Extemporaneous  

Speaking  Introductions
{
Se7ing  the  stage  for  success  with  an  effective  AGD
Structure  of  an  Introduction  

I.  A7ention  Ge7ing  Device

II.  Link  &  Background
III.  Significance  Statement
IV.  Question  
V.  Answer
VI.  Preview
 Ñ   A7ention  Ge7ing  Device
Ñ  Used  to  lay  the  foundation  for  a  speech  
and  build  a  rapport  with  the  judge
Ñ  Usually  narrative  in  nature
Ñ  Should  be  entertaining,  novel,  energetic  
and  preferably  unexpected
Ñ  Should  last  roughly  30  seconds

What  is  an  AGD?

 Ñ  First  impressions  are  made  in  just  10-­‐‑15  seconds

Ñ  It  sets  up  expectations  for  the  rest  of  a  speech

Ñ  It  sets  the  tone  for  the  rest  of  a  performance

Why  is  your  AGD  important?

Ñ  Historical  analogy  

Ñ  Quotes  with  specific  relevance

Ñ  “News  of  the  Weird”

Ñ  Satire

Ñ  Recent  developments

Ñ  Background  that  is  not  common  knowledge

Good  ADGs…
www.tiggerman.com

 Ñ  Pop  Culture  

Ñ  Quirky  facts  

Ñ  Simple  Analogies

Okay  ADGs…
 Ñ  History  or  English  101

Ñ  Personal  stories  or  analogies  

Ñ  Singing

www.mentalfloss.com

Poor  ADGs…
Ñ  Jokes  above  a  PG-­‐‑13  level

Ñ  Jokes  of  a  sexual,  racial,  religious,  or  cultural  nature

Ñ  Quotes  from  non-­‐‑credible  sources

Ñ  Made-­‐‑up  stories  or  borrowed  stories

Ñ  Characterizations

www.grumpycats.com

Inappropriate  AGDs…
Ñ  Present  the  AGD  in  a  narrative  manner

Ñ  Explain  how  the  AGD  links  to  the  question

Ñ  Explain  the  relevance  of  the  issue  at  hand

Ñ  State  the  question,  word  for  word,  as  wri7en

Using  AGDs  in  a  speech

And  now,     www.smallbizradicals.com

some  examples
{
Question:  Will  proposed  changes  to  the  Texas  high  
school  curriculum  be7er  serve  the  needs  of  students?
Ñ  The  House  on  Friday  refused  to  accept  Senate  
changes  to  its  bill  overhauling  Texas’  school  
testing  and  accountability  system.
Ñ  The  House’s  testing  bill  differs  slightly  from  the  
Senate  legislation  on  which  high  school  exams  
would  be  retained  and  which  would  be  
scrapped.  Students  would  only  have  to  pass  five  
end  of  course  exams  to  graduate,  instead  of  the  
current  15.  Both  chambers’  proposals  would  
replace  current  graduation  standards  with  a  
new  system  that  would  allow  students  to  select  
one  of  multiple  paths  –  or  “endorsements”  –  to  
graduation.  Those  include  arts  and  humanities,  
business  and  industry,  and  science  and  math.
Ó  Dallas  Morning  News,  May  10th,  2013

Recent  Developments…
 Ñ  For too long, Texas schoolchildren have been
handcuffed by a concept of education that is
outdated and underfunded. It has been
outperformed by more progressive and choice-
driven models throughout the United States.
Ó  Ramiro Mojarro, president of Comunidades
Mexicanas de San Antonio

Quotes…
Satire…
 Ñ  The  passenger  liner,  The  Titanic,  
sunk  on  its  maiden  voyage  from  
England  to  the  United  States  in  
1912.  The  Titanic  was  known  as  
the  unsinkable  ship,  specifically  
designed  to  make  the  long  
journey  to  America  with  no  
possible  chance  of  sinking.

Ñ  Read  more:  

h7p://www.businessinsider.com/
worst-­‐‑mistakes-­‐‑in-­‐‑history
www.navalhistory.org

Historical  Analogy…
 Carl  Bellenir,  48,  was  arrested  in  San  Luis  Obispo,  
Calif.,  in  February  after  he  had  successfully  cashed  in,  
at  a  Santa  Barbara  Bank  &  Trust,  several  rolls  of  
pennies  that  had  been  stuffed  into  rolls  labeled  for  
dimes.  Bellenir  apparently  did  not  realize  that  the  rolls  
would  be  examined  later  in  the  day  and  so  returned  
the  very  next  morning  to  the  same  bank  and  tried  it  
again.  Police  were  called,  and  Bellenir  fled,  but  he  was  
captured  down  the  street  at  a  Bank  of  America  trying  
the  same  trick.  
-­‐‑Tribune  News  (San  Luis  Obispo),  2-­‐‑7-­‐‑2013

News  of  the  weird…

Some  more  
practice…
{
Question:  How  can  our  nation’s  leaders  bolster  
America’s  sluggish  economy?
 "Too bad that all the people who really
know how to run the country are busy
driving taxi cabs and cutting hair."
- George Burns

Quote…
 Ñ  A Gallup poll released on Tuesday found 86
percent of those surveyed this month ranked
creating jobs as their top priority for action by
Congress and Obama, tied at 86 percent with
helping the economy grow.
Ó  Reuters, May 9th 2013

Recent  Developments…
Satire…

 Ñ  Just  Because  It  Worked  Once:  Carl  Bellenir,  48,  was  
arrested  in  San  Luis  Obispo,  Calif.,  in  February  after  
he  had  successfully  cashed  in,  at  a  Santa  Barbara  
Bank  &  Trust,  several  rolls  of  pennies  that  had  been  
stuffed  into  rolls  labeled  for  dimes.  Bellenir  
apparently  did  not  realize  that  the  rolls  would  be  
examined  later  in  the  day  and  so  returned  the  very  
next  morning  to  the  same  bank  and  tried  it  again.  
Police  were  called,  and  Bellenir  fled,  but  he  was  
captured  down  the  street  at  a  Bank  of  America  
trying  the  same  trick.  [Tribune  News  (San  Luis  
Obispo),  2-­‐‑7-­‐‑2013]

News  of  the  weird…

 From 1993-1994, vacuum company Hoover offered a
promotional deal to their customers: spend £100 on
any of their products and win two free return flights to
Europe or the US. Unfortunately for the company, the
promotion proved so popular that it became financially
unfeasible to sustain and the company stopped issuing
tickets. Following thousands of complaints, the BBC's
Watchdog exposed the company's policy of
intentionally holding back the promised tickets, leading
www.Open.salon.com to the sacking of the entire board and the selling of the

company to an Italian firm. The fiasco cost Hoover their

reputation, as well as nearly £50 million.

Historical  Analogy…
Any  questions?