He stepped to the plate, watching his team mate shuffling dejectedly toward the dugout. He had hit into a lightening-fast double play, and the team now stood one out away from defeat. The pitcher nodded, lifted his leg, and fired a blistering fastball into the catcher’s glove.
Strike one.
He adjusted his cap, gripped the bat again and waited, eyeing the pitcher intently. The wind-up started again and he swung hard at the hurtling ball. There was a crack. . . But the ball flew foul.
Strike two.
The pitcher grinned slightly as he nodded and started his wind up. He hurled the ball with every ounce of energy he had left, and it shot toward the strike zone at 98 mph. The crowd seemed to fade away, and the ball seemed to grow very large. Not hearing a sound, he swung his bat and. . .
And you’re hooked.
You need to know what happens, and you’re probably disappointed that I’ve switched gears so quickly! Why?
Because that was an example of a truly effective introduction.
Whether you are writing a speech for someone else or speaking yourself, professionally or casually, a powerful introduction that captures your audience’s attention is vital to reaching your objective. If you fail to grab their attention within the first few seconds, the chances of their being fully engaged in the message you’re presenting are slim to none.
To keep the analogy alive, you could strike out before you even get to the plate!
So what goes into creating an attention-grabbing introduction?
The answer to that question depends to a large extent on two factors:
Your audience -- who are you speaking to? What connection do they have to your message? What do they already know about the subject? What do they stand to gain by hearing you out?
Your objective -- are you looking to simply inform or entertain them, or do you need to persuade, perhaps even overturn erroneous or contradictory beliefs?
Your answers to these questions will go a long way in determining what kind of introduction will be most effective in your circumstance.
By giving serious thought to these questions, you can choose one or more of the following basic introductions to grab the attention of your audience and keep it throughout your presentation.
Interestingly, although this article is written with public speaking in mind, the same principles apply to writing as well, although the effects may need to be honed a little differently.
The Story -- Like the beginning of this article demonstrated, we all love a good story. The more absorbing, the better. By telling a compelling story at the start of your talk, you hook your audience’s innate need to know what happens next! They continue to listen to find out!
The Problem -- You lay out a clearly-defined problem at the audience’s feet. Preferably one that involves them personally. Then, you go on to explain how you are going to solve it. If the problem is serious enough, and if the audience realizes the solution will benefit them, they’re hooked!
Q & A -- Starting with a series of well-planned questions that peak your audience’s curiosity, you then lay out exactly how you plan to answer those questions, and what the answers will mean to those in attendance. By skillfully seeding the rest of your talk with answers to these questions, you keep your audience holding on to the satisfying end!
Each of these tried and true methods will be broken down in further detail in a future article!
So what happened to our nervous batter?
Of course, he hit the ball out of the park, and his team went on to win the game! And you can do the same from the public-speaking standpoint, if you learn how to start your presentations off with a bang!
***
About the author:
Justin Lambert is a freelance commercial copywriter and ghostwriter, and owner of CopyGhost Copywriting and Ghostwriting Solutions. Visit www.copyghost.com to find out how the CopyGhost can help you!
Source: http://www.ArticlePros.com/author.php?Justin Lambert
|
