How to start a speech or presentation with a bang!
Did you know that the members of your audience decide within the first two to three minutes of your speech or presentation if they will tune in or tune out?
Once they determine that your presentation is going to be slow or dull (or both!) you may lose them, with little chance of pulling them back from the brink. Although they are physically there in the same room with you, or on the same zoom video call you are hosting, their minds are a million miles away…
The audience has given you their time, but you have to earn their attention.
That’s why it is vital that you do your best to arouse your audience’s interest in those first few critical minutes.
If you are wondering how to start a presentation or a speech in a compelling manner, you could do one or more of the following:
Share a powerful quote by a well-known person
Pose a question – for the audience to either answer verbally, with a show of hands, or in their heads
Regale your audience with a short, amusing, relevant personal story. If you want to read more about the power and effectiveness of storytelling in presentations, please check out this blog post on how to use storytelling.
Mention a shocking statistic that really gets them thinking about the topic…
This list is by no means exhaustive. Be creative and have fun with this!
Remember, when determining how to start a speech or how to start a presentation, your aim should be to hook your audience in - so they are riveted from the get go.
© 2020 Susan Weser. All rights reserved.
Susan Weser is the Founder of Speaking2Win, a boutique public speaking and presentation skills consultancy, based in Melbourne, Australia. Susan’s mission is to demystify public speaking and presenting. She loves to fast-track her clients’ public speaking success, empowering them with the skills and confidence to excel in all their public speaking endeavours.
