330 INTRODUCTORY SPEECHES FOR ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
Kiyomi and Me
1 Her name was Kiyomi. She was a mysterious Japanese dancer. Last autumn I got to meet
her. How, you ask. Well, actually, she was a character in a play. I met her the day I became her.
That day was one of the happiest days of my life. I wanted that part so desperately it was all I
could think about. Being Kiyomi was one of the most memorable experiences of my life.
2 When I first read the script for the play A Wind of a Thousand Tales, I couldn’t believe it.
The description of the character Kiyomi was perfect. She was everything I ever wanted to be in
life. She was beautiful, humble, shy, loving, loved, and, most of all, she was graceful. To me, she
was the ideal woman. So, obviously, I tried out for the part.
3 I had to wait an entire weekend to find out if I got the part or not. Now I know that
doesn’t seem like a long time, but to me it felt like an eternity. So when I found out I got the part
that Monday, I was so excited that I memorized all my lines that night.
4 Yet it wasn’t getting the part that made so much of a difference in my life. The most im-
portant experience came after all the rehearsals, when it was finally time to perform the play. I
was performing on stage, when gradually I forgot who I was. I said all the lines and performed all
the actions—but not as Priya acting as Kiyomi, but as Kiyomi herself. It was the strangest experi-
ence of my life. I had become a completely different person. Even after the play was over, it took
me a good five minutes to snap out of it.
5 After finding myself again, I realized why I had this strange experience. I needed this ex-
perience to appreciate who I was. I realized that I should be myself and not long to be someone
else. So what if I’m not the most graceful or feminine person? So what if I don’t possess all the
wonderful characteristics of Kiyomi? I am still me—not a character in a play. Yet by playing that
KIYOMI AND ME 331
Kiyomi and Me
Commentary
A narrative speech of self–introduction, “Kiyomi and Me” is clearly organized and creatively developed.
Here is a synopsis.
Specific Purpose: To introduce myself to the audience.
Central Idea: Playing the role of Kiyomi in A Wind of a Thousand Tales was one of the most memorable
experiences of my life.
Method of Organization: Chronological
Introduction: The introduction consists of paragraph 1 and provides an excellent example of how stu-
dents can gain the audience’s attention by arousing curiosity about the speech topic. After be-
ginning with the opening words, “Her name was Kiyomi,” the speaker gradually reveals the
identity of Kiyomi as a character in a play. She ends the introduction by making clear that the
rest of the speech will explain why playing the role of Kiyomi was one of the most memorable
experiences of the speaker’s life.
Body: Running from paragraph 2 through paragraph 4, the body of this speech is organized chronologi-
cally and presents a narrative about the speaker’s experience playing Kiyomi. In paragraph 2, the
speaker begins her narrative by recalling the day she read the script of A Wind of a Thousand
Tales and how captivated she was by the character of Kiyomi. In paragraph 3, the speaker de-