Creating A Powerful Opener - Audience Yawning At Your Opening Statement?

What do you think is the most important part of a speech?

If you guessed the opening, you're right!

The first few lines of your presentation are crucial. They set the tone and prepare the audience for what is to come.

When giving a public speech, make sure you use a very powerful opener. This will grab the audience's attention right away. They'll be eager to hear what else you have to say. Keep them happy.

Never, ever begin a speech by apologizing.

It doesn't matter whether your cat ate your notes, your alarm clock malfunctioned or you couldn't find the right room. Your audience came to hear your presentation - not your excuses!

There are many great ways to create a powerful opener. Here's how. Make an attention-grabbing statement. If you can't make your audience stay after the first minute of your speech, they're not likely to stay anyway.

Open with a statement or sentence that is not expected. Yell out, "Help! My house is on fire!" What a great way to begin a speech about the importance of house insurance.

This is a much more powerful opener than starting the same speech with "Today, I'm going to discuss why house insurance is so important".

Which opener would grab your attention?

Creating an element of surprise will startle the audience. You will gain their full attention right from the start. Start off building suspense. Nothing keeps the audience in their seat like a good suspense.

Think of all the great horror movies or books. Have you noticed how they build suspense right from the opening scene?

You end up completely engrossed in the story. Your eyes remain glued to the movie screen. You can't wait to find out what happens next.

Use this same technique in public speaking. Start off describing a scary situation. Use lots of descriptive details to help build suspense.

Your audience will be completely engrossed in your story from the beginning. They'll be anxiously waiting to find out what happens next...

Begin with a quotation. Pick a relevant and easy-to-understand quote.

Many professional speakers start off with a quotation. This can be a very powerful opener.

One of my favorite quotes is by St. Augustine: "The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."

This would be a great beginning for a speech about travel.

Keep the quotes fairly short and make sure they're relevant to your topic.

Inspirational or humorous quotes work well. Humor will ease the tension and create a positive atmosphere from the very beginning. This establishes rapport with your audience.

Another effective way to begin a speech is to start with a question. Ask the audience: "How many of you have ever dreamt of becoming a millionaire?"

Follow this with another question: "How many of you think you have the skills to actually achieve this goal?"

Then launch into your speech about stock investing. These questions create much more interest than telling the audience you're going to discuss stock market trends.

Your initial questions will serve two purposes.

1. They will help you form a bond with your audience.

2. They will capture everyone's complete attention.

Everyone in the audience will want to hear how you're going to help them become a millionaire!

Save boring openers such as "I'm here to talk about..." or "I am going to discuss" for inexperienced speakers. There's nothing wrong with opening lines like these. They're just not as effective at commanding attention.

Instead, begin your speech with a powerful opener like one of the following:

• Attention-grabbing statement

• Suspenseful story

• Inspirational or humorous quote

• Question for the audience

Your audience will know they're listening to a real professional right from the start!

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