Speech Introductions
Would you be excited about hearing a speech that started like this?
“Good morning. My name is Bob, and I want to talk to you today about corporate ethics.”
That’s not a good way to start. Most of your audience will tune you out immediately if you start a speech like that. Announcing your topic at the beginning of your presentation is one of the worst ways to begin.
Before you clue your audience in as to the topic of your speech, you need to draw them in and create interest. The idea is to spend the first minute or two of your presentation making a strong impression so they can’t help but to listen to rest of it. The first words out of your mouth when you step up to the lectern or podium should be designed to get your audience’s attention.
Here are five different types of attention getters you can use at the beginning of your presentation to get your audience interested:
- Ask a question: I recommend the question be rhetorical (a question that implies it’s own answer and does not require your audience to reply.) A rhetorical question can create interest and get your audience thinking. Overt-response questions (questions asked to elicit a direct, immediate reply) can be tricky because you may not get the response from your audience you were expecting. This can throw you off track, so be careful.
- Use a quote: Quote someone famous or respected by your audience.
- Tell a story: An extended narrative related to your topic can create interest. People love stories. True stories are best, but hypothetical narratives can be effective, as well.
- Make a startling statement: Interesting facts and statistics can be powerful. Make sure they are relevant to your topic and sometimes citing the source can make the fact or stat even more powerful.
- Use a visual: A picture, chart, or object and create interest in your topic. Again, make sure the visual is relevant and explain the visual to your audience.
Whichever type of attention getter you choose, make sure it is relevant to your topic. It’s also great if you can somehow tie your attention getter to your conclusion at the end of your presentation.
One final note, please don’t open your speech with a joke. An amusing or humorous story is probably OK. Otherwise, leave the comedy to the professionals. I know it’s tempting, but if your joke bombs, it’s tough to recover. It’s not worth the risk.
Give an Incentive to Listen
After you’ve got your audience’s attention, the next step in your introduction is to give your audience a reason to listen to your speech. There are two parts to this. First is to relate your topic to the audience. People will (usually) only listen to a speech if there is something in it for them. As a speaker, it is your job to show them what that reason is. Don’t just tell them, show them how your topic is personally relevant to their lives. Don’t assume that the benefits of listening to your speech will be obvious to your audience. Spell it out for them.
After you’ve got the attention of your audience, and shown them why they need to listen, the next step is to explain your credibility. Usually, no one expects you to be an expert on your topic, but they do expect that you’ve done the work necessary to be credible so that your audience will perceive you as trustworthy, believable, and competent enough to discuss your topic. Many speakers shy away from this and tend to understate their expertise, but if it’s very easy to explain your knowledge of the topic without sounding arrogant, and your audience will have more respect for what you have to say.
Preview Your Speech
After you’ve got your audience’s attention, given them a reason to listen, and established your credibility, the final step is to preview your speech. First, you state the central idea of your speech, which should be no more than a single sentence. If you can remember back to your high school English classes, the central idea of our speech is a lot like the thesis sentence of a five-paragraph essay.
After you state your central idea, you preview your main points. Then, make a nice transition to your first main point.
Final Thoughts on Speech Introductions
- Don’t prepare your introduction first: Instead, prepare the body of your speech first.
- Make your introduction easy to follow: The introduction is vital to get your audience into the grove of your speech. Make sure it’s clear, and don’t make it too brief. Spend some time on it.
- Make sure your introduction is directly relevant to the body of your speech: This can create confusion with your audience.
- Never apologize: This will kill your credibility. Never, ever, ever apologize…for anything.
If you are a student and want a better grade on your next speech, be sure to visit GradeMySpeech.com to have a former speech instructor grade your speech before you have to deliver it for real!
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[...] The Attention Step: You accomplish this just as you would in an informative speech/presentation. Read more about getting an audience’s attention here. [...]