effective Introductions 10.2 219
“As a distinctive childhood culture wastes away, we watch with fascina-
tion and dismay.” This insight of Neil Postman, author of Disappearance of
Childhood, raised a poignant point. Childhood in America is vanishing.^11Because the expert was not widely recognized, the speaker included a brief state-
ment of his qualifications. This authority “said it in a nutshell”—he expressed in
concise language the central idea of the speech.
Although a quote can effectively introduce a speech, do not fall into the lazy
habit of turning to a collection of quotations every time you need an introduc-
tion. There are so many other interesting, and sometimes better, ways to intro-
duce a speech that quotes should be used only if they are extremely interesting,
compelling, or very much to the point.
Like the methods of organization discussed in Chapter 9, the methods of
introduction are not mutually exclusive. Very often, two or three are effectively
combined in a single introduction. For example, Thad combined a quotation
and an illustration for this effective introduction to a speech on the funeral
industry:
“Dying is a very dull, dreary affair. And my advice to you is to have
nothing whatsoever to do with it.” These lingering words by British
playwright Somerset Maugham were meant to draw a laugh. Yet the
ironic truth to the statement has come to epitomize the grief of many,
including Jan Berman of Martha’s Vineyard. In a recent interview with
National Public Radio, we learn that Ms. Berman desired to have a home
funeral for her mother. She possessed a burial permit and was legally
within her rights. But when a local funeral director found out, he lied to
her, telling her that what she was doing was illegal.^12Humor
Humor, handled well, can be a wonderful attention getter. It can help to relax
your audience and win their goodwill for the rest of the speech. University of
Texas Professor of Journalism Marvin Olasky told this humorous story to open a
speech on disaster response:
Let me begin with a Texas story about how officials do offer help. It
starts with a mom on a farm looking out the window. She sees the family
cow munching on grass and her daughter talking with a strange man.
The mom furiously yells out the window, “Didn’t I tell you not to talk to
strangers? You come in this house right now.” The girl offers a protest:
“But mama, this man says he’s a United States senator.” The wise mother
replies, “In that case, come in this house right now, and bring the cow in
with you.”
Let’s talk about responses to disaster.^13
Another speaker used humor to express appreciation for being invited to
speak to a group by beginning his speech with this story: