Week 8, Question 2

The introduction and conclusion of a speech are the most important for many reasons.  In the introduction, your audience is going to decide, based on your introduction, how much or how little they are going to actually 'tune in' and that is your main opportunity to sell whatever your purpose is and establish your credibility.  Per the text, your intro needs to get the audience’s attention, Indicate the purpose and thesis, and establish your credibility.  Your time limit needs to be considered and a few basic attention grabbing ideas for new speakers can be to cite a fact or statistic that is interesting or startling, tell a non-offensive joke, or ask a question you want the audience to ponder and answer by the end .  In conclusion make sure you review the main points, reinforce what your purpose of the speech, and provide closure of some sort.  This is the part of the speech the audience will remember most so this is your main opportunity to call for an action, if that is your purpose.  I am still tossing a few ideas around for my informative speech, but being that I am in the medical field it will likely be geared as such.  I am leaning toward speaking on the controversial vaccination Gardasil which protects against the Sexually transmitted Disease HPV (Human Papilloma Virus).  In my introduction I will implement the startling statistics of this disease (80% of women will be infected by age 50) and inform my audience how NO One is safe from it.  My conclusion will likely again state my startling statistic and urge my audience to protect themselves and their children and how/where to do so.