Crafting Engaging Introductions

Overview

This is lesson 3 of 6 in Mastering Speech Writing Skills. Students explore how speakers capture attention in the opening moments of a speech, then select a suitable technique and draft an introduction for their own planned speech.

Learning intentions

• WALT identify features of an engaging speech introduction.
• WALT use an anecdote, quotation, or rhetorical question to attract an audience.
• WALT adapt language and tone to suit a speech’s purpose and audience.
• WALT structure and draft a clear speech introduction.

Success criteria

• I can explain how an opening engages an audience.
• I can identify whether an introduction uses an anecdote, quotation, or rhetorical question.
• I can write an opening that suits my topic, purpose, and audience.
• I can use inclusive language, such as we, us, and our, where appropriate.

Curriculum links

• Oral Language — effective presentation planning: selecting language, structure, tone, and content for an audience, purpose, and form.
• Oral Language — using form-specific language and structural devices to shape presentations.
• Oral Language — using relevant examples, analogies, figurative language, and cultural expressions to connect with an audience.
• Writing — structuring ideas into cohesive sections and selecting planning strategies suited to purpose and genre.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook: Which opening works? Teacher opens the engaging openings slide deck with three short openings on the same topic: one dull statement, one rhetorical question, and one brief anecdote. Students silently choose the opening they would most want to hear, then compare choices with a partner.

2. 5–12 min · Notice and name. Teacher reveals the lesson focus and models how each opening technique affects an audience. Students help identify the three techniques and record a brief definition: an anecdote is a short relevant story, a quotation uses another person’s words, and a rhetorical question invites the audience to think rather than answer aloud.

3. 12–20 min · Evaluate examples. Teacher displays four examples from the engaging openings slide deck and reads them aloud with different pace, volume, and tone. Students work in pairs to decide which technique is being used, what audience response it aims to create, and whether the language suits the speech topic; pairs justify one choice to the class.

4. 20–27 min · Teacher modelling. Teacher demonstrates turning a basic topic into an introduction. For example, “Today I am going to talk about school lunches” becomes: “Have you ever opened your lunchbox and wished you had packed something else? If we want students to learn well, shouldn’t the food we eat at school help us do that?” Teacher thinks aloud about audience, purpose, word choice, and the introduction’s pathway from hook to topic. Students suggest improvements and identify the hook, connection to the audience, and clear focus.

5. 27–39 min · Independent drafting. Teacher distributes the speech introduction drafting worksheet and reminds students to use their speech topic and planning from the previous lesson. Students choose one technique and draft a 4–6 sentence introduction: attention-grabbing opening, connection to the audience, clear topic, and purpose or main viewpoint. They may use the rhetorical devices reference poster as a reference, then read their draft quietly to check whether it sounds natural when spoken.

6. 39–45 min · Peer response and exit check. Teacher directs students to return to the engaging openings slide deck for the peer-feedback prompts. Students read their introduction to a partner, who identifies the technique, describes the likely audience response, and offers one kind, specific suggestion. Students complete the worksheet exit check by naming their technique and explaining why it suits their audience.

Resources

• the engaging openings slide deck
• the speech introduction drafting worksheet
• the rhetorical devices reference poster
• Students’ speech-topic plans from lesson 2
• Whiteboard and markers
• Pens or pencils
• Timer

Assessment

• During discussion, listen for students accurately identifying anecdotes, quotations, and rhetorical questions and explaining their intended effect.
• Confer with students during drafting, checking that introductions include a hook, audience connection, and clear topic or viewpoint.
• Use the completed draft and exit check to identify who can select a suitable technique and who needs further support with structure, audience, or wording.

Differentiation

• Provide sentence starters such as “Have you ever…?”, “As ___ once said, …”, and “I remember when…”. Offer a choice of familiar topics or allow students to orally rehearse before writing.
• Support students who need it by scribing ideas, chunking the worksheet into one sentence at a time, and providing a word bank for audience, emotion, and viewpoint.
• EAL learners may first discuss their opening in a home language or with a partner, then use a model to shape their English version. Clarify unfamiliar quotations and avoid requiring students to invent one.
• Extend confident writers by combining two techniques, using an analogy or figurative language, or revising the introduction for a different audience and explaining the changes.