There are a few important components of any well written
introduction and conclusion. To begin with the introduction, the
important components that you want to include are an attention getter
(which may include an audio or visual clip), a clear indication of
your purpose and thesis, something that establishes credibility, and
a preview of the main points of the speech. I plan to use a power
point slide with a representative map of the electoral votes and to
say something that very briefly explains the electoral college in a
way that sounds complicated, followed up by a promise that I will
explain it within my speech in a way that will make perfect sense to
everyone. Something along the lines of,
"The electoral college grants a total of 538 votes, with 2 granted
to each state and the District of Columbia representing their 2
Senators and an apportioned amount of the remaining 436 electorates
based upon population data gathered during the census directly
proportionate to the number of Representatives granted to that state.
Got all that? I know it sounds complex, but I am going to do my
best to help all of you understand...." I will establish credibility by utilizing my first oral
citation of the Federal Election Commission and will preview the main
points at the end of the introduction to prepare the audience for the
upcoming structure of my speech.
In my conclusion I will make sure to review the main points that
I have outlined throughout my speech that were originally previewed
in my introduction. I will also make sure to clearly reinforce my
purpose of educating my audience about the process of the electoral
college so that they clearly understand it. I will also try to
provide closure by stating something that may have been confusing to
them at the beginning of my speech and then draw attention to the
fact that they now understand it which shows that they have learned
something during my 5 minute speech. Subject to change, I am planning to say, "So now when you hear on election night for example that “Barack
Obama captured the swing state of Florida,” I think you will fully
understand what it means and why it is important."
"Man plans, God laughs." -Yiddish proverb
Are you a political science major? I look forward to hearing your speech. I was in American Government class last semester here at Sierra and absolutely loved it, although I was not able to grasp the Electoral College chapter very well. I'm sure your speech will help many. Your introduction and conclusion look great so far. Anyway, isn't it interesting how sometimes one might use a visual or audio clip? I don't know, but if I was talking about a favorite musician of mine and I played a little clip of one of their songs, I wouldn't be able to focus really. I guess it depends on what one really plays. A powerpoint presentation does not distract, I think. If anything, it gives a great visual aid. Good luck on your speech!
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