Part 6: SPEAKER’S REFERENCE
SPEAKER’S REFERENCE
INTRODUCTIONS, CONCLUSIONS, AND LANGUAGE
Prepare the Introduction
- Prepare the introduction after you’ve completed the speech body.
- Keep the introduction to no more than 10 to 15 percent of the overall speech.
Use the Introduction to Gain Audience Attention
- Use a quotation.
- Tell a story.
- Pose questions.
- Offer unusual information.
- Use humor.
- Establish common ground.
- Refer to the occasion.
Preview the Purpose and Topic
Establish Your Credibility
- Briefly state your qualifications for speaking on the topic.
- Emphasize some experience, knowledge, or perspective you have that is different from or more extensive than that of your audience.
Preview the Main Points
Motivate the Audience to Accept Your Goals
- Emphasize the topic’s relevance and importance to audience members.
- Alert them to what they stand to gain by listening.
- Demonstrate that the speech purpose is consistent with their values and motives.
Use the Conclusion to:
- Signal the close of the speech.
- Summarize key points and reiterate the thesis.
- Challenge the audience to respond to your appeals.
Make the Conclusion Meaningful and Memorable
- As in the introduction, use techniques such as quotations, humor, and/or brief stories.
- Pose rhetorical questions.
- Link back to material in the introduction.
Prepare Your Speeches Using an Oral Style
- Use language that is simpler, more repetitious, more rhythmic, and more interactive than written language.
- Structure the speech clearly, using transitions to indicate beginning, middle, and end.
- Use an organizational pattern.
Strive for Simplicity
- Try to say what you mean in short, clear sentences.
- Avoid words unlikely to be understood by your audience.
- Steer clear of unnecessary jargon.
Aim for Conciseness
Use Repetition Frequently
Use Personal Pronouns
Use Concrete and Descriptive Language
- Use imagery (concrete and colorful language) that plays off the senses.
Use descriptive adjectives (“the dark hour”) and strong verbs (“gaze” rather than “look”).
- Use figures of speech, including similes, metaphors, allusion, and irony to help listeners get the message.
Choose Words That Build Credibility
- Use language that is appropriate to the audience, occasion, and subject.
- Choose words that are both denotatively (literally) and connotatively (subjectively) accurate and appropriate for the audience.
- Use the active voice.
- Use culturally sensitive and gender-neutral language.
Use Repetition Often
- Repeat key words, phrases, or sentences at various intervals.
- Choose words that repeat the same sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables (alliteration).
- Arrange words, phrases, or sentences in similar form (parallelism).
KEY TERMS
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