Week 13: Discussion Question 3

The concept I chose to discuss from this week's reading is from chapter sixteen, speeches of introduction. Many of us have had the chance to introduce a speaker. When doing this we do a short speech that introduces someone to an audience. I remember giving the introduction to the speaker who gave the commencement address for my high school graduation; I didn't do a terrible job, but it would have been helpful to know these following points. 

It is important to remember to keep focusing everything one is saying to the speaker and the speaker's speech. Everything must move in the direction of the speaker because you are essentially preparing the audience for the main speaker. When doing an introductory speech it is not necessary for it to be long; you're just doing the little intro, let the speaker speak because after all, that is what the audience has come for. A second point to remember is to know the speaker well, research them. Although you'll be doing far more research than needed, it is good to know too much than too little, especially for somebody who you are presenting to a group of people. Last but not least, one should try to develop a relationship with the audience. One can connect with the audience by interesting them in the soon to follow speech by the speaker, as well as by having good background knowledge of the speaker. These tips can surely help anyone who has yet to give a speech of introduction.