COMM 107 Chapter Notes - Chapter 7: Rhetorical Question, Infinitive

• School: University of Maryland
• Department: Communication
• Course: COMM 107
• Professor: anderson

Document Summary

There are 5 objectives for a competent introduction: gain attention: focusing your listeners. Rhetorical question: asked by a speaker that the audience answers mentally, but not out loud. Make sure that rhetorical questions are meaningful, not merely a commonplace device to open a speech. Direct questions: seeks responses: audience raises hand. Polling an audience can be engaging and even amusing. Anecdote: a short, entertaining, real life story. Motivate your audience to listen and promote understanding and retention of your message. Begin with a simple visual aid: make a clear purpose statement. General purpose: identifies the overall goal of your speech. Specific purpose statement: concise, precise infinitive phrase composed of simple, clear language that both encompasses the general purpose and indicates what the speaker hopes to accomplish with the speech. Theme: central idea: establish the significance of your topic: making your listeners care, establish your credibility on the subject: why listeners should believe you, preview your main points.