Don’t Be Boring

Your speeches are boring.

Did I just say that? Have I implied that your rhetorical ventures are utterly boring?

Well, yes.

   The first piece of a speech, as taught within the scope of Rhetoric, is your ‘Introduction’. This is a critical part in your speech, as it sets the mood for your audience. Your first few words determine how your audience perceives you.

   Let me be clear about this. The ‘Introduction’, in a speech, is the first part of your ‘Delivery’ (another important part of your speech). You must captivate your audience with your Introduction.

   Of course when I give this advice, I assume you already know of the importance of knowing your audience. The first step that must be taken before you even invent your speech (I say ‘Invent’ because of the part of Rhetoric called ‘Invention’), is understanding your audience.

What sort of culture(s) do they live in?

What do all of your audience members have in common?

Are you addressing a crowd of Southern, Gun-Loving, die-hard Conservatives; or, are you speaking to a body of people who have come to America to escape a Communist government?

Know your audience.

* “Anyways”, I said. “That was one strange day. One minute, I’m plowing my fields. The next minute, I’m shaking hands with an FBI agent who mistook me for a serial killer. He came back later that day, after he realized he was actually right the first time.”

“So I was in downtown Los Angeles this morning, and somehow managed to walk into a bar. My head hurt for the rest of the day.” *

— (WARNING: Small Tangent. You may skip these next few paragraphs)

   These are 2 examples of the concept of ‘spicing up your introduction’, or quite literally ‘making your speech not boring’ and ‘how to not make your audience hate you right off the bat’.

   In the first example, maybe I was asked to speak to a crowd of prisoners who need a good message. Mind you, mentioning their crimes is really hard to get away with in your speech except through the intro to get their attention, because you want to change their hearts (not encourage their bad deeds).

   In the latter example, maybe I’m just speaking to a crowd of Californians that have a stereotype of getting drunk all the time, when really the only time they walk into a bar is when the bar is a physical object that must be avoided. 

(Tangent over) —

I’ve only touched briefly on the issue of poor introductions- you need to practice making your speeches better, and try out what I’ve mentioned. Just remember this, if not anything else: please save your audience from sleeping on you, and Don’t Be Boring.

- Caleb