Mark Twain once said, “There are two important days in your life: The day you are born and the day you find out why.” Similarly, there are two important moments in a presentation: When you prepare and when you start a presentation. Why?
Have you ever failed and wished you knew something beforehand?
The truth is, 99% of all great successes come from good preparation, from skills to experience, it’s all preparation. A speech with a clear script and the right practice methods will definitely get better results than no preparation at all.
That’s about preparation. As for the opening of a speech, the old saying is true: A good start is half the battle. Like a domino effect, if the introduction fails, the initial disappointment will lead to a chain of collapses that will be difficult to recover from.
In the past, the elders said that a betel nut opens a story, so what do our champions of public speaking say about starting a presentation? Let’s explore their secret, or 3 powerful ways to start a presentation with examples from world-class speakers.
#1 – Start a presentation with Powerful Questions
What do you think is special about questions?
The power of questions lies in the fact that as soon as they are asked, whether you want to or not, your brain will come up with an answer. Did you have any ideas when you read the question above?
That’s why powerful questions are essential in the speeches of world class champions. They can place them in the conclusion, throughout the body, or right at the beginning of the speech to quickly connect with the audience, even if they are talking to each other, or even scrolling through their smartphones.
In 2015, the World Champion of Public speaking, Mohammed Qahtani walked onto the stage, took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, picked up a lighter and was about to light it. But he stopped when he saw the audience’s disapproving eyes looking at him. At that time, he looked confused and asked the audience, “What’s wrong?”
After the whole hall burst into laughter, he asked again. “Do you think smoking can be fatal?”
The secret to effectively use questions to start a presentation, you need to pay attention to the following:
(1) Relevant
Of course, the questions you ask must be relevant to the topic you are talking about.
If you are presenting about the topic: family, ask a question related to family. “When was the last time you visited your hometown?”
If you are presenting about the environment, ask a question related to that. “Do you know where our country ranks among the top most polluted countries in the world?”
Asking questions unrelated to the presentation may also have a certain attraction effect, even causing laughter. However, if you can’t explain how it relates afterwards, it will backfire. Be careful.
(2) Concise
The main purpose of asking questions in the opening of a presentation is to connect quickly. Therefore, the shorter the better.
(3) Powerful
You can ask questions that make the audience nod in agreement and connect with them quickly. However, champions aim for powerful questions that impact the audience’s emotions.
For example, Mohammed’s question relates to death, which is associated with strong emotions deep within humans.
Or the question “When was the last time you visited your hometown?” also makes those who have been away from home for many years reflect.
Find relevant, concise and powerful questions to start your presentation, and the audience will have to nod and listen to you from beginning to end.
#2 – Start your speech with Impressive Statements
In 2005, the World Championship of Public Speaking, Lance Miller made the whole hall nervous when he walked onto the stage and declared boldly. “The ultimate question. That question has plagued humans since the dawn of time…”
Then the crowd erupted in laughter with the unexpected answer along with his explanation and very humorous stories.
If questions have the power to stimulate ideas in the audience’s mind, then impressive statements, or bold declarations, will create curiosity in their minds.
To apply this method effectively to your presentation opening, there are two things to keep in mind:
(1) You need to choose an impressive statement that sparks interest and curiosity. The quickest way is to quote a famous saying from a famous person.
(2) You need to practice thoroughly to walk onto the stage and declare as confidently and boldly as possible.
Otherwise, if you walk out and shyly say thank you, sorry, etc., then this method won’t work.
If you are still lacking confidence, it is best to choose the first method of asking questions, which will be gentler, safer and more effective.
#3 – Start a Presentation with Engaging Stories
Have you ever been on the road and seen a crowd gathering, then you also joined in to see what was happening?
If there is one thing in the world that can instantly attract attention and bring strangers together, it can only be engaging stories. What makes people gather in such a crowd, I have to go see!
If you watch the world champion of public speaking, Pres Vasilev, you will see that he starts his presentation by taking the audience into the story of him being stucked with his car.
Speaking of the art of captivating storytelling, with the skills learned from world-class speakers, I’m working on a big book. However, right in this blog, I can reveal a simple but powerful secret to you: S.H.E.
When telling a story, you simply help the listener get S.H.E.
What is S.H.E.?
It’s See, Hear, Experience. No matter how you tell it, as long as you help the audience:
(1) See what you have seen.
(2) Hear what you have heard.
(3) Experience the same emotions as you.
When you tell a story that is S.H.E. compliant, your story will not only be more vivid, but the listener will also feel like they are living in that story with you, and you will definitely feel more emotional as you tell it.
This is the most advanced way to start a presentation, requiring thorough practice, especially the skill of captivating storytelling, to be able to captivate the audience.
Therefore, practice from easy to difficult first.
Start a presentation with powerful questions, impressive statements in place of polite thank yous, apologies, or weather forecasts. As for the story, practice telling them in with S.H.E in the body of your speech, so that later when you are very confident with a particular story, you can put it right at the beginning of the presentation.
So you have learned how to impress the audience right att the opening of your presentation!
(1) Powerful Questions
(2) Impressive Statements
(3) Engaging Stories
Do you know any other ways to start a presentation or have any questions? Please comment!
