Putting It All Together: Self-Introductions

As we have said, the six elements of the rhetorical situation are interconnected and will guide all your decisions as you prepare for your presentation. To illustrate, let’s consider one example of a type of presentation you’ll often be asked to do and have probably done many times in your life: a self-introduction.

A self-introduction is just what its words say—you are introducing yourself to a group of people who may not know you well or at all. It requires a coherent message with little or no preparation and no time to practice. You may be called on to do this kind of presentation the first day of a class, at the first meeting of a new group, at the beginning of a public forum, or at a job interview. It’s how you’ll reply to a common prompt: “Tell us about yourself!”

How can you possibly create a great self-introduction with little notice? You may or may not have time to collect your thoughts and jot down a few ideas before speaking. However, when you know the elements of the rhetorical situation, you’ll be able to prepare for any introduction on the spot.

Suppose your instructor gives you the following directions:

Select one letter of the alphabet and think of three words beginning with the same letter that describes who you are, your beliefs, your behavior, or something you like to do. For example: M for mountains, motorcycling, and motivated; T for teaching, traveling, and talking. After choosing a letter and three words, prepare a brief presentation to the class in which you

• State your preferred name (and anything interesting you would like to share about your name)
• Share the letter and the three words you chose and then briefly explain why you selected those words

You may write your three words on a small piece of paper to make sure you don’t forget them.

The following table illustrates how you can consider each rhetorical element to prepare for a presentation in this situation.

Here are two examples of this kind of presentation:

Hi. My name is Mike Robertson. The letter I chose is R: rap, Rachel, and reading.

My first word is rap. Not only do I like most rap music, but I also like writing rap music and lyrics. Here’s a short verse from one. [He performs the verse.]

My second word is Rachel. She’s my girlfriend and we’ve been together since our junior year in high school. If you met Rachel, you’d say, “Mike’s a lucky guy.”

My third word is reading. I’ll read just about anything. Online news and blogs, social media sites, and books about music and history.

Notice how another student speaker makes different rhetorical decisions for her self-introduction:

Good morning. My name is Jessica Nevins. It was hard to choose a letter, but I went with N. The three words are Natovitz, nursing, and nature.

Natovitz. When my grandfather emigrated from Russia in 1909, his last name was Natovitz. Because Natovitz was hard to spell, difficult to say clearly, and not very American sounding, he changed it to Nevins.

Nursing. I’m a nursing major hoping to become a registered nurse and then a nurse practitioner. A lot of friends and family members think I should become a doctor, but I think nursing suits my personality and lifestyle better.

Nature. I love nature. Walking in the woods. Working in a garden. Watching wild birds at the feeder in my backyard. I also think we should do everything we can to preserve natural wonders and animal habitats. Someday I’ll go on a safari.