Chapter 9Making Lasting Impressions:

Introductions and Conclusions

Why are Introductions and Conclusions Important?

The Opening and Closing of a speech can make or break it. Primacy-recency effect

Give listeners a framework for grasping the topics and main points of your speech.

Clearly defined intro and conclusion can help reduce speaking anxiety by increasing your confidence.

Developing Effective Introductions

Capturing Audience Interest Your first sentence should capture

your audience’s interest. The attention catcher you choose for

your introduction is crucial and must be unique enough to capture your audience’s attention.

Types of Attention Catchers

Questions Questions are particularly useful

when related to the audience or the topic.

Use rhetorical questions or direct questions.

Direct questions can be difficult because your audience might not know how to respond.

They can also increase your anxiety. The benefit is that they physically

involve your audience so they are more engaged and attentive.

Types of Attention Catchers

Quotations A quote can be a clever means of

sparking the interest of your audience but only if it relates in a significant way to the topic of the speech.

Stories An actual example of something that

happened to a real person (you, your family, someone you read about in a newspaper)

A hypothetical example would be a story you made up to illustrate a point.

Types of Attention Catchers

Startling Facts or Statistics The fact should be both little known

and shocking. Advertisers use this often to sell

products. Action

Using some kind of movement to illustrate a point.

Types of Attention Catchers

Humor A joke, an anecdote, or a story with a

humorous twist. Be realistic, relevant, and

repeatable.

Establishing a Rapport with The Audience

Your introduction should help you establish a connection with your audience.

Give the audience a reason why they should care about your topic.

Establishing Your Credibility

Explain why you are an authority on the subject in the introduction.

Your authority can come from you major, life experience, etc.

State Your Speech Topic

Your introduction must include a thesis statement.

Grasping the thesis early in the speech will help your listeners follow the thinking and main points of your speech.

Previewing The Main Points

Your thesis statement should be followed with a preview or brief statements of the main points of your speech.

Your preview should be brief and concisely stated.

Condense each main point to a single phrase.

You might also use parallelism, repeating words or grammatical structures, to emphasize the content of your preview.

Developing Effective Conclusions

Provide a sense of closure Signaled through verbal and

nonverbal communication. Begin your conclusion with a phrase

that indicates your are wrapping up. Nonverbally slow your rate and pitch

as you move through your closing remarks.

Developing Effective Conclusions

Reinforce the main ideas Tell them what you told them. Restate your thesis. Try to briefly summarize your main

points in one sentence.

Developing Effective Conclusions

Motivating Listeners to Remember Listeners are more likely to

remember your speech if you follow the summary with a clincher, a sentence that reinforces your main points in a memorable way.

An effective clincher often refers back to the introduction, especially the attention catcher.