Introduction
The introduction
is a fundamental part of the speech.
When
the speaker starts his speech he/she is "risking" gaining
or not gaining the public's attention.
If
the introduction is interesting, atractive, new, suggestive and
if the speaker seems prepared, pleasant, enthusiastic and entertaining,
then it is possible that the speaker will gain the public's attention,
and once he/she has their attention it is easier to keep it during
the whole speech.
If,
however, the speaker is not successful in "interesting"
the public during the introduction, it is going to be increasingly
difficult to succeed as the speech goes on (if the public has not
paid any attention at the beginning, it is difficult for them to
get the line of the argument, although they might try).
If
the introduction sounds boring, the voice is monotonous, you can't
hear it very well, it is not clear what the speaker is going to
talk about, the speaker's image is indifferent, etc. it is easy
for the public's mind to go off in different directions.
There
are thousands of things the public can amuse themselves on (this
speaker looks like my neighbour, look at how bad his suit looks
on him, what a strange tie, listen to how he stutters, oh my how
hot is it in here, is he really sneezing, etc etc).
The presentaiton
has to be brief, what you are doing is simply introducing the topic.
There will be plenty of time later on to develop the topic.
You need
to make the subject that you are going to talk about and your opinion
on the matter very clear in the introduction.
If the
speech is going to be long, you should let the audience know the different
points you are going to talk about during the speech.
You need
to learn the introdution off be heart.
You need
to be able to speak without looking at support notes (although you
can have them with you) as you need to look spontaneious.
Besides,
it is at the beginning when the nerves are most likely to appear,
however being well prepared helps control them!
The introduction
should start with enthusiasm, with energy. This marks the line that
the rest of the speech should follow.
Finally,
the introduction should start with a greeting to all of those present,
thanking them for their presence; also thanking the event organizers
for inviting you.
If someone
intervenes before, dedicate them a few words of acknowledgement (although
they are really small).
