Quick notes – Planning your Presentation
Quick notes – Structuring a presentation
This article is a 3 minute read. Enjoy!
This is a quick recap of some of the attention-grabbing methods for opening a presentation that we discovered during your Rich Public Speaking presentation skills course. It's a short reminder of the top techniques and how you can incorporate them into your next presentation.
If you are here and haven't yet taken part in the course, then firstly, well done for finding this post! Secondly, what are you waiting for? Find out more about our foundation presentation skills course here.
The greatest speakers (that’s you!) always begin a presentation in a new and original way that grabs the attention of their audience.
Our attention is drawn to things that are new or unusual. It’s our brains way of protecting us from new and unusual dangers.
If every presentation starts with the same line ‘Hello, my name is… and today I am going to talk to you about…’, then it’s unlikely to grab the attention of your audience.
And attention is what we need as speakers. If we don’t have it, then why bother speaking?
Here’s five ways to open your next presentation that won’t make your audience switch off…
Shocking Presentation Opening
Is there an unusual fact, statistic or statement related to your topic that you can open with?
“The average school spends over £1M per year on cleaning products. We have the power to halve that cost.”
Humorous Presentation Opening
Is there a common humorous misconception about your topic, or organisation, that you can highlight?
“How many Headteachers does it take to change a lifetime of using environmentally unfriendly cleaning products?”
Curious Presentation Opening
Can you make a unique promise to your audience that will gain their attention and interest?
“In my hands is a product that can save your school £500,000 this year.”
Participation Presentation Opening
By asking your audience to raise their hand, or guess an answer, you are instantly grabbing their attention and getting them involved in your presentation.
“Raise your hand if you would like to have an extra £500,000 to spend in your school budget this year?”
Question Presentation Opening
A rhetorical question, followed by a pause, gives your audience time to focus their attention and consider what you have asked. It is a good way to get your audience into the correct mindset for your presentation.
“Have you ever wondered if it is possible to be kind to the environment and to your bank balance?”
Want more great public speaking insight, tips and techniques?
This is just a small part of our treasure chest of public speaking tips and advice. You can find more resources and insight like this one on our downloadable public speaking resources page here.
If you want regular tips and techniques to develop your presentation and public speaking confidence, then sign-up to our regular email, packed full of the very best inspiration and knowledge direct to your inbox!
