Transcription
Your only job in the first 30 seconds of any speech, pitch, or presentation is to make your audience sit up and listen. Believe me, they’ll only listen if you make them. It’s not their job to give you their attention; it’s yours to grab.
The beginnings of most pitches, presentations, and speeches are as dull as dishwater. It’s no wonder the audience keeps checking their phones, reading their emails, or talking to the person next to them. The good news is you don't have to do a lot to stand out and start your speech like a pro. In this video, I’ll show you major pitfalls to avoid and my 5 1/2 top tips for killer intros that will have your audience hanging on your every word. Let’s get started.
Put yourself in your audience’s shoes. We’re bombarded by information. If we’re sitting in a meeting, attending a conference, or listening to someone speak, chances are there’s lots of other noise competing for our eyeballs and ears. So, if you want to grab your audience’s attention, they need to know you’ve started.
One of the biggest mistakes I see people making is doing the housekeeping first. If you talk about fire exits, thank people for being there, or worry about their journeys, people will think you haven’t actually started until you grab their attention and make them understand things have begun. People will default to doing other things competing for their bandwidth. So, don’t bore people with the small stuff. Ideally, get someone else to do it for you, but if you must, do it later. I have another video showing you how, but for now, let’s focus on capturing attention. Avoid small talk and start with a surprise.
As I said, we must do something that makes our audience sit up and pay attention. Don’t be like all the other presenters and speakers. If you want to present like a pro, you’ve got to do something different. The surprise doesn’t have to be massive; I’m not talking about pulling rabbits out of hats. But there are a few things to consider that will help you engage your audience from the offset.
Before you jump in, breathe. The best presenters stop before they start. They take time to get grounded. This lets your audience know you’ve arrived. If you walk onto stage and pause, people pay attention. It signals you’re in control and that people should give you their attention. So, the first thing I’d encourage you to do is take a deep breath.
Once you’ve done that, you have a few options. I’m a massive fan of storytelling, so I couldn’t make this video without suggesting that the first thing you think about is whether a story is an appropriate way to capture your audience’s attention. So, of course, say “Good afternoon, it’s lovely to be here,” but then jump into the narrative: “Let me take you back two years to a cold December evening in the Austrian Alps.” Whatever it might be, drag your audience into the world of imagination. If you’re going to tell a story, it’s got to be succinct. The start of a pitch, presentation, or speech isn’t the moment to launch into *War and Peace*. But if you can structure a narrative with a past, present, and future, taking the audience on a journey, they’ll be leaning in and wanting more. Think of it as the classic three-act structure: beginning, middle, and end. Keep it short, punchy, and relevant—60 seconds tops. That’s a really punchy way to start a speech.
Another option is to pose a question: “How many of you have experienced X?” It doesn’t have to be mind-blowing, but by posing a rhetorical question, your audience is forced to formulate an answer. We find it very difficult to ignore a question posed to us in that way. If you can get your audience to think along the lines of your topic, you instantly drag them away from distractions and into the moment. So, questions are brilliant ways to start. I’d encourage you not to elicit answers from the audience. You can, but that’s a high-risk strategy. Pose a question you want them to answer—a rhetorical question—rather than something where you’re looking for immediate engagement.
Starting with a quote is another fantastic way to let your audience know you’ve begun. It’s a great anchor point that helps contextualize what you’re going to talk about. The quote absolutely has to be relevant and meaningful, but again, you’re borrowing credibility from someone else and engaging your audience’s brain with the topic. It’s a massive win-win.
For those of you who are more analytical or have an audience into details, a fact or figure is a great place to start. A big headline number that grabs people’s attention, or something your audience may not know, that you’ll then unpack. It’s a great way of starting with a bold statement. You may find that as you go through the speech, you unpick it, and the conclusion is something different. But if you can give your audience that clear hook at the beginning and engage their analytical minds, they’ll be ready and waiting to listen for more.
My fifth tip for a killer intro is to let an image or video do the heavy lifting. If you walk onto stage or stand up in a meeting and direct people’s attention to the screen where there’s something interesting and compelling, you can sit back and let the audience process what’s happening behind you. This can be a powerful way to set the scene, especially if you use video footage, because it instantly engages your audience’s emotions. We bypass the analytical part of the mind and engage their hearts as well, which is fantastic when starting a pitch, presentation, or speech.
My bonus half-tip isn’t for the faint-hearted, but a great way to start if you’re good at it: tell a joke. If you can get your audience to laugh within the first 60 seconds, you’ll increase rapport, and they’ll be more open to what you’re saying. This is a high-risk strategy. If you’re not good at telling jokes, I’d counsel you against it. But if you have a cheeky streak, it’s worth a go.
Stories, questions, quotes, facts, visuals, and maybe a cheeky joke—so you’ve got their attention. But what’s next? The surprise is only the first part of your introduction. If you want to know the three things you should do next to keep your audience leaning in and wanting more, I’ve got you covered in this video. And if you’d like to benchmark your presentation skills against the six key ingredients of impact and discover how you can instantly increase your influence, take my Presenting with Impact scorecard using the link in the comments below.