attention getters (need some help please)

[Dmo18]

ok, wedndesday of next week i will be presenting my persuasive speech on why the cannabis prohibition should be lifted. i have good research and i good speech outline but im having problems with my introduction. I want to really get everyones attention, so if you come up with something post it and i will definately appreciate it.
the intro could be any of the following
story
startling statement
quotation
or anything else you all could think of that will really get my classmates attention thnks:thumbsup:

[Nochowderforyou]

"Smoke weed, or I will disembowel you and kill your family"

That would grab their attention. :p Ha ha! I'm just kidding.

[afghooey]

You could start with a question, or a series of questions, that's a quick way to get your audience involved.

'Can anyone guess how many deaths are attributed to alcohol use each year?'
'Okay, what about cigarettes?'
'Okay, now what about marijuana?'

And just toss the figures back at them when they guess.

[Nochowderforyou]

You could start with a question, or a series of questions, that's a quick way to get your audience involved.

'Can anyone guess how many deaths are attributed to alcohol use each year?'
'Okay, what about cigarettes?'
'Okay, now what about marijuana?'

And just toss the figures back at them when they guess.

That's a good idea actually. Have them guessing and then blow their minds with your research.

[yoda]

a good way to start it off? light a spliff in the middle of the class and say 'this will NOT kill me'

[afghooey]

That'd get their attention for sure. :stoned:

[smoke it]

ya, best bet will be lighting the spliff

[D.Boone]

option 3 or option 5 sounds about right or a combo of the two

[Dmo18]

but seriously does anyone know how many deaths are attributed to marijuana? cause i would need to know that number to use it

[Nochowderforyou]

0 deaths are contributed to marijuana. 0

[Dmo18]

come on, now i know that you cannot overdose, but you cant be serious by saying that 0 people will die this year from marijuana, maybe from lung problems from lifelong use or somethin
i belive that marijuana IS the safest of all those 3, and im not tryin to be a dick but come on, no one dies from smokin weed?

[Nochowderforyou]

Did you do the research? If you did, you would know that there have been 0 reported deaths due to cannabis in all its existence. It han't been linked to cancer, breathing or resperatory problems, or asthma, nothing.

[Dmo18]

not saying your wrong, just hard to believe that people can smoke something everyday, for many years, and not have respiratory/lung/breathing problems

[Skrappie]

I find that hard to believe too, cause i'm healthly as a horse and i still get a cough i cant shake when i start to smoke too heavy.

[napolitana869]

it really is 0. weed doesnt cause lung cancer the same way cigs kill people.

[RedLocks]

this guy posted a list of studies involving marijuana that basically disprove all anti-marijuana propaganda that is fed to us through "the war on drugs"
sources at the end of each description
http://boards.cannabis.com/showthread.php?t=92075

[D.Boone]

marijuana doesnt have any carcinogens in it. cigs do.

[ganjah]

Just curious you in highschool or college?

[Dmo18]

college

[CChrisgat05]

marijuana doesnt have any carcinogens in it. cigs do.actually yes it does have carcinogens anything you burn with have carcinogens when you vaporize something there will be no carinogens but if u burn with a lighter it will

[AlwaysBlazed]

0 marijuana deaths but thats not including DUI deaths, which are still wayyyyy lower than alchahol.

[xcrispi]

i disagree w/ the 0 number .
reason being i'm sure there's ppl. that have been struck n killed by cars due to ppl. driving high . no dif. than a drunk driving casulaty .
peace
crispi

[birdgirl73]

Hey, DMO. I've thought about your intro since earlier, when I read this thread while I was at school. Before going back to school several months back, I worked as an executive speechwriter and marketing copywriter for many years at a big corporation.

I liked Afghooey's idea about asking questions a lot. That be a good way to grab your listeners' attention. But I might think about going for some real drama if you want to strongly persuade people. One or another of these ideas may work with your speech's content better, so think about the angle of the rest of your message. If it's about legalization for recreational use, that is, or medical use. (Or if it's about both.)

What about an intro where you paint a very dramatic scenario: "Imagine you're a 26-year-old with an aggressive form of lymphatic cancer. You have pain all over your body. You're nauseated and vomiting from heavy doses of chemotherapy. You don't have any appetite at all. And you're having trouble sleeping."

"Now imagine that there's a single, medically beneficial, natural substance that can alleviate each of these miserable symptoms better than all the various prescribed, factory-made pharmaceuticals available from a doctor. . . . "

"And yet imagine that that substance is illegal and unavailable to you and to all the others who need it. That's the case with cannabis. . . ."

I got a little carried away there. And I wrote like I'd talk rather than the way you would, I'm sure. But that's the general idea . . . I love homework questions. Especially when they deal wtih writing.

[lardman]

That's a very good idea birdgirl73, you write very good. Most people would be interested if they heard that, I think.

:thumbsup: Good Job

[afghooey]

http://www.jackherer.com/comparison.html

No, that chart doesn't include DUI deaths, but it also excludes highway deaths and murders contributed to by alcohol, to make it fair.

[Frivolous248]

Hey, DMO. I've thought about your intro since earlier, when I read this thread while I was at school. Before going back to school several months back, I worked as an executive speechwriter and marketing copywriter for many years at a big corporation.

I liked Afghooey's idea about asking questions a lot. That be a good way to grab your listeners' attention. But I might think about going for some real drama if you want to strongly persuade people. One or another of these ideas may work with your speech's content better, so think about the angle of the rest of your message. If it's about legalization for recreational use, that is, or medical use. (Or if it's about both.)

What about an intro where you paint a very dramatic scenario: "Imagine you're a 26-year-old with an aggressive form of lymphatic cancer. You have pain all over your body. You're nauseated and vomiting from heavy doses of chemotherapy. You don't have any appetite at all. And you're having trouble sleeping."

"Now imagine that there's a single, medically beneficial, natural substance that can alleviate each of these miserable symptoms better than all the various prescribed, factory-made pharmaceuticals available from a doctor. . . . "

"And yet imagine that that substance is illegal and unavailable to you and to all the others who need it. That's the case with cannabis. . . ."

I got a little carried away there. And I wrote like I'd talk rather than the way you would, I'm sure. But that's the general idea . . . I love homework questions. Especially when they deal wtih writing.

^Smart person.

If your trying to get their attention, I find it best to say something almost unrelated (to them) about the subject, something in general, then once their listening and waiting for you to announce your topic you tie it in with what you were talking about, basically what birdgirl did.

Also, Dmo, about damaging your lungs with smoke, surprisingly there is no connection between regular cannabis and lung cancer. I don't know about other stuff though. I'd imagine you would find people who smoked would have lung problems, but I really don't know if thats even true.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/25/AR2006052501729_pf.html

[yoda]

i disagree w/ the 0 number .
reason being i'm sure there's ppl. that have been struck n killed by cars due to ppl. driving high . no dif. than a drunk driving casulaty .
peace
crispi

well, then the cause of the death is from an auto-accident, not marijuana(unless a giant nug was driving the car, but i find this scenario HIGHly unlikey...like my pun there?)

and birdgirl, that was great....id steal that for your intro

[D.Boone]

actually yes it does have carcinogens anything you burn with have carcinogens when you vaporize something there will be no carinogens but if u burn with a lighter it will

then that would make the vapors from the lighter the carcinogens not the weed itself.

[CChrisgat05]

how so the lighter gives off butane which is burnt off by the fire when u got to smoke a cig u get the carcinogens from the tobacco. the same way as if you were to smoke a bowl or a joint and the bowl turns red your smoking the carcins either way

[Dmo18]

i appreciate all the help you guys. still not sure what im gonna use, i found out today i dont have to give til next wednesday. birdgirl, you are a very smart person i wish i had a brain like yours

[birdgirl73]

Thanks, DMO. But the truth is you do have a brain like mine. Everyone does. Most of you guys have far smarter brains than mine, to be honest, and a distinct advantage because you're younger, faster learners. It's just a matter of stretching them and exercising what you've got. Good luck with your persuasive speech!

[TheSmokingMonkey]

I think that you should ask questions like these:

"Why do you think a drug should be illegal?"
(they may give answers like, it impairs your ability to work, it's dangerous to your health, it's addictive, etc)
Then you could say, well, marijuana is no more addictive and perhaps less so than alcohol. People can overdose on alcohol but not on marijuana. You know.

"Did you know that if you consumed the amount of nicotine that is in two cigarettes you would die from nicotine poisoning (the reason smokers don't die is that most of the nicotine is not inhaled and absorbed but rather burned away into the environment)?"

"Did you know that caffeine is more physically addicting than cannabis?"

From what I understand, cannabis does not impair driving ability as much as was previously assumed. Maybe you could find some facts about that.

And, I think the MOST persuasive argument for legalizing cannabis is to share the story of how cannabis became illegal in the first place. Maybe that counts as conspiracy theory, but it was actually the paper industry that was most influential in passing anti-cannabis legislation, to prevent competition from the hemp industry; the propaganda about the intoxicating effects of smoking hemp was simply a tool to convince the public to accept such ludicrous prohibitions.

[afghooey]

I think that you should ask questions like these:

"Why do you think a drug should be illegal?"
(they may give answers like, it impairs your ability to work, it's dangerous to your health, it's addictive, etc)
Then you could say, well, marijuana is no more addictive and perhaps less so than alcohol. People can overdose on alcohol but not on marijuana. You know.

"Did you know that if you consumed the amount of nicotine that is in two cigarettes you would die from nicotine poisoning (the reason smokers don't die is that most of the nicotine is not inhaled and absorbed but rather burned away into the environment)?"

"Did you know that caffeine is more physically addicting than cannabis?"

From what I understand, cannabis does not impair driving ability as much as was previously assumed. Maybe you could find some facts about that.

And, I think the MOST persuasive argument for legalizing cannabis is to share the story of how cannabis became illegal in the first place. Maybe that counts as conspiracy theory, but it was actually the paper industry that was most influential in passing anti-cannabis legislation, to prevent competition from the hemp industry; the propaganda about the intoxicating effects of smoking hemp was simply a tool to convince the public to accept such ludicrous prohibitions.

Some excellent ideas, I like the first question in particular. :thumbsup:

[TokinAsianGuy]

May Jane is innocent dude. if the glove don't fit, you must acquit right?

she hasn't killed anyone.

i'll put it in binary for you, 00000000000000000000000.