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The Introduction Grabbers
When delivering a speech the first impression the audience gets of the speaker is particularly crucial in determining their response to the speech. Hence, the introduction of any speech can be the dealmaker or deal breaker in effectively delivering the speech to the audience. When delivering a speech the speaker should start with an introduction before moving to the body of the speech. The introduction serves several purposes that ensure that the audience will pay attention to the speech. One purpose of the introduction is to capture the attention and interest of the audience and maintain this attention throughout the speech.
The second purpose is to reveal the main topic that is to be discussed in the speech. Hence, the introduction should have a clear mention of the main topic the speaker wants to talk about in the speech. The third purpose of an introduction in a speech is to establish the speaker’s credibility to the audience. The speaker states from what position or authority they are giving the speech so that the audience develops confidence in what the speaker has to say in the speech.
The fourth purpose the introduction serves is to establish the speaker’s goodwill depending on what stand the speaker takes concerning controversial topics (Lucas & Lucas, 2009).
The introduction enables the speaker to clarify any doubts and speculation that the audience may develop throughout the speech concerning the controversial topic the speaker is tackling in the speech. The fifth purpose that the introduction sets out to achieve is previewing through the body of the speech by giving an outline of the main points the speech covers. All these purposes are geared towards generating attention of the audience and retaining it throughout the speech. Hence, this paper will discuss the different ways of grabbing the attention of the audience applied in the introduction of a speech. My personal insight is that using an appropriate attention grabber in introducing a speech is the first way to conquer the attention of the audience and retain it throughout the speech.
The first introduction grabber is stating the importance of the topic to the audience in the introduction of the speech. This grabber is used when discussing issues whose importance may not be well understood by the audience. The grabber seeks ways of showing the significance of the topic to the audience through the statistics that exist concerning that topic (Best-Speech-Topics.com, 2012). Emphasizing the importance of the topic to be discussed in the introduction of the speech captures the attention of the audience since their mind is aroused and they want to know more about the topic. This grabber shows the audience that they too need to tackle the issue being discussed in the speech.
The second grabber is using startling remarks directed to the audience concerning the topic. The grabber uses questions directed to the audience about their own personal life that will leave them with many questions to be answered by listening to the speech. This grabber captures the attention of the audience who will concentrate or listen to the speech because it discusses issues that are close to them. The interest the grabber creates in the audience ensures that they listen to the speech attentively so that they do not miss any thing said which provides answers to their puzzles. The grabber employs intrigue to capture the audience’s attention.
The third grabber is relating the audience with the topic covered in the speech. This grabber causes the audience to be more interested in listening to the speech since it relates to them. The grabber captures the attention of the audience and keeps them hooked to the speech since the issue being discussed is something that applies to them occasionally. For the grabber to accomplish its purpose, the speaker needs to come up with a creative way of relating the topic to the audience in a general way so that it grabs the attention of all audiences despite their age, religion or gender.
The fourth introduction grabber is questioning the audience through leading questions or just one question (Gonzales, 2012). This grabber achieves its purpose if the speaker asks a question and gives the audience time to process it for a few moments before asking the next question. This makes the audience question themselves in a deeper way and keeps them attentive to hear more. The grabber also uses rhetorical questions to interest the audience. To keep the audience more interested the speaker can ask them a series of questions that will ensure that their full attention will be on the speaker. The questions should relate to the topic in the speech so that the audience does not get confused.
The fifth introduction grabber is arousing the audience curiosity using statements that increase their curiosity when each is mentioned. These statements get the attention of the audience since they build up on the suspense that keeps the audience attentive so as not to miss what the statements are leading into. This grabber keeps the audience speculating at the back of their mind and with each statement; the audience is more curios to know what is being referred to by all the addresses. This grabber captures the attention slowly with each statement the speaker makes, which guarantees that the audience does not suddenly lose their interest to the speech.
The sixth introduction grabber is the speaker starting the introduction with a quotation. This quotation generates interest among the audience who are curios to know the topic that is discussed in the speech. The quotation should be short and direct rather than long which will make the audience lose concentration. The quote used should relate to the topic of the speech to ensure that once the attention of the audience is captured it will be easier to retain. This grabber works effectively if the quote used contains humor and is bold enough to capture everyone’s attention
The seventh introduction grabber is introducing the speech with a story. In general, people love stories that are told in a dramatic, provocative and an amusing way. Stories create suspense that captures the audience’s attention; hence introducing the speech with a story is an effective grabber. However, the story should relate to the speech so as to avoid confusing the audience. For this grabber to work the speaker should work on the best way to tell the story, and the contents to tell. For a story to have a significant impact, the speaker must maintain eye contact with the audience, use appropriate tonal variation when telling the story and pause to give the audience a moment to absorb the story (Brody, 2010).
The eighth introduction grabber is the use of visual or audio equipments to demonstrate the details on the topic. This visual equipment includes power point, graphs or charts of statistics of the topic being discussed. The audio equipment is a recorded interview of people telling stories that relate to the topic over a cassette tape. This audio and video equipment captures the attention of the audience who are interested in listening or observing the presentation that the speaker is presenting before them.
The ninth grabber is starting the introduction by referring to the occasion where the speech is taking place. Mention the occasion will attract the attention of the audience who are curios to find out how the occasion is related to the topic of the speech. This grabber works particularly well if the significance of the occasion is emphasized in the introduction and related to the topic. The audience pays attention to the speech since it talks about the occasion they are attending.
Reference
Best-Speech-Topics.com. (2012). Speech Introductions. Retrieved from http://www.best-speech topics.com/speech-introductions.html
Brody, M. (2010). Capture an Audience’s Attention: Points on Posture, Eye, Contact and More. Retrieved from http://www.presentation-pointers.com/showarticle/articleid/17
Gonzales, H. (2012). How to Keep an Audience’s Attention. Retrieved From http://www.ehow.com/how_2308695_keep-audiences-attention.html
Lucas, S., & Lucas, S. (2009). Student workbook for The art of public speaking, tenth edition. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.
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