Now, spending time more on giving reasons for being late would make audience feel that time is being wasted by her, creates an impression of Libby that she can't plan and manage. There are chances that audience may feel that Libby is buying some time as she might not yet be ready to start the topic of focus. First impression of Libby is not a favourable one. As she abruptly shifted to the main point. she didnot introduce the subject well to the audience

2) Miguel did a good job. He introduced the topic well. By mentioning the statistics , he can gain both the attention and credibility of audience. By quoting real life example, he reinforced the trust and credibility. Generally people believe live experiences and ones heard from people who have personally experienced those. By ending it with a motivational quote, he again stressed on the main topic.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse S
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.