purposes of Introductions 10.1 213
Organizing the body of your speech should precede the crafting of the intro-
duction. In Chapter 9, we discussed strategies for organizing the body of your
speech; using previews, transitions, and summaries to signpost your speech for
your audience; and developing a presentation outline and speaking notes. In
this chapter, we will complete our discussion of speech organization by discuss-
ing introductions.
Purposes of Introductions
10.1 explain the functions of a speech introduction.
Within a few seconds of meeting a person, you form a first impression that is
often quite lasting. So, too, do you form a first impression of a speaker and his or
her message within the opening seconds of a speech. The introduction may con-
vince you to listen carefully because this is a credible speaker presenting a well-
prepared speech, or it may send the message that the speaker is ill-prepared and
the message is not worth your time. In a ten-minute speech, the introduction
will probably last no more than a minute and a half. To say that the introduction
needs to be well planned is an understatement, considering how important and
yet how brief this portion of any speech is.
As a speaker, your task is to ensure that your introduction convinces your
audience to listen to you. Specifically, a good introduction must perform five
important functions:
• Get the audience’s attention.
• Give the audience a reason to listen.
• Introduce the subject.
• Establish your credibility.
• Preview your main ideas.
Let’s examine each of these five functions in more detail.Get the Audience’s Attention
A key purpose of the introduction is to gain favorable attention for your speech.
Because listeners form their first impressions of the speech quickly, if the intro-
duction does not capture their attention and cast the speech in a favorable light,
the rest of the speech may be wasted on them. The speaker who walks to the po-
dium and drones, “Today I am going to talk to you about.. .” has probably lost
most of the audience in those first few boring words. Some specific ways to gain
the attention of audiences will be discussed later in this chapter.
We emphasize favorable attention for a very good reason. It is possible to
gain an audience’s attention but in so doing to alienate them or disgust them
so that they become irritated instead of interested in what you have to say. For
10.1