The Beginning of your speech

BEGINNING YOUR SPEECH

INTRODUCTION

The first moments of a speech are critical to its success. If they are dull, lifeless, and unimaginative, the audience can lose interest in the rest of the speech. However, an exciting, creative beginning will help grab and keep listeners’ attention.

THE CRITERIA FOR A SUCCESSFUL OPENING

Successful speech openings meet four criteria:

1. Get the attention of the audience. A listener’s attention needs to be refocused away from any distractions and toward the speaker. A good beginning draws the audience’s attention to the speaker and the presentation.

2. Introduce the topic. The beginning of a speech should indicate what the speaker will be talk­ing about and why the audience should be interested in it. When listeners understand the topic and how they will benefit from listening to a speech, they will immediately pay close attention.

3. Establish rapport. The audience will be more receptive to the speaker and the message if the speaker appears friendly and interested in them and shows personal interest in the subject. Effective ways to establish rapport with an audience:

Smile.

Show enthusiasm.

Make eye contact.

4. Take less than five to 10 percent of the entire speech time. The majority of the time should be spent focused on the body of the speech.

OPENING TECHNIQUES

Techniques for opening a speech can help calm the speaker’s nerves and give clarity of mind. Techniques can also generate new ideas over time. The following seven techniques will help a speaker create good speech openings:

1.  State the importance of your topic. Tell your listeners why the topic is important to them. (give an example)

2.  Make a startling statement. Startle your listeners with an intriguing statement that will compel them to listen further. (give an example)

3.  Arouse suspense or curiosity. Use a series of statements related to the topic that will pique your listeners’ interest. (give an example)

4.  Tell a story or anecdote. Telling an amusing tale, dramatic story, or anecdote arouses interest and gets an audience involved. Keep the story or anecdote relevant to the main point of the speech, and personalize it whenever possible. (give an example)

5.  Ask a rhetorical question. Ask one question or a series of questions that relate to your speech topic. The audience will think about an answer and thus your topic. (give an example)

6.  Begin with a quotation. Using a quotation is an easy and effective way to attract attention. Keep quotes short and related directly to the speech topic. (give an example)

7.  Reference the occasion. Begin the speech by acknowledging the occasion. This type of begin­ning allows a speaker to recognize an important or unusual event and to establish a common interest with the audience. (give an example)

OTHER TECHNIQUES

The above techniques are the most frequently used approaches, but they are not the only tech­niques a speaker can use for effective speech openings:

Humor

Audience participation

A demonstration

A reference to a historical event

Whatever technique you choose, ensure it is relevant to the topic, to the audience, and to the occasion.

Memorize

Once you have written the beginning, memorize it so you do not have to refer to notes. A memorized, polished introduction helps to establish credibility and rapport with your audience.

OPENINGS TO AVOID

Avoid acknowledging the amount of preparation. The audience does not need to know how much a speaker has prepared for the speech he or she is giving. Unless the amount of time specifically pertains to the speech, it should not be addressed. If a speaker has spent little time preparing and states that fact, the speaker may invalidate his or her expertise with the audience and lose his or her authoritative voice.

Example: “Thank you all for coming. I haven’t really had a chance to prepare.”

Avoid being dull and boring. Listeners need to be captivated, informed, inspired, and moti­vated. A speaker’s hope is to accomplish this from the beginning of the speech. Stay away from a bland beginning.

Example: “Today, my speech is about the breakthrough of medicine.”

Avoid delaying mention of the topic. Some speakers think that delaying mention of the topic creates anticipation and arouses curiosity, but this is not so. If the audience does not know the subject matter and purpose of the speaker’s message, they will immediately lose focus.

Example: “You have all come to this conference in anticipation of delving deeper into the theme of education. The title of my speech is [pause]. Well, we’ll get to that in a few moments.”

Tip

Some people write the beginning of a speech after they have developed the body because they can then clearly identify the important points they want to emphasize. By creating an introduction in this manner, a speaker can pinpoint what technique would best suit the speech.