The Components of Introductions and Conclusions

Chapter Nine has a multitude of aspects to to think about when developing your introduction and conclusion to a given speech.

Your introduction is your chance to take hold of your audience's attention and keep it! The primacy effect is the influence of first impressions, and basically it means that the audience is going to remember the first part of your speech the most, because it is at the point where they are most attentive. So you need an attention getter, a hook, something to capture their interest. You can cite a fun fact or statistic, tell a story, or even just be funny, clever, or if you are really going for it, witty. Take the moment to relate to the audience, let them know why the topic is of interest to them. Dramatize it, give it flair and use your creativity to the fullest extent possible.

Also be wary of time. If say, you are giving an informative speech in about a week and a half that is only supposed to be 5-6 minutes long, your introduction probably shouldn't take 2-3 minutes. That would be poor planning on your part.

The introduction is also the time and place to introduce your purpose and thesis. Make it very clear what your point is, and what you are going to talk about. This is just like an essay. The introduction is the framework that you are building a speech upon, and a weak foundation makes for a rickety speech. Also take the time to establish your credibility? Why should the audience listen to YOU? What makes you an authority? And lastly, preview your main points. Again, let the audience know what you will be talking about.

Conclusions basically are used to review the main points reinforce the speeches general and specific purpose, and provide closure so that the audience is aware that the speech is over. Like I said in the last post, NO NEW INFORMATION SHOULD BE BROUGHT UP IN THE CONCLUSION! And don't labor your conclusion - people don't need to hear you speech all over again. Keep it efficient and succinct. Bam. Conclusion.

I'm still working on my intro - so I am not going to post it quite yet. It's not quite....refined. I'm going to be talking about Paleo Nutrition, and nutrition is a subject that really, really fascinates me, and I am still trying to shave off time from it so I don't spend five minutes introducing the topic. It's probably going to be something like:

"You've all probably figured out by now that I am a superhero fitness enthusiast, but I bet you didn't pick up on the fact that I am a huge nutrition geek. I'm enrolled in the personal training and nutrition program here at Sierra, and my favorite way to spend my morning is with a cup of coffee and the latest peer reviewed research in Nutritional Science. Woot! And today, my geekery is your gain! I'm going to share with you how to achieve optimal health by following the principles of Paleo Nutrition! I'm going to touch on what foods to avoid because they actually hurt your body, what foods you want to focus on, and what habits you can develop to make a healthier, happier you! Yes!"

Kind of like that. Only, you know, with a thesis and a preview of main points. Maybe an actual hook. I am way too enthusiastic about the subject, and it has resulted in too many pages of brainstorming and outlines. This weekend is dedicated to Speech Only so that I can clean it all up and limit what I am going to talk about. Then I can spend every day of next week making my coworkers listen to me practice.