For the first speeches in a class, examples and narratives are often especially useful and appropriate. They help develop a feeling of closeness between the audience and the speaker that creates a positive learning community. They also enhance favorable ethos. They hold the interest of the audience while revealing some important truth about the speaker or the topic.
Narratives should be short and to the point, moving in natural sequence from the beginning of the story to the end. The language of narration should be colorful, concrete, and active; the presentation, lively and interesting.
Taken as a whole, facts and statistics, testimony, examples, and stories provide the substance that can make us take a speech seriously. Karen’s classmates at Vanderbilt felt that her speech was one of the most effective that they heard that semester.