- Get the attention and interest of the audience.
- However, just getting their attention is not enough! You have to make them want to listen to your speech.
- Reveal the topic of your speech.
- By the end of the introduction there should be no doubt in the audience's mind as to exactly what your speech is about.
- Establish credibility and goodwill.
- Basically, reassure the audience that you are sincere and are not trying to deceive them. If goodwill is not quickly established, your audience can easily ignore your message or become very suspicious. On the other hand, audiences will forgive a lot of mistakes by a speaker they like or at least that they feel likes them.
- Establish WHY the audience should listen to you.
- This is the audience's first impression of you, so it is important to make a good impression. If you don't give the audience a compelling reason why they should listen, then it's doubtful that you will keep their attention very long.
- Keep it brief.
- If it is too long, you will begin to lose the audience's attention. You should leave the development of major points to the body of the speech. A good rule of thumb is that your intro should not be more than 10-15% of your speech.
- Use visual language.
- Use vivid adverbs and adjectives to appeal to all five senses. Try to "paint the air" with visual images.
- Use an attention getting device.
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Stories - keep them short and dramatic.
Shocking statistics - make sure that they are both shocking and easily understandable.
Quotations - keep them brief and to the point.
Rollovers - a story that is begun in the introduction and finished in the conclusion. Relate everything to the audience.
(Editor's note: Frank P. Connelly, DTM, is the newly elected International Director for Region 8. He will continue in the next issue with "Effective Conclusions.")
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