purposes of Introductions 10.1 215
Introduce the Subject
Perhaps the most obvious purpose of an introduction is to introduce the subject
of a speech. Within a few seconds after you begin your speech, the audience
should have a pretty good idea of what you are going to talk about. Do not get
so carried away with jokes or illustrations that you forget this basic purpose.
Few things will frustrate your audience more than having to wait until halfway
through your speech to figure out what you are talking about! The best way to
ensure that your introduction does indeed introduce the subject of your speech
is to include a statement of your central idea in the introduction. For example, in
introducing his speech on the needs of the aged, this speaker immediately estab-
lished his subject and central idea:
If you take away just one thing from what I have to say, I hope you’ll
come to understand in the next few minutes that the exploding popu-
lation of seniors demands a conscious, considered, and collaborative
response to plan for the health, financial, and social implications of an
older population.^4Establish Your Credibility
A credible speaker is one whom the audience judges to be a believable authority
and a competent speaker. A credible speaker is also someone the audience be-
lieves they can trust. As you begin your speech, you should be mindful of your
listeners’ attitudes toward you. Ask yourself, “Why should they listen to me?
What is my background with respect to the topic? Am I personally committed to
the issues about which I am going to speak?”
Nineteenth-century abolitionist Frederick Douglass was renowned as a
great orator. According to biographer Charles W. Chestnutt, Douglass’s audi-
ences recognized him as
a man whose... past history gave him the highest right to describe and
denounce the iniquities of slavery and contend for the rights of a race.^5
Likewise, when the Pope travels abroad, people travel great distances and
stand for hours in extreme heat or cold to celebrate Mass with him. But most of
us cannot take our own credibility for granted when we speak. If you can estab-
lish your credibility early in a speech, it will help to motivate your audience to
listen. Here are three strategies you can use:
• Be well prepared. You will feel more confident if you have carefully researched
and thoroughly rehearsed your speech. If you seem to have confidence in
yourself, your audience will have confidence in you.
• Appear confident. Speaking fluently while maintaining eye contact does
much to convey a sense of confidence.
• Tell the audience of your personal experience with your topic.Instead of thinking
you boastful, most audience members will listen to you with respect. Twitter