HOW TO INTEREST YOUR AUDIENCE
1. We are interested in extraordinary facts about ordinary things.
2. Our chief interest is ourselves.
3. The person who leads others to talk about themselves and their interests and listens intently will generally be considered a good conversationalist, even though he does very little talking.
4. Glorified gossip, stories of people, will almost always win and hold attention. The speaker ought to make only a few points and to illustrate them with human interest stories.
5. Be concrete and definite. Do not belong to the "poor-but honest"school of speakers. Do not merely say that Martin Luther was"stubborn and intractable"as a boy. Announce that fact. Then follow it with the assertion that his teachers flogged him as often as"fifteen times in a forenoon". Thatmakes the general assertion clear, impressive and interesting.
6. Sprinkle your talks with phrases that create pictures with words that set images floating before your eyes.
7. If possible use balanced sentences and contracting ideas.
8. Interest is contagious. The audience is sure to catch it if the speaker himself has a bad case of it. But it cannot be won by the mechanical adherence to mere rules.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
HOW TO PREPARE FOR DEBATE AND SPEECH (part 8)
HOW TO OPEN A SPEECH
1. The opening of a speech is difficult. It is also highly important, for our hearers are fresh then and comparatively easy to impress. It is of too much consequence to be left to chance;it ought to be carefully worked out in advance.
2. The introduction ought to be short, only a sentence or two. Often it can be dispensed with altogether. Wade right into the heart of your subject with the smallest number of words. No one objects to that.
3. Novices are prone to begin either with attempting to tell a humorous story or by making an apology. Both of these are usually bad. Very very few people can relate a humorous anecdote successfully. The attempt usually embarrasses the audience instead of entertaining them. The attempt should be relevant, not dragged in just for the sake of the story.Humour should be the icing on the cake, not the cake itself ... Never apologize. It is usually an insult to your audience; it bores them. Drive right into what you have to say, say it quickly.
4. A speaker may win the immediate attention of his audience by:
a: Arousing curiously.
b: Relating a human interest story.
c: Beginning with a specific illustration.
d: Using an exhibit.
e: Asking a question.
f: Opening with a striking quotation.
g: Starting with shocking facts.
5. Don't make your opening too formal. Don't let the bones show. Make it appear free, casual, inevitable. This can be done by referring to something that has just happened,or something that has just been said.
1. The opening of a speech is difficult. It is also highly important, for our hearers are fresh then and comparatively easy to impress. It is of too much consequence to be left to chance;it ought to be carefully worked out in advance.
2. The introduction ought to be short, only a sentence or two. Often it can be dispensed with altogether. Wade right into the heart of your subject with the smallest number of words. No one objects to that.
3. Novices are prone to begin either with attempting to tell a humorous story or by making an apology. Both of these are usually bad. Very very few people can relate a humorous anecdote successfully. The attempt usually embarrasses the audience instead of entertaining them. The attempt should be relevant, not dragged in just for the sake of the story.Humour should be the icing on the cake, not the cake itself ... Never apologize. It is usually an insult to your audience; it bores them. Drive right into what you have to say, say it quickly.
4. A speaker may win the immediate attention of his audience by:
a: Arousing curiously.
b: Relating a human interest story.
c: Beginning with a specific illustration.
d: Using an exhibit.
e: Asking a question.
f: Opening with a striking quotation.
g: Starting with shocking facts.
5. Don't make your opening too formal. Don't let the bones show. Make it appear free, casual, inevitable. This can be done by referring to something that has just happened,or something that has just been said.
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