Seize Your Audience’s Attention When You Do A Presentation

My favorite opener: John Paul Getty once told a group of would-be billionaires his secret of success was: “Rise early, work hard, strike oil.”

Now, here are 3 different ways to grab your audience’s attention right away:

1. Begin with a quotation. When it comes to having an impact with quotations, it’s who you know, not what you know. So the “who” you quote should be an attention-getter. Use well-known celebrities, politicians, authors, and leaders in their field. If you’re not sure the name will be recognized, describe the source’s authority. For example, one of China’s foremost business leaders…

2. Begin with a question. “Do you know how you can double your investment in one year?”

3. Open with a shocking statistic. “Half the money spent on advertising is thrown away.”

Start Your Presentation With A Bang! 

For today’s dollop of clear English speech coaching, here’s more advice about starting your presentation with a bang.

1. If you do nothing else to prepare for your speech, make an opener that not only gets people’s attention, but makes them think about your theme.

2. For that reason, wait to prepare your opener until after you outline the body of your presentation.

3. Start thinking about your opening when you first agree to give the speech.

Rerun from 08/12/2013