Speech Types, Intros and Conclusions

Types of Speeches

  • Three main types of speeches (Any type of speech or presentation can be classified into one of the following)

    • Informative Speech - provides audience with information, new insights, or new ways of thinking about a topic

    • Persuasive Speech - Intended to influence the attitudes, beliefs, values, or acts of others

    • Special Occasion Speech (Ceremonial Speech) - prepared for a specific occasion (wedding, eulogy)

Developing the Introduction and Conclusion

  • Introductions

    • “If you lose audience in intro, you’ve lost audience completely”

  • Introduction Checklist

    1. Gain the audience’s attention

    2. Preview the topic, purpose and main ideas of the speech

    3. Establish your credibility (simple statement to qualify yourself)

    4. Motivate the audience to accept your goals (why they should listen

      • 3&4 will not have to be included in first speech

Conclusions

  • Make a lasting impression

  • Conclusion checklist

    1. Signal the ending (In conclusion, “final thought”, round things up, draw to a close)

    2. Summarize the key points

    3. Challenge audience (“use this information; with this information; make more educated decision on”)

    4. End Memorably (reuse a quote, retell end of story, reiterate a punchline, etc.) (Bookend)

Intro, Body Conclusion: emphasize main points three times will help audience remember them

Organization

  • Transitions - words, phrases or sentences that tie the speech ideas together

    • Enable to speaker to move smoothly from one point to the next

    • Audience needs to clearly follow your main points

Avoid Plagarism

  • Plagarism - use of other people’s ideas or words without acknowledging the source

  • Any source that requires credit in written form should be acknowledged in oral form