Putting Theory Into Practice:

Identify the Introduction Exercise

Each of the following introductions contains a device that gets attention, prepares the audience for the speech body, or both. Identify the devices used in the following introductions. I've numbered the introduction devices where they occur in each introduction.

1. (1) I'll be discussing the snow plowing plans for our side streets. (1) direct statement of the topic

2. (1) Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to join this man and this woman in the bonds of holy matrimony. (1) reference to the occasion

3. (1) Did you know nearly 105,000 Union soldiers in the American Civil War were less than sixteen years old? (1) rhetorical question

4. (1) & (2)"All they need is neglect! Try to be kind to them and you'll kill them for sure." According to Martin Davidson who has a crop of over 500 different cacti, (1) "The best case for cacti is to ignore them. You'll never have a problem with a cactus if you just remember not to water it." (1)quotation & (2) startling statement

5. (1) & (2) "Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay to mould me Man, did I solicit thee From darkness to promote me?" With these words of "Adam" from Milton's Paradise Lost Mary Shelley begins one of the most frightening horror stories of our time; Frankenstein. (1) quotation & (2) rhetorical question

6. (1) It happened to the dinosaurs; it could happen to you! (2)There may be as many as 10,000 asteroids whose orbits cross the Earth's orbit according to Brian G. Marsden, the Director of the International Union's Minor Planet Center. (3)Our chances of being hit by one of them? Better than the chances of someone winning the lottery. "No big deal," you say? Remember, someone wins the lottery just about every week. (1) startling statement, (2) background information & (3) establishing the topic's importance

7. A police officer told this story. (1) & (2) "Absolutely the worst thing that happened with me was this nutcase copper. We had to pump our own gas into our squad cars, (and) traditionally everyone would just leave the nozzle on top of the pump because the next cars are all lined up; So I came in, I put it in the tank and turned the handle. I was...drenched...with gasoline. He had left the clip on, you know, keeping the nozzle open. And I want to tell you, gasoline comes out like a fire hose. It literally knocked me back up against the wall. I was wearing contact lenses at the time--full in the eyes. I started screaming and staggered backward out of the room. My contacts were melted in my eyes. A sergeant came running up--other people--dragged me... over to a sink and just ran the water and shoved my face in it because I was tearing at my eyes. They took me to the hospital. My eyelids were blistered top and bottom--the insides of my eyelids were blistered. They had to pick the contacts out. My eyelids were bandaged for six weeks and I didn't know if I was gonna be able to see. And no one can tell me that [expletive] did not do that on purpose. Because...when you fill a car, when it's full, that clicker clicks off. You would have to physically re-set it and set it back up there again." (3) What had the police officer done that so enraged this "nutcase cop"? (4) The police officer was a woman. (1) quotation,(2) illustration, (3) rhetorical question & (4) startling statement

8. (1) It was a hot, moonless night in August of last year. The fire began with a spark in an overloaded electrical outlet in the seventy-year-old apartment building's basement. It quietly smoldered in the wall for several hours before bursting into flame. We were awakened by the first call to the firehouse at 3:33 in the morning. It took us less than ten minutes to reach the fire, but by then the building was a sheet of orange flame. When it was over nine bodies lay in the smoldering ruins and twelve people were injured. What's worse is it could have been prevented if the apartment building's smoke detectors had been in proper working order. (2) As a five-year veteran of the city department, I can tell you this type of story happens far too often. (1) illustration and (2) establishing your expertise

9. (1) Did you know people over sixty-five years of age are the leading consumers of cat and dog food in America today even though as an age group they own the fewest pets? (2) Living on a fixed income can mean bare existence for many senior citizens. Don't dismiss this issue too lightly. These people over sixty-five are our grandparents. Someday they'll be our parents, and someday they'll be ourselves. (1) rhetorical question and (2) establishing the topic's importance

10 . (1) "If I am the wisest it is only because I know I know nothing," was the Greek philosopher Socrates' response on hearing the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi had proclaimed him the wisest man in Greece. (2) Most of what we know about Socrates comes from twenty-six dialogues written by his famous biographer, Plato. But, did you know Socrates had a second biographer, Xenophon, who wrote four dialogues showing a side of Socrates not shown by Plato? (3) Tonight, I'd like to tell you about Xenophon's Symposium, one of the nearly-forgotten dialogues of Socrates. (1) quotation, (2) background information & (3) focusing the audience on the topic

11. (1) The fact we're here tonight shows we all care deeply about the future of this high school's students. Even though you may personally disagree with my approach to solving the problem, we all agree the problem can only be solved by our working together. (1) establishing a common ground

12. (1) The scorching July sun had given way to a steamy, Pennsylvania night. Colonel Chamberlain's exhausted soldiers halted at a fork in the road. He wasn't sure which road led to the battle. Suddenly, the moon broke from behind a cloud and shone down on a lone rider in a tricorn hat, mounted on a pale house. Silently, he cantered down one of the roads and, turning slightly, beckoned them to follow. (2) "Men waved their hats and cheered until they were hoarse," Chamberlain later wrote of that moment. (1) The word spread, General George Washington had come to lead them to the battle. The next day Chamberlain and his men were pinned down in a desperate battle. His troops' ammunition nearly exhausted, Chamberlain ordered, "Fix bayonets! Charge!" For a moment Chamberlain's men froze, but then George Washington, mounted, sword raised high in his hand appeared again and beckoned them to follow. Though outnumbered, Chamberlain's Maine farmers and fishermen swarmed down the hill and drove the enemy back. (3) Three facts make this story unusual. First, it occurred at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Second, the enemy wore Confederate gray, and third, the date was July 2, 1863, over sixty-three years after George Washington died. This is just one of the many Civil War ghost stories I'll be telling you today. (1) illustration, (2) quotation & (3) startling statement