How to start a presentation?

How many speakers have you seen that hooked you into their presentation within first thirty seconds? How many times have you attended the presentation and within thirty seconds thought, “Woow this is gonna be great!”

Probably not many and here is the reason why. Most people walk on the stage and open their speech with boring and unimportant openings like “Thank you for inviting me. My name is ____ and today I’m going to talk about____”

This is literally the worst thing you can do. It will suck the excitement out of your audiences. Also if they were excited about listening to you, they certainly aren’t going to be after that opening. And remember, if you don’t grab their attention within first few seconds they are going to mentally tune out and it’s going to be hard to bring them back. You get only one chance at making a first impression, you better utilize it well.

If you are now wondering what is the right way to open your speech and how to grab attention the answer is simple, with a story. A good story will get their attention, arouse their curiosity, invoke memories and make them want to hear more.

Story is powerful because it takes your audiences on a mental journey. It ignites the listener’s imagination and therefore give them no choice but to tune into your presentation. Stories also cause people to search for similar, relatable experiences that helps them create connection with a speaker. Stories are the way human knowledge was passed down before the written word and consequently storytelling is hardwired into our brain.

Now you are probably wondering what kind of story should you tell. The answer is any. Stories can be personal, from someone you know or simply a story about a company or business.

Example of an opening I used in one of my recent presentations:
“Approximately one year and a half ago, I was final year business students. I had four months of studies left and literally no idea what am I going to do with my life. My brother Klemen was in similar situation. One day we were talking about our plans for the future and came up with a cool idea. We decided to escape the winter and travel around Southeast Asia for two months and a half. We were convinced that long term traveling, before our last semester, will help us gain some clarity and figure out what we want to do with our lives.”

This opening grabbed attention within first few seconds. People started wondering what happen during my traveling and how I ended up on that stage. They got curious and wanted to know more.

Next time you are giving a presentation keep in mind that people don’t care about you. We are selfish being and everything your audiences care about is what you have to say and how can you help them. Therefore don’t start by presenting yourself and rather tell a good story.

Write a comment and let me know how you usually start your presentations!