Chapter 7 Summary

            Introductions and conclusions are the first and last impressions you leave with your audience, so crafting them carefully is important. For competent introductions, speakers need to gain the attention of their audience, make a clear purpose statement, establish the significance of the topic, establish their credibility on the subject, and preview their main points. To gain the audience’s attention at the start of the speech, speakers might begin with a quotation, a surprising statement or fact, a question for the audience, tell a story, use a simple visual aid, or respond to remarks made to introduce the speaker. Speakers should also make a clear, declarative statement of purpose that is both concise and precise, free of colorful language, has clear direction, and is practical. Once a speaker has made clear what they intend to talk about, it is important to make sure that the audience understands why this speech is significant in general, and for them. Also in the introduction, speakers need to establish their credibility by demonstrating competence, trustworthiness, dynamism, and composure.  Finally, whether formal or casual, a preview of main points presents what is coming up in the speech.

            Concluding your speech well is also important. In a conclusion, a speaker should summarize the main points of the speech, connecting the dots of what has been presented for the audience. Speakers can imagine the conclusion as the matching bookend of the speech to the introduction and may consider referring back to a story or example used in the introduction. Most of all, just as it is important to begin by catching the attention of the audience, it is also important to end with the audience’s attention. The ending of the speech should be concise and to the point, but also planned and memorable.