Outlining Your Introduction

After you’ve outlined the body of your speech, turn to outlining the introduction. In Chapter 10, we identify the five purposes of an introduction—gaining your audience’s attention, signaling your thesis, showing the relevance of your topic for your audience, establishing your credibility, and previewing your main points. Each of these purposes provides the basis for one part of your introduction. When you have prepared them, insert each one into your working outline. The introduction should include the following elements:

• INTRODUCTION

  1. Attention-getter

  2. Thesis statement

  3. Relevance of topic for audience

  4. Speaker’s credibility

  5. Preview of main points

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In your working outline, each of these five elements should be expressed in complete sentences or detailed phrases so that a reader would know what you were planning to say for each part.