Light up a cigarette at the start of a persuasive speech arguing against smoking bans. In his "Persuasion Speech Format" guidelines, Dan Yates of Seton Hall University says that one of the best tactics for crafting an introduction is to open with such a controversial action that you qualify in the introduction. Yates suggests that "lighting up a cigarette" at the start of a speech related to anti-smoking measures would make a provocative introduction. This action would also grab the audience's attention in a speech arguing against smoking bans, particularly those members of the audience who are in favor of the ban.
Follow this action with an important statistic. In the smoking example, follow up lighting the cigarette with the fact that the first World Health Organization (WHO) report on second-hand smoke showed no link between second-hand smoke and lung disease, even among family members of smokers. Lighting the cigarette will have focused the audience's attention entirely on you, allowing this important fact to be clearly heard.
State your general topic and your position on it. In this example, your topic would be smoking bans in public places such as bars and parks, and your position is against it.
List a small number of specific references for your position. In the smoking example, use the aforementioned WHO report and and another report by a reputable national or international organization that shows a lack of evidence that second-hand smoke causes lung disease. Using these reports as support for your argument shows how facts can be twisted or ignored in order to propagate misinformation. This builds credibility for your position, while simultaneously discrediting the opposition's.
State your main points in a concise list. In the smoking example, the main points could be that second-hand smoke does not cause lung disease and that banning smoking is a violation of an individual's right to do what he or she wants with his or her own body.