Chapter 10

Introductions
and
Conclusions
 Introductions and Conclusions:
Introduction
An effective introduction:
Builds audience interest
Orients audience members to the speech
Establishes your credibility as a speaker
A strong conclusion leaves the audience
with an enduring impression of your
speech.
 Introducing Your Speech

Gain your audiences

attention.
Use an attention-
getter: material that
will capture your
audiences attention
and interest at the start
of the speech.
Introducing Your Speech (cont.)

Tell a story or
anecdote.
Use a story that is
relevant to your main
message.
Make sure the story
takes an appropriate
amount of time and
comes across as
believable.
Introducing Your Speech (cont.)

Offer a striking or provocative statement.

Surprise listeners by presenting a fact or startling
idea that is new, ironic, or counterintuitive.
Use dynamic language to grab the audiences
attention.
Introducing Your Speech (cont.)

Build suspense.
Provide an ambiguous or unfinished example to
increase your audiences curiosity.
Introducing Your Speech (cont.)

Let listeners know youre one of them.

Highlight similarities or shared interests between
you and the audience.
Be sure to assert genuine common ground.
Introducing Your Speech (cont.)

Use humor.
Put the audience at ease by telling a joke or
amusing story, or making some other humorous
reference.
Make the humor relevant to your topic, audience,
and the occasion.
Avoid offensive humor.
Note that using humor can be a high-risk/high-
reward approach.
Introducing Your Speech (cont.)

Ask a rhetorical question.

Answered by listeners in their heads
Ensure that the question gets listeners thinking
about your speech topic.
Avoid overly general questions that do not address
audiences real concerns and issues.
Introducing Your Speech (cont.)
Introducing Your Speech (cont.)
Provide a quotation.
Quote someone with high credibility whom your
audience likes and respects.
Consider using a thought-provoking or
counterintuitive quotation.
Consider quoting an expert in the field as an
attention-getter.
 Introducing Your Speech (cont.)
Signal your thesis.
The thesis statement should:
Reveal the speechs bottom line
Focus listeners attention on your message
Clearly convey your topic and your purpose for
delivering the presentation
Be specific and include a signpost that makes it
clear your attention-getter is finished
Introducing Your Speech (cont.)
 Introducing Your Speech (cont.)
Show your audience whats in it for them.
Provide one sentence or short paragraph that
indicates why the audience should take an
interest in your topic.
 Introducing Your Speech (cont.)
Establish your credibility.
Explain how you have gained knowledge about your
topic.
Emphasize your most relevant credentials.
Adopt a modest, non-superior tone.
 Introducing Your Speech (cont.)
Preview your main points.
Preview: A brief statement of the main points
you will be developing in the body of your
speech
Lets your audience know what main ideas to
expect and helps them visualize the structure of
your speech
Use signposts to help listeners understand
the structure of your speech.
Introducing Your Speech (cont.)
 Concluding Your Speech
Transition to your conclusion.
Use transitional language that signals youre
ready to wrap up your presentation.
Summarize your main points.
A summary is a brief review of your main
points.
Summarize your main ideas in a compound
sentence covering each main point, or restate
each point in a complete sentence.
Concluding Your Speech (cont.)
Be sure your summary includes each main
point from your speech.
 Concluding Your Speech (cont.)
Finish with a memorable clincher.
A clincher should:
Be about 30 seconds long
Leave an imprint on audience members minds
Ways to craft a good clincher:
Tie your clincher to the introduction.
End with a striking sentence or phrase.
Highlight your thesis.
Conclude with an emotional message.
End with a story or anecdote.