english

08

Pointing Out the Effectiveness of The Devices Used by The Speaker to Attract
and Hold the Attention of The Listener

Point out the effectiveness of the devices used by the speaker to attract and hold the attention
of the listener (EN10LC-le-14.1)

Specific Objectives

1. Understand the different devices speakers use to gain the audience’s attention;
2. Recognize the importance of attention-getting devices in delivering a speech;
3. Identify and use devices to encourage the audience to listen effectively; and
4. Evaluate a speech as how effective the devices used are in attracting and holding the listeners’
attention.

Materials

 Pen
 Bond paper or intermediate paper

Lesson

An attention-getter is the device a speaker uses at the beginning of a speech to capture an audience’s
interest and make them interested in the speech’s topic. Typically, there are four things to consider in
choosing a specific attention-getting device:

1. Appropriateness or relevance to audience

When selecting an attention-getting device, you want to make sure that the option you choose
is actually appropriate and relevant to your specific audience. Different audiences will have
different backgrounds and knowledge, so you should use your audience analysis to determine
whether specific information you plan on using would be appropriate for a specific audience.

1
2. Purpose of speech
You need to consider the basic purpose of your speech; whether to inform, to persuade, or to
entertain. When selecting an attention-getter, you want to make sure that you select one that
corresponds with your basic purpose. 
3. Topic
Ideally, your attention-getting device should have a relevant connection to your speech.
4. Occasion
Different occasions will necessitate different tones, or particular styles or manners of
speaking. For example, a persuasive speech about death and dying shouldn’t be happy and hilarious.
An informative speech on the benefits of laughing shouldn’t be dull, dreary, and depressing. When
selecting an attention-getter, you want to make sure that the attention-getter sets the tone for the
speech.

You perhaps know of persons who are known to be “good speakers” who are “not boring.” It is
likely that those fortunate speakers know the art of attracting the listener’s attention and holding it
throughout the talk.
Here are six ways of doing that:

1. Rhetorical Question which will lead the listener to the speaker’s line of thinking.
Rhetorical question is a question that is not asked in order to receive an answer from the
audience or reader. It’s just posed to make a point. As a speaker, you ask rhetorical questions for
persuasive effect; you don’t expect the audience to answer aloud, rather silently to themselves.

Example: “What is the best way to rich quick? Is it by winning a lottery? Thirty-nine percent of
Filipinos think so.”

2. Startling statement which attracts attention by being shocking, surprising or astonishing.

A certain way to gain people's attention is by starting with a startling or amazing fact.
Often, startling statements come in the form of statistics and strange facts. The goal of a good
startling statistic is that it surprises the audience and gets them engaged in your topic.

Example: A presentation about conservancy can start with:

"Every second, a slice of rainforest the size of a football field is mowed down. That's
over 31 million football fields of rainforest each year."

3. Anecdote, usually humorous, related to the topic under discussion.

An anecdote is a brief account or story of an interesting or humorous event. Notice the

emphasis here is on the word “brief.” A common mistake speaker makes when telling an anecdote
is to make the anecdote too long. Remember, your entire introduction should only be 10 to 15
percent of your speech, so your attention-getter must be very short.

Example: A newly married man asked his wife, “Would you have married me if my father hadn’t
left me a fortune?” “Honey,” the woman replied sweetly, “I would have married you no
matter who left you a fortune.”-

4. Quotation from a poem, or a line of prose or a quoted remark about a current event

2
 Quotes give you the ability to utilize an expert’s take on the subject. Use an inspirational,
astounding, or meaningful quote to hook the audience and make your presentation more
memorable. Ensure the quote relates to your content in some way and lays the foundation for your
presentation as a whole.

Example: Rousseau in his Social Contract, said: “Man is born free and everywhere he is in
chains.”

5. History or background of the subject or topic

There are times when the day that you present may have some significance in history that
can be tied to the subject of your presentation, as an opening gambit. You may also capture your
listeners’ attention by referring to a historical event related to your topic. Obviously, this strategy
reaches further back in history to find a relevant reference.

Example: Adolf Hitler ruled Germany as a dictator from 1933 to 1945. He turned Germany into a
powerful war machine and provoked World War II in 1939.

6. Problem to be discussed or the fact to be established which does well for technical types of
talks
Example: The president is confronted with one problem: how to save the Philippine Air Lines and
keep it flying as the flag carrier of the country.

Guided Practice

Direction: Study the beginning of a talk and identify the device used by the speaker to attract the attention
of the listener. How effective are these devices?

1. “Why is practicing mindfulness beneficial for reducing anxiety?” (Topic: Anxiety: Causes,
Symptoms, and Treatment

2. “In July 2009, a high school girl named Alexa Longueira was walking along a main boulevard
near her home on Staten Island, New York, typing in a message on her cell phone. Not paying
attention to the world around her, she took a step and fell right into an open manhole.” (Topic:
Disadvantages of Technology)

3. “A Boeing 747 airliner holds 57,285 gallons of fuel.” (Topic: Oil Conservation)

4. “A school is a building with four walls, with tomorrow inside.”- Lon Watters (Speech Situation:
A Talk to a group of schoolteachers)

Here are the possible answers:

1. Rhetorical Question (This example would be more effective than saying “Practicing mindfulness
can reduce anxiety levels.” for the question engages the audience and allows them to pause and think
of an answer rather than just passively listen as they create hypotheses or resolutions.)

3
 2. Anecdote (For a certain topic that requires to explain and discuss ideas with technical terms, it is best
to use a simple hook that will engage the listeners to focus on your speech. An anecdote is one of
those devices for it gives us the idea of what will be discussed in a comprehensive yet funny way. It
emphasizes the speech’s basic message. This example could be used to begin a speech on how
disconnected people are from the real world because of technology. Note that you can also use your
own experiences and story.)

3. Startling Statement (The item given above is just some of the examples of introductory statement
for the listeners to be engaged to listen. A jumbo jet (Boeing 747) flying from London to New York
burns approximately 70,000 kilograms of fuel; however, it cuts its production twice in six months for
most airlines no longer want big, four-engine planes. They prefer newer two-engine jets that fly the
same distance while burning less fuel.) Remember that when using startling statement, make sure that
it is factual. Make sure also that your startling statement is relevant to your speech and not just
thrown in for shock value.

4. Quotation (The use of good quotation helps your audience see what you are saying. A
good metaphor is one of the most helpful tools in a speaker’s toolbox. To get your idea across, use a
strong word picture. Imagine giving a talk to a group of schoolteachers. The quotation used is useful
if your goal is to affirm them for the great work they are doing. You want to remind them that what
they do—educating children—matters forever.)

EXERCISES
EXERCISE A- Reading
Direction: Match Column A with Column B. Identify what type of attention -getting device in speech
is being describe in the following. Write the letter of the answer on the space provided before each
number.

Column A Column B
_____1. It is the repetition of a sentence, phrase, or passage from a. History
speech or text that someone has said or written. b. Rhetorical question
c. Hook
_____2. This refers to a short or interesting story about a real d. Startling statement
incident or person. e. Quotation
f. Facts
_____3. The goal of this device is to surprise the audience and gets g. Anecdote
them engaged in your topic.

_____4. It is a question asked in order to create a dramatic effect or

to make a point rather than to get an answer.

EXERCISE B- Reading

4
 Direction: Study the beginning of a talk and identify the device used the speaker to attract the attention
of the listener. Write the letter of the device on the blank.

a. Anecdote d. Rhetorical question

b. Quotation e. History/background of the topic
c. Startling statement f. Problems to be discussed/fact to be established

_____1. In first grade my son wrote an autobiography for school assignment. Later, I peeked at it.
“Everything was fine,” Bobby had written. “Then one day, a terrible thing happened. My
sister was born.”

_____2. Today, herbal medicines are making a reappearance as our centuries-old love affair with
manufactured medicine cools. Herbal medicines were first recognized in China.

_____3. As Francis bacon once wrote, “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some
few to e shewed and digested.”

_____4. What is love? Is love an organic need like hunger and thirst?

_____5. In the 1900s a world housing shortage existed, chiefly because of the concentration of the
population in the urban areas.

_____6. A Saudi Arabian woman can get a divorce if her husband doesn’t give her coffee!

EXERCISE C- Writing
Direction: Read the excerpt from Douglas Martin’s “A Case of Optimism” then answer the questions
that follow.

I’m sure you have heard the verse that runs:

‘Twixt optimist and pessimist
The difference is droll:
The optimist sees the doughnut,
The pessimist, the hole.

The longer I live, the more convinced I am of the truth of this poem. Life, like a
doughnut, may seem full, rich and enjoyable, or it may seem as empty as the hole of a
doughnut. To the pessimist, the optimist seems foolish, but who is foolish -- the one who
sees the doughnut or the one who sees the hole?
-Douglas Martin

1. What specific attention-getter device was used by the speaker in this excerpt?

____________________________________________________________________________

5
 2. Was it effective? Why or why not?
____________________________________________________________________________

3. If you will be given the chance to draft a speech related to the topic/excerpt, what other
attention getter device will you use? Write your draft (attention getter) on the blank.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

Agreement:
Below is a link of the video of a speech for speech analysis.
A Creative Approach to Climate Change (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIJOmd-sF-c)

Analyze and evaluate this according to the following:

a. Is the introduction well calculated to arouse interest in the speaker’s subject?
b. Does it have a sufficient amount of valid material?
c. Does it give a clear indication of what the speech is about?
d. Does it move the listener easily and rapidly into a consideration of the subject or does it mislead
him to unnecessary or irrelevant details?
e. Is it closely related to the body of the speech by means of a clear and smooth transition?

Reference:
Aguado, Marietta M., Marla C. Papango, Araceli M. Villamin, Avelina J. Gil. Carleen S. Sedilla. 2004.
Challenge of the Millennium III. Philippines: SIBS Publishing House, Inc.

Gil, Avelina J. 2004. The Global Village. Philippines: SIBS Publishing House, Inc.

Gil, Avelina J. 2004. The Global Village. Teacher’s Guide. Philippines: SIBS Publishing House, Inc.

Flores, Carmelita S., Evelyn B. Lopez. 2003 Effective Speech Communication (4th ed). Mandaluyong City:
Cacho Hermanos Inc.

Website:

https://conceptdrop.com/blog/36-10-techniques-to-hook-an-audience/

https://www.dispatch.com/article/20131109/NEWS/311099907

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIJOmd-sF-c