Making your introduction and conclusion memorable.

Making your introduction and conclusion memorable. Listeners, like readers, tend to remember beginnings and endings most readily, so work extra hard to make these elements memorable. Consider, for example, using a startling statement, opinion, or question; a dramatic anecdote; a powerful quotation; or a vivid image. Shifting language, especially into a variety of language that your audience will identify with, is another effective way to catch their attention (see Chapter 19). Whenever you can link your subject to the experiences and interests of your audience, do so.

Shuqiao Song began her presentation this way:

student writing

Welcome, everyone. I’m Shuqiao Song and I’m here today to talk about residents of a dysFUNctional HOME. We meet these residents in a graphic memoir called Fun Home.

(Here, Shuqiao showed a video clip of author Alison Bechdel saying, “I love words, and I love pictures. But especially, I love them together—in a mystical way that I can’t even explain.”)

That was Alison Bechdel, author of Fun Home. In that clip, she conveniently introduces the topics of my presentation today: Words. Pictures. And the mystical way they work together.

Note that this presentation opened with a play on words (“dysFUNctional HOME”) and with a short, vivid video clip that summed up the main topic of the presentation. Also note the use of short sentences and fragments, special effects that act like drumbeats to get and hold the attention of the audience.

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Student Writing > Multimedia presentation, Shuqiao Song

Analysis Activity > Analyze Shuqiao Song’s genre choices