How to Hook Someone in a Speech

Capturing the attention of your audience is done in the first few seconds of your speech.

Anytime you give a speech, you want to hook the attention of your audience from the very start of your introduction. You can capture your audience if you plan ahead and write your speech based on your target audience and the situation for which you are giving the speech.

Instructions

1. Think about who you are speaking to before you write your speech. For example, if you are speaking to a group of teenagers you can add a significant amount of humor to your introduction because kids tend to appreciate humor. If your audience is a group of people looking for motivation to succeed in business, you should open with a little known trick for succeeding in business so that they will pay attention and want to learn more.

2. Create an introduction. This is the beginning of your speech and it sets the tone for the rest of your speech much in the way that your first impression is when others determine what kind of person you are. Introduce your speech by outlining what you are talking about and why you are talking about it. End the introduction with a thesis statement, which is one sentence that sums up your entire speech as a whole.

3. Talk about your topic. Your thesis statement should end your introduction and begin the body of your speech in a way that your audience cannot tell you are making the transition. In the body of your speech, you need to present the topic, the facts, the questions and the solution in a relevant manner. Interjecting humor throughout your speech will keep your audience entertained as well as informed.

4. Practice your tone. The worst thing you can do when giving a speech is use a boring, monotone voice. If you don't sound engaged, your audience will tune you out almost immediately. You don't want to sound overly excited, but you do want to inject enthusiasm into your voice. When talking about a sad or dangerous subject, such as drunk driving, you don't want to sound enthusiastic at all. You want to sound authoritative and in control.

References

• Speech Mastery: Speech Introductions