ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos

See All

ELA 3: Attention: Creating an Introduction 19 Views

Share It!

Description:

Attention can be as slippery as a well-oiled weasel, but today we'll give you a few surefire ways to catch it during a presentation. Attention, that is, not a weasel.

Language:

English Language

Subjects:

Transcript

00:05
[Dino and Coop singing]
00:13
Knowing how to speak is sort of like riding a bike... once you've mastered it, it's pretty [A sentence riding a bike]
00:17
hard to forget, right?
00:19
But put someone in front of an audience, and sometimes, blammo! [Guy looks scared and is shivering on stage]
00:23
They get so nervous, they forget everything they know about effective communication, and

00:27
start sounding kind of like the Swedish Chef… [Swedish Chef hat lands on the guys head]
00:29
Her dee der der derr...
00:33
Yup, sometimes getting started can be the hardest part.
00:36
Luckily, there are teachers and coaches who offer classes, sessions, and even one-on-one [Someone searching for speaking coaches on the internet]
00:40
training.... all geared towards helping people communicate ideas clearly and effectively
00:44
to a crowd right away.
00:46
But that sounds pretty expensive and time consuming… [Advert for $100 per lesson]
00:49
But never fear!
00:50
We happen to have some handy tricks up our sleeves!
00:53
Ooooh….when will this colorful scarf end….oooooh…. …and we have some actual public speaking [Presentation Introductions book appears at the end of a long scarf pulled out of someones sleeve]
00:59
tips, too, so without further ado, the Shmoop guide to presentation introductions! [Spinning yellow star behind the guide]
01:04
There are three excellent ways to start a presentation, and each way will definitely
01:08
capture your audience's attention. [Book opens to show the 3 methods]
01:11
Method number one?
01:12
Asking a question!
01:13
And be sure your question has something to do with your topic…you can't just ask, "What's
01:18
the best place to get a burger," if your presentation is on global warming! [Burger and the Earth being put on a BBQ]
01:22
Other than that, it can be as open-ended or as specific as you like.
01:26
If your presentation was on the Harry Potter series, you could say something specific as,
01:31
“Who here knows who Harry Potter is?” or as open-ended as, “Who here has ever [Guy holds up a Harry Potter book]
01:36
dreamt of being a wizard?”
01:37
The whole point of a strong first sentence is to get your audience involved, engaged [Audience thinking about themselves in a wizard hat]
01:41
and thinking – right out of the gates.
01:44
Method number two?
01:45
A bold statement!
01:46
If you state your belief with a ton of conviction, other people will be more inclined to sit [Coop pointing at a blackboard]
01:51
up and take notice.
01:52
You could say something like, “Books these days are so boring,” or “The best books [Guy chucks a book away]
01:57
are the ones that involve magic,” or even “Everyone run, there's a giant, angry tiger [Bunny appears out of a magicians hat]
02:01
on the loose in the school gym!” [Guy waving his arms and looking scared]
02:04
On second thought, you probably shouldn't say that last one if you want to keep your [The audiences eyes pop out and they all run away]
02:07
audience in their chairs for the rest of your speech.
02:09
Anyway, the whole point of making a bold statement like that is to grab your audience's attention
02:13
and make them think "Why is the speaker saying this?”
02:16
That way, they'll have no choice but to keep listening! [Audience listening apart from the girl at the end who is shaking in fear]
02:19
Unless that tiger sits next to them…then they might be busy quietly freaking out… [Girl is staring at the tiger sat next to her]
02:23
And finally, method number three: the cold hard facts.
02:26
If you start with a fact or percentage, you'll really convince the audience that you've done
02:31
your research and know what you're going to be talking about.
02:33
Maybe you know the exact percentage of teens who have read the Harry Potter series in the [Girl reading a book on the couch]
02:37
last decade, or maybe you know the number of public libraries that have closed in the
02:41
past decade due to a shortage of Potter books... [Closed forever sign on a library]
02:44
People loves facts.
02:45
Seriously, a recent study showed that 82% of people love facts! [Audience with hearts in their eyes]
02:49
…Okay, we just made that up, don't quote us.
02:51
So there you have it – three ways to start your speech like a champ!
02:54
Oh, and no need to use them all at the same time.
02:57
Just choosing one would be grand!
02:59
Though it could be fun to try and combine all three...
03:01
“Did you know that we absolutely hate chocolate cake because it's the worst kind of cake, [Guy throws a plate of chocolate cake away]
03:06
even though 85% of you will disagree?!”
03:09
A question, a bold statement AND a statistic.
03:12
All in one.
03:13
Not bad. [Guy puts out to lunch sign on stage]
03:14
Phew!
03:15
We deserve a break. [Tiger walks onto the stage]
Full Transcript