Speech Introductions

The speech "introduction" sets the tone of the entire speech. The introduction should be brief and to-the-point as it accomplishes many jobs, including these four important tasks.

Introductions
Elements of an Introduction
1. Attention Getter According to our text, "The most important function of the speech introduction is to be sure you have the audience's attention before you do anything else in your speech". It should be the first thing the speaker says or does. Tactics for Gaining Audience's Attention Facts and Statistics Stories, Narratives, Illustrations or Anecdotes Quotations Humor Questions References 2. Thesis Sentence One single declarative sentence that summarizes the speech. This can be as simple as, "Today, I will discuss the effects of not voting." 3. Relevance to Audience As stated in our textbook, audience's want to know quickly why your speech is relevant to them. The speaker's job is to let the listeners know why the message is important or interesting. 4. Speaker Credibility During the speech introduction, a speaker should clearly tell the audience how the speaker knows the topic or how the speaker has a relationship with the topic. It also helps to point out what you have in common with the listeners and to be confident about the message you have to share. 5. Preview Statement A preview statement tells the audience what they can expect from the speech. The preview is usually only a sentence or two and tells the listeners what main points will be covered.