Question

An introduction has several purposes. Which of the following choices would best accomplish the purpose of gaining an audience’s attention?

Answer 1

It all depends on the audience on how you should start with your introduction. Never start with "In this speech..." That immediately sets people up for a boring routine lecture feeling.

I'd say a). Jokes are a great way to introduce a topic, grab the attention from the audience and help them pay attention.

D. Sounds more like paragraph better suited for the body.

Answer 2

The correct answer is option D. Shoking information is an effective way to gain your audience's attention. This is because surprising figures are tipically catchy, that is they catch people's attention. It leaves the reader or hearer wanting to know more about the topic.

On the other hand, a joke, even though it would catch the audience's attention for a minute, it is not useful for attracting the reader or hearer's attention during the entire text. The other options are too formal and they are not attractive to a general audience.