Speech structure

Introduction A good introduction does four things:
• Attracts and focuses the attention of the audience
• Puts the speaker and audience at ease
• Explains the purpose of the talk and what the speaker would like to achieve
• Gives an overview of the key points of the talk It is often a good idea to begin a talk with a question, a short story, an interesting fact about your topic or an unusual visual aid. Many speakers follow this with an overhead transparency that shows the title, aim and outline of the talk. II.1.A Get the audience's attention and signal the beginning. Let's begin. Good. Fine. Great. Can we start? Shall we start? Let's get the ball rolling. Let's get down to business. II.1.B Greet audience. It is important to greet the audience by saying something like: Hello ladies and gentlemen. Good morning members of the jury. Good afternoon esteemed guests. Good evening members of the board II.1.C Give title and introduce subject What exactly are you going to speak about? Situate the subject in time and place, in relation to the audience and/or its importance. Give a rough idea or a working definition of the subject.

I plan to speak about...Today I'm going to talk about...The subject of my presentation is...The theme of my talk is...I've been asked to give you an overview of... II.1.D You may want to use a rhetorical question. Who in the field of waste management has never been confronted with the NIMBY syndrome? My talk today will concern primarily the ozone hole. We all know that an ozone hole has formed over Antarctica. What we don't know is: Why? Body The body of a presentation must be presented in a logical order that is easy for the audience to follow and natural to your topic. Divide your content into sections and make sure that the audience knows where they are at any time during your talk. It is often a good idea to pause between main sections of your talk. You can ask for questions, sum up the