Techniques for Better Introductions

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Techniques for Better Introductions

D = Definition

Use a dictionary definition of a word related

to your topic.

Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines an athlete as “A person possessing the natural or acquired traits, such as strength, agility, and endurance, that are necessary for physical exercise or sports, especially those performed in competitive contexts.”

Q = Quotation

Use a quote from literature or a well-known person to introduce your topic.

Anton Chekhov once wrote, “Sports are positively essential. It is healthy to engage in sports, they are beautiful and liberal, liberal in the sense that nothing serves quite as well to integrate social classes, etc., than street or public games.”

Q = Question

Ask your reader a question to introduce your topic.

What constitutes an athlete in today’s society?

B = Basic Fact

Use an accepted fact to create interest in your topic.

Ballet dancers spend more time engaged in cardiovascular and weight training on a weekly basis than the average NFL player.

A = Anecdote

Use a brief story to draw the reader into the topic.

A classically trained ballet dancer and her boyfriend a nationally ranked college football running back both signed up for a mini triathlon. She exceeded his scores in two of the three events and ultimately beat him in the overall competition.

S = Statistic

Use documented numerical information to create interest in your topic.

Ninety six percent of ballet dancers spend more than twenty hours per week doing cardiovascular and weight training to support the physical requirements of dancing.

H = Historical Fact

Use historically documented information to introduce your topic.

Beginning in the mid-1960s ballet began to show the influence of a younger audience in both themes and style. The athleticism of dancing was enjoyed in much the same way as sports and virtuosic steps were admired for their challenge and daring.

www.ccs.neu.edu/home/yiannis/dance/history.html