Guest Posting: Speech Openings, by Alan Stevens
Alan Stephens’ Presentation Tip of the Week
Alan Stevens is the current President of the Global Speakers Federation. He is a PR Professional and expert on media and communications. His company ,The Media Coach, covers both traditional and social media. He’s also a member of the British Computer Society, and broadcasts regularly on technology and consumer issues. This posting appeared in his weekly newsletter.
Opening Up
The first line of your speech is crucially important. It may be the only line that every member of your audience hears, so it needs to be good. The more engaging it is, the more people will listen to the rest of your speech. If you’ve done your homework well, you will know what interests them. It won’t be the same for every audience, so don’t just have one option.
Firstly, here’s what not to do:
- Tell them your name. They know that already.
- Say how glad you are to be there. That’s a given.
- Start with a joke. You don’t need me to tell you why not.
- List your credentials. They will already have seen your bio.
- Tell them how funny your speech is. If you do, it won’t be.
- Make fun of them. It’s OK to make fun of yourself, not your audience.
Now we’ve got that out the way, what are some positive openers? Here are a few ideas, with examples:
- An intriguing promise “You will improve your memory by 10% in the next hour”
- Something contrary to popular wisdom “The Internet is finished…”
- A puzzle “How could you find the secret of success?”
- A simple piece of value “Three simple steps to double your business this year”
Of course, you have to deliver what you promised. Remember you have give something of value every time you speak. Tell people right at the start what it will be, and you will grab their attention.
This information was written by Alan Stevens, and originally appeared in “The MediaCoach”, his free weekly ezine, available at www.mediacoach.co.uk
1 Comment so far
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I agree with what Alan write, and I would like to add to it:
1. Introduce yourself to audience members whenever practicable.
2. Make sure that the intro your host organization gives you tells the audience what’s in it for them.
I elaborate in the attached blog post:http://patrocchi.blogspot.com/2009/10/forget-grand-entrance.html.
Pat
By Pat Rocchi on 02.24.11 8:25 am
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