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How to write a speech introduction

12 of the best attention getters to start a speech

By:  Susan Dugdale  | Last modified: 01-12-2023

The audience settles in their seats. The lights dim. You walk out to the center of the stage. You pause, take a deep breath, open your mouth and begin.

What you say over the next 30 seconds to introduce your speech or presentation is crucial.

That's how much time you have to make a positive impression on your audience. In it they will decide whether or not you have anything relevant or useful to say. Those first impressions count!

So how do you write an effective speech introduction to grab and hold their attention?

Begin by finding out how to choose the right opener.

What's on this page:

• how to choose the right opener for your speech

12 of the very best ways to start a speech

3. What if?

5. Key fact

7. Rhetorical

9. Headlines

10. History

11. Challenge

How to choose the right opener for your speech

The better way to make your choice of opener is after you have carefully considered who you are talking to and why you're talking to them.

One size does not fit all. Different audiences will respond differently. If you are giving the same speech multiple times think about what you may need to change to fit. 

To work well your opening needs to be aligned with:

• the type of speech you're giving
• your main purpose for giving it
• your target audience and,  
• their interests or needs

Both the hook * to catch their attention and your topic must be relevant to them. Unless they're a captive audience, they've come freely to listen to you and they're expecting something of value from you.

How are you going to let them know they're in the right place? Why should they listen? What are they going to get or gain through listening?

Out of all the different ways to open, what attention getter is absolutely the best way?

The only way I know to work out what is best is to go through each of them, and as you do, consider your audience. Make a short list of those you think might work then try them out before making your final choice.

* hook – an opening statement that immediately captures the audience's attention just like a well baited hook on a fishing line catches a fish.

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1. Use imagination to create mind pictures

Ask the audience to use their imagination. Get them to build evocative compelling images in their minds. Make them large. Add vibrant color, sound and movement.

For example:

“Let's take a break. Make yourself comfortable. Now close your eyes for a moment. Take a deep breath, and you're there, in the place where you feel the most at ease, the place where all the tensions, all the demands of your normal everyday life disappear. Look around you. See it. Feel it. It's so good, it's perfect."

“Close your eyes. Take a deep breath and a moment to picture in your mind the people dearest to you, the people you feel you could not live without. Now when did you talk to them, or spend real time with them last?"

2. Use an item to build a connection 

Choose an image or an object related to your speech, for instance a pair of shoes, to trigger interest and build a connection.

For example, if I were giving a speech on the lives of upper-middle class 19th century women I could open by holding up a pair of ornately decorated kid leather pumps.

“What's the name of the young woman who wore these? Listen. Can you hear the rustle of her silk skirts? And hear her heart beat bom-biddy-bom as the beau of the ball stepped her way? Would he, or wouldn't he ask her to dance?”

3. Ask a 'What if...?' rhetorical question

'What if...?' invites an audience to consider the possibilities of something becoming real. They can be positive somethings or negative, trivial or something that would have a significant impact if it came to pass.

The power of a 'what if...?' rhetorical question as an opener lies in the potency of the images and feelings it triggers. A well-chosen 'what if...?' will immediately have an audience wanting to hear the rest of your speech.

• "What if we don't find a way to successfully manage climate change?"
• "What if we really did solve the affordable housing crisis?"
• "What if questions of race and color ceased to matter?"
• "What if medicines were freely available to everybody who needed them?"
• "What if the person sitting next to you turned, looked into your eyes and said they loved you? Truly. Madly. Deeply."

4. Try a quotation from someone who's impacted your life in some way

To be effective a quotation doesn't have to be the clever quip or snippet of enduring wisdom: a famous quote from a well known person. It's origin could be personal, something someone important in your life said that's remained with you.

For example, my Mother answered all initial wails of outrage, pain or hurt from any of her five children with a command. "Breathe!" That was repeated, interwoven with encouraging asides, until whoever it was, was able to talk clearly and be understood.  "It's OK.", she'd say. "Breathe. Come on. You can do it. Breathe. That's it. Keep going. Good."

Or I could use this line from one of my high school reports which read, "...with further maturity she should do well." (Thank you Mr Phillips. Your prediction was right on target.) 

Or this from our son aged four as he watched me getting ready for another day of teaching: "When I grow up I'm going to wear pretty dresses and go to school just like you."

5. Use an interesting key fact

Choose an interesting key fact as an attention getting device: one of the most rarely known, or a shocking statistic from the body of your speech to open with.

For example: "Take a guess at what the most powerful and frequently used word is in the English language? 

It's not one of those usually thought of candidates.  Love? No. Money? Nope. Neither is it  any member of your family... Mum, Dad, brother, sister, son, or daughter.

It's a three letter word, so common it's overlooked and taken for granted. 'The'. It's the humble 'the'."

(For more see this BBC article:  Is this the most powerful word in the English language?

Or: "Between 2020/21 and 2021/2022, Americans consumed about 11 million metric tons of sugar, up from about 10 million metric tons in 2009/2010. Can you even begin to imagine the size of that sweet white mountain?"

(For more see: US sugar consumption statistics )

6. Share personal stories

Share a personal story related to your specific topic as the beginning of a speech. Done well, it lets the audience know you understand their situation and helps establish your credibility: your right to talk on the subject.

As an example here's the opening of a speech I gave about the impact of suicide on families and friends:

“One fine Spring day I biked home from school and found a policemen guarding our backdoor. Through it came sounds I'll never forget: my quiet Mother screaming. He said, "You can't go in."

I kicked him in the shins and did. It was the 15th of September, three days before my thirteenth birthday and my father was dead. Killed by his own hand. Suicide.”

(If you want to find out more about the speech and read it, it's here: After they're gone . It's an example persuasive speech using the five steps of Monroe's Motivated Sequence.)

7. Rhetorical questions

These are questions that although they are asked, they're never really intended to be answered by anyone other than the person asking them. * Their principal function is to act as a segue, or lead in, to what the person intends to say next. For instance, the first main point of your introduction.

Examples: "What if I were to say to you that there was no such thing as public speaking fear?"

"What do you think the main benefits of being able to speak up in public are?"

* Although there's bound to be someone in your audience who will. Be ready for them, and move on.

8. An empathetic question, aligning yourself with the audience and eliciting a response

These questions bring speaker and audience together, establishing a common ground, a mutual understanding, which is an effective way to ease into a speech. If your question 'works' you'll see heads nodding in agreement.

• "Have you ever experienced the butterflies in your stomach turning into a herd of rampaging elephants, just before you step up to give your presentation?"
• "Have you ever wanted a good day to never end?"
• "How often have you 'lost' your car in the supermarket car park?"
• "How often have you ever wanted to shout, NO? You want me to prepare a new presentation by tomorrow? NO. You want me to stay late, again? NO."

9. It's in the news

Take headlines from what's trending in media you know the audience will be familiar with and see.

Using those that relate to your speech topic as the opening of your speech is a good way to grab the attention of the audience. It shows how relevant and up-to-the-minute the topic is.

For example: "'Death toll soars to 76 in Florida after Hurricane Ian demolished entire communities.' 'Noru became a super typhoon in 6 hours. Scientists say powerful storms are becoming harder to forecast.' 'Hurricane Orlene strengthens into Category 4 storm as it heads toward western Mexico.'

Three front page headlines from CNN just today. Climate change. Let's do what we can."

10. This day in history

If you're giving a speech to celebrate a special birthday or an anniversary, consider using several carefully selected events that occurred on the same day as a speech opening. They could be either funny or serious, depending on the specific purpose of your speech. They're a great way to place the person in a much wider context and often with exalted company.

For example: "What do the 1863 National Thanksgiving Day proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln, National Boyfriend Day, and Gwen Stefani have in common with Joe? Yes, the 3rd of October! It's a great date made better by being Joe's birthday. And we say Gwen is truly privileged to have the same one as him."

11. Issue a challenge

Let the audience know first thing, at the beginning of the speech, what action you expect they'll be able to take by the time your presentation is complete. Then when you come to the final points, repeat the call to action, or challenge, as part of your closing statement.

For example: "I've a challenge for you. That's to sign up for our public speaking course. Right now you may not see yourself doing that. Public speaking? Me? I'd rather have a root canal done, without painkillers. However, by the end of the presentation...well, let's see. There's a first time for everything!"

Use a startling statement, a fact, or a series of facts, to jolt the audience into paying attention.

"Covid. We've had 1.06 million of us die in the US, so far. Today there are nearly 60,00 new cases. More mothers, fathers, friends, colleagues, children – people. People ill. People who might die. So why have we stopped wearing masks?"

For more: Google: Covid stats US

Other speech writing resources

• how to end a speech effectively : explanations with examples showing how to close a speech with impact
• how to write a speech : a detailed guide with examples covering audience analysis, planning, writing oral language, transitions, how to use an outline... 

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How to Start a Speech: 7 Tips and Examples for a Captivating Opening

By Status.net Editorial Team on December 12, 2023 — 10 minutes to read

1. Choosing the Right Opening Line

Finding the perfect opening line for your speech is important in grabbing your audience’s attention. A strong opening line sets the stage for the points you want to make and helps you establish a connection with your listeners.

1. Start with a question

Engage your audience from the very beginning by asking them a thought-provoking question related to your topic. This approach encourages them to think, and it can create a sense of anticipation about what’s coming next.

• “Have you ever wondered how much time we spend on our phones every day?”

2. Share a personal story

A relatable personal story can create an emotional connection with your audience. Make sure your story is short, relevant to your speech, and ends with a clear point.

• “When I was a child, my grandmother used to tell me that every kind deed we do plants a seed of goodness in the world. It was this philosophy that inspired me to start volunteering.”

3. Use a quote or a statistic

Incorporate a powerful quote or an intriguing statistic at the outset of your speech to engage your audience and provide context for your topic.

• “As the great Maya Angelou once said, ‘People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.'”

4. Make them laugh

Injecting a little humor into your opening line puts everyone at ease and makes your speech more memorable. Just make sure your joke is relevant and doesn’t offend your audience.

• “They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but if the doctor is cute, forget the fruit!”

5. Paint a mental picture

Draw your audience in by describing a vivid scene or painting an illustration in their minds. This creates an immersive experience that makes it easier for your audience to follow your speech.

• “Picture this: you’re walking down the beach, and you look out on the horizon. The sun is setting, and the sky is a breathtaking canvas of reds, oranges, and pinks.”

2. Using a Personal Story

Sharing a personal story can be a highly effective way to engage your audience from the very beginning of your speech. When you open your talk with a powerful, relatable story, it helps create an emotional connection with your listeners, making them more invested in what you have to say.

Think about an experience from your life that is relevant to the topic of your speech. Your story doesn’t have to be grand or dramatic, but it should be clear and vivid. Include enough detail to paint a picture in your audience’s minds, but keep it concise and on point.

The key to successfully using a personal story is to make it relatable. Choose a situation that your audience can empathize with or easily understand. For example, if you’re giving a speech about overcoming adversity, you could talk about a time where you faced a seemingly insurmountable challenge and overcame it.

Make sure to connect your story to the main point or theme of your speech. After sharing your experience, explain how it relates to the topic at hand, and let your audience see the relevance to their own lives. This will make your speech more impactful and show your listeners why your personal story holds meaning.

3. Making a Shocking Statement

Starting your speech with a shocking statement can instantly grab your audience’s attention. This technique works especially well when your speech topic relates to a hot-button issue or a controversial subject. Just make sure that the statement is relevant and true, as false claims may damage your credibility.

For example, “Believe it or not, 90% of startups fail during their first five years in the market.” This statement might surprise your listeners and make them more receptive to your ideas on how to avoid pitfalls and foster a successful business.

So next time you’re crafting a speech, consider opening with a powerful shocking statement. It could be just the thing to get your audience sitting up and paying full attention. (Try to keep your shocking statement relevant to your speech topic and factual to enhance your credibility.)

4. Using Humor

Humor can be an excellent way to break the ice and grab your audience’s attention. Opening your speech with a funny story or a joke can make a memorable first impression. Just be sure to keep it relevant to your topic and audience.

A good joke can set a light-hearted tone, lead into the importance of effective time management, and get your audience engaged from the start.

When using humor in your speech, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

• Be relatable: Choose a story or joke that your audience can easily relate to. It will be more engaging and connect your listeners to your message.
• Keep it appropriate: Make sure the humor fits the occasion and audience. Stay away from controversial topics and avoid offending any particular group.
• Practice your delivery: Timing and delivery are essential when telling a joke. Practice saying it out loud and adjust your pacing and tone of voice to ensure your audience gets the joke.
• Go with the flow: If your joke flops or doesn’t get the reaction you were hoping for, don’t panic or apologize. Simply move on to the next part of your speech smoothly, and don’t let it shake your confidence.
• Don’t overdo it: While humor can be useful in capturing your audience’s attention, remember that you’re not a stand-up comedian. Use it sparingly and focus on getting your message across clearly and effectively.

5. Incorporating a Quote

When you want to start your speech with a powerful quote, ensure that the quote is relevant to your topic. Choose a quote from a credible source, such as a famous historical figure, a well-known author, or a respected expert in your field. This will not only grab your audience’s attention but also establish your speech’s credibility.

For example, if you’re giving a speech about resilience, you might use this quote by Nelson Mandela: “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

Once you’ve found the perfect quote, integrate it smoothly into your speech’s introduction. You can briefly introduce the source of the quote, providing context for why their words are significant. For example:

Nelson Mandela, an inspirational leader known for his perseverance, once said: “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

When you’re incorporating a quote in your speech, practice your delivery to ensure it has the intended impact. Focus on your tone, pace, and pronunciation. By doing so, you can convey the quote’s meaning effectively and connect with your audience emotionally.

Connect the quote to your main points by briefly explaining how it relates to the subject matter of your speech. By creating a natural transition from the quote to your topic, you can maintain your audience’s interest and set the stage for a compelling speech.

In our resilience example, this could look like:

“This quote by Mandela beautifully illustrates the power of resilience. Today, I want to share with you some stories of remarkable individuals who, like Mandela, overcame obstacles and rose every time they fell. Through their experiences, we might learn how to cultivate our own resilience and make the most of life’s challenges.”

6. Starting with a Question

Opening your speech with a question can be a great way to engage your audience from the start. This strategy encourages your listeners to think and become active participants in your presentation. Your opening question should be related to your core message, sparking their curiosity, and setting the stage for the following content. Here are a few examples:

• For a motivational speech : “Have you ever wondered what you would do if you couldn’t fail?”
• For a business presentation : “What’s the biggest challenge your team faces daily, and how can we overcome it?”
• For an educational talk : “How does the way we use technology today impact the future of our society?”

When choosing the right starting question, consider your audience. You want to ask something that is relevant to their experiences and interests. The question should be interesting enough to draw their attention and resonate with their emotions. For instance, if you’re presenting to a group of entrepreneurs, gear your question towards entrepreneurship, and so on.

To boost your question’s impact, consider using rhetorical questions. These don’t require a verbal response, but get your audience thinking about their experiences or opinions. Here’s an example:

• For an environmental speech : “What kind of world do we want to leave for our children?”

After posing your question, take a moment to let it sink in, and gauge the audience’s reaction. You can also use a brief pause to give the listeners time to think about their answers before moving on with your speech.

7. Acknowledging the Occasion

When starting a speech, you can acknowledge the occasion that brought everyone together. This helps create a connection with your audience and sets the stage for the rest of your speech. Make sure to mention the event name, its purpose, and any relevant individuals or groups you would like to thank for organizing it. For example:

“Hello everyone, and welcome to the 10th annual Charity Gala Dinner. I’m truly grateful to the fundraising committee for inviting me to speak tonight.”

After addressing the event itself, include a brief personal touch to show your connection with the topic or the audience. This helps the audience relate to you and gain interest in what you have to say. Here’s an example:

“As a long-time supporter of this cause, I am honored to share my thoughts on how we can continue making a difference in our community.”

Next, give a brief overview of your speech so the audience knows what to expect. This sets the context and helps them follow your points. You could say something like:

“Tonight, I’ll be sharing my experiences volunteering at the local food bank and discussing the impact of your generous donations.”

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some effective opening lines for speeches.

A powerful opening line will grab your audience’s attention and set the stage for the rest of your speech. Some effective opening lines include:

• Start with a bold statement: “The world needs your creativity now more than ever.”
• Share a surprising fact: “Did you know that the average person spends (…) years of their life at work?”
• Pose a thought-provoking question: “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?”
• Tell a short, engaging story: “When I was 10 years old, I discovered my passion for baking in my grandmother’s kitchen.”

Can you provide examples of engaging introductions for speeches?

• Use humor: “As a kid, I believed that 7 pm bedtime was a form of torture. Now, as an adult, I find myself dreaming of 7 pm bedtime.”
• Share a personal experience: “On a trip to Italy, I found myself lost in the winding streets of a small village. It was there, amidst my confusion, that I stumbled upon the best gelato I’d ever tasted.”
• Use an analogy: “Starting a new business is like taking a journey into the unknown. There will be challenges to overcome, and you’ll need resilience, determination, and a strong compass.”

Which speech styles can make a powerful impact on the audience?

Different speech styles will resonate with different audiences. Some styles to consider include:

• Inspirational: Motivate your audience to take action or overcome challenges.
• Storytelling: Share personal experiences or anecdotes to illustrate your points and keep listeners engaged.
• Educational: Provide useful information and insights to help your audience learn or grow.
• Persuasive: Present a compelling argument to convince your audience to adopt a particular perspective or take specific action.

How do successful speakers establish a connection with their listeners?

Establishing a connection with your listeners is key to delivering an impactful speech. Some ways to connect with your audience include:

• Show empathy: Demonstrating understanding and concern for your audience’s feelings and experiences will generate a sense of trust and connection.
• Be relatable: Share personal stories or examples that allow your audience to see themselves in your experiences, thus making your speech more relatable.
• Keep it genuine: Avoid overrehearsing or coming across as scripted. Instead, strive for authenticity and flexibility in your delivery.
• Encourage participation: Engaging your audience through questions, activities, or conversation can help build rapport and make them feel more involved.

What are some techniques for maintaining a friendly and professional tone in speeches?

To maintain a friendly and professional tone in your speeches, consider these tips:

• Balance humor and seriousness: Use humor to lighten the mood and engage your audience, but make sure to also cover the serious points in your speech.
• Speak naturally: Use your everyday vocabulary and avoid jargon or overly formal language when possible.
• Show respect: Acknowledge differing opinions and experiences, and treat your audience with courtesy and fairness.
• Provide useful information: Offer valuable insights and solutions to your audience’s concerns, ensuring they leave your speech feeling more informed and empowered.
• Emotional Intelligence (EQ) in Leadership [Examples, Tips]
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• Empathy: Definition, Types, and Tips for Effective Practice
• How to Improve Key Communication Skills
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• What is Self Compassion? (Exercises, Methods, Examples)

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Five of the Best Speech Opening Lines

Great opening lines to a speech get us curious and can set the direction for a powerful talk.   In those first few seconds you have the chance to gain your audience’s attention, earn their trust, and persuade them you are someone worth listening to.   The best introductions to speeches are a mile away from the standard welcomes and thank yous that set the snoozometer to max. Get it right, and those initial words can captivate the crowd from the off, creating a connection with every individual in the room.   But how do you go about opening your speech with something different and memorable? A great place to start is looking at examples of introductions to successful speeches to see what you can learn from them.   To show you what we mean, we’ve picked some of our favourite opening lines from TED talks, home to some of the best conference speeches in the world. From funny stories to hard-hitting introductions, TED talks show the art of the possible when it comes to getting your speech off to a kick-ass start.   Have a go at guessing the speaker, or the focus of the rest of their talk (hint…we give you the answers later on).  

Do you want to improve your public speaking? Why not view our  Public Speaking Courses !

Guess the Speech: Five of the best speech opening lines

Speech A:  Good morning. How are you? It’s been great, hasn’t it? I’ve been blown away by the whole thing. In fact, I’m leaving.

Speech B:  For a long time, there was me, and my body. Me was composed of stories, of cravings, of strivings, of desires of the future. Me was trying not to be an outcome of my violent past, but the separation that had already occurred between me and my body was a pretty significant outcome. Me was always trying to become something, somebody. Me only existed in the trying. My body was often in the way.

Speech C:  Sadly, in the next 18 minutes when I do our chat, four Americans that are alive will be dead from the food that they eat.

Speech D:  Okay, now I don’t want to alarm anybody in this room, but it’s just come to my attention that the person to your right is a liar. (Laughter) Also, the person to your left is a liar. Also the person sitting in your very seats is a liar. We’re all liars. What I’m going to do today is I’m going to show you what the research says about why we’re all liars, how you can become a liespotter and why you might want to go the extra mile and go from liespotting to truth seeking, and ultimately to trust building.

Speech E:  Imagine a big explosion as you climb through 3,000 ft. Imagine a plane full of smoke. Imagine an engine going clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack. It sounds scary. Well I had a unique seat that day. I was sitting in 1D.

Answers: Who delivered these great opening lines?

These examples pack a punch for very different reasons. There’s absolutely no chance of the audience zoning out when the speaker goes straight in with such a powerful start.   So, who gave these speeches, and why are the introductions so good? Time for the big reveal….

A:  Sir Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity

Deceptively simple, the opening lines for this speech set the tone for what has become the most viewed TED talk of all (currently nearly 57 million views). Far from being just ‘throat clearing’, Sir Ken’s funny introduction cleverly paves the way for a talk that will gently but profoundly show us a new way of looking at education. It’s as if we are at a dinner party, being hosted by Sir Ken – he makes us feel comfortable, interested and open all at once. We are not being lectured to (which is always a possibility when education is the subject matter of choice), we want to learn and hear more. Very skilful indeed.

Ginger tip: funny introductions

Using humour in your introduction can be a great way to get your speech off to a flying start – but only if you do it in a way that feels natural. This example shows how you can make people laugh without telling a joke. It’s about finding your own funny and feeling totally comfortable with what you’re saying. If it feels a bit forced to you, it definitely will to your audience. You don’t have to make people roll around on the floor laughing, but light-hearted and amusing anecdotes can add energy and engagement to your talk – which is especially needed if you’re in the dreaded after-lunch slot . Remember, when you open your speech with something funny, you are setting the tone for the rest of your talk – so you’ll need to pepper humour throughout.

Extra Ginger nuggets

How to write a funny speech Funny inspiring speakers talks 

B: Eve Ensler: Suddenly, my body

As you’d expect from a the writer of the Vagina Monologues, the start of this speech opening was profound, stark in its honesty and inviting. We empathize and want to know more. Unfortunately this speech suffered from a common affliction that writers face; in getting focused on the precise words of the speech (in this instance, Eve Ensler read her speech), we can get disconnected from the full power of the material. Whilst the words were powerful, we would have enjoyed the rest of this speech more if Eve had given herself permission to find the right words in the moment, rather than needing to be perfectly scripted.

Ginger tip: going unscripted

You want it to be perfect. You’re worried about forgetting something vital. You’re scared of doing it wrong. These are common and perfectly understandable reasons why people opt to script their speech and read it word for word. But rather than delivering a foot-perfect performance, you’re more likely to lose the vital connection with the audience. Not to mention risking plunging yourself into the dreaded ‘I’m sorry I’ve lost my place’ scenario. More than anything, people want you to be human and to speak from the heart. It takes confidence to ditch your notes, but with some simple techniques, you can prepare and remember your speech in a way that allows you to deliver a clear, compelling and authentic talk.

How to start a speech with power and confidence How to remember a speech without notes

C: Jamie Oliver’s TED Wish: Teach every child about food

This is one of our favourite ever TED talks, and it doesn’t pull its punches from the very first line. Jamie Oliver manages to balance preparation (statistics, stories, well-developed ideas) with heart in his TED talk. This speech opening line both makes our jaws drop to the ground in shock at such a statistic and opens our hearts to the human side of the story. Powerful stuff.

Ginger tip: punchy facts

Opening your speech with a hard-hitting fact can quickly add credibility to your talk and demonstrate the scale of an issue. It’s best to keep statistics simple and make them as relevant to the audience as possible, so it feels memorable rather than dry. Resist the urge to stuff the rest of the speech with stats. Try to stick to a few powerful facts and bring them to life with real examples.

Extra Ginger nuggets:

The key to presenting data…is not to present data How to make a powerful point with your speech

D: Pamela Meyer: How to spot a liar

We love talks that balance humour and connect us to the subject matter in hand – and Pamela Meyer does this perfectly in her TED talk opening line. By bringing a challenge straight to us, in our very seats, Pamela engages us and makes sure the talk is about ‘me’ the audience member. We’re laughing and ready to listen. Great job.

Ginger tip: setting up a problem

Setting up a problem at the start of your speech immediately creates a reason for listening and a direction for your talk. And if you involve the audience in the problem, it’s even more powerful. It doesn’t have to be something completely new, in fact telling us what we already know and explaining why that’s a problem can be a really engaging way to start. Depending on the subject matter, you can frame the problem in different ways – from serious to humorous. And it gives a natural structure to the rest of your talk as you explore how to solve the issue.  

The best way to engage your audience Five methods to master audience interaction

E: Ric Elias: 3 things I learned while my plane crashed

Wow, what an opening! Who wouldn’t want to know more? Ric Elias showed here how powerful it is to jump straight into a story, with no fussing around with thank yous and throat clearing. Unfortunately after the winning start, the rest of the talk lacked some of the gusto and drama of its opening lines. What can we learn from this? Start with power, but make sure you structure your talk to include a journey that will continue to keep us involved all the way through.

Ginger tip: start with a story

Stories are one of the most effective ways to inspire others. We’re hard wired to connect with stories and your experience of the world is one of the most valuable speaking tools that you possess. Telling a story is a popular way to open a speech because it can quickly build that all-important human connection with your audience. If you have a message that’s personal, or if you’re trying to influence your audience to make a change, a story is a great place to start.

Why is it so important to tell your story? 3 storytelling secrets for public speaking

Creating the best introduction for your speech

We hope these examples of great opening lines demonstrate that you don’t have to conform to the ‘safe’ introductions we’re all used to hearing at corporate conferences. In fact, at Ginger, we dare our speakers to rip up the ‘rulebook’, to be courageous, and to take a different approach to setting the scene. You can find even more tips in our free guide,  The 10 best ways to start your talk .   We’d love to hear your thoughts on these and other examples of great opening lines – so please share your ideas in the comments below.

Beyond introductions

Of course, it’s all very well creating a captivating introduction, but you don’t want the rest of your talk to fall off a cliff edge after you’ve built it up so spectacularly. Maintaining the audience’s attention for the rest of your speech is just as important.   We’ve developed the  TED-style Talk Guidebook  to help you through the process of writing a brilliant speech. Whether you’re crafting a short talk or a keynote, it will help you create a speech that’s as good as a TED talk – so you can wow your audience from the first word to the final thank you.   If you’d like to get hands-on support with becoming a better public speaker, then take a look at our  training courses.  There’s something for every level, from nervous beginners to becoming a leading speaker on the world stage. We’d love to welcome you along.

UK based? Here’s some courses that you might enjoy: 

• Presentation Skills and Essentials
• Leadership and Communications
• TED Talk Presentations

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Speech Writing

Introduction Speech

Introduction Speech- Tips & Examples

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Introduction speeches are all around us. Whenever we meet a new group of people in formal settings, we have to introduce ourselves. That’s what an introduction speech is all about.

When you're facing a formal audience, your ability to deliver a compelling introductory speech can make a lot of difference. With the correct approach, you can build credibility and connections.

In this blog, we'll take you through the steps to craft an impactful introduction speech. You’ll also get examples and valuable tips to ensure you leave a lasting impression.

So, let's dive in!

• 1. What is an Introduction Speech? 
• 2. How to Write an Introduction Speech?
• 3. Introduction Speech Outline
• 4. Introduction Speech Example
• 5. Introduction Speech Ideas
• 6. 7 Tips for Delivering the Best Introduction Speech

What is an Introduction Speech? 

An introduction speech, or introductory address, is a brief presentation at the beginning of an event or public speaking engagement. Its primary purpose is to establish a connection with the audience and to introduce yourself or the main speaker.

This type of speech is commonly used in a variety of situations, including:

• Public Speaking: When you step onto a stage to address a large crowd, you start with an introduction to establish your presence and engage the audience.
• Networking Events: When meeting new people in professional or social settings, an effective introduction speech can help you make a memorable first impression.
• Formal Gatherings: From weddings to conferences, introductions set the tone for the event and create a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

In other words, an introduction speech is simply a way to introduce yourself to a crowd of people. 

How to Write an Introduction Speech?

Before you can just go and deliver your speech, you need to prepare for it. Writing a speech helps you organize your ideas and prepare your speech effectively. 

Here is how to introduce yourself in a speech.

• Know Your Audience

Understanding your audience is crucial. Consider their interests, backgrounds, and expectations to tailor your introduction accordingly.

For instance, the audience members could be your colleagues, new classmates, or various guests depending on the occasion. Understanding your audience will help you decide what they are expecting from you as a speaker.

• Opening the Speech with a Hook

The best speech introduction starts with a hook or opening line that grabs your audience's attention. This could be a surprising fact, a relevant quote, or a thought-provoking question about yourself or the occasion.

• Introduce Yourself

Introduce yourself to the audience. State your name, occupation, or other details relevant to the occasion. You should have mentioned the reason for your speech clearly. It will build your credibility and give the readers reasons to stay with you and read your speech.

• Keep It Concise

So how long is an introduction speech?

Introduction speeches should be brief and to the point. Aim for around 1-2 minutes in most cases. Avoid overloading the introduction with excessive details.

• Highlight Key Points

Mention the most important information that establishes the speaker's credibility or your own qualifications. Write down any relevant achievements, expertise, or credentials to include in your speech. Encourage the audience to connect with you using relatable anecdotes or common interests.

• Rehearse and Edit

Practice your introduction speech to ensure it flows smoothly and stays within the time frame. Edit out any unnecessary information, ensuring it's concise and impactful.

• Tailor for the Occasion

Adjust the tone and content of your introduction speech to match the formality and purpose of the event. What works for a business conference may not be suitable for a casual gathering.

Introduction Speech Outline

To assist you in creating a structured and effective introduction speech, here's a simple speech format that you can follow:

Here is an example outline for a self-introduction speech.

Outline for Self-Introduction Speech

Introduction Speech Example

So if you are wondering what to say in an introduction speech we have you covered! We have compiled introduction speech examples to help you understand how to put your ideas into practice for different scenarios. 

Introduction Speech Writing Sample

Short Introduction Speech Sample

Self Introduction Speech for College Students

Introduction Speech about Yourself

Student Presentation Introduction Speech Script

Teacher Introduction Speech

New Employee Self Introduction Speech

Introduction Speech for Chief Guest

Moreover, here is a video example of a self-introduction speech. Watch it to understand how you should deliver your speech:

Want to read examples for other kinds of speeches? Find the best speeches at our blog about speech examples !

What Are Some Famous Introduction Speeches?

Here are the best introduction speeches for students to get inspired:

• Malala Yousafzai's Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech (2014) : Malala's speech upon receiving the Nobel Peace Prize introduced her advocacy for girls' education and youth empowerment globally.
• Elon Musk's Presentation on SpaceX Interplanetary Transport System (2016) : Elon Musk introduced SpaceX's ambitious plans for interplanetary travel, outlining a vision for the future of space exploration.
• Michelle Obama's Democratic National Convention Speech (2008) : Michelle Obama's speech introduced her as a potential First Lady, sharing personal stories and values that resonated with the audience.
• J.K. Rowling's Harvard Commencement Speech (2008) : Rowling's speech introduced themes of failure, imagination, and resilience, drawing from her personal journey as an author and philanthropist.

Introduction Speech Ideas

So now that you’ve understood what an introduction speech is, you may want to write one of your own. So what should you talk about?

The following are some sample introduction speech topics and ideas that can provide an engaging start to a presentation, meeting, or social gathering. 

• Personal Story: Share a brief personal story or experience that has shaped you.
• Professional Background: Highlight your career achievements and expertise.
• Hobby or Passion: Discuss a hobby or passion you're enthusiastic about.
• Volunteer Work: Talk about your involvement in volunteer work or community service.
• Travel Adventures: Share anecdotes from your travel adventures.
• Books or Literature: Provide an introduction related to a favorite book, author, or literary work.
• Achievements and Milestones: Highlight significant achievements and milestones in your life or career.
• Cultural Heritage: Explore your cultural heritage and its influence on your identity.
• Social or Environmental Cause: Discuss your dedication to a particular social or environmental cause.
• Future Aspirations: Share your future goals and aspirations.

You can deliver engaging speeches on all kinds of topics. Here is a list of entertaining speech topics to get inspiration.

7 Tips for Delivering the Best Introduction Speech

Now that you know how to write an effective introduction speech, let's focus on the delivery. The way you present your introduction is just as important as the content itself. Here are some valuable tips to ensure you deliver a better introduction speech:

Tip# 1: Maintain Eye Contact

Make eye contact with the audience to establish a connection. This shows confidence and engages your listeners.

Tip# 2: Use Appropriate Body Language 

Your body language should convey confidence and warmth. Stand or sit up straight, use open gestures, and avoid fidgeting.

Tip# 3: Mind Your Pace

Speak at a moderate pace, avoiding rapid speech. A well-paced speech is easier to follow and more engaging.

Tip# 4: Avoid Filler Words

Minimize the use of filler words such as "um," "uh," and "like." They can be distracting and detract from your message.

Tip# 5: Be Enthusiastic

Convey enthusiasm about the topic or the speaker. Your energy can be contagious and inspire the audience's interest.

Tip# 6: Practice, Practice, Practice

Rehearse your speech multiple times. Practice in front of a mirror, record yourself or seek feedback from others.

Tip# 7: Be Mindful of Time

Stay within the allocated time for your introduction. Going too long can make your speech too boring for the audience.

Mistakes to Avoid in an Introduction Speech

When crafting and delivering an introduction speech, it's important to avoid common pitfalls that can reduce its impact. Here are some mistakes to watch out for:

• Rambling On: Avoid making the introduction too long. Keep it short and sweet to set the stage without stealing the spotlight.
• Lack of Preparation: Not preparing enough can lead to awkward pauses or losing your train of thought. Practice your speech to feel more confident.
• Using Jargon or Complex Language: Steer clear of technical jargon or complicated language that might confuse the audience. Keep it simple and clear.
• Being Too Generic: A bland introduction can set a dull tone. Make your speech specific to the event and the speaker to keep it engaging.
• Using Inappropriate Humor: Be careful with humor. Avoid jokes that could offend or alienate the audience.
• Overloading with Background Information: Providing too much background information can overwhelm the audience. Offer just enough to give context without bogging down the introduction.

To Conclude,

An introduction speech is more than just a formality. It's an opportunity to engage, inspire, and connect with your audience in a meaningful way. 

With the help of this blog, you're well-equipped to shine in various contexts. So, step onto that stage, speak confidently, and captivate your audience from the very first word.

Moreover, you’re not alone in your journey to becoming a confident introducer. If you ever need assistance in preparing your speech, let the experts help you out.

MyPerfectWords.com offers a custom essay service with experienced professionals who can craft tailored introductions, ensuring your speech makes a lasting impact.

Don't hesitate; hire our professional speech writing service to deliver top-quality speeches at your deadline!

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should a speech introduction be.

A speech introduction should be concise, typically lasting about 1 to 2 minutes. It should set the stage, capture the audience's attention, and provide a clear direction for the rest of the speech.

What Is the Best Speech Introduction Greeting?

The best greeting for a speech introduction depends on the formality of the event. Some examples include:

• Formal: "Good morning/afternoon/evening, distinguished guests."
• Semi-formal: "Hello everyone, thank you for being here today."
• Informal: "Hi everyone, thanks for coming."

What Word to Start a Speech?

Starting a speech with an engaging word or phrase can capture the audience's attention. Here are a few speech starting lines:

• "Imagine..." to prompt the audience to visualize something.
• "Today..." to ground the speech in the present moment.
• "Have you ever..." to ask a thought-provoking question.
• "In our lives..." to make a personal connection.
• "Picture this..." to create a vivid mental image.

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How to Start a Speech: The Best (and Worst) Speech Openers

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One of the hardest things about public speaking is knowing how to start a speech. Your opening line is your first impression. It’s how you capture attention. It’s how you captivate the audience. So how do you make sure you nail it every time?

The best way to know how to open a speech is to look at what has worked in the past. When we examined the top speeches of all time and the most popular TED talks of all time, we found some interesting speaking patterns.

Time has identified the top 10 greatest speeches of all time. They are:

Opening Lines of the Top 10 Greatest Speeches of All Time

#1: Socrates – “Apology”

#2: Patrick Henry – “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death”

#3: Frederick Douglass – “The Hypocrisy of American Slavery”

#4: Abraham Lincoln – “Gettysburg Address”

Opening Line: “Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

#5: Susan B. Anthony – “Women’s Rights to the Suffrage”

#6: Winston Churchill – “Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat”

#7: John F. Kennedy – “Inaugural Address”

Opening Line: “We observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom — symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning — signifying renewal, as well as change.”

#8: Martin Luther King, Jr. – “I Have a Dream”

#9: Lyndon B. Johnson – “The American Promise”

#10: Ronald Reagan – “Remarks at the Brandenburg Gate”

How do all of these historical greats start their speeches? Is there a difference between these and some of the more modern top TED talks?

Before we dive in, let’s recap with some critical do’s and don’ts when opening a speech:

Opening Lines of the Top 10 TED Talks of All Time

Here are the opening lines to the top 10 Ted Talks of all time according to view count:

#1: Sir Ken Robinson – “Do schools kill creativity?” Opening Line: “Good morning. How are you? It’s been great, hasn’t it? I’ve been blown away by the whole thing. In fact, I’m leaving.”

#2: Amy Cuddy – “Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are” Opening Line: “So I want to start by offering you a free, no-tech life hack, and all it requires of you is this: that you change your posture for two minutes.”

#3: Simon Sinek – “How Great Leaders Inspire Action”

#4: Brene Brown – “The Power of Vulnerability” Opening Line: “So, I’ll start with this: a couple years ago, an event planner called me because I was going to do a speaking event.”

#5: Mary Roach – “10 Things You Didn’t Know About Orgasm” Opening Line: “All right. I’m going to show you a couple of images from a very diverting paper in The Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine.”

#6: Julian Treasure – “How to Speak so that People Want to Listen” Opening Line: “The human voice: It’s the instrument we all play.”

#7: Jill Bolte Taylor – “My Stroke of Insight” Opening Line: “I grew up to study the brain because I have a brother who has been diagnosed with a brain disorder: schizophrenia.”

#8: James Veitch – “This is What Happens When You Reply to Spam Email” Opening Line: “A few years ago, I got one of those spam emails.”

#9: Cameron Russell – “Looks Aren’t Everything; Believe Me, I’m a Model” Opening Line: “Hi. My name is Cameron Russell, and for the last little while, I’ve been a model.”

#10: Dan Pink – “The Puzzle of Motivation” Opening Line: “I need to make a confession at the outset here.”

What can we learn from these opening lines? There are some patterns that can help us. First, let’s start with what you shouldn’t do. Have you ever made one of these cardinal speaking sins?

Never Start a Presentation with…

Anything technical! This is a big mistake people make when they have not done a tech check ahead of time or are feeling nervous. Never start with these openers:

• Is this microphone working?
• Can you hear me?
• Wow, these lights are bright!

Your nervousness. Many people think it is vulnerable to start with how nervous they are about speaking — you can mention this later, but it should not be the first thing. Why? People will then only be looking for signs of your nervousness. Don’t start with:

• I’m so nervous right now!
• Wow there are so many people here.
• I’m not a great public speaker.

A lackluster or non-believable nicety. It’s great to be grateful to the person who introduced you, but it’s not a great way to include the audience. It’s ok to thank the audience for being there—but do it at the end (not as your opening line). These are all too boring:

• Thanks for having me.
• Thanks for that intro.
• Nice to be here.

Boring, shmoring! I have an exception here if you can make it funny. Ken Robinson started with a nicety and then turned it into a joke. He said, “ “Good morning. How are you? It’s been great, hasn’t it? I’ve been blown away by the whole thing. In fact, I’m leaving.”

More Public Speaking Resources

Get even more public speaking tips with our related resources:

• 10 Presentation Ideas that will Radically Improve Your Presentation Skills
• 6 Public Speaking Apps to try Before Your Next Presentation
• My Top 5 Favorite Public Speakers
• 15 Science-Based Public Speaking Tips To Become a Master Speaker
• How to Give Captivating Presentations
• How to Give an Awesome Toast

How to Start a Presentation

A story. The absolute best way to start a presentation is with a story. There is nothing better to capture the imagination and attention of an audience. Try to use these speaking openers as fill-in-the-blanks for your speech.

• I’m here for a reason. And it’s an interesting story…
• The best thing that ever happened to me was…
• Once upon a time…

In his talk, “The lies our culture tells us about what matters,” David Brooks started off with a great opening line AND a story. He said, “So, we all have bad seasons in life. And I had one in 2013. My marriage had just ended, and I was humiliated by that failed commitment.” Makes you want to watch right…

And if you need help on storytelling basics, be sure to check out some of my top 5 favorite speakers .

A BIG idea. Sometimes you want to share your big idea right up front. This can be helpful because it is intriguing and gets people clued in right away. All TED speakers try to integrate their big idea early.

• You’re here for a reason. It’s…
• The single most important thing I want to share with you today is…
• Today, I want to share a big idea…

I love how Stacy Smith starts off her talk with her big idea framed in an interesting way. She said, “Today, I want to tell you about a pressing social issue. Now, it’s not nuclear arms, it’s not immigration, and it’s not malaria. I’m here to talk about movies.”

Special Note: Be very careful to NOT deliver your one-liner by re-reading your title slide. You also want to position it as exciting and intriguing. For example, don’t say, “Today I am going to talk about body language.” Instead say, “Today I am going to teach you the single most important thing you can do to improve your charisma… and it starts with your body.”

A quirky one-liner. If you can use humor — do it! Humor or curiosity is a great way to start a speech on a high. You can get creative with these! Think of an interesting fact about you, your audience or your topic that can lead you into your content.

• One thing most people don’t know about me is…
• A teacher, a mother and a duck walk into a bar…
• I want to tell you something surprising.

When I gave my TEDx London Talk I started off with a quirky one-liner that immediately got a few laughs. It was “Hi, I’m Vanessa and I am a recovering awkward person.” It worked so well it is also the first line of my book, Captivate . 

II love the way Eve Ensler opens her speech with an interesting one-liner: “For a long time, there was me, and my body.”

This is a great tip from Conor Neill. He says that it is great to start with a question that the audience is asking themselves or would be very curious to know the answer to. This might be phrasing a pain point or worry for your audience.

• Do you ever worry about…?
• Have you ever wondered…?
• You might have always thought…

See Cono Neill’s examples here: 

Did you know…? Any interesting factoid or curiosity is bound to intrigue your audience. This is great if it leads into your content or a story. I like to start with did you know… Here are some that I use. You will have to fill in the blank for your audience:

• Did you know that it takes less than a second to make a first impression ?
• Did you know that your nonverbal communication is 12.5 times more powerful than your words ?
• Did you know that we are lied to 200 times a day ?

Jamie Oliver does this amazingly in his TED Talk. He starts with this mind-blowing fact, “Sadly, in the next 18 minutes when I do our chat, four Americans that are alive will be dead through the food that they eat.”

Hopefully these opening lines will give you some ideas to use to open your speech.

How to End a Speech: My Favorite Closers

Do you know how to end on a high? Leave a lasting impression in your presentation? Science tells us that the first and last parts of your presentations are the most important. Get our FREE download to get our closer guide.

Popular Guides

20 thoughts on “how to start a speech: the best (and worst) speech openers”.

Love your material

didnt help me but still good stuff

Thank you Vanessa. I’ve been a public speaker for 25 years and I’m impressed with your content here. Thank you. Looking forward to a deep dive into more of your material. With gratitude.

Found these examples super informative. Can’t wait to mix match the examples to see which one will work best for my presentation!

I am preparing to make a presentation on Public Speaking and came across your article. This is very instructive and timely too.Many thanks.

Comments are closed.

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8 Effective Introductions and Powerful Conclusions

Learning objectives.

• Identify the functions of introductions and conclusions.
• Understand the key parts of an introduction and a conclusion.
• Explore techniques to create your own effective introductions and conclusions.

Introductions and conclusions can be challenging. One of the most common complaints novice public speakers have is that they simply don’t know how to start or end a speech. It may feel natural to start crafting a speech at the beginning, but it can be difficult to craft an introduction for something which doesn’t yet exist. Many times, creative and effective ideas for how to begin a speech will come to speakers as they go through the process of researching and organizing ideas. Similarly, a conclusion needs to be well considered and leave audience members with a sense of satisfaction.

In this chapter, we will explore why introductions and conclusions are important, and we will identify various ways speakers can create impactful beginnings and endings. There is not a “right” way to start or end a speech, but we can provide some helpful guidelines that will make your introductions and conclusions much easier for you as a speaker and more effective for your audience.

The Importance of an Introduction

The introduction of a speech is incredibly important because it needs to establish the topic and purpose, set up the reason your audience should listen to you and set a precedent for the rest of the speech.  Imagine the first day of a semester long class.  You will have a different perception of the course if the teacher is excited, creative and clear about what is to come then if the teacher recites to you what the class is about and is confused or disorganized about the rest of the semester.  The same thing goes for a speech. The introduction is an important opportunity for the speaker to gain the interest and trust of the audience.

Overall, an effective introduction serves five functions. Let’s examine each of these.

Gain Audience Attention and Interest

The first major purpose of an introduction is to gain your audience’s attention and get them interested in what you have to say. While your audience may know you, this is your speeches’ first impression! One common incorrect assumption beginning speakers make that people will naturally listen because the speaker is speaking. While many audiences may be polite and not talk while you’re speaking, actually getting them to listen and care about what you are saying is a completely different challenge. Think to a time when you’ve tuned out a speaker because you were not interested in what they had to say or how they were saying it.  However, I’m sure you can also think of a time someone engaged you in a topic you wouldn’t have thought was interesting, but because of how they presented it or their energy about the subject, you were fascinated. As the speaker, you have the ability to engage the audience right away.

State the Purpose of Your Speech

The second major function of an introduction is to reveal the purpose of your speech to your audience. Have you ever sat through a speech wondering what the basic point was? Have you ever come away after a speech and had no idea what the speaker was talking about? An introduction is critical for explaining the topic to the audience and justifying why they should care about it. The speaker needs to have an in-depth understanding of the specific focus of their topic and the goals they have for their speech. Robert Cavett, the founder of the National Speaker’s Association, used the analogy of a preacher giving a sermon when he noted, “When it’s foggy in the pulpit, it’s cloudy in the pews.” The specific purpose is the one idea you want your audience to remember when you are finished with your speech. Your specific purpose is the rudder that guides your research, organization, and development of main points. The more clearly focused your purpose is, the easier it will be both for you to develop your speech and your audience to understand your core point. To make sure you are developing a specific purpose, you should be able to complete the sentence: “I want my audience to understand…” Notice that your specific speech purpose is phrased in terms of expected audience responses, not in terms of your own perspective.

Establish Credibility

One of the most researched areas within the field of communication has been Aristotle’s concept of ethos or credibility. First, and foremost, the idea of credibility relates directly to audience perception. You may be the most competent, caring, and trustworthy speaker in the world on a given topic, but if your audience does not perceive you as credible, then your expertise and passion will not matter to them. As public speakers, we need to communicate to our audiences why we are credible speakers on a given topic. James C. McCroskey and Jason J. Teven have conducted extensive research on credibility and have determined that an individual’s credibility is composed of three factors: competence, trustworthiness, and caring/goodwill (McCroskey & Teven, 1999). Competence is the degree to which a speaker is perceived to be knowledgeable or expert in a given subject by an audience member.

The second factor of credibility noted by McCroskey and Teven is trustworthiness or the degree to which an audience member perceives a speaker as honest. Nothing will turn an audience against a speaker faster than if the audience believes the speaker is lying. When the audience does not perceive a speaker as trustworthy, the information coming out of the speaker’s mouth is automatically perceived as deceitful.

Finally, caring/goodwill is the last factor of credibility noted by McCroskey and Teven. Caring/goodwill refers to the degree to which an audience member perceives a speaker as caring about the audience member. As indicated by Wrench, McCroskey, and Richmond, “If a receiver does not believe that a source has the best intentions in mind for the receiver, the receiver will not see the source as credible. Simply put, we are going to listen to people who we think truly care for us and are looking out for our welfare” (Wrench, McCroskey & Richmond, 2008). As a speaker, then, you need to establish that your information is being presented because you care about your audience and are not just trying to manipulate them. We should note that research has indicated that caring/goodwill is the most important factor of credibility. This understanding means that if an audience believes that a speaker truly cares about the audience’s best interests, the audience may overlook some competence and trust issues.

Credibility relates directly to audience perception. You may be the most competent, caring, and trustworthy speaker in the world on a given topic, but if your audience does not perceive you as credible, then your expertise and passion will not matter to them.

Trustworthiness is the degree to which an audience member perceives a speaker as honest.

Caring/goodwill is the degree to which an audience member perceives a speaker as caring about the audience member.

Provide Reasons to Listen

The fourth major function of an introduction is to establish a connection between the speaker and the audience, and one of the most effective means of establishing a connection with your audience is to provide them with reasons why they should listen to your speech. The idea of establishing a connection is an extension of the notion of caring/goodwill. In the chapters on Language and Speech Delivery, we’ll spend a lot more time talking about how you can establish a good relationship with your audience. This relationship starts the moment you step to the front of the room to start speaking.

Instead of assuming the audience will make their own connections to your material, you should explicitly state how your information might be useful to your audience. Tell them directly how they might use your information themselves. It is not enough for you alone to be interested in your topic. You need to build a bridge to the audience by explicitly connecting your topic to their possible needs.

Preview Main Ideas

The last major function of an introduction is to preview the main ideas that your speech will discuss. A preview establishes the direction your speech will take. We sometimes call this process signposting because you’re establishing signs for audience members to look for while you’re speaking. In the most basic speech format, speakers generally have three to five major points they plan on making. During the preview, a speaker outlines what these points will be, which demonstrates to the audience that the speaker is organized.

A study by Baker found that individuals who were unorganized while speaking were perceived as less credible than those individuals who were organized (Baker, 1965). Having a solid preview of the information contained within one’s speech and then following that preview will help a speaker’s credibility. It also helps your audience keep track of where you are if they momentarily daydream or get distracted.

Putting Together a Strong Introduction

Now that we have an understanding of the functions of an introduction, let’s explore the details of putting one together.  As with all aspects of a speech, these may change based on your audience, circumstance, and topic.  But this will give you a basic understanding of the important parts of an intro, what they do, and how they work together.

Attention Getting Device

An attention-getter is the device a speaker uses at the beginning of a speech to capture an audience’s interest and make them interested in the speech’s topic. Typically, there are four things to consider in choosing a specific attention-getting device:

• Topic and purpose of the speech
• Appropriateness or relevance to the audience

First, when selecting an attention-getting device is considering your speech topic and purpose. Ideally, your attention-getting device should have a relevant connection to your speech. Imagine if a speaker pulled condoms out of his pocket, yelled “Free sex!” and threw the condoms at the audience.  This act might gain everyone’s attention, but would probably not be a great way to begin a speech about the economy. Thinking about your topic because the interest you want to create needs to be specific to your subject.  More specifically, you want to consider the basic purpose of your speech. When selecting an attention getter, you want to make sure that you select one that corresponds with your basic purpose. If your goal is to entertain an audience, starting a speech with a quotation about how many people are dying in Africa each day from malnutrition may not be the best way to get your audience’s attention. Remember, one of the goals of an introduction is to prepare your audience for your speech . If your attention-getter differs drastically in tone from the rest of your speech the disjointedness may cause your audience to become confused or tune you out completely.

Possible Attention Getters

These will help you start brainstorming ideas for how to begin your speech.  While not a complete list, these are some of the most common forms of attention-getters:

• Reference to Current Events
• Historical Reference
• Startling Fact
• Rhetorical Question
• Hypothetical Situation
• Demonstration
• Personal Reference
• Reference to Audience
• Reference to Occasion

Second, when selecting an attention-getting device, you want to make sure you are being appropriate and relevant to your specific audience. Different audiences will have different backgrounds and knowledge, so you should keep your audience in mind when determining how to get their attention. For example, if you’re giving a speech on family units to a group of individuals over the age of sixty-five, starting your speech with a reference to the television show Gossip Girl may not be the best idea because the television show may not be relevant to that audience.

Finally, the last consideration involves the speech occasion. Different occasions will necessitate different tones or particular styles or manners of speaking. For example, giving a eulogy at a funeral will have a very different feel than a business presentation. This understanding doesn’t mean certain situations are always the same, but rather taking into account the details of your circumstances will help you craft an effective beginning to your speech.  When selecting an attention-getter, you want to make sure that the attention-getter sets the tone for the speech and situation.

Tones are particular styles or manners of speaking determined by the speech’s occasion.

Link to Topic

The link to the topic occurs when a speaker demonstrates how an attention-getting device relates to the topic of a speech. This presentation of the relationship works to transition your audience from the attention getter to the larger issue you are discussing.  Often the attention-getter and the link to the topic are very clear. But other times, there may need to be a more obvious connection between how you began your attention-getting device and the specific subject you are discussing.  You may have an amazing attention-getter, but if you can’t connect it to the main topic and purpose of your speech, it will not be as effective.

Significance

Once you have linked an attention-getter to the topic of your speech, you need to explain to your audience why your topic is important and why they should care about what you have to say. Sometimes you can include the significance of your topic in the same sentence as your link to the topic, but other times you may need to spell out in one or two sentences why your specific topic is important to this audience.

Thesis Statement

A thesis statement is a short, declarative sentence that states the purpose, intent, or main idea of a speech. A strong, clear thesis statement is very valuable within an introduction because it lays out the basic goal of the entire speech. We strongly believe that it is worthwhile to invest some time in framing and writing a good thesis statement. You may even want to write a version of your thesis statement before you even begin conducting research for your speech in order to guide you. While you may end up rewriting your thesis statement later, having a clear idea of your purpose, intent, or main idea before you start searching for research will help you focus on the most appropriate material.

Preview of Speech

The final part of an introduction contains a preview of the major points to be covered by your speech. I’m sure we’ve all seen signs that have three cities listed on them with the mileage to reach each city. This mileage sign is an indication of what is to come. A preview works the same way. A preview foreshadows what the main body points will be in the speech. For example, to preview a speech on bullying in the workplace, one could say, “To understand the nature of bullying in the modern workplace, I will first define what workplace bullying is and the types of bullying, I will then discuss the common characteristics of both workplace bullies and their targets, and lastly, I will explore some possible solutions to workplace bullying.” In this case, each of the phrases mentioned in the preview would be a single distinct point made in the speech itself. In other words, the first major body point in this speech would examine what workplace bullying is and the types of bullying; the second major body point in this speech would discuss the characteristics of both workplace bullies and their targets; and lastly, the third body point in this speech would explore some possible solutions to workplace bullying.

Putting it all together

The importance of introductions often leads speakers to work on them first, attending to every detail. While it is good to have some ideas and notes about the intro, specifically the thesis statement, it is often best to wait until the majority of the speech is crafted before really digging into the crafting of the introduction.  This timeline may not seem intuitive, but remember, the intro is meant to introduce your speech and set up what is to come.  It is difficult to introduce something that you haven’t made yet.  This is why working on your main points first can help lead to an even stronger introduction.

Why Conclusions Matter

Willi Heidelbach – Puzzle2 – CC BY 2.0.

As public speaking professors and authors, we have seen many students give otherwise good speeches that seem to fall apart at the end. We’ve seen students end their three main points by saying things such as “OK, I’m done”; “Thank God that’s over!”; or “Thanks. Now what? Do I just sit down?” It’s understandable to feel relief at the end of a speech, but remember that as a speaker, your conclusion is the last chance you have to drive home your ideas. When a speaker opts to end the speech with an ineffective conclusion, or no conclusion at all, the speech loses the energy that’s been created, and the audience is left confused and disappointed. Instead of falling prey to emotional exhaustion, remind yourself to keep your energy up as you approach the end of your speech, and plan ahead so that your conclusion will be an effective one.

Of course, a good conclusion will not rescue a poorly prepared speech. Thinking again of the chapters in a novel, if one bypasses all the content in the middle, the ending often isn’t very meaningful or helpful. So to take advantage of the advice in this chapter, you need to keep in mind the importance of developing a speech with an effective introduction and an effective body. If you have these elements, you will have the foundation you need to be able to conclude effectively. Just as a good introduction helps bring an audience member into the world of your speech, and a good speech body holds the audience in that world, a good conclusion helps bring that audience member back to the reality outside of your speech.

In this section, we’re going to examine the functions fulfilled by the conclusion of a speech. A strong conclusion serves to signal the end of the speech and helps your listeners remember your speech.

Signals the End

The first thing a good conclusion can do is to signal the end of a speech. You may be thinking that showing an audience that you’re about to stop speaking is a “no brainer,” but many speakers don’t prepare their audience for the end. When a speaker just suddenly stops speaking, the audience is left confused and disappointed. Instead, we want to make sure that audiences are left knowledgeable and satisfied with our speeches. In the next section, we’ll explain in great detail about how to ensure that you signal the end of your speech in a manner that is both effective and powerful.

Aids Audience’s Memory of Your Speech

The second reason for a good conclusion stems out of some research reported by the German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus back in 1885 in his book Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology (Ebbinghaus, 1885). Ebbinghaus proposed that humans remember information in a linear fashion, which he called the serial position effect. He found an individual’s ability to remember information in a list (e.g. a grocery list, a chores list, or a to-do list) depends on the location of an item on the list. Specifically, he found that items toward the top of the list and items toward the bottom of the list tended to have the highest recall rates. The serial position effect finds that information at the beginning of a list (primacy) and information at the end of the list (recency) are easier to recall than information in the middle of the list.

So what does this have to do with conclusions? A lot! Ray Ehrensberger wanted to test Ebbinghaus’ serial position effect in public speaking. Ehrensberger created an experiment that rearranged the ordering of a speech to determine the recall of information (Ehrensberger, 1945). Ehrensberger’s study reaffirmed the importance of primacy and recency when listening to speeches. In fact, Ehrensberger found that the information delivered during the conclusion (recency) had the highest level of recall overall.

Steps of a Conclusion

Matthew Culnane – Steps – CC BY-SA 2.0.

In the previous sections, we discussed the importance a conclusion has on a speech. In this section, we’re going to examine the three steps to building an effective conclusion.

Restatement of the Thesis

Restating a thesis statement is the first step to a powerful conclusion. As we explained earlier, a thesis statement is a short, declarative sentence that states the purpose, intent, or main idea of a speech. When we restate the thesis statement at the conclusion of our speech, we’re attempting to reemphasize what the overarching main idea of the speech has been. Suppose your thesis statement was, “I will analyze Barack Obama’s use of lyricism in his July 2008 speech, ‘A World That Stands as One.’” You could restate the thesis in this fashion at the conclusion of your speech: “In the past few minutes, I have analyzed Barack Obama’s use of lyricism in his July 2008 speech, ‘A World That Stands as One.’” Notice the shift in tense. The statement has gone from the future tense (this is what I will speak about) to the past tense (this is what I have spoken about). Restating the thesis in your conclusion reminds the audience of the main purpose or goal of your speech, helping them remember it better.

Review of Main Points

After restating the speech’s thesis, the second step in a powerful conclusion is to review the main points from your speech. One of the biggest differences between written and oral communication is the necessity of repetition in oral communication. When we preview our main points in the introduction, effectively discuss and make transitions to our main points during the body of the speech, and review the main points in the conclusion, we increase the likelihood that the audience will retain our main points after the speech is over.

In the introduction of a speech, we deliver a preview of our main body points, and in the conclusion, we deliver a review . Let’s look at a sample preview:

In order to understand the field of gender and communication, I will first differentiate between the terms biological sex and gender. I will then explain the history of gender research in communication. Lastly, I will examine a series of important findings related to gender and communication.

In this preview, we have three clear main points. Let’s see how we can review them at the conclusion of our speech:

Today, we have differentiated between the terms biological sex and gender, examined the history of gender research in communication, and analyzed a series of research findings on the topic.

In the past few minutes, I have explained the difference between the terms “biological sex” and “gender,” discussed the rise of gender research in the field of communication, and examined a series of groundbreaking studies in the field.

Notice that both of these conclusions review the main points initially set forth. Both variations are equally effective reviews of the main points, but you might like the linguistic turn of one over the other. Remember, while there is a lot of science to help us understand public speaking, there’s also a lot of art as well. You are always encouraged to choose the wording that you think will be most effective for your audience.

Concluding Device

The final part of a powerful conclusion is the concluding device. A concluding device is a final thought you want your audience members to have when you stop speaking. It also provides a definitive sense of closure to your speech. One of the authors of this text often makes an analogy between a gymnastics dismount and the concluding device in a speech. Just as a gymnast dismounting the parallel bars or balance beam wants to stick the landing and avoid taking two or three steps, a speaker wants to “stick” the ending of the presentation by ending with a concluding device instead of with, “Well, umm, I guess I’m done.” Miller observed that speakers tend to use one of ten concluding devices when ending a speech (Miller, 1946). The rest of this section is going to examine these ten concluding devices and one additional device that we have added.

Conclude with a Challenge

The first way that Miller found that some speakers end their speeches is with a challenge. A challenge is a call to engage in some activity that requires a special effort. In a speech on the necessity of fund-raising, a speaker could conclude by challenging the audience to raise 10 percent more than their original projections. In a speech on eating more vegetables, you could challenge your audience to increase their current intake of vegetables by two portions daily. In both of these challenges, audience members are being asked to go out of their way to do something different that involves effort on their part.

Conclude with a Quotation

A second way you can conclude a speech is by reciting a quotation relevant to the speech topic. When using a quotation, you need to think about whether your goal is to end on a persuasive note or an informative note. Some quotations will have a clear call to action, while other quotations summarize or provoke thought. For example, let’s say you are delivering an informative speech about dissident writers in the former Soviet Union. You could end by citing this quotation from Alexander Solzhenitsyn: “A great writer is, so to speak, a second government in his country. And for that reason, no regime has ever loved great writers” (Solzhenitsyn, 1964). Notice that this quotation underscores the idea of writers as dissidents, but it doesn’t ask listeners to put forth the effort to engage in any specific thought process or behavior. If, on the other hand, you were delivering a persuasive speech urging your audience to participate in a very risky political demonstration, you might use this quotation from Martin Luther King Jr.: “If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live” (King, 1963). In this case, the quotation leaves the audience with the message that great risks are worth taking, that they make our lives worthwhile, and that the right thing to do is to go ahead and take that great risk.

Conclude with a Summary

When a speaker ends with a summary, they are simply elongating the review of the main points. While this may not be the most exciting concluding device, it can be useful for information that was highly technical or complex or for speeches lasting longer than thirty minutes. Typically, for short speeches (like those in your class), this summary device should be avoided.

Conclude by Visualizing the Future

The purpose of a conclusion that refers to the future is to help your audience imagine the future you believe can occur. If you are giving a speech on the development of video games for learning, you could conclude by depicting the classroom of the future where video games are perceived as true learning tools and how those tools could be utilized. More often, speakers use visualization of the future to depict how society would be, or how individual listeners’ lives would be different if the speaker’s persuasive attempt worked. For example, if a speaker proposes that a solution to illiteracy is hiring more reading specialists in public schools, the speaker could ask her or his audience to imagine a world without illiteracy. In this use of visualization, the goal is to persuade people to adopt the speaker’s point of view. By showing that the speaker’s vision of the future is a positive one, the conclusion should help to persuade the audience to help create this future.

Conclude with an Appeal for Action

Probably the most common persuasive concluding device is the appeal for action or the call to action. In essence, the appeal for action occurs when a speaker asks their audience to engage in a specific behavior or change in thinking. When a speaker concludes by asking the audience “to do” or “to think” in a specific manner, the speaker wants to see an actual change. Whether the speaker appeals for people to eat more fruit, buy a car, vote for a candidate, oppose the death penalty, or sing more in the shower, the speaker is asking the audience to engage in action.

One specific type of appeal for action is the immediate call to action. Whereas some appeals ask for people to engage in behavior in the future, an immediate call to action asks people to engage in behavior right now. If a speaker wants to see a new traffic light placed at a dangerous intersection, he or she may conclude by asking all the audience members to sign a digital petition right then and there, using a computer the speaker has made available ( http://www.petitiononline.com ). Here are some more examples of immediate calls to action:

• In a speech on eating more vegetables, pass out raw veggies and dip at the conclusion of the speech.
• In a speech on petitioning a lawmaker for a new law, provide audience members with a prewritten e-mail they can send to the lawmaker.
• In a speech on the importance of using hand sanitizer, hand out little bottles of hand sanitizer and show audience members how to correctly apply the sanitizer.
• In a speech asking for donations for a charity, send a box around the room asking for donations.

These are just a handful of different examples we’ve seen students use in our classrooms to elicit an immediate change in behavior. These immediate calls to action may not lead to long-term change, but they can be very effective at increasing the likelihood that an audience will change behavior in the short term.

Conclude by Inspiration

By definition, the word inspire means to affect or connect with someone emotionally. Both affect and arouse have strong emotional connotations. The ultimate goal of an inspiration concluding device is similar to an “appeal for action,” but the ultimate goal is more lofty or ambiguous. The goal is to stir someone’s emotions in a specific manner. Maybe a speaker is giving an informative speech about the prevalence of domestic violence in our society today. That speaker could end the speech by reading Paulette Kelly’s powerful poem “I Got Flowers Today.” “I Got Flowers Today” is a poem that evokes strong emotions because it’s about an abuse victim who received flowers from her abuser every time she was victimized. The poem ends by saying, “I got flowers today… Today was a special day. It was the day of my funeral. Last night he killed me” (Kelly, 1994).

Conclude with Advice

The next concluding device is one that should be used primarily by speakers who are recognized as expert authorities on a given subject. Advice is a speaker’s opinion about what should or should not be done. The problem with opinions is that everyone has one, and one person’s opinion is not necessarily any more correct than another’s. There needs to be a really good reason for your opinion. Your advice should matter to your audience. If, for example, you are an expert in nuclear physics, you might conclude a speech on energy by giving advice about the benefits of nuclear energy.

Conclude by Proposing a Solution

Another way a speaker can conclude a speech powerfully is to offer a solution to the problem discussed within a speech. For example, perhaps a speaker has been discussing the problems associated with the disappearance of art education in the United States. The speaker could then propose a solution for creating more community-based art experiences for school children as a way to fill this gap. Although this can be a compelling conclusion, a speaker must ask themselves whether the solution should be discussed in more depth as a stand-alone main point within the body of the speech so that audience concerns about the proposed solution may be addressed.

Conclude with a Question

Another way you can end a speech is to ask a rhetorical question that forces the audience to ponder an idea. Maybe you are giving a speech on the importance of the environment, so you end the speech by saying, “Think about your children’s future. What kind of world do you want them raised in? A world that is clean, vibrant, and beautiful—or one that is filled with smog, pollution, filth, and disease?” Notice that you aren’t asking the audience to verbally or nonverbally answer the question. The goal of this question is to force the audience into thinking about what kind of world they want for their children.

Conclude with a Reference to Audience

The last concluding device discussed by Miller (1946) was a reference to one’s audience. This concluding device is when a speaker attempts to answer the audience question, “What’s in it for me?” The goal of this concluding device is to spell out the direct benefits a behavior or thought change has for audience members. For example, a speaker talking about stress reduction techniques could conclude by listing all the physical health benefits stress reduction offers (e.g. improved reflexes, improved immune system, improved hearing, reduction in blood pressure). In this case, the speaker is spelling out why audience members should care. They’re telling the audience what’s in it for them!

Connect to your Introduction

Finally, one tactic a speaker often uses is to link the introduction of the speech to the conclusion.  For example, if you began your speech with a quotation, your conclusion may refer back to that person’s words in respect to what your audience has learned throughout your speech.  While not always necessary, linking back to your introduction can provide a feeling of coming full circle for your audience.  The repetitive nature can also help aid in remembering your speech and topic.  However, you don’t want to just repeat. Instead, you want to utilize similar aspects of your attention getter to illustrate growth or movement from the beginning of your speech to the end.

A concluding device is a final thought you want your audience members to have when you stop speaking.

A challenge is a call to engage in some activity that requires special effort.

An  appeal for action occurs when a speaker asks their audience to engage in a specific behavior or change in thinking.

An immediate call to action asks people to engage in behavior right now.

Inspire means to affect or connect with someone emotionally.

Advice is a speaker’s opinion about what should or should not be done.

Informative versus Persuasive Conclusions

As you read through the ten possible ways to conclude a speech, hopefully, you noticed that some of the methods are more appropriate for persuasive speeches and others are more appropriate for informative speeches. To help you choose appropriate conclusions for informative, persuasive, or entertaining speeches, we’ve created a table to help you quickly identify suitable concluding devices.

Your Speech Purpose and Concluding Devices

Ebbinghaus, H. (1885). Memory: A contribution to experimental psychology [Online version]. Retrieved from http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Ebbinghaus/index.htm .

Ehrensberger, R. (1945). An experimental study of the relative effectiveness of certain forms of emphasis in public speaking. Speech Monographs, 12 , 94–111. doi: 10.1080/03637754509390108.

Kelly, P. (1994). I got flowers today. In C. J. Palmer & J. Palmer, Fire from within . Painted Post, NY: Creative Arts & Science Enterprises.

King, M. L. (1963, June 23). Speech in Detroit. Cited in Bartlett, J., & Kaplan, J. (Eds.), Bartlett’s familiar quotations (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Little, Brown & Co., p. 760.

Miller, E. (1946). Speech introductions and conclusions. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 32 , 181–183.

Solzhenitsyn, A. (1964). The first circle. New York: Harper & Row. Cited in Bartlett, J., & Kaplan, J. (Eds.), Bartlett’s familiar quotations (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Little, Brown & Co., p. 746.

Stand up, Speak out Copyright © 2017 by Josh Miller; Marnie Lawler-Mcdonough; Megan Orcholski; Kristin Woodward; Lisa Roth; and Emily Mueller is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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8 Opening a Speech: Get Their Attention from the Start!

Get the audience’s attention, or the rest of your speech is a waste. I mean it!  Most people spend the majority of their speech preparation time working on the body of their speech and then they tack on an opening and a closing last minute.

The opening and closing deserve the most attention. Why?  If you don’t get the audience’s attention and get them to pay attention to you instead of…  the thoughts in their heads, their grocery lists, their neighbors, their social media…then all the rest of your brilliant content is wasted because they will never hear it. Lisa Marshall of Toastmasters International stresses the opening words are so important that “I spend 10 times more time developing and practicing the opener than any other part of the speech.”

Look at the description of Person A and Person B and tell me which person you like more.

Person A envious, stubborn, critical, impulsive, industrious, and intelligent

Person B intelligent, industrious, impulsive, critical, stubborn, and envious

If you are like most people, you have a preference for Person B.  This illustrates a study by Solomon Ashe. He had subjects rate these two people using a string of descriptive words. Now look back at the descriptions. Look closely and you will notice they are the same words in a different order. Most people put the most emphasis on the first three words in determining how they will create the person. Like Asche’s subjects, your audience will be evaluating those first three words. Let’s bring it back around to speechmaking. The first sentence out of your mouth is crucial and the first three words are especially important.

I am sure you are not surprised to know that people form opinions quickly. To prove this, researchers showed subjects either a 20-minute clip of a job applicant or a 20-30 second clip of a job applicant. They were asked to rate the person on likeability and self-assurance. People were able to form an opinion in under thirty seconds. Not only that but they were able to form the same opinions from a 30-second clip as a 20-minute exposure.

The Battle for Attention

Remember that every piece of content in our modern era is part of an attention war. It’s fighting against thousands of other claims on people’s time and energy. This is true even when you’re standing on a stage in front of a seated audience. They have deadly distracters in their pockets called smartphones, which they can use to summon to their eyes a thousand outside alternatives. Once emails and texts make their claim, your talk may be doomed. And then there’s that lurking demon of modern life, fatigue. All these are lethal enemies. You never want to provide someone with an excuse to zone out. You have to be a savvy general directing this war’s outcome. Starting strong is one of your most important weapons. Chris Anderson, TED Talks, The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking.

“People don’t pay attention to boring things,” according to John Medina, author of Brain Rules, “You’ve got 30 seconds before they start asking the question, ‘Am I going to pay attention to you or not?'” It is important to get your audience’s attention right away. In this chapter, I will share with you several ways to win the war for attention and to start your speech right. I will show you the basic opening and closing structure of speeches and give you many examples of what that looks like.  A speech, like an airplane, needs a good take-off and a good landing. Now it’s time to prepare to have a strong take-off and learn everything that goes into a speech introduction. This chapter is full of examples from a variety of talks. I included quotes from those introductions, but I also included links to each of those talks hoping you will be interested enough to want to listen.

Ways to Start a Speech

Chris Anderson likens this to battle. “First there is the 10-second war: can you do something in your first moments on stage to ensure people’s eager attention while you set up your talk topic? Second is the 1-minute war: can you then use that first minute to ensure that they’re committed to coming on the full talk journey with you?”

When thinking about your speech, spend a lot of time thinking about how to win the battle for their attention. Your introduction should make your audience want to put down their phones and listen. Your introduction should be so compelling they stop their wandering minds and turn their thoughts to you and you alone. Your introduction should start with three strong words where they form a strong opinion of you and your speech.  Let me share how to accomplish this. 

Capturing the audience through the story is one of the most powerful ways to start a speech. A story engages the brain in powerful ways and causes the audience’s brains to sync with the speakers. A well-told story will allow the audience to “see” things in their mind’s eye and to join the speaker’s emotions.

Watch this clip by Ric Elias for how he begins his speech with a powerful story. Particularly notice his first four words, “Imagine a big explosion.” 

Imagine a big explosion as you climb through 3,000 ft.   Imagine a plane full of smoke.   Imagine an engine going clack, clack, clack.   It sounds scary.   Well, I had a unique seat that day. I was sitting in 1D. I was the only one who could talk to the flight attendants. So I looked at them right away, and they said, “No problem. We probably hit some birds.” The pilot had already turned the plane around, and we weren’t that far. You could see Manhattan. Two minutes later, three things happened at the same time.

Ric Elias, Three Things I Learned While My Plane Crashed. 

Consider these other examples and notice how the speaker uses a story.

More powerful introductions using story:

I love you, I believe in you and it’s going to be OK. The three things that I needed to hear three years ago when I felt more abandoned than ever. I remember that day as if it happen this morning. It was Sunday and I had just woken up early at a brisk 12:30 in the afternoon. Ryan Brooks, Honesty, courage, and the importance of brushing your teeth.  When I was nine years old I went off to summer camp for the first time. And my mother packed me a suitcase full of books, which to me seemed like a perfectly natural thing to do. Because in my family, reading was the primary group activity. And this might sound antisocial to you, but for us, it was really just a different way of being social. You have the animal warmth of your family sitting right next to you, but you are also free to go roaming around the adventureland inside your own mind. And I had this idea that camp was going to be just like this, but better. Susan Cain. The Power of Introverts. I grew up to study the brain because I have a brother who has been diagnosed with a brain disorder: schizophrenia. Jill Bolte Taylor, My Stroke of Insight. A few years ago, I got one of those spam emails. I’m not quite sure how, but it turned up in my inbox, and it was from a guy called Solomon Odonkoh.  James Veitch This is What Happens When You Reply to Spam Email. Eleven years ago, while giving birth to my first child, I hemorrhaged and was transfused with seven pints of blood. Four years later, I found out that I had been infected with the AIDS virus and had unknowingly passed it to my daughter, Ariel, through my breast milk, and my son, Jake, in utero. Elizabeth Glaser,  Address to the 1992 Democratic National Convention.

Good stories immediately set the stage and introduce you to the place and to the people. Doing this helps your brain can form a structure where the story takes place. It helps you see the story unfold in your mind.  If you need help starting a story, Vanessa Van Edwards suggests these prompts:

• Once upon a time.
• I’m here for a reason, and it’s an interesting story.
• The best thing that ever happened to me was.

There is an entire chapter on the Power of Story that can be found here.

Humor is a rubber sword – it allows you to make a point without drawing blood. – Mary Hirsch

  When Family Guy’s Seth MacFarlane spoke at Harvard Commencemen t in the rain, he started with “There’s nowhere I would rather be on a day like this than around all this electrical equipment.” People laughed, people smiled, and the speech was off to a strong start. Humor works because it gives the audience a hit of the feel-good hormone dopamine. That is … if you are funny. If you decide to use humor, make sure you are funny. Test your humor on honest friends. In addition, the humor you use should fit your personality and your audience. Be warned, some groups would find humor inappropriate, do your research.

Watch this clip for how Tshering Tobgay begins his speech with humor. 

In case you are wondering, no, I’m not wearing a dress, and no, I’m not saying what I’m wearing underneath. (Laughter) This is a go. This is my national dress. This is how all men dress in Bhutan. That is how our women dress. Like our women, we men get to wear pretty bright colors, but unlike our women, we get to show off our legs. Our national dress is unique, but this is not the only thing that’s unique about my country. Our promise to remain carbon neutral is also unique, and this is what I’d like to speak about today, our promise to remain carbon neutral.

Tshering Tobgay, This Country Isn’t Just Carbon Neutral–Its Carbon Negative. 

More powerful introductions using humor

I didn’t rebel as a teenager.   I started late and was still going at it the summer I turned thirty. I just became an American citizen, I divorced my husband, I got a big tattoo of a bat on my arm, and I joined a New York City punk band. Danusia Trevino, Guilty I need to make a confession at the outset here. A little over 20 years ago, I did something that I regret, something that I’m not particularly proud of.   Something that, in many ways, I wish no one would ever know, but that here I feel kind of obliged to reveal. In the late 1980s, in a moment of youthful indiscretion, I went to law school. Dan Pink, The Puzzle of Motivation.  It is really interesting to be a woman and to get to 45 and to not be married yet and to not have kids, especially when you have pushed out your fifth kid on television. Tracee Ellis Ross, 2017 Glamour Woman of the Year. I am not drunk …but the doctor who delivered me was.” (reference the shake she has due to a botched medical procedure at birth causing her cerebral palsey). Maysoon Zayid, I’ve Got 99 Prolbems and Cerebral Palsey is Not One of Them .

Salutation followed by humor

Oh boy, thank you so much, thank you so much.   Thank you, President Cowan, Mrs. President Cowen; distinguished guests, undistinguished guests, you know who you are, honored faculty and creepy Spanish teacher.   And thank you to all the graduating Class of 2009, I realize most of you are hungover and have splitting headaches and haven’t slept since Fat Tuesday, but you can’t graduate ’til I finish, so listen up. When I was asked to make the commencement speech, I immediately said yes.   Then I went to look up what commencement meant which would have been easy if I had a dictionary, but most of the books in our house are Portia’s, and they’re all written in Australian.   So I had to break the word down myself, to find out the meaning. Commencement: common, and cement, common cement.   You commonly see cement on sidewalks.   Sidewalks have cracks, and if you step on a crack, you break your mother’s back.   So there’s that.   But I’m honored that you’ve asked me here to speak at your common cement Ellen DeGenres, Commencement Speech at Tulane. Well, thank you. Thank you Mr. President, First Lady, King Abdullah of Jordan, Norm, distinguished guests. Please join me in praying that I don’t say something we’ll all regret. That was for the FCC. If you’re wondering what I’m doing here, at a prayer breakfast, well so am I. I’m certainly not here as a man of the cloth, unless that cloth is — is leather. Bono at  the  54th annual National Prayer Breakfast.  

Starting your speech by sharing a little-known fact, can be powerful. For this to fully work, you need to have the audience’s attention from the very first word. Read on for how these speakers started strong.

Powerful introductions using facts

Sadly, in the next 18 minutes when I do our chat, four Americans that are alive will be dead from the food that they eat. Jamie Oliver, Teach Every Child About Food. So I want to start by offering you a free, no-tech life hack, and all it requires of you is this: that you change your posture for two minutes. Amy Cuddy, Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are. Okay, now I don’t want to alarm anybody in this room, but it’s just come to my attention that the person to your right is a liar. (Laughter) Also, the person to your left is a liar. Also the person sitting in your very seats is a liar. We’re all liars. What I’m going to do today is I’m going to show you what the research says about why we’re all liars, how you can become a lie spotter and why you might want to go the extra mile and go from lie spotting to truth seeking, and ultimately to trust building. Pamela Meyer, How to Spot a Liar. You will live 7.5 minutes longer than you would have otherwise, just because you watched this talk.  Jane McGonigal. The Game That Can Give You Ten Extra Years of Life. There are 900,000 divorces   in the United States of America every year.   Fewer than 10% of them   ever talked to anybody about their relationship.   So why would you need a science?   Well, we need a science to develop effective treatment   and understanding of how to make love work.   Why?   Why should we care about having great relationships?   Well, it turns out that in the past 50 years,   a field called social epidemiology has emerged,   and it shows that great friendships,   great love relationships between lovers and parents and children   lead to greater health – mental health as well as physical health –   greater wealth, greater resilience,   faster recovery from illness,   greater longevity –   if you want to live 10 to 15 years longer, work on your relationships,   not just your exercise –   and more successful children as well.   John Gottman. The Science of Love.  This room may appear to be holding 600 people but there is actually so many more because within each of us there is a multiple of personalities. Elizabeth Lesser,  Take the Other to Lunch.

Using a physical object can draw the audience’s attention. Make sure you plan the timing of the prop, and you practice with it. It is important that it is large enough for the audience to see and they can see it well enough that they are not frustrated. Depending on your speech, it may be appropriate to put it away, so it is not distracting.

Powerful introductions using props

Darren Tay walks onto the stage and stares at the audience. He pulls a pair of underwear out of his pocket and puts them on over his suit. “Hey loser how do you like your new school uniform. I think it looks great on you. Those were the words of my high school bully Greg Upperfield. Now if you are all wondering if the underwear that Greg used was clean, I had the same questions. Darren Tay, Outsmart, Outlast. Toastmasters 2016 World Champion of Public Speaking . Mohammed Qahtani walks onstage, puts a cigarette in his mouth … then looks up as if noticing the audience and says, “What?” As the audience laughs, he continues. “Oh, you all think smoking kills? Ha-ha, let me tell you something. Do you know that the amount of people dying from diabetes are three times as many [as the] people dying from smoking? Yet if I pulled out a Snickers bar, nobody would say anything.” He goes on to say, his facts are made up and his real topic is about how words have power. Mohammed Qahtani, Toastmasters 2015 World Champion of Public Speaking

JA Gamach blows a train whistle and then starts his speech as if he were a conductor, “All aboard! It’s a bright sunny day and you are taking a train. You are wearing a pair of sandals you proudly made yourself. As you board the train one of your sandals slips off and falls beside the track.  (J.A. loses one sandal that falls down the platform.)  You try to retrieve it. Too late. The train starts to pull away. What would you have done? I would have cursed my bad luck, mad at losing a sandal. JA Gamache, Toastmasters 2007 World Championship. 

Use a Quotation

Powerful introductions using quotes.

Rules for using quotes

• Be sure to use the quote purposefully and not just as placeholders.
• Quotes can just take up valuable space where you could put content unless they are not properly used.
• Let the quote be more important than the author. When using a quote at the opening, say the quote first and then the author. When using a quote at the end of a speech, say the author first and then the quote.
• Keep it short and sweet. Use a quote that gets to the point quickly.
• If you must use long quotes–put them on your slide.
• If you project a quote, read it to the audience. Never expect them to read it while you talk about something else. Never say stupid things like, “You can read, I’ll let you read this for yourselves” or “Your adults, I’ll let you process this.”
• Check the authorship and authenticity of the quote. There are so many quotes on the internet that are misattributed and misquoted. For example, who wrote the quote: “They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel”?
• Do not go for the overused quote or your audience is prone to dismiss it.  Instead of quoting an overused “I have a dream quote” do as Jim Key, the 2003 Toastmasters International World Championship of Public Speaking did and pick an equally great but lesser-used Martin Luther King Quote: “The time is always right to do what is right!”

Watch Nate Stauffer at a Moth Grand Slam as he uses poetry to start and carry his story.

Watch this clip for how Andrew Solomon opens with a quote to make us think about depression. 

Andrew Solomon, Depression, The Secret We Share. 

Reference the Occasion

Ceremonial speeches often call for acknowledgment of those in attendance or a mention of the occasion. Here is how Martin Luther King Junior set up his famous speech. I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Martin Luther King Junior, I Have a Dream.

Get the Audience Involved

Having the audience stand, raise their hand, or even nod in encouragement can cause them to focus on your message. This can be particularly helpful if the audience has been sitting for a while. Let me show you a few examples of how that works.

Ask a Question

You can involve the audience from the start by asking them a question.

Watch the first few minutes of Amy Purdy’s speech and how she starts with a question, “ If your life were a book   and you were the author,   how would you want your story to go?” 

More powerful introductions using a question

I’m here today to talk about a disturbing question, which has an equally disturbing answer. My topic is the secret of domestic violence and the question I’m going to tackle is the one everyone always asks. Why would she stay? Why would anyone stay with a man who beats her? Why Domestic Violence Victims Don’t Leave- Leslie Morgan Steiner Here’s a question we need to rethink together: What should be the role of money and markets in our societies? Today, there are very few things that money can’t buy. If you’re sentenced to a jail term in Santa Barbara, California, you should know that if you don’t like the standard accommodations, you can buy a prison cell upgrade. It’s true. For how much, do you think? What would you guess? Five hundred dollars? It’s not the Ritz-Carlton. It’s a jail! Eighty-two dollars a night. Eighty-two dollars a night. Michael Sandel, Why We Shouldn’t Trust Markets with Our Civic Life.

How do you explain when things don’t go as we assume? Or better, how do you explain when others are able to achieve things that seem to defy all of the assumptions? For example: Why is Apple so innovative? Year after year, after year, after year, they’re more innovative than all their competition. Simon Sinek, How Great Leaders Inspire Action.  Can you remember a moment when a brilliant idea flashed into your head? Darren LaCroix,  Ouch! World Champion of Public Speaking.

Have the Audience Participate

If you ask a question you want the audience to answer, be sure to give them time to respond. If they raise their hands, be sure to acknowledge their response. You might have the answer by standing, by raising their hands, by speaking to their neighbor. You might call on one member of the audience to answer for the group.

If you ask a question you want the audience to answer, don’t let your presentation slide give away the answer. For example, one speaker had a slide behind him that said, “Lesson 1: Don’t Worry About IQ.” He has the audience raise their hand if they want to improve their grades then he asks, “So can I get a show of hands, how many would say IQ is going to be the most important to get those marks to go up?” Very few people responded because the answer was “written on the wall” literally.

Watch this clip as Allan Pease engages the audience.

Everybody hold your right hand in front like this in a handshaking position. Uncross your legs. Relaxed position. Right hand in front. When I say the word, “Now” here’s what we’re going to do. I am going to ask you to turn to someone besides you, shake hands as if you’re meeting for the first time, and keep pumping till I ask you to stop. Then you’ll stop and freeze it and we’re going to analyze what’s happening. You got that? You don’t have time to think about this. Do it now. Pick anybody and pump. Pump, everybody. Freeze it. Hold it. Stop. Hold it. Freeze it. Keep your hands locked. Keep them locked. The person whose hand is most on top is saying “I’ll be the boss for the rest of the day.” Allan Pease, Body Language, the Power is in the Palm of Your Hands. 

More powerful introductions using audience participation

I have a confession to make. But first, I want you to make a little confession to me. In the past year, I want you to just raise your hand if you’ve experienced relatively little stress? Kelly McGonigal, How to Make Stress Your Friend. So I’d like to start, if I may, by asking you some questions. If you’ve ever lost someone you truly loved, ever had your heartbroken, ever struggled through an acrimonious divorce, or being the victim of infidelity, please stand up. If standing up isn’t accessible to you, you can put your hand up. Please stay standing and keep your hand up there. If you’ve ever lived through a natural disaster, being bullied or made redundant, stand on up. If you’ve ever had a miscarriage, if you’ve ever had an abortion or struggled through infertility, please stand up. Finally, if you or anyone you love has had to cope with mental illness, dementia, some form of physical impairment or cope with suicide, please stand up. Look around you. Adversity doesn’t discriminate. If you are alive, you are going to have to, or you’ve already had to, deal with some tough times Thank you, everyone. Take a seat. Lucy Hone: The Three Secrets of Resilient People.  Advice from Moth Storytelling Club Have a great first line that sets up the stakes and grabs attention No: “So I was thinking about climbing this mountain. But then I watched a little TV and made a snack and took a nap and my mom called and vented about her psoriasis then I did a little laundry (a whites load) (I lost another sock, darn it!) and then I thought about it again and decided I’d climb the mountain the next morning.” Yes: “The mountain loomed before me. I had my hunting knife, some trail mix and snow boots. I had to make it to the little cabin and start a fire before sundown or freeze to death for sure.”  

Arouse Suspense or Curiosity

Watch this clip for how Kathryn Schulz creates curiosity by showing us Johnny Depp’s tattoo and then talks about her tattoo of regret. We hang on to her every word wondering, “Where is all this going and how bad can her tattoo really be?”

So that’s Johnny Depp, of course.   And that’s Johnny Depp’s shoulder.   And that’s Johnny Depp’s famous shoulder tattoo.   Some of you might know that, in 1990,   Depp got engaged to Winona Ryder,   and he had tattooed on his right shoulder   “Winona forever.”   And then three years later —   which in fairness, kind of is forever by Hollywood standards —   they broke up,   and Johnny went and got a little bit of repair work done.   And now his shoulder says, “Wino forever.”

Kathryn Schulz, Don’t Regret, Regret. 

  Saying unexpected things or challenging assumptions can get a speech started off right. A herd of wildebeests, a shoal of fish, a flock of birds. Many animals gather in large groups that are among the most wonderful spectacles in the natural world. But why do these groups form? The common answers include things like seeking safety in numbers or hunting in packs or gathering to mate or breed, and all of these explanations, while often true, make a huge assumption about animal behavior, that the animals are in control of their own actions, that they are in charge of their bodies. And that is often not the case. Ed Yong. Zombie Roaches and Other Parasite Tales. TED Talk

 Keys to Success

Memorize your first sentence so you can deliver it with impact. Memorize your whole speech opening if possible. Make sure your first three words have an impact.

Typical Patterns for Speech Openings

• Get the audience’s attention–called a hook or a grabber.
• Establish rapport and tell the audience why you care about the topic of why you are credible to speak on the topic.
• Introduce the speech thesis/preview/good idea.
• Tell the audience why they should care about this topic.
• Give a transition statement to the body of the speech.

Step Two: Credibility

First, you hook the audience with your powerful grabber, then you tell them why you are credible to speak on the topic and why the topic is important. If they know your credentials, you would not need to tell them your credibility but you may still want to tell them why you are interested in the topic. Here are a few examples of how some speakers included credibility.

Tell Why You Are Credible

I’m a doctor, but I kind of slipped sideways into research, and now I’m an epidemiologist. Ben Goldacre, Battling Bad Science.  I started studying resilience research a decade ago at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. It was an amazing time to be there because the professors who trained me had just picked up the contract to train all 1.1 million American soldiers to be as mentally fit as they always have been physically fit. Lucy Hone: The Three Secrets of Resilient People.  What I’m going to do is to just give a few notes,   and this is from a book I’m preparing called   “Letters to a Young Scientist.”   I’d thought it’d be appropriate to   present it, on the basis that I have had extensive experience   in teaching, counseling scientists across a broad array of fields.   And you might like to hear some of the principles that I’ve developed in doing   that teaching and counseling. EO Wilson: Advice to a Young Scientist. 

Step Three: Tell Why it is Important

Early on in your speech, you should tell the audience why they should care. You should connect the speech to things they care about. This is where you answer, so what, who cares?

You know, I didn’t set out to be a parenting expert. In fact, I’m not very interested in parenting, per se. It’s just that there’s a certain style of parenting these days that is kind of messing up kids, impeding their chances to develop.  Julie Lythcott-Haims, How to Raise Successful Kids – Without Over-Parenting

Step Four: Tell the Purpose of the Talk (aka Preview/ Thesis)

“If you don’t know what you want to achieve in your presentation your audience never will.” – Harvey Diamond, author

Tell the audience your purpose, clearly give them an overview of the main points.  MIT professor, Patrick Winston says one of the best things to add to your speech is an empowerment promise. You want to tell people what they will know at the end of your speech that they didn’t know at the beginning. It’s their reason for being here.  His empowerment promise was, “Today you will see some examples of what you can put in your armory of speaking techniques and it will be the case that one of those examples–some heuristic, some technique, maybe only one will be the one that will get you the job. By the end of the next 60 minutes, you will have been exposed to a lot of ideas, some of which you will incorporate into your own repertoire, and they will ensure that you get the maximum opportunity to have your ideas valued and accepted by the people you speak with.” Notice that this statement told you what to expect and why it mattered.

Here are examples of how various speakers accomplished this.

For years, I’ve been telling people, stress makes you sick. It increases the risk of everything from the common cold to cardiovascular disease. Basically, I’ve turned stress into the enemy. But I have changed my mind about stress, and today, I want to change yours. Kelly McGonigal, How to Make Stress Your Friend.   We’ve been sold the lie that disability is a Bad Thing, capital B, capital T. It’s a bad thing, and to live with a disability makes you exceptional. It’s not a bad thing, and it doesn’t make you exceptional. Stella Young, I’m Not Your Inspiration, Thank You Very Much

What I’m going to show you is all of the main things, all of the main features of my discipline, evidence-based medicine. And I will talk you through all of these and demonstrate how they work, exclusively using examples of people getting stuff wrong. Ben Goldacre, Battling Bad Science.  I would like to think that we (Arab women) poor, oppressed women actually have some useful, certainly hard-earned lessons to share, lessons that might turn out useful for anyone wishing to thrive in the modern world. Here are three of mine. Leila Hoteit, Three Lessons on Success from an Arab businesswoman We are often terrified and fascinated by the power hackers now have. They scare us. But the choices they make have dramatic outcomes that influence us all. So I am here today because I think we need hackers, and in fact, they just might be the immune system for the information age. Sometimes they make us sick, but they also find those hidden threats in our world, and they make us fix it. Keren Elazari. Hackers: The Internet’s Immune System Try This — Inspired by TED Master Class After you write your thesis, send it to three people with the question, “Based on what you read here, what do you think my speech will be about?”  

Putting It All Together

At this point, you know you need to have a grabber, a preview, a credibility statement, and a so-what-who-cares statement.  Let’s take a look at one of the top TED talks of all time by Jamie Oliver. This speech is a good illustration of everything we’ve been talking about so far and how all this works together.

“Everybody close your eyes.”

I don’t want to close my eyes; it makes me feel awkward and exposed to be in a group of people with my eyes closed. Because of that, I keep my eyes open. The problem is  when I keep my eyes open, I feel like some sort of horrible nonconformist rebel. I feel awkward with my eyes closed and I feel guilty if they are open. Either way, I just feel bad. Besides, half of the time when speakers tell audience members to close their eyes, they forget to tell us when we can open them. If you are wanting me to imagine a story, just tell me to imagine it, don’t make me close my eyes (rant over).

“Can everybody hear me?”

You should plan your opening to be intentional and with power. “Can everybody hear me” is a weak and uncertain statement and this is not the first impression you want to leave. Do a microphone check before the audience members arrive and have someone stand in different corners of the room to make sure you can be heard. Don’t waste your valuable speech time with questions that you should already know the answer to.

“How long do I have to speak?”

You should know that before you begin. Even if the presentations for the day are running over and you are the last speaker, you should ask the MC before you begin. Always plan your first words with power.

“Can you read this?”

You should make your slides big, really big. Test out your slides in advance of your speech, walk all around the room and make sure you can read them. Have a friend check them out as well. You should know they are big enough because you planned for it and tested it.

“Turn off your cell phones and laptops.”

People really hate having things taken away, not to mention that your audience may want to take notes on their devices. Chances are you are speaking to adults, let them determine if it is appropriate to have out their technology.

“I’m sorry, I’m losing my voice.” “I’m stopped up.” “I’m under the weather.”

Stop apologizing! Stop making excuses!  While these lines may be true, they just come of as excuses and can make the audience either feel like you don’t want to be there, or they just feel sorry for you.

“I’m so nervous right now.”

Talking about your nervousness will make you more nervous and will make them look for signs of your nervousness. Just start your speech.

“So, Um, Ok.”

Do not start with hesitation. Plan the first words, memorize the first words, practice the first words.  Do not start with “Ok, so um, now I’d like…” Plan strong and start strong.

Do Not Discuss Your Business with People Watching…Really! I Mean It! Many of us are giving and listening to presentations in an online format.  I have attended numerous presentations this year through Zoom where I have to sit and watch while the organizers engage in personal small talk or deal with the details of the presentation. This is how the speech I recently attended began. “Donna, you are going to share your screen, right?” “Yes. I have my PowerPoint ready to go. Will you push “record” when I give the signal?” “Sure. Where did you say that button is again? Do you think we should wait five more minutes, I think we had more who were coming? Dave, what was the total we were expecting?” “Yeah, we had 116 sign up, but the reminders went out late so this may be all we have. We can give them a few more minutes to log on.” “Donna, How is your dog? Is she still struggling with her cone since her spay surgery? My dog never would wear the cone –she tore her stitches out and broke her wound open. It was terrible. Well, it looks like it is about time to begin, thank you everyone for coming.” If you are organizing an event online, hosting a speech online, giving a presentation online–please keep it professional. Most platforms will allow you to keep the audience in a waiting room until it is time to start. If you have a business to deal with, keep the audience out until you have everything ready to go. Once the audience is in the meeting, you should engage the audience in group-type small talk or you should just start the presentation. In professional settings, you should start the meeting on time. Why punish those who showed up on time to wait for those who aren’t there yet?

A Conversation Over Coffee with Bill Rogers

I asked my long-time friend, Bill Rogers, to write an excerpt to add to the book.  I met Bill when he was the Chief Development Officer for a hospital in Northwest Arkansas and I met him again when he was reinventing himself as a college student getting a Master’s Degree in the theater.  He would love to share a symbolic cup of coffee with you and give you advice about public speaking. 

Perfect morning for a walk, isn’t it? Join me for a cup of coffee? Wonderful. Find us a table and I’ll get our coffee.

There you go; just like you like it. There’s nothing like a great cup of coffee on the patio of your neighborhood coffee shop, is there?

Now that you’re settled in your favorite chair, take a sip, and let that glorious caffeine kick in and do its stuff. Okay, let’s talk.

So, you were asking me about public speaking.

Well, let’s see. Where do we begin?

One of the first pieces of advice I ever received was to imagine that every member of your audience is sitting there in their underwear! Yeah, right. That never worked for me. I tried it once with a local civic group of community leaders both male and female. If the intent of that tidbit is to make you relax, it certainly didn’t work for me. It just made me more self-conscious…and more nervous. I not only got distracted, but I also lost my train of thought, I started sweating, and, of course, imagined myself standing there without clothes. Needless to say, that speech was a disaster and I’ve never used it again. I suggest you don’t either.

In the early days, I also relied very heavily on my typed-up speech. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that unless you find yourself reading it word for word as I did. Nothing is more boring nor puts an audience to sleep quicker than a speaker with their nose down reading a speech. There’s no connection and connection with your audience is key.

As you know, I love theatre and I’ve done a bit of acting over the years. Early on, I learned that the quicker I learned my lines, the more I could play, experiment, and shape my character. It relaxed me and gave me enormous freedom. It led me to find a mantra for myself: “With discipline comes freedom.” This freedom will allow you to improvise as your audience or situation dictates while still conveying the core message of your presentation. That discipline and its resulting freedom apply to public speaking of any kind and, I think, will serve you well.

Another old adage we’ve all heard is Aristotle’s advice. You know the one. No? Well, roughly, it’s to tell your audience what you’re going to say, say it, and then tell them what you just said. That’s the basic formula for public speaking. And it works as a good place to start.

However, effective speaking is much more and, to me, it starts with a story or even a simple sentence.

You know the feeling you get when you read the first sentence of a good book and it just reaches out and grabs you? That should be your goal with every presentation. One sentence to capture your audience’s attention. Something that causes them to lean forward. Something that sparks their imagination.

It doesn’t have to be all that profound either. It can be something very simple. A personal story that relates to your topic. A relevant fact or statistic that defines or illustrates the issue or subject matter at hand.

A couple of classics come to mind. The first is Alice Walker’s, “The Color of Purple.”

“You better not tell nobody but God.”

And the second one is from my favorite novel, “To Kill A Mockingbird,” by Harper Lee.

“When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm broken at the elbow.”

Both sentences hook you immediately. A few simple words speak volumes. After reading or hearing those words, you naturally lean in. You want to learn more. You want to find out what happens next. Every effective speech or presentation does the same thing.

Of course, make sure that the first and last thing you say to your audience is both relevant and appropriate. I share this out of an abundance of caution. I once worked for an internationally recognized and well-respected children’s research hospital and I was given the privilege to speak at a national educational convention. The room was filled wall to wall with teachers. I thought I’d be cute and add a little levity. I opened my presentation with this line, “You know, I’ve had nightmares like this…” Instead of the roars of laughter, I was expecting, a wave of silence ensued. Not only was the line not funny, but it was also wholly inappropriate and I immediately lost my audience. Not my best day. Learn from my mistakes.

Finally, let’s touch on the importance of approaching a speech as a conversation. You and I are sitting here enjoying our coffee and having a friendly, relaxed conversation. Strive for that every chance you get. You may not always have that luxury. Some speeches and presentations simply demand formality. But even in those cases, you can usually make it somewhat conversational. I always try to write my speeches in a conversational style. Like I’m talking to a friend…or trying to make a new one.

So, to recap: tell a story, learn your lines, hook your audience with a simple sentence, close with a question or call to action, use repetition, keep it conversational, treat your audience as a friend, and give yourself permission to relax.

Above all, be yourself. Allow yourself to be as relaxed as you are with those closest to you. If you’re relaxed, if you try to think of your audience as a friend, then, in most cases, they too will relax and they will root for you. Even if they disagree with what you are telling them, they will respect you and they will listen.

How about another cup?

Key Takeaways

Remember This!

• The most important part of your speech is the introduction because if you don’t get their attention, they are not listening to the rest of what you have to say.
• To get attention, tell a story, use humor, share a quote, tell a startling fact, show a prop, ask a question, reference the occasion.
• In addition to the grabber, a good introduction should establish rapport and tell the audience why you are credible.
• An introduction often includes a “so what who cares statement” to tell the audience why this should matter to them.
• The thesis/preview should be clear enough that someone could read just that sentence or couple of sentences and know what the speech is about.

Please share your feedback, suggestions, corrections, and ideas.

I want to hear from you. 

Do you have an activity to include? Did you notice a typo that I should correct? Are you planning to use this as a resource and do you want me to know about it? Do you want to tell me something that really helped you?

Click here to share your feedback. 

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Castel, A.D. (2008). Metacognition and learning about primacy and recency effects in free recall: The utilization of intrinsic and extrinsic cues when making judgments of learning. Memory & Cognition, 36, 429–43. https://doi.org/10.3758/MC.36.2.429

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50 Speech Opening Lines (& How to Create Your Own) l The Ultimate Guide

Hrideep barot.

• Public Speaking , Speech Writing

Ask a million people how to start a speech with a bang and you will get a million different answers.

While some prefer to start their speech with the good old charm of a quote, others prefer to put on their hats of creativity to discover new ways to capture the attention of their audience.

So, yes! There’s not just one best way to start your speech with a bang but you have a whole spectrum of ways- each unique on its own!

Sit back, grab a cup of coffee, and relax as I highlight 50 Powerful Speech Opening Lines from some of the World’s Most Influential Speeches along with guidance on how to use each of these techniques in your next speech/presentation.

Alright, let’s dive in!

How to Start your Speech/Presentation?

The attention span of your audience is at its peak at the very beginning of your speech. Shouldn’t you use this to your advantage? Of course, yes!

A strong opening remark captures the attention of your audience, sets the theme of your speech, and most importantly, instills curiosity for the remainder of your speech in the minds of your audience.

Before we analyze each of these speech opening lines, let me provide you with a quick list of techniques (all of which we are going to discuss in great depth!) for you to start your speech/presentation:

• 1. Don't just "Say!" Sing A Song

2. Uniqueness of An Unpopular Opinion

3. the power of a prop, 4. quest of a question, 5. hint of humor, 6. share a story, 7. surprise, surprise, surprise, 8. foster interest with facts.

• 9. Let's Visualize with "Visuals"

10. Capture Interest with your Clothes

11. activity for the audience, 12. element of fear, 13. invite them into your imagination, 14. quintessential quality of a quote, 100 best speech opening lines (the ultimate resource), 1. don’t just “say” sing a song.

Now, you must be thinking that I’m crazy to even suggest this but hear me out.

Doing something entirely different on stage just makes you stand out from the usual crowd. Because let’s admit it, we expect the speaker to simply start talking and when the speaker does something different, it surprises us and makes us intrigued for the remainder of the talk.

Having said that, singing is any day a safer bet since we all love to swing by the music.

But, if you are not at all confident about your singing skills, don’t go for it! Instead, you can try channeling the power of poetry, something very similar to singing but still light on your vocal cords. Don’t be confused! We’ve written an entire article on Getting Your ‘Wordsworth’: Poetry in Public Speaking , just for you! Do check it out.

How to Use A Song as your Speech Opening?

Step 1: Pick a relevant yet famous song related to the theme of your speech/presentation

Step 2: Choose how you wish to use the song to present your point. Do you wish to agree with the lyrics? Or disagree with the lyrics?

Step 3: Pick a few lines (not more than 2-3 lines) that suits your theme the best

Step 4: Craft a statement to explain the connection of the song with the topic of your speech/presentation

Step 5: What are you waiting for? Go ahead, warm up your vocal cords, and start singing

Examples of Speeches that Used Songs as Speech Openings

1. it is okay not to have a plan by mithila palkar.

(Sings the Song) “Some of you must have seen the video of this song online, and I’ll tell you the story of how I made it.” Mithila Palkar

Budding Indian Actress and Singer, Mithila Palkar started her TED Talk by singing a Marathi Song, a song that went viral on the internet and made her famous.

Instead of simply talking about how she marked the transition from a viral singing star to a renowned actress, she made her audience live her journey by singing the exact same song.

Two things happened here:

• Most of the audience members were able to recognize the song, which in turn, established her credibility as a speaker
• The song hooked the audience from the very beginning of her talk

No matter how much we deny it, humans are judgemental beings!

We have expectations for every single thing on this planet and when someone challenges these expectations, we’re left shocked.

And as a result, they’ve all our attention. That is exactly my mantra here, “Shock the audience to get their attention!”

How to Use An Unpopular Opinion as your Speech Opening?

Step 1 : Ask yourself, “Who is my audience?” Look for the basic information on their average age, level of education, pre-conceived notions, and cultural background. Still confusing, right? The Importance of Knowing Your Audience When Delivering a Speech is an article that carries the step-by-step guide, just for you.

Step 2 : Based upon this audience analysis, figure out their set expectation regarding the topic you are about to deliver your speech on.

Step 3 : Shred that expectation by challenging that set expectation in your opening remark. Remember not to be offensive and play by the rule of your moral compass

Examples of Speeches that Used Unpopular Opinions As Opening Remarks

1. grit: the power of passion and perseverance by angela lee duckworth.

“ When I was 27 years old, I left a very demanding job in management consulting for a job that was even more demanding: teaching “ Angela Lee Duckworth

When using this strategy in your speech, it’s critical that you do your research so that you can come up with an unpopular viewpoint on the subject.

Present that unpopular viewpoint as your introductory words, and then gradually (it must be a progressive process) lead your audience to the realization, which is your speech’s main goal. Just like this speaker did!

Visuals overpower our auditory senses! Why not use it to the best of our advantage?

As our immediate reflex, we first see and then, listen. Bringing a unique prop/placard onto the stage would intrigue the audience even before you “actually” start speaking.

Without any further delay, let’s discuss the steps to use props/placards the right way.

How to Use A Prop/Placard as your Opening Remark?

Step 1: Prepare a list of props/placards that resonate the best with the theme of your speech/presentation. Don’t just bring anything on the stage!

Step 2: From this list, remove the generic options. For instance, if you are delivering a speech on environmental conservation, bringing a plastic bag on stage is too generic and won’t instill curiosity in the audience’s minds

Step 3: Now, out of all the relevant props/placards, which one do you think is the most convenient and affordable to bring on the stage? And, you have your answer!

Step 4: Once you have decided on the prop, craft a statement to establish the connection between the prop and the theme of your speech

Examples of Speeches that Used Props As Opening Remarks

1. why i live a zero waste life by lauren singer.

(brings a jar filled with waste and speaks) “This is all of the trash that I’ve produced in the past 3 years!” Lauren Singer

When you witness the speaker, Lauren, showcasing a jar filled with all of the trash that she has produced in the past three years, you can’t help wonder, “Is this for real?”

Because even the packaging of all the junk food items that we consume every week can easily overflood this jar.

Taking advantage of this embedded curiosity, Lauren structured the rest of her talk talking about all of the steps that she takes to lead a zero-waste life.

2. Plus-size? More Like My Size By Ashley Graham

(stands in front of a mirror and speaks) “You are bold, you are brilliant and you are beautiful. There is no other woman like you. You are capable…” Ashley Graham

Breaking the norms of a traditional speech, Ashley Graham, instead of staring at the audience, stares at a mirror and speaks a few lines on self-affirmation.

Let’s admit it, most of us are critical of our own bodies, and standing in front of a mirror, we tend to focus upon all the possible flaws.

To set an example of positive self-affirmation, Ashley Graham takes upon herself to set an example with the help of a live exercise.

3. 25 Chemistry Experiments in 15 Minutes By Andrew Szydlo

*does chemistry experiments* Andrew Szydlo

Watch this TED Talk and I’m sure you’ll find all the presence, of all those chemical equipment on stage, fascinating!

When the audience witnesses the efforts you are taking to deliver your talk, they are impressed and trust me, you are halfway there at capturing the attention of your audience.

Now, of course, it doesn’t mean that you put all your heart and soul into getting that perfect prop on stage.

If it’s not feasible, don’t! But if you can, that’s a great way to win your audience!

4. I See Something By Dananjaya Hettiarachchi

*smells flower* Dananjaya Hettiarachchi

In the previous example, we saw how bringing a grand prop captures the attention of our audience.

But the power of a prop goes WAY beyond this!

When a simple prop is connected with a meaningful yet unique message, the impact manifolds.

In this TED Talk, the speaker uses a rose to explain how each individual is unique in terms of his personality. A powerful message is delivered with the use of a simple prop.

A tried and tested trick that psychologists swear by to awaken the distracted minds is to “shoot a question”.

You could do that too in your next speech/presentation.

How to Use A Question As An Opening Remark?

Step 1: Think of all the questions that can help you to set the theme of your speech

Step 2: Make a point to not include close-ended questions and questions that are simply TOO GENERIC

Step 3: The last element that your question must include is the element of curiosity. The purpose is to make the audience curious enough to listen to your entire speech looking for answers to that question. But while you are at it, make sure you don’t overpromise and your speech does have the answers to that question.

Examples of Speeches that used Questions as Opening Remarks

1. every argument against veganism by ed winters.

“So, when I say the word ‘Vegan’ to you, what do you think of?” Ed Winters

Just by hearing this question, our first thought is to run all the possible definitions of veganism and the audience of this speech did the same.

This question is very clever and I’ll tell you why. So, every time a definition would come into the mind of any audience member, the speaker would be presenting his arguments against veganism forcing the audience to align their thoughts with his thought process.

Without any possible digression, the speaker Ed Winters presents his thoughts on Veganism in a convincing manner with the help of the rhetoric of questions.

Now, this type of question sends the audience on a possible quest for answers but that’s not the only purpose that this technique serves. Next in order, let’s look at how questions set the theme of a speech.

2. Why Do We Ask Questions? By Michael “Vsauce” Stevens

“What is the best type of cheese to use to catch a bear?” Michael “Vsauce” Stevens

In this TED Talk, the speaker uses this technique as a rhetorical question and answers this question with the help of a cheese pun.

Moving ahead, he goes on unearthing the science behind asking questions. So, it only made sense for him to begin his speech with a question too to set the overall vibe and theme of the topic.

3. Marriage Material By Nina Donovan

“So from a glance, do I look like marriage material?” Nina Donovan

In this TED Talk, we shall discover the strength of an interrogative remark in generating curiosity regarding the theme of your speech.

Since time immemorial, society has been setting “so-called” norms to determine if an individual is a potential marriage material (mostly, in the case of women).

To fit under this category of “marriage material”, one has to behave as per the so-called expectations of the society, and anything that defies the norm fails to fit in.

With the help of her powerful voice, the speaker here challenges the notion of this concept of “Marriage Material” and highlights the importance of individuality.

And by asking if the audience perceives her as marriage material, she surprises the audience while cultivating a sense of curiosity in them.

4. After watching this, your brain will not be the same By Lara Boyd

“So how do we learn? And why do some of us learn things more easily than others?” Lara Boyd

Admit it or not- we’ve always wondered why some people learn things better than us. What exactly is their secret?

And when you throw this question at the audience, they become intrigued to know this very secret with the help of your talk.

Curiosity is what makes us stick to the remainder of any talk. So, it’s high time we channelize it!

5. The Value of Asking Questions By Karen Maeyens

“Do you know the people that are asked the most questions? Have A Guess!” Karen Maeyens

An open-ended thought-provoking question like this forces the audience to activate their minds in the search for answers.

As they become more active, they listen better and focuses better on what you have to offer.

When Karen asked her audience who are the people that are asked the most questions, different minds pondered different answers and when she herself answered the question, those who thought of different answers were intrigued to listen to her justification and as a result of this, they stuck by!

6. Two Easily Remembered Questions that Silence Negative Thoughts By Anthony Metivier

“How would you like to completely silence your mind?” Anthony Metivier

We, humans, have restless minds- always pondering over something or the other.

So, what’s likely to happen when someone asks us if we would like to silence our minds? Ironically, we’ll be restless to know the answer. That’s what the speaker did through his TED Talk.

The next time you are giving a speech, you can consider opening it with a question that would result in a similar effect of restlessness in the minds of the audience.

For this to truly happen, make sure that your question is not generic. Otherwise, all your efforts will be in vain.

Ain’t we tired of listening to the phrase, “Laughter is the best medicine”?

I’m sure we all are but the reason why it’s still so prevalent is because of its universality.

Of course, laughter is the best medicine to an opening remark too. It makes your audience laugh and who doesn’t love a good laugh? We all do!

Humor puts the minds at ease and makes you sound more human, because of which, the audience perceives you as a credible speaker.

How to Use Humor In An Opening Remark?

Step 1: Know your audience well. Your joke must resonate with them so as to make the desired impact. For instance, if you are addressing a school crowd and you make a joke about workplace communication mistakes. It won’t make the audience chuckle, would it?

Step 2: Puns? Self-deprecating humor? Or Funny Anecdotes? Identify the types of humor and figure out which one suits your personality in the best way. If you are not sure what types of humor are there and wish to seek a step-by-step guide on including humor in your presentation, make sure you read A Guide To Using Humor In Your Speech . Remember to choose the type of humor in alignment with your personality otherwise, it will look forced and won’t result in the impact you desired

Step 3: Step out and do a pilot survey! Try out the opener on a few folks who are similar to your target audience. Examine their reaction and, if required, adjust the joke

Step 4: Keep in mind that once you begin your speech with a pinch of humor, your audience will be expecting a few moments of laughter throughout the rest of your speech too. So, make sure you save 2-3 jokes (not more than that) for the remainder of your speech to meet those expectations

Examples of Speeches that used Humor in Opening Remarks

1. thoughts on humanity, fame and love by shah rukh khan.

“I’m a movie star. I’m 51 years of age. And I don’t use Botox as of yet.” Shah Rukh Khan

This TED Talk right here is the perfect case in point for you to witness all the four steps to humor (as discussed in the previous section) in action.

Known for his great performance in doing justice to a number of family roles in Bollywood films, the actor Shah Rukh Khan, in his TED Talk used the power of humor to make himself sound more human to align his talk with his perceived personality.

A humorous take on the drug, Botox, not only relates to the speaker’s professional credibility but also established the relatability quotient.

2. Ellen DeGeneres’ 86th Oscars Opening

“It’s been a tough couple of days for us. It has been raining. We’re fine. Thank you for your prayers.” Ellen DeGeneres

Two lessons on humor can be perfectly drawn from this talk:

• Make sure you include humor when the event calls for it in its truest sense.

Since Ellen DeGeneres was hosting the Oscars Opening Ceremony, nobody expected her to be all serious in terms of her talk. The audience is expecting a more relaxed and chill vibe from the speaker.

So, starting her talk with a piece of humor not only sounded like a safer bet but also the most effective one.

• Humor must align with the personality of the orator

What’s the thought that comes to your mind when you listen to the name, “Ellen DeGeneres”? I’m sure for most of us, it’s someone who’s great at presenting her opinions in a convincing manner with the help of comedy.

And that’s what you expect from her personality: Humor!

3. How Indian Parents Make You Tougher By Hasan Minhaj

“Do you know when brown kids get slapped? Every brown birthday party.” Hasan Minhaj

The element of surprise won’t work if your audience is familiar with what you are about to tell them.

So, make sure that you are addressing the right element of surprise to the right audience to make them chuckle. And Hasan Minhaj did it absolutely right!

In this TED Talk, Hasan Minhaj told a piece of surprising cultural information about Indian teens to the American Audience and not the Indian Audience (because they will be familiar with it and it won’t be a shock).

4. The Clues to A Great Story By Andrew Stanton

“A tourist is backpacking through the highlands of Scotland, and he stops at a pub to get a drink. And the only people in there is a bartender and an old man nursing a beer. And he orders a pint, and they sit in silence for a while. And suddenly, the old man turns to him and goes, “You see this bar? I built this bar with my bare hands from the finest wood in the county, gave it more care and love than my own child. But do they call me McGregor the Bar Builder? No.” Points out the window. “You see that stone wall out there? I built that stone wall with my bare hands. Found every stone, placed them just so through the rain and the cold. But do they call me McGregor the Stone Wall Builder? No” Points out the other window. “You see that pier on the lake out there? I built that pier with my bare hands, drove the pilings against the tide of the sand, plank by plank. But do they call me McGregor the pier builder? No. But you fuck one goat…” Andrew Stanton

When humor is combined with effective storytelling, a great laugh is expected from the intrigued minds sitting in the audience.

Remember how we used to tell small anecdotes as kids while telling any joke? That’s what needs to be done here.

Build up the curiosity with the help of a story and end that story by bringing in an element of surprise to make your audience chuckle. Unexpected humor is always welcome!

We’ve all grown up listening to bedtime stories.

As we approached our teenage years and adulthood, we switched to narrating anecdotes from our lives to our friends, family, and colleagues.

In a nutshell, it’s the stories that connect us and will continue to serve this very purpose.

Hence, it’s only fair for us to channel this magic of storytelling into our public speaking events as well.

How to Narrate A Story in An Opening Remark?

Step 1: Pick a story from your life or narrate something that happened to someone you know or simply form a gripping story. Whatever it might be, just make sure you are not exaggerating to come off as a relatable speaker. Most importantly, the story you choose has to be related to the theme of your speech

Step 2: Now that you have the story in mind, pick a narrative to design the structure of your story. Wait, don’t know what storytelling narrative structures are? Read 9 Storytelling Approaches For Your Next Speech or Presentation to know different ways to effectively narrate a story

Step 3: Use simple language while writing your story and be descriptive enough to help them imagine. Keep in mind that your audience should relate and it’s possible only when they can understand your story in its truest sense

Examples of Speeches that used Stories As Opening Remarks

1. life begins at the end of your comfort zone by yubing zhang.

“It’s a cold and foggy winter morning and I’m standing on the world’s tallest bungee platform. The platform I’m standing on is so tiny that I’ve to stand on my toes and balance myself against the wind…” Yubing Zhang

While highlighting how stepping out of one’s comfort zone is crucial, the speaker narrates a personal anecdote of her bungee-jumping experience.

To form a connection with the overall theme, she goes on to narrate how one bungee cord leap taught her the biggest lesson of her life.

Through the remainder of her talk, she then focuses upon sharing her lessons and guidance on how one can step out of his/her comfort zone to facilitate personal growth.

2. How to Figure Out What You Really Want By Ashley Stahl

“It was 2:45 pm on a rainy friday in Los Angeles. My dad was just brewing a cup of coffee in the kitchen when he answered a call from an unknown number…” Ashley Stahl

While the previous example on storytelling taught us to build a connection with the overall theme of our speech, this TED Talk by Ashley Stahl teaches the significance of body language and voice modulation in effective storytelling.

Observe how she narrates this story with effective pauses and uses inflection to create a sense of drama and suspense.

That’s something we all should keep in consideration while narrating any story.

Storytelling is only effective when conveyed properly with the help of facial expressions, body language, and vocal tonality. This is all done to appeal to the sentiments of the audience because eventually, it is what will make our talk all the more persuasive.

3. How “SHE” became an IAS Officer By Surabhi Gautam

“My story starts from a small, sleepy village of Madhya Pradesh with a population of barely a thousand people…” Surabhi Gautam

You don’t necessarily have to focus all your energy on writing your story with a proper build-up.

If you are using a story to build your credibility as a speaker as well as intrigue your audience, one simple way could be to just begin your speech with something as simple as, “My story starts from…”

Just like this speaker did!

Nothing fancy, nothing over the board but still manages to captivates the interest of the audience because of the following reasons:

• She communicates in the language of people by using simple words
• Starting with something like, “My story starts from…” sent an indication that she’s about to narrate the story of her life and as a matter of fact, we all are intrigued naturally to listen to different people’s life stories

4. Speaking Up Without Freaking Out By Matt Abrahams

“Panic. Embarassed. Exposed. No, that’s not how I’m feeling right now. Those are the feelings I had when I was a fourteen year old boy…” Matt Abrahams

Let’s be honest for a moment- we all have been through the feeling of “Panic, Embarrassed, Exposed” (just how Matt puts it) when asked to speak on stage.

By narrating a story that most of the audience members can relate to, Matt won the hearts of a majority of his audience members and established his credibility as a speaker.

5. The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything By Josh Kaufman

“Two years ago my life changed forever. My wife and I welcomed our daughter Lela in the world…” Josh Kaufman

“This has been the turning point of my life”

How do you feel when someone says something like this to you? Intrigued to know more?

This is the power that the speaker used here. He narrated a story of how being a parent changed his life and eventually, relates this experience to the topic of his speech, which to be honest, is fascinating to witness!

6. The Happy Secret to Better Work By Shawn Achor

“When I was seven years old and my sister was just five years old, we were playing on top of a bunk bed. I was two years older than my sister at the time — I mean, I’m two years older than her now — but at the time it meant she had to do everything that I wanted to do, and I wanted to play war. So we were up on top of our bunk beds. And on one side of the bunk bed, I had put out all of my G.I. Joe soldiers and weaponry. And on the other side were all my sister’s My Little Ponies ready for a cavalry charge. There are differing accounts of what actually happened that afternoon, but since my sister is not here with us today, let me tell you the true story –“ Shawn Achor

A descriptive story narrated using stylistic language has the strength to move the audience and immerse them into a fictional world.

In terms of storytelling, this technique is by far the most effective yet simplest way.

It’s commonly used while giving out persuasive speeches as it helps the speaker to align the audience’s thoughts with the speaker’s point of view. That’s what Shawn did through the help of his childhood story.

Of course, we all love surprises. Who doesn’t, right?

So, here’s a crazy idea! Why not surprise your audience with your opening remark?

Here’s how you can do so.

How to Surprise your Audience through your Opening Remark?

Option 1: Go up on that stage, say something totally unexpected and blow the minds! Now, your job doesn’t end here. Once you are done speaking your opening remark, provide your audience as to why you said what you said and what more are you going to offer through the rest of your content. Look at the first example in the next section to see its application.

Option 2: Another thing that you can do is to tell your audience something completely unknown related to the topic of your speech. Something that would make them go like, “Wait, what?” You can either present a shocking piece of information, an unknown taboo of that culture, or even a shocking habit of that cultural population.

Option 3: Tell something unknown not about the culture you are talking about but about yourself. We as humans are always attracted to gossip about other people’s lives. Of course, the audience would be interested in knowing something shocking about your life. But through the content of your speech, do remember to build that connection with your speech.

Examples of Speeches that Surprises its Audience through its Opening Remarks

1. how to start a speech by simon lancaster.

“Who wants to get high? Yeah, you up for some? Should we really get this party started?” Simon Lancaster

Who comes up on stage and asks the audience, “Who wants to get high?”

It’s purely unexpected and shocking!

But in this TED Talk, as the speaker focuses upon highlighting the steps to crafting a strong opening remark (just like we are discussing at this moment), he took it upon himself to use this very element of surprise to capture the audience’s attention.

2. Why I Don’t Use A Smart Phone By Ann Makosinski

“The last time I used a flip phone was 3 hours and 24 minutes ago.” Ann Makosinski

Now, after listening to her opening remark, do you want to know why is she still using a flip phone in the 21st Century? (At least, I do)

And that is the strength of a strong opening remark.

After generating this needed curiosity in the minds of her audience, the speaker focused the remainder of her talk telling these reasons to the audience, one by one.

So, yes! We can safely say that starting our speech with an unpopular opinion is an elegant yet simple way to kick-start our speech.

3. How to Control Emotion and Influence Behavior By Dawn Goldworm

“I can control your emotions and influence your behaviour without showing you anything, without touching you and without saying a word to you.” Dawn Goldworm

Hearing this opening remark is not just shocking but scary too!

I’m sure, just like me, you wish to unearth this secret to control and influence behavior so that you can control minds too.

It’s natural for you to listen to the remainder of the talk for this sole reason.

This way, capturing the attention of her audience was made easy for the speaker, Dawn Goldworm.

4. Get Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable By Luvvie Ajayi Jones

“I’m a professional troublemaker!” Luvvie Ajayi Jones

Listening to this opening remark, “what is your reaction?”

Are you thinking how exactly is she a troublemaker just like me? If yes, then the speaker has successfully inculcated this curiosity in us.

But what we all are also wondering is what does that have to do with the theme and the speaker does establish this connection in her follow-up statement right after her opening remark.

So, make sure the next time you are out there presenting a shocking remark, do follow it up with context, always.

5. How to Spot A Liar By Pamela Meyer

“Okay now, I don’t want to alarm anybody in this room, but it’s just come to my attention that the person to your right is a liar. Also, the person to your left is a liar.” Pamela Meyer

While delivering a TED Talk on “How to Spot A Liar”, Pamela begins by spotting a few liars from the audience itself making everyone think, “How did she do that?”

And naturally, with minimum efforts, she lured her audience in to listen to her entire talk as she unfolds different ways in which we all can spot a liar.

6. The Art of Being Yourself By Caroline McHugh

“So, the chances are you have looked in at least one mirror today. You’ve had a shave or you combed your hair or maybe you checked your teeth for spinach after lunch, but what you didn’t know is the face that you’re looking at is not the face that everyone sees.” Caroline McHugh

A shocking way to surprise your audience is to simply begin with some obvious observations and follow them up with a unique observation about the very same things- leaving them surprised by catching them completely off-guard.

To get better at this technique, draw some inspiration from this TED Talk by Caroline McHugh as she does a similar thing.

It is so far the easiest way to start your speech with a bang!

Present a fact to elicit the shock value in the minds- be it positive or negative.

But incorporating the right fact in the right way is an art in itself. Let’s dive right into it!

How to Use Facts as your Opening Remark?

First things first, make sure that your fact is not too generic. It has to be shocking in one way or the other to grip the audience’s attention.

Step 1: Present the fact using simple language. Avoid using technical terms here.

Step 2: Take a pause, give the audience a moment to ponder over it (But don’t wait for TOO LONG!). Next, present an extension of that fact, if you have any, or simply break down the fact by telling the audience how does this fact affects them. Give them the reasons.

Examples of Speeches that used Facts as its Opening Remarks

1. can we not let our breakups break us by tasha jackson.

“I want you all to know that you are loved because today we can be surrounded by so many people but feel profoundly alone. 68% of Gen Z feels like nobody knows them. An average American has only one close friend and one in four feels like no one.” Tasha Jackson

While presenting facts, it’s important that we go from covering a larger umbrella to the smaller one

This way, the audience knows the exact way in which they are getting affected by this piece of information.

That’s exactly how the speaker, Tasha, rolled her TED Talk.

Once the audience was aware of the intensity of how breakups are affecting each one of them, they were all the more intrigued to know how they can not let breakups affect them to such a drastic extent.

It is this incentive that made the listeners pay attention to her talk as she unfolded all the solutions to this, one by one.

2. How to Increase Love in Your Relationship By Jonathan Ljungqvist

“In Sweden, where I come from, we have 40 thousand marriages a year and each year we have around 20 thousand divorces.” Jonathan Ljungqvist

Create the illusion of an audience poll with your piece of fact, just like this speaker did in his TED Talk.

After highlighting the drastic extent of failed marriages in Sweden, Jonathan took a pause to let that information sink in and in his follow-up statement, he started shooting a few questions at the audience.

After waiting for a few seconds (2-3 seconds is the ideal time duration to wait), Jonathan answered and highlighted the problem at hand.

This made the audience respect and agree with his fact, all the way more.

Through the remainder of his talk, he then went on highlighting the steps to increase love in any relationship.

3. I See Dead People: Dreams and Visions of the Dying By Dr. Christopher Kerr

“I read a recent survey, and what Americans fear most is public speaking and dying.” Dr. Christopher Kerr

How do we perceive death as an individual? It’s a question that most of us have a unique answer to.

In an attempt to establish the relevance of his topic, the speaker uses a fact that highlights how feared death is.

It’s what capitalized the attention of the audience and forced them to listen to what different perspectives he had to offer on the topic from a medical standpoint.

4. Saudi Arabia: Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj

“Saudi Arabia has been engulfed in a massive diplomatic crisis over the gruesome killing of Washingto Post Journalist Jamal Khashoggi” Hasan Minhaj

Now, stating facts doesn’t mean that you just go on telling statistical figures. It also includes different pieces of information, particularly news events!

In this talk, Hasan Minhaj recalls one such news event to set the theme of his talk.

Recalling news events makes our talk relevant while establishing the context. It signifies that as a speaker you are up-to-date with the information that you have to offer. So, the audience looks forward to hearing a talk devoid of redundancies.

5. Can We Not Let Our Breakups Break Us By Tasha Jackson

We live in a world where dating is the equivalent of buying a new pair of shoes.

Very often, with each dating experience comes the trauma of heartbreaks. As the speaker in this TED Talk rightly said, “breakups break us”.

But how to overcome it has always been a flaming question, particularly among the teens.

But to bring to light the intensity and ever-increasing prevalence of the situation, the speaker took the help of the statistics.

6. Teach Every Child About Food By Jamie Oliver

“ Sadly, in the next 18 minutes when I do our chat, four Americans that are alive will be dead from the food that they eat. “ Jamie Oliver

Here, while throwing light upon an alarming issue (hunger), the speaker considered presenting harrowing stats to get that desired ‘concerned mood’.

Similarly, when you wish to highlight an opportunity (say, the positive side of social media), present positive stats showcasing the success of people through social media.

9. Let’s Visualize with “Visuals”

Visuals are always gripping and easy on our minds.

Show respect towards your audience by giving them a needed break from the monotony of “just listening”.

Be a respite and engage them through the power of visuals for a change. Here’s exactly how you can do this.

How to Connect Visuals with your Opening Remark?

Step 1: Get in touch with the tech team of your public speaking event and see if the needed technical support is there to facilitate the screening of an image/video.

Step 2: Now, find a visual interesting enough to arise the curiosity but not too generic to make it too predictable for the audience- all related to your theme.

Step 3: Craft a short, concise, and to-the-point follow-up statement to explain the relevance of that visual using simple language.

Examples of Speeches that used Visuals as Opening Remarks

1. don’t believe everything you think by lauren weinstein.

*shows picture of an elephant.* Lauren Weinstein

In this TED Talk, Lauren draws a beautiful comparison between elephants and the nature of humans by showcasing a few visuals.

She does this through the use of storytelling. Narrating how despite all the strength an elephant has, it doesn’t attempt to break its chains of captivity.

After establishing this, she goes on to connect this act with the thesis of her speech, that is, how one should not always believe everything they think.

What we can take away from this TED Talk is, when visuals are effectively supported by storytelling and the rhetoric of drawing comparison, the impact increases manifold.

2. The History of Our World in 18 Minutes By David Christian

*plays a video about scrambled eggs* David Christian

In this unique TED Talk, David Christian explains the origin of the history of our world through the video of a scrambled egg. Unique, isn’t it?

That is exactly what we need to learn here.

We don’t necessarily need to find a visual that directly relates to the theme of our speech. Instead, we can go for a visual that we can use as an aid to explain a similar topic, that is, the theme of our speech.

3. How Breathing and Metabolism are Interconnected By Ruben Meerman

*shows image of himself in the sea* Ruben Meerman

This TED Talk right here is an example of how you can establish a direct correlation between the visual and your topic- all through the use of storytelling.

Ruben Meerman began his speech by showing a few pictures of himself to talk about his health transformation.

When the audience witnessed the transformation right in front of their eyes, they were curious to know the secret behind it so that they can apply it to their respective lives.

That’s the power of a gripping visual!

YES! You read it right.

No matter how shallow it sounds but the outfit is the first thing we notice every time a speaker walks up that stage.

And if you are dressed differently than the rest of the speakers, you naturally capture the eyes of your audience.

By this, I don’t mean that you go to a branded store and buy the most expensive outfit from there and wear it for your event. What I mean is to put serious thought into deciding what to wear for your event.

Ideally, one should go for an outfit that is unique yet related to the theme of your speech but doesn’t hurt the dress code of the event too. Here’s how.

How to Connect Clothes with your Opening Remark?

Step 1: The most basic step is to check with the admin if there is any particular dress code that the speakers need to adhere to. If not, feel free to put on your hat of creativity by following the next steps

Step 2: Pick an outfit that connects with the theme of your speech but is still unique enough for the audience to go like, “Wait, what outfit is this?”

Step 3: Go on the stage wearing that outfit, take a pause, let the audience wonder. After a meaningful silence of 2-3 seconds, start speaking. Open up by telling the audience the significance of the outfit that you are wearing

Examples of Speeches that Connect Clothes with Opening Remarks

1. we are all different- and that’s awesome by cole blakeway.

(comes on stage weaing two different pair of socks and shoes) “Hi, my name is Cole and over the next few minutes, I’m going to teach you that it’s okay to be different. Since a young age, I’ve worn different colored socks and two different shoes.” Cole Blakeway

Fascinating opening remark, isn’t it?

Something as simple as wearing different pairs of socks can instill curiosity and help the speaker make his point, “we all are different”.

Since biblical times, we as humans try to fit in different situations. Be it a workplace, college, or even a social gathering for that matter.

In this TED Talk, Cole attempts to shed light on the lesson of embracing our true selves and how there’s nothing wrong with being different.

The tone of such a powerful talk was set just by wearing different pairs of socks.

2. Looks aren’t Everything. Believe me, I’m a Model By Cameron Russell

(switches to a different outfit and speaks) “This is the first outfit change on the TED Stage, so you guys are pretty lucky to witness it, I think.” Cameron Russell

Of course, the traditional way to pull this technique off is to come on stage wearing a unique outfit.

But Cameron Russell finds her very own unique way of a live outfit change wherein she brings a wrap-around skirt and wears over her dress to make a simple point that appearance is not everything, it goes way beyond that.

Seeing a model by profession mark this unlikely outfit transition made the audience trust her thesis all the way more.

They say that communication is a two-way street.

Yet, more often than not, we forget to keep this in mind during all the public speaking events.

We tend o go on speaking and speaking. While sometimes we manage to keep the audience interested, the rest of the time we simply bore the audience to sleep.

To save you here, an easy bet is to organize an activity for your audience towards the very beginning of your speech.

How to Connect An Audience Activity with your Opening Remark?

Step 1: Familiarize with your audience. What’s the average age of your audience? What’s their educational and work background? Getting these basic details will help you structure an activity that would ensure maximum participation from them. For instance, if you are addressing a bunch of school students, your activity can involve more physical exercises and less mental exercise. Also, ask yourself, “What is the size of my audience?” This will help you decide on the extent of interactivity.

Step 2: Find an activity that is not too basic. Your activity should make the audience curious about your content. Something that makes the audience wonder, “What does this activity have to do with the theme?” But then they are left amazed as soon as you begin to connect the relevance of the activity with your speech.

Step 3: Don’t make it TOO LONG! Keep it short and sweet.

Step 4: Write a vivid description of the steps involved in the activity so that the audience is not left confused about what to do.

Examples of Speeches that Used Audience Activities as Opening Remarks

1. are you a giver or a taker by adam grant.

“I want you to look around the room for a minute and try to find the most paranoid person here and then I want you to point that person out for me. (waits and then says) Okay, don’t actually do it.” Adam Grant

Given that Adam’s audience was comprised of more adults, he made them perform a mental exercise as it’s most likely for them to participate in a mental exercise rather than expecting them to move up their seats to do something.

And that’s what happened. The audience participated! Because all they had to do was simply move their heads around to find out a paranoid person.

Most importantly, the activity wasn’t too generic for the audience for them to predict its relevance. So, it made them curious enough to listen to the remainder of Adam’s TED Talk to witness him unravel its relevance.

2. Girl Up: The Secrets to an Extraordinary Life By Courtney Ferrell

“Okay, I need a favor. I need all the girls who are between the age of 17 and 24 to stand up.” Courtney Ferrell

Audience Matters! I know, I’ve been saying this A LOT but it’s the key to a great speech opening.

Even in this TED Talk, the speaker made all the girls between the age group of 17 to 24 stand up since she knew that more than 50% of her audience would stand up.

It’s a win-win situation, I’ll tell you how.

When Courtney confessed that she’s about to tell the secret to channel the creative spirit of women and how to empower them.

Those who stood up felt directly connected to the theme and the rest were curious enough to know the secret to see if it can benefit them or someone they know.

3. What It’s Like To Grow Up Desi in 2019 By Hasan Minhaj

“Alright, real quick- say your full name and then say the way white people say your name. So, my name is Hasan Minhaj. I would get a Ha-sen Min-haj-a” Hasan Minhaj

Two important lessons here, my friends!

• Interactivity is Influential

Since Hasan was addressing a comparatively smaller crowd of around 7 teens, he could incorporate an interactive activity, giving each of his audience members an opportunity to speak.

• Lead the Activity Ladder

Before asking each of his audience members to speakers, Hasan himself initiated the act of participation from his end.

This way, the audience was all the more thrilled to speak.

Because when you participate, your audience sees it as an incentive and feels more confident to participate seeing that you as a speaker are making an effort too.

4. How to Triple your Memory By Using This Trick By Ricardo Lieuw On

“So, I have a little test for you. Don’t panic, I’m not here to judge you…” Ricardo Lieuw On

“Awaken the competitive nature of your audience members!” This should be your motto here.

But first, make sure that you are clear with the explanation of the rules so that it’s easier for everyone to follow.

Look how the speaker has introduced a competitive activity here to awaken the minds.

This serves two purposes:

• Your audience is intrigued to listen to the rest of your talk
• Even if a few members are distracted, you can win them back

Do you remember all the times when your mom used to make you eat green vegetables by instilling some sort of fear?

Be it the fear of dull skin or even poor eyesight for that matter, it eventually made you take that action.

Isn’t this aim of public speeches too? To persuade the audience to take some action after your speech ends? A hundred percent, yes!

So, let’s jump into how we can incorporate fear in our speech opening to make our audience listen to us.

How to Use Fear as your Opening Remark?

Step 1: At the fear of reiterating myself, “Begin with analyzing your audience”. The Best Guide to Audience Analysis is an article for you to help you do just that.

Step 2: Done with analyzing your audience after reading the article? Now, make a list of their potential fears related to the theme of your speech.

Step 3: Figure out that one fear that is not too triggering. Here, ask yourself, “If I were to listen to this, would I be triggered to a huge extent?” If the answer is yes, leave that fear and choose one that is slightly less triggering but

Examples of Speeches that used Fear as its Opening Remarks

1. why the secret to sucess is setting the right goals by john doerr.

“We’re at a critical moment Our leaders, some of our great institutions are failing us.” John Doerr

While highlighting how important it is to set the right goals for development, John Doerr begins his speech by pointing at how the institutions are failing their citizens by setting the wrong objectives.

When you are told that someone is failing you, you feel a sense of disappointment, and you are naturally drawn to know the reason behind it to figure out if there’s something you can do to improve the situation.

This is the exact feeling that we are going for here!

In this technique, we are looking forward to getting our audience to daydream without boring them.

This art of imagination works the best for persuasive speeches. Here’s how!

While delivering a persuasive speech, our aim is to align the audience’s thoughts with our thought process but there needs to be a bridge, right? A bridge that the audience can take to step into your thought process.

This bridge is the art of imagination.

How to Use Imagination as your Opening Remark?

Step 1: Decide the emotion that you want your audience to feel. Do you wish to go for a negative emotion or a positive one? My suggestion for you would be to go for a negative one since negative emotions overpower the positive ones, psychologically speaking.

Step 2: Once you have decided on the type of emotion, craft a descriptive outline for the piece of imagination that is related to the theme of your speech.

Step 3: Using simple yet descriptive language, write down your piece of imagination. Remember to write in a chronological order detailing each and every step otherwise your audience won’t truly immerse in that imaginary world. To explain to you in simpler terms, if a few steps are missing from the bridge, you cannot walk to reach the other side, can you?

Step 4: Focus the rest of your speech telling the audience what to do to avoid the situation (in case of a negative imagination) and what to do to reach the situation (in case of a positive imagination).

Examples of Speeches that used Imagination as Opening Remarks

1. the barrier between us by tvisha bandhu.

“Picture this. You’re in the MRT, you’re scrolling through your phone, and you take notice of this lady walking through the cabin saying ‘hello, hello.'” Tvisha Bandhu

This speech is the perfect example of how one can kick start his speech through the power of closed imagination (one wherein you provided step-by-step details on what to imagine).

Look how the speaker, Tvisha Bandhu, uses her body posture and gestures to emote every sense of feeling encompassed within that imagination.

It works perfectly in sync with her descriptive writing. It’s so descriptive that she has even written the exact dialogues for the characters involved in her imagination such as “Hello, Hello” for the lady who walked through the cabin.

Descriptive writing backed by powerful body language and vocal tonality can increase the impact manifold.

2. Why Do We Fear Speaking On Stage? By Pratik Uppal

“If I ask you to come on the stage right now & deliver a speech, think what kind of excuses would you come up with.” Pratik Uppal

The second example is of an open imagination.

You don’t necessarily need to provide step-by-step details for the audience to make them imagine a situation

One easy way is to simply tell them to ponder over their reaction to a particular situation and then, go on providing a brief of what exact situation they are put in.

In this TED Talk, the speaker asked the audience to imagine all the excuses that they can come up with to dread a public speaking event. Now, pause! Even you think! I’m sure you too can come up with many without anyone telling you what to imagine exactly.

This is what we call open imagination. Widespread usage of this technique can be seen in movies with open endings wherein the end is treated as possibly the beginning.

3. The Surprising Secret that Solves your Problems Quickly By Collins Key

“Imagine if you could take your brain and turn it inside out and then have access to the information to be able to virtually solve any problem. It sounds pretty cool, right?” Collins Key

In the previous sections, we discussed the examples for two commonly-used types of imagination- open and closed.

Here, we shall discuss an example of how you can ask the audience to imagine something out of the world.

If you are a Potter-head, you know the strength that this technique entails. The entire series is based upon fiction encompassing a world where everything goes larger than life, even life itself but you still can’t seem to snap out of it because you are that engrossed.

In this TED Talk, Collins opened up his talk with one such piece of imagination wherein he asked the audience to imagine how would they feel if they could simply take their brain out and turn it inside out to find a solution in the blink of an eye instead of spending hours overthinking for it.

Fascinating, right? This intrigued the audience to listen to the rest of his speech in the search of a secret to solve their problems in the quickest way possible.

4. How to Present to Keep your Audience’s Attention By Mark Robinson

“Imagine it’s Wednesday 28th of August, 1963 & we’re in the United States Of American, specifically Washington DC.” Mark Robinson

Imagination is only effective if you catering the right piece of imagination to the right audience.

Now, take the example of this TED Talk. Had this TED Talk been delivered to an audience who is not aware of the significance of the person being spoken about, Martin Luther King Jr, his speech would have been totally ineffective.

So, make sure that whatever piece of imagination you have to offer is within the understanding of your audience.

This technique doesn’t require any fancy introduction.

For the longest time, great orators have been starting their respective speeches with one quote or the other to persuade their audience through the art of rhythm.

But the inclusion of this technique as an opening remark is easier said than done. Make sure you follow the steps in the next section.

How to Use A Quote as an Opening Remark?

Before we begin, remember not to use a quote that is too common. Use a quote that is less heard of!

Option 1: The easiest and safest bet is to use a famous quote related to the context of your speech. If the propounder of that quote is associated with the topic of your speech in one way or the other, it’s even better since it establishes the credibility of the quote.

Option 2: The other effective way is to make a quote of your own instead of relying upon someone else’s quote. It’s simpler than it sounds. An easier hack is to use alliteration (occurrence of similar sound at the beginning of adjacent words in a phrase) in the phrase you wish to highlight as your opening remark. For instance, even the title of this section, “Quintessential Quality of A Quote” uses this technique. Read Getting Your ‘Wordsworth’: Poetry in Public Speaking to know how exactly you can write a quote using alliteration and similar techniques.

Examples of Speeches that Used Quotes as Opening Remarks

1. increase your self-awareness with one simple fix by tasha eurich.

Tennessee Williams once told us, “There comes a time when you look into the mirror and you realize that what you see is what you’ll ever be. And then you accept it. Or you kill yourself. Or you stop looking in mirrors.” Tasha Eurich

To see the application of the first alternative in action, watch this TED Talk by Tasha Eurich.

While using someone else’s quote, attribution to the speaker is necessary. You can do so by simply saying something like, “As NAME OF THE SPEAKER rightly said…” Nothing too fancy, simplicity works the best.

Talking about the credibility of the original speaker of the quote, since this TED Talk is focused upon “Self-awareness”, it made Tennessee Williams who was a great playwright in Hollywood, a credible speaker to trust.

2. Mistakes Make the Man By Mathew George

“Man makes mistakes & mistakes make the man.” Mathew George

Now, let’s talk about making a quote on our own. Shall we?

The most basic step we discussed under the “how-to” section was alliteration and that’s what the speaker, Mathew George, used in the creation of his opening remark too.

Alliteration provides a rhythm to your speech opening line and makes you sound persuasive naturally.

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We hope that you have found some value here in your journey as a public speaker!

If you wish to know about more such amazing speech opening lines, make sure you check out 15 Powerful Speech Opening Lines (& How to Create Your Own) .

Not just that! We’ve written a similar article on 50 Speech Closing Lines (& How to Create Your Own) l The Ultimate Guide . Make sure you read that to END YOUR SPEECH WITH A BANG!

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How to Start a Speech: The Best Ways to Capture Your Audience

You’ve heard the saying,  “First impressions are lasting; you never get a second chance to create a good first impression” —  right?

The same is true when talking about how to start a speech…

The truth is, when you start your speech, you must focus everything on making a positive first impression on your audience members (especially if you are doing the presentation virtually ). Capturing the audience’s attention from the very beginning is crucial to prevent them from being distracted, losing interest, or forming negative opinions.

The introduction is the formal greeting for speeches, so let’s be sure to get this right to hook the audience. Understanding the importance of speech openings can significantly impact making a strong first impression. Planning and delivering the first words with confidence and relevance is essential, as they set the tone for the entire presentation and ensure you deliver a professional start, free from hesitation or irrelevance.

Here are 15 different ways to start a speech as well as 2 extra BONUS tips at the end.

1) Thank the Organizers and Audience

You can start by thanking the audience for coming and thanking the organization for inviting you to speak.

Refer to the person who introduced you or to one or more of the senior people in the organization in the audience.

This compliments them, makes them feel proud and happy about your presence, and connects you to the audience like an electrical plug in a socket.

2) Start With a Positive Statement

A presentation tip at the start is to tell the audience members how much they will like and enjoy what you have to say.

For example, you might say:

“You’re really going to enjoy the time we spend together this evening. I’m going to share with you some of the most important ideas that have ever been discovered in this area.”

Remember that  speaking is an art,  so be an artist and take complete control of your performance,

3) Compliment the Audience

You can begin by complimenting the audience members sincerely and with great respect.

Smile as if you are really glad to see them as if they are all old friends of yours that you have not seen for quite a while.

You can tell them that it is a great honor for you to be here, that they are some of the most important people in this business or industry, and that you are looking forward to sharing some key ideas with them.

You could say something like:

“It is an honor to be here with you today. You are the elite, the top 10 percent of people in this industry. Only the very best people in any field will take the time and make the sacrifice to come so far for a conference like this.”

4) Start Your Speech With the First Sentence Referring to Current Events

Use a current event front-page news story to transition into your subject and to illustrate or prove your point. You can bring a copy of the newspaper and hold it up as you refer to it in your introduction.

This visual image of you holding the paper and reciting or reading a key point rivets the audience’s attention and causes more people to lean forward to hear what you have to say.

5) Refer to a Historical Event

For many years, I studied military history…

Especially the lives and campaigns of the great generals and the decisive battles they won. One of my favorites was Alexander the Great. Standing in the symbolic shadow of such historical figures can provide a powerful and engaging start to any speech, especially when drawing parallels to contemporary challenges.

One day, I was asked to give a talk on leadership principles to a roomful of managers for a Fortune 500 company.

I decided that the campaign of Alexander the Great against Darius of Persia would make an excellent story that would illustrate the leadership qualities of one of the great commanders in history.

I opened my talk with these words:

“Once upon a time there was a young man named Alex who grew up in a poor country. But Alex was a little bit ambitious. From an early age, he decided that he wanted to conquer the entire known world. But there was a small problem.

Most of the known world was under the control of a huge multinational called the Persian Empire, headed by King Darius II. To fulfill his ambition, Alex was going to have to take the market share away from the market leader, who was very determined to hold on to it.

This is the same situation that exists between you and your major competitors in the market today. You are going to have to use all your leadership skills to win the great marketing battles of the future.”

6) Refer to a Well Known Person

You can start by quoting a well-known person or publication that recently made an interesting or important statement.

One of the subjects I touch upon regularly is the importance of continual personal development.

I will say something like:

“In the twenty-first century, knowledge and know-how are the keys to success. As basketball coach Pat Riley said, ‘If you are not getting better, you are getting worse.’”

7) Refer to a Recent Conversation

Start by telling a story about a recent conversation with someone in attendance.

For instance, I might say:

“A few minutes ago, I was talking with Tom Robinson in the lobby. He told me that this is one of the very best times to be working in this industry, and I agree.”

8) Make a Shocking Statement With a Startling Fact

You can start your talk by making a shocking statement of some kind.

For example, you might say something like:

“Here’s a startling fact: According to a recent study, there will be more change, more competition, and more opportunities in this industry in the next year than ever before. And 72 percent of the people in this room will be doing something different within two years if they do not rapidly adapt to these changes.”

Click here If you want to learn more techniques to wow your audience.

9) Quote From Recent Research

You can start by quoting a relevant, recent research report.

One example is:

“According to a story in a recent issue of Businessweek, there were almost 11 million millionaires in America in 2018, most of them self-made.”

10) Start Your Speech With a Strong Opening By Giving Them Hope

The French philosopher Gustav Le Bon once wrote, “The only religion of mankind is, and always has been hope.”

When you speak effectively, you give people hope of some kind.

Remember, the ultimate purpose of public speaking, is to inspire people to do things that they would not have done in the absence of your comments.

Everything you say should relate to the actions you want people to take and the reasons that they should take those actions.

11) Be Entertaining

Bill Gove used to walk onto the stage after his introduction if he had just finished talking to someone on the side and was breaking off to give his talk to the group.

The audience got the feeling that his entire talk was one continuous conversation, devoid of meaningless filler words .

Bill would often go to the edge of the stage and then drop his voice in a conspiratorial way, open his arms, and beckon the audience members to come a little closer.

He would say, “Come here, let me tell you something,” and then he would wave them forward as though he was about to tell a secret to the entire room.

The amazing thing was that everyone in the room would lean forward to hear this “secret” that he was about to share. People would all suddenly realize what they were doing and break out in laughter. It was a wonderful device to get the audience into the palm of his hands.

12) Ask a Question

You can open by making a positive statement and then pose a rhetorical question to engage your audience and set the stage for your presentation.

Try something like this:

“This is a great time to be alive and in business in America. But let me ask you, what does it truly mean to be self-employed in today’s economy?”

Raise your hand to indicate what you want people to do. I have used this line, and after a moment of thought, I then say to someone who looks intrigued in the front, “How many people here feel truly self-employed?”

Invariably, someone will say, “We all do!”

I then compliment and affirm the answer: “You’re right! We are all self-employed, from the time we take our first jobs to the day that we retire; we all work for ourselves, no matter who signs our paychecks.”

Similarly, a 17-year-old science fair winner effectively engaged their audience with a question at the beginning of their TED Talk, showcasing the power of this technique.

13) Open With a Problem

You can start with a problem that must be solved. If it is a problem that almost everyone has in common, you will immediately have the audience’s complete and undivided attention.

For example, you could say:

“Fully 63 percent of baby boomers are moving toward retirement without enough money put aside to provide for themselves for as long as they are going to live. We must address this problem and take action immediately to ensure that each person who retires will be able to live comfortably for the rest of his or her natural life.”

Introducing a new idea at this point can be a powerful way to engage your audience further, by promising a solution that is both innovative and beneficial.

14) Make a Strong Statement, Then Ask a Question

You can start by making a strong and powerful statement and then ask a question. You then follow with an answer and ask another question. This gets people immediately involved and listening to your every word.

Here’s an example:

“Twenty percent of the people in our society make 80 percent of the money. Are you a member of the top 20 percent? If not, would you like to join the top 20 percent or even the top 10 percent? Well, in the next few minutes, I am going to give you some ideas to help you become some of the highest-paid people in our society. Would that be a good goal for our time together today?”

15) Tell a Personal Story

You can start your talk with a personal story. Some of the most powerful words to capture the complete attention of the audience and make a personal connection are, “Once upon a time…”

From infancy and early childhood, people love stories of any kind. When you start off a presentation with a personal anecdote using the words, “Once upon a time…” you tell the audience that a relatable story is coming. People immediately settle down, become quiet, and lean forward, eager to hear how your experience might mirror their own or offer them new insights.

When I conduct full-day seminars and I want to bring people back to their seats after a break, I will say loudly, “Once upon a time there was a man, right here in this city…”

As soon as I say these words, people hurry back to their seats and begin to listen attentively, connecting with the story on a personal level.

Incorporating a personal story is very effective.

In fact, it’s probably one of the best public speaking tips I’ve learned to this day.

Bonus Tip: Tell Them About Yourself

Very often, I will start a serious speech or presentation to a business, sales, or entrepreneurial group by saying:

“I started off without graduating from high school. My family had no money. Everything I accomplished in life I had to do on my own with very little help from anyone else.”

It is amazing how many people come up to me after a talk that began with those words and tells me that was their experience as well.

They tell me that they could immediately identify with me because they too had started with poor grades and limited funds, as most people do. As a result, they were open to the rest of my talk, even a full-day seminar, and felt that everything I said was more valid and authentic than if I had been a person who started off with a successful background.

Building a bridge like this is very helpful in bringing the audience onto your side.

Bonus Tip: Get Them Talking to One Another

You can ask people to turn to the person next to them to discuss a particular point.

For instance, you could say:

“Tell the person next to you what you would like to learn from this seminar.”

Whatever you ask your audience members to do, within reason, they will do it for you. Your commands and your thought leadership will easily influence them, as long as you ask them with confidence.

By following any one of these tips for starting your speech, you are sure to grab your audience’s attention every time. How do you start a speech? Let me know in the comments.

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About Brian Tracy — Brian is recognized as the top sales training and personal success authority in the world today. He has authored more than 60 books and has produced more than 500 audio and video learning programs on sales, management, business success and personal development, including worldwide bestseller The Psychology of Achievement. Brian's goal is to help you achieve your personal and business goals faster and easier than you ever imagined. You can follow him on Twitter , Facebook , Pinterest , Linkedin and Youtube .

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7 ways for opening a speech! The ideal speech introduction to grab your audience’s attention

Maybe you know this: you may or must give a speech, but how do you start? Whether you’re giving a speech as an employer or to your colleagues, or you’re an external keynote speaker, the principles are always the same. Likewise, your preparation is not much different: whether it’s a keynote at a kick-off event , the festive speech at the company Christmas party , a motivational speech at a team event or even a laudatory speech at an awards ceremony – the search for the right begining should not be left to chance.

How do you get your audience’s attention so that they want to listen and can follow you easily? How do you sound interesting? In this article you will get the necessary tips for your ideal start for your next speech to inspire your audience. I have collected these speech introductions and examples in my work in the field of public speaking as a presenter and keynote speaker in front of over 5 million people.

Why is the beginning, i.e. the first few minutes of a presentation, so important? This is where the first impression is being made. Your audience intuitively decides within a few seconds whether they like the speaker and want to follow. After that, you still have up to three minutes to pick up your audience with the content of your speech.

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The first impression is crucial for further success

There’s a saying that goes, “ There’s no second chance for a first impression. ” It takes between 100 milliseconds and 7 seconds for your audience to get the same impression of you. If you as a speaker fail to make that first impression, no matter how impressive your speech, it will be very difficult to pick up your audience. 

US comedian Jerry Seinfeld , one of the most famous American comedians of the 90s, said that his fame only gives him a starting bonus for the first three minutes – at the latest then he has to deliver. If you don’t enjoy the celebrity bonus in your speeches, that means you have to deliver right from the get go to win over your audience.

Requirements for the ideal introduction for your speech

Before you can wow people as a speaker and give any thought to content, you need to set the stage. If you want to give a good speech and move your audience from A to B, two things are essential: you need to know where you want to go and where your audience is coming from .

Know the outcome of your speech

If you don’t know in which direction you want to move your audience, then no amount of tips will get you there. So before you tinker with the ideal introduction, you need to be clear about what your outcome is .

 What feeling do you want the audience to have when you leave the stage? What impression do you want to convey as a speaker? Even more public speaking tips you can find here.

Know your audience members

If you want to catch a fish, you have to use a bait that tastes good to the fish, not to the fisherman . The same applies to presentations: who decides what is a top speech? That is, of course, in the eye of your audience. Therefore, it is all the more important to know who the people are, listening to your speech. 

An American proverb says that your audience doesn’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Your audience won’t pay attention to you until they see that your speech is relevant to them. As a speaker, do you bring examples and tips and answer questions in your main points that matter to the audience? Do your main ideas strike a cord?

Tip: Try to find out as much as possible to know in advance what moves your audience and why people are here today. If you have the opportunity, use the time for successful networking and listen to their needs.

The goal of an ideal introduction to your speech

Only after you know your outcome and your audience you can focus on how to start your presentation, because now you know as a speaker in which direction your ship should sail. If you want to give a speech, you need to get your audience interested in you and your main points. For this to happen, you need the attention of your audience.

Speaker Tip: First create attention , then develop interest in your message and your main points to make it worth listening for your audience.

Giving a speech: seven perfect speech introductions

Now let’s look at tips and examples of how you as a speaker can inspire your audience. These tips should give you a guideline from where you can successfully transition from your chosen introduction to the main part and final part of your speech.

1. He who asks, leads – starting with a question

An elegant way to begin a speech is with a question . The goal is to engage your listener directly in your opening and generate interest. In order for the question to be effective, it must be tailored to your target audience. The question may be provocative, surprising or even make you smile, but it must be relevant.

For example, if you’re speaking to a group of retirees, a question like “Which one of you went to a disco last weekend?” would be just as out of place as asking a group of Wall street brokers “Which one of you has been involved in stocks?”. Your audience needs to feel like you know who you’re dealing with.

“Who remembers what they did last Saturday night?” was an opening I chose many years ago when giving a speech. Of course, after that, there was a story about my Saturday night that fit right in with the theme of my speech. People were immediately involved and everyone was thinking. Because just about everybody did something last Saturday and so it was relevant… even if many didn’t even remember it. 

With questions that fit the topics, you are sure to get the attention of the participants. However, always pay attention to what you trigger in your audience with a question and, if requested, also provide the appropriate answer.

Another speaking tip: When you ask a question, give your audience time to respond . Whether out loud, with a show of hands, or silently, people need time for what you say to have an impact. Of course, questions can also be used during your speech.

2. Start your speech with a quote

Using the words of another person in your speech is a proven way. The art of building a good speech is to pick up your audience where they are. A pointed quote that gets to the heart of your ideas or the occasion is the basic premise for choosing someone else’s statement as your lead-in. If people are familiar with the name of the person you are quoting, it gives you added credibility as a speaker.

Very similar to a quote is using a proverb to start your speech. Again, there is often a deeper wisdom behind it. Link this to the idea of your speech and you have a great introduction.

Again, I’ll give you an example from my own experience when I was asked to give a presentation on the topic of corporate mission statements many years ago. I decided to start with a quote, but the number of quotes on this topic are manageable. However, the corporate mission statement compares very well with the soul for people, and so on this occasion I found a quote on the subject of the soul and then drew the analogy with the corporate mission statement. “Outside the box” solutions are also the speaker’s friend. 

3. Inspire your audience with storytelling

A particularly powerful way to start is to share a story or personal real life experience with your audience at the beginning of your presentation. With a personal story, you create compelling moments and build an emotional connection with your audience. However, this is also where the biggest danger lies: your story must absolutely correspond to the facts and at the same time should have a connection to the topic of the event. The audience has a good nose for it, if you serve them a “suitably made” story.

Of course, storytelling is not limited to stories you have experienced yourself. You can also draw on a current or even historical event. Important, as mentioned above, is the connection to the goal of your presentation. Also, make sure that you start right in the relevant event and do not begin with Adam and Eve. Especially extroverted people like to get into narration and then it can happen that you lose the drive to your actual presentation and your audience is no longer on the point.

One of my stage coaching clients, for example, took his audience into a situation right at the beginning of his speech when he was at the start of his first triathlon. He immediately built up a tension, because he put his audience directly into it instead of talking about preparation and planning for the triathlon. Because he also found the right tone, the speech went down great. Bonus tip for your speech: Stories absolutely need to be rehearsed and tailored to your audience and the occasion. This does not mean, as already mentioned, that you add things, but that you leave out unnecessary things. Don’t just tell from memory, but really practice.

4. Start with an open loop

Starting with an open loop is something like the supreme discipline. Here, you start with a story, but don’t finish telling it until the end of your speech . This type of introduction is certainly a bit unusual and, in my opinion, more suitable for experienced speakers, especially to keep the tension high.

You start with the open loop in the same way as with storytelling and take your audience along until the point where the tension is at its highest. Instead of the resolution, you lead into the topic of your speech and then come to the main part, where the content is presented with further examples. Only at the end do you pick up the ball of your introductory story again and close the open loop.

As an example, I start one of my keynote speeches with such an open loop: I take the audience on my experience at the New York City Marathon. Since my preparation for it was far from ideal due to injuries, I wasn’t sure until the start how far I would run that day. My speech started with the thoughts going through my head at the start, with my uncertainty but also anticipation. The start of the marathon was then the Open Loop, which I only resolved at the end of the speech.

5. Enchant the audience with parables

A parable is a very short to short story which might not even have a plot of its own. While a parable can be told with action, as if something has actually taken place, it can also be about something hypothetical: “Imagine…” or “Suppose…”. In both cases, the point is that we want to make a connection to the content. 

The purpose of parables is to pick up the audience as they enter your presentation and provide an emotional experience that immediately introduces them to the topic through your words.

6. Facts, figures and statistics as an introduction for the speech

The FFS introduction is particularly useful if you have facts, figures or statistics that are not familiar to your audience and are also unusual. In addition, it must of course fit your topic and possibly support your thesis. A personalized statistic works best to meet your audience’s needs.

When we were designing the outline for one of my Executive Legacy Coaching clients’ investor pitch, we made a conscious decision to start with a number that would probably come as a surprise to many listeners. To back up the pain point that his product solves, he asked the panel how much they thought that an unhappy employee costs a company per year. Starting with that number was so effective because the audience’s estimates were all substantially lower than the true number, creating an a-ha effect.

7. Looking back

Another way to start your speech is with a look back . This variant is particularly suitable if you are to give a speech on the occasion of an anniversary or birthday. In your preparation, you should pay special attention to who is sitting in your audience: what connection do they have to the person or the company or the occasion and, above all, have they experienced the period themselves.

Some time ago, I had the privilege of being on stage at a company’s 20th anniversary. In order to give the audience as emotional an experience as possible, I first had to find out who was in the audience. Have people lived through these last 20 years, and are they likely to remember the moment from 20 years ago? Since my audience was mostly over 35 years old I assumed that was the case. Thus I dove into the world of 20 years ago: how did the world look and what moved people at the time? Immediately the people were in the emotions of the memories and from that I could then draw a bow to the company anniversary: “much has changed, but one thing has remained the same…”.

Giving a speech: here’s what you should avoid when getting started

Jokes are for comedians.

There are talented joke tellers and there are those who always flub the punch line. If you feel uncomfortable in the role of the joker, don’t do it. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t spice up the introduction with a little humor. Humor arouses positive emotions and loosens the atmosphere. A humorous introduction, which also works without a joke, signals to the participants that the event will not be dry as dust and that it is worth staying for.

Bonus tip: Humor is different in different regions and works best when you approach your audience with respect and humility.

Stay away from provocative introductions

A provocative introduction is like riding on a razor blade: very dangerous. You have to have an incredible ace up your sleeve to win your audience back. As a rule, I would strongly advise you not to use provocative introductions. If your audience perceives you as an unsympathetic person, no matter how ingenious the content of your speech, it will not bring the desired success.

Start with an apology

Some insecure speaker starts his speech with an apology for his insecurity or God knows what else. Please don’t do that. For one thing, the audience usually doesn’t notice it anyway, and for another, it immediately takes something away from your first impression. You might get sympathy for it, but in the rarest cases you will get the attention for your speech.

One of the most important tips I once received was that your audience wants you to win . That’s right, you read that correctly. Your audience wants you to be good. No one sits in the audience hoping for a boring speaker to come on now. Your audience wants you to do your job well. If you feel anxiety on the way to the stage, keep reading.

The way to the stage and the first seconds

The key to a perfect introduction lies not only in the preparation for your speech, but also in the emotional preparation in the moments before public speaking. Especially if you are nervous or even feel speech anxiety , it is even more important that you, to present convincingly, are in an ideal state.

Take a deep breath just before your performance, send positive emotions to your audience and off you go. Many speakers also like to take index cards with their notes to be prepared in case of an emergency. The phrase for the introduction as well as for the conclusion I would always write in full. For the main points, keywords are enough here.

When you finally arrive on stage, at first be aware of your audience . Before you begin, start with eye contact and confident body language to radiate stage presence . Only then, when you feel the attention of your audience, you start to talk. This confidence will automatically boost your credibility.

Bonus tip: if you’re unsure about your voice, a little voice training will help.

The ideal start for your virtual speech

Of course, the principles for your ideal start also apply at virtual events. So if you hold a webinar or a virtual presentation or are on stage at a hybrid event , nothing will change in the structure of your preparation. The main point in the virtual space is that you have to speak in front of the camera and this should be practiced. The specific elements of structuring your presentation stay the same.

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Feeling ready for your next speech?

In this article you have learned how to start your speech in an ideal way. Do you already have an idea which structure you like best? Remember that you always start with your outcome and your audience before you create a thread for your presentation.

The tone makes the music. Former American writer Maya Angelou summed it up this way: “Your audience won’t remember exactly what you said, but they’ll always remember how it made them feel.” Whatever the occasion, take your audience on an emotional journey.

If you feel that you still need help for your next speech or keynote , feel free to contact me  or just write me an e-mail ! Together many things are easier.

Which introduction appeals to you the most? Which start to a speech have you learned about here and would like to try out for your next performance? Please leave a comment below and share this article with someone who you think will profit from it. All the best for your next speeches.

There is no second chance for a first impression . The first impression is created in the first few seconds of perception and is crucial to whether your audience perceives you as likeable or unlikeable. If you mess up the first impression, the next few minutes will be a steep uphill climb to get the audience back on your side.

First, take three deep breaths and consciously put a smile on your face. Stand up straight, shoulders back, head up and visualize your audience and your goal. The important thing here is to move as quickly as possible from an internal focus (thinking about you) to an external focus (thinking about your audience). Imagine how your audience will benefit from your speech. For even more tips, I recommend you read my blog post Persuasive presentations: 3 Steps to Your Ideal State in Front of an Audience.

Ideally, you were introduced by a presenter who has also given some interesting background information about you to the audience. However, it always makes sense to leave nothing to chance here and, on the one hand, to discuss your introduction with the presenter upfront and, on the other hand, to include the most important points in your speech. I would always start with an introduction into the topic to get the audience interested and then introduce myself. The best way to find the right introduction is to read this article.

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Introduction Speech

Introduction speech generator.

Discover the art of crafting compelling introduction speeches through our comprehensive guide. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned speaker, our step-by-step approach simplifies the process. Explore a rich collection of speech examples , tailored to inspire and improve your public speaking skills. Master the nuances of delivering impactful introductions that captivate your audience, using our expertly curated speech examples as your roadmap to success.

What is Introduction Speech?

An introduction speech , also known as an introductory speech or an icebreaker speech, is a short address given to introduce oneself or someone else to an audience. The purpose of an introduction speech is to provide relevant information about the person being introduced, set the tone for the event or presentation, and establish a connection with the audience. This type of speech is commonly used in various settings, such as conferences, meetings, seminars, social events, and classrooms.

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A speech can be of any form and used for various functions. It can be a thank-you speech to show one’s gratitude or even an introduction speech to introduce a person (even oneself), product, company, or the like. In these examples, let’s look at different speech examples that seek to introduce.

Introduction Speech Example

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Introduction Speech for Students

Introduction Speech for School

Self-Introduction Sample

Short Introduction Speech

Introduction Speech for Employee

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Formal Introduction Sample

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More Introduction Speech Examples and Samples

Self Introduction Speech for Interview Self Introduction Speech for School Students Self Introduction Speech for Middle School Self Introduction Speech for University New Manager Introduction Speech Introduction Speech for an Event Introduction Speech for Freshers Party Introduction Speech for Guest Speaker Introduction Speech for Seminar Introduction Speech for Conference Introduction Speech for Workshop Introduction Speech for Award Ceremony Introduction Speech for Corporate Event Introduction Speech for Team Meeting Introduction Speech for Annual Day Introduction Speech for Webinar Introduction Speech for Cultural Event Introduction Speech for Product Launch Introduction Speech for Training Session Introduction Speech for Charity Event Introduction Speech for Graduation Ceremony Introduction Speech for Farewell Party Introduction Speech for Business Meeting Introduction Speech for School Assembly Introduction Speech for Panel Discussion Introduction Speech for Retirement Party Introduction Speech for Anchoring Introduction Speech for Program

How to Write a Introduction Speech?

Start with a warm and friendly greeting to the audience.

• Example: “Good afternoon, everyone.”

2. Self-Introduction (if introducing yourself)

State your name and your role or position.

Example : “My name is [Your Name], and I am [your position, e.g., ‘the new marketing manager’].”

3. Purpose of the Speech

Explain why you are speaking and the context of the event.

Example : “I’m here today to introduce our guest speaker, [Speaker’s Name].”

4. Background Information

Provide relevant details about the person being introduced, such as their qualifications and achievements.

Example : “[Speaker’s Name] is a renowned expert in [field], with over [number] years of experience.”

5. Significance and Credentials

Highlight why the person is important and their qualifications to speak on the topic.

Example : “[Speaker’s Name] has received numerous awards, including [specific award].”

6. Personal Touch:

Add a personal anecdote or a light-hearted comment to make the introduction engaging.

Example : “When [Speaker’s Name] is not busy revolutionizing the industry, they enjoy hiking and cooking gourmet meals.”

7. Conclusion

Wrap up the introduction by reiterating the importance of the person or the event.

Example : “Please join me in welcoming [Speaker’s Name].”

8. Transition

Smoothly transition to the next part of the event or hand over to the person being introduced.

Example : “Without further ado, here is [Speaker’s Name].”

Tips For Introduction Speech

Start with a Greeting:

• Begin with a warm, friendly greeting.

Introduce Yourself:

• State your name and your role or connection.
• Example: “I’m [Your Name], [Speaker’s Name]’s colleague.”

State the Purpose:

• Explain why you’re speaking and the context.
• Example: “I’m here to introduce our guest speaker, [Speaker’s Name].”

Highlight Key Details:

• Share relevant background information and achievements.
• Example: “[Speaker’s Name] has over 20 years of experience in [field].”

Add a Personal Touch:

• Include a personal anecdote or light-hearted comment.
• Example: “Outside of work, [Speaker’s Name] enjoys hiking and gourmet cooking.”

Summarize Significance:

• Emphasize why the person is important.
• Example: “[Speaker’s Name]’s innovative work has set new industry standards.”

Conclude and Transition:

• Wrap up and smoothly transition to the speaker.
• Example: “Please join me in welcoming [Speaker’s Name].”

FAQ’s

What should an introduction speech include.

Include the speaker’s name, credentials, achievements, and relevance to the topic or event.

How long should an introduction speech be?

An introduction speech should typically last between 1 to 3 minutes, keeping it concise and engaging.

How can I prepare for an introduction speech?

Research the speaker thoroughly, practice your speech, and time yourself to ensure it’s concise and engaging.

How do I address the audience in an introduction speech?

Address the audience formally, using appropriate greetings such as “Ladies and Gentlemen” or “Distinguished Guests.”

Should I mention the speaker’s personal life?

Only mention personal details if they are relevant and appropriate for the context and audience.

How can I make the introduction speech engaging?

Share interesting and relevant facts, anecdotes, or achievements about the speaker that connect with the audience.

What tone should I use in an introduction speech?

Use a respectful, enthusiastic, and welcoming tone to create a positive atmosphere.

How can I start an introduction speech?

Begin with a compelling opening, such as a quote, anecdote, or interesting fact about the speaker.

Why is an introduction speech important?

It sets the tone for the speaker, builds credibility, and engages the audience, preparing them for the main presentation.

What mistakes should I avoid in an introduction speech?

Avoid overly long speeches, irrelevant details, mispronouncing names, and using a monotone voice.

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How to Write the Perfect Speech Introduction

By perfecting your speech introduction, you will increase the effectiveness of your speech by 100%. In the first twenty-seconds of your speech, you can hit on the four ingredients of a truly excellent speech: attention, retention, connection, and reaction.

The importance of the Speech Introduction

Don’t underestimate how much a strong introduction will improve your speech or how much a weak introduction will harm your speech. It is the first chance for you to impress upon the audience what kind of speaker you are. And it is the only chance you have to frame the topic of your speech. A well-framed topic will resonate with an audience and help you meet your immediate goals. Finally, the speech introduction is key to maintaining attention throughout your speech.

The first twenty-seconds

The initial twenty-seconds of your speech is your first and best chance to win over the audience. It is during this time that you have the highest level of attention from the audience. What are you going to do with that high-level of attention? Are you going to turn down the lights and direct them towards a powerpoint? Will you start with, “Hello, my name is…?” Are you going to tell them thanks for showing up? Whatever you decide to do will play a major role in how the audience sees you and your topic for the rest of the speech.

There is no specific thing you have to do, but there are some things you should not do. Don’t do something expected. Doing something expected tells your audience that you and your speech is simply ordinary, and nothing you say will be different than other things they have already heard. A usual start is an invitation to your audience to unplug from you and plug into any of the other legions of distractions at their disposal. If you are ordinary in those first twenty-seconds, you will be ordinary for the rest of the speech in the eyes of the audience.

Ordinary vs Extraordinary

What is ordinary? It’s ordinary to start off by telling the audience what your name is. Welcoming them is ordinary. Thanking them is ordinary. It is not bad to do any of these things, in fact, you should do them. But you don’t have to waste your first twenty-seconds on them.

Focus on saying something extraordinary. Here’s an example: I had a student giving a speech many years ago who started exactly how I told him not to. About five seconds in a cell phone rings. This was when people used loud and obnoxious songs for ringtones. The speaker faltered, waited and began looking about the room. “Who’s phone is that!” he thundered. He began to, very loudly command the owner of the phone to turn it off. When it did go silent everyone in the room was very tense. He straightened his posture and composed himself before saying, “Cellphones going off at inopportune times is one of the most distracting and annoying parts of modern life.” The entire event had been a ruse for capturing the attention of the audience. He used his first twenty-seconds to do something unexpected and extraordinary.

Interesting Anecdotes

You won’t always have the opportunity to do something so dramatic, but you can easily do something to draw the attention of the audience in those first twenty-seconds. One of the best ways to do it is to tell a short story or anecdote. Try to find stories that your audience has not heard before or that have unexpected endings. I think of myself as an anecdote collector. When I read newspapers, magazines, blogs, or anything else, I am constantly looking for stories and anecdotes that are interesting. I keep them in a file with short descriptions and hyperlinks to interesting stories.

I’ve collected stories about why bananas used to taste sweeter than they do now, villages populated only by the deaf, and Hannibal’s war against Rome. When I’m writing a speech I will go back and refresh my memory of all the anecdotes I’ve collected. I find one that suits my topic; then I find as many versions of that story as I can. I tell it and re-tell it to myself until it flows from my mouth as naturally as the story of how I met my wife. I make the story mine, and then I prepare to gift it to the audience. In return, they will hopefully gift me their attention.

Personal Revelation

Another type of anecdote is the personal story. The social penetration theory describes the process whereby relationships develop. The idea is that relationships develop via stages related to types of communication exchange. One of the takeaways of social penetration theory is that revealing personal information can make a relationship stronger. I think of the process of giving a speech as a process of developing a relationship between speaker and audience. It’s not the same as a friendship or romance, but it is a type of relationship. And the key to developing a relationship is sharing information about yourself. The first opportunity to do this is in your speech introduction. Depending on the situation, you may not want to make a significant, intimate disclosure, right off the bat, but sharing something about yourself opens the door to do that later.

Secondly, and just as important, humans draw naturally to stories. Beginning with any story is like supercharging the high amount of attention already granted to you in those first precious seconds.

Shocking Statistics and Facts

If you have no story to tell or want to do something even more different, you are in luck. There are many options available. The only caveat is that it should be unique and draw the audience into your speech. One favorite option is the startling statistic or shocking facts. These are bits of information that will either shock the audience because they are so much greater or smaller than expected. The best of these contradict what the audience assumes to be true. Here’s an example: “During Hurricane Harvey, 27 trillion gallons of water fell over Texas and Louisiana, that is one million gallons of water for every person who lives in Texas. Notice the statistic and then breaking it down into even more dramatic terms.

It’s always great to get the audience laughing, and a great opener is a nice place to start. But be warned, for every joke that you land four will miss. Are you okay if your opening joke fails? If you have the confidence to withstand your opening joke bomb, go ahead, because even trying to introduce levity can produce benefits for you from the audience.

Perspective by Incongruity

Perspective by incongruity pushes the audience to consider things from a new perspective by combining two things that don’t normally go together. I was once giving a speech about the benefits of losing, so I began, “I am the best loser…” The combination of “best” is not something we usually think of when we think of losing. The audience is naturally drawn in and wants to know what I’m talking about, so I followed this with, “I don’t mean that in a self-deprecating way, in fact, I am the most confident loser you will ever meet.” Again, confidence and losing are not two terms that normally go together. I got a small laugh out of this, let the audience know the tone and topic of the speech, and planted an idea that I could build upon for the rest of the speech.

After Twenty-Seconds

After you have utilized the first twenty seconds of your speech, you have a little more latitude in what you want to do. If you need to introduce yourself, welcome the audience, or extend any thanks, this is the time to do it.

Establishing Ethos

Ethos was Aristotle’s proof that centered on character. We think of it as credibility, and it might be important to establish this here. Humans usually determine credibility in two dimensions: experience and education. If you have experience or training in something or the audience will think of you as credible. Some people have a problem talking about how qualified they are on a subject, but you should remember that you are asking the audience to trust you so don’t feel bad about giving them a reason to trust you.

Thesis sentence

Before moving to the body of your speech, make sure your audience knows what your topic is in a clear and easy to remember format. Remember that the audience can’t flip back to the beginning of your speech if they forget your topic, so make it easy for them to recall and for you to revisit. The standard format is a single, simple sentence. Here’s an example. If you are giving a speech about the need for healthcare reform,“Everyone deserves excellent healthcare,” or “Our healthcare system is sick and needs help now.” That last one was not a simple sentence, but it did use a metaphor that will help the audience remember.

The final part of a thesis sentence is the roadmap. A roadmap in your speech introduction is a preview of what you are going to cover in the body of your speech. Most often it is a preview of your main points, but it can also be a more general forward of what the audience can expect.

The conventional wisdom here is that you want to tell the audience what you’re going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them. The initial roadmap is the first phase of that advice. I’ve wavered a bit on the importance of this last step. I do think it’s a fantastic idea to include a roadmap, but I also don’t believe that it ruins a speech if you don’t

A final word about your Speech Introduction

The speech introduction may seem like only one part of your speech. It may seem like an ornamental or unimportant part of your speech. But a great speech introduction can be the most important part of your speech. It can win the audience over and give you confidence to powr through the rest of the speech.

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How to Start a Speech — 12 Foolproof Ways to Grab Your Audience!

Want to move audiences? Develop a powerful opening! Here is how to start a speech, including 12 foolproof ways to grab audiences in public speaking.

Let's talk about how to start a speech. When it comes to persuading, inspiring, or influencing an audience, your opening is by far the most important moment in your performance.

So how do you begin a presentation in ways that  will get an audience on your side and start you on the road to speaking memorably?

Learn this skill and 101 tips and tricks for more successful speaking in my Public Speaking Handbook, How to Give a Speech . Also available as an Amazon bestseller!

Let's imagine that you're finally pitching to that audience of decision makers. It's the high-stakes opportunity you've been waiting for, and you've put together a killer presentation. There's just one problem: how do you start the thing off with a bang? Remember, anyone can give an ordinary presentation. It's your job to stand out from the crowd for career success.

Your Opening Sets the Tone of Your Presentation

You probably already know you need to begin with power and purpose. You're just not sure  how  . . . or for that matter, exactly why.

The answer is that, when it comes to influencing listeners in speeches and presentations, two concepts explain why your beginning and ending need to be particularly strong. I'll discuss both concepts here, then provide some powerful tools for your opening gambit: your speech Introduction .

Ready to set your audience on fire?

This article is available as a free PDF .  Click here to download "How to Start a Speech - 12 Foolproof Ways to Grab Your Audience!" Learn and practice starting out powerfully!

Your Introduction and Conclusion Need to Be Strong

The two concepts concerning why you need to start and end strongly, are  primacy  and  recency . Primacy states that people remember most vividly what they hear at the beginning of a speech. Recency  says those same people will strongly recall what you say at the end. In terms of public speaking, this translates into your introduction and conclusion. And you really do need to start early.   Here's  how to create an opening your audience will remember .

In more practical terms, there are three specific reasons why your introduction needs to be engaging and interesting immediately :

(1) Audiences make judgments about you and your message in the first minute. After that point, you'll be able to change those opinions about as easily as you can change a hamster into a ham sandwich. So here's  how to be strong in the first 60 seconds of your speech .

(2) Your opening sets the entire tone of your presentation (including whether you'll be interesting or not).

(3) This is when you introduce your message and tell the audience why they should listen.

Sound like a tall order? It isn't, if you use the seven key components of successful presentations . Your audience needs to be both fully engaged and predisposed favorably toward you and your message. Neither will happen unless you can  grab   their  attention,  so they're onboard when you spin your verbal magic. Keep reading to learn how that's done. 

Ready to boost your influence with stakeholders? Grab your copy of my book, Speak for Leadership . Learn an executive speech coach's secrets! Get it today here or on Amazon .

Using Creativity in Business Presentations

Achieving the objective of a 'grabbing' opening takes thought, a bit of imagination, and yes, a little creativity. The good news is that since you know your topic well and you're psyched up for the big game (it's an audience of decision-makers, remember?), you should be well positioned to succeed.

Primacy won't have much of a chance to operate, though, if you use what I call the 'Today, I'm going to talk about . . .' opening. This is boring! Be on the lookout instead for something that will pique the interest of your listeners, and perhaps surprise them. And here's something else you absolutely need to know: 20 ways to connect with an audience for lasting influence .

A few minutes of focused thinking should be all you need to know how to come up with an effective opening. And remember to avoid that I call introducing your introduction. That sounds like this: 'Let me start out with a story . . .', or, 'I heard a very funny joke the other day . . . ' Or even the inexplicable 'Before I begin . . . ' since you've already begun!

Just  tell  us the story, the joke, or the in-the-know reference that will delight your listeners. But if you signal your effect beforehand, you water down its potency and its power to surprise.

So how can you be completely focused and on your game?

12 Powerful Ways to Start a Speech or Presentation

As a springboard to launching your presentation with verve and originality, here are a dozen rhetorical devices you can use. Each of them is an effective 'speech hook that you can use to start any speech or presentation:

• Startling statement
• Personal anecdote or experience
• Expert opinion
• Sound effect
• Physical object or demonstration
• Testimony or success story

You could literally think of dozens more from your own experience or that of your audience. Remember, the best grabbers engage an audience immediately, both intellectually and emotionally. Interestingly, these same devices can be used to conclude in a way that keeps your audience thinking about what you said. It's all part of my six rules for effective public speaking .

Coming up with an exciting grabber and clincher involves some work on your part. But the rewards if you're successful more than justify the effort.

Famous Speech Openings  

How about a few examples? Here are four great openings that illustrate some of the grabbers listed above:

Jesus , Sermon on the Mount: "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." — Startling statement.

Bill Clinton , 1993 speech in Memphis to ministers (after having heard himself introduced as "Bishop Clinton"): "You know, in the last ten months, I've been called a lot of things, but nobody's called me a bishop yet. When I was about nine years old, my beloved and now departed grandmother, who was a very wise woman, looked at me and she said, 'You know, I believe you could be a preacher if you were just a little better boy.'" — Humor

Jane Fonda in her TED Talk "Life's Third Act":  "There have been many revolutions over the last century, but perhaps none as significant as the longevity revolution. We are living on average today 34 years longer than our great-grandparents did. Think about that: that's an entire second adult lifetime that's been added to our lifespan." — Statistic.

Steve Jobs , 2005 Commencement Address at Stanford University: "Truth be told, I never graduated from college, and this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today, I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it, no big deal—just three stories. The first story is about connecting the dots. I dropped out of Reed College after the first six months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another eighteen months or so before I really quit. So why'd I drop out? It started before I was born." — Story, with a seamless transition into his speech. 

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A haunted young artist. A trail of bodies. What is terrorizing London? Scotland Yard surgeon and psychic Dr. William Scarlet pursues a serial killer in Red Season ! Also on  Amazon .

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Gary Genard   is an actor, author, and expert in public speaking and overcoming speaking fear. His company, The Genard Method offers  live 1:1 Zoom executive coaching   and corporate group training worldwide. He was named for nine consecutive years as  One of the World’s Top 30 Communication Professionals , and also named as  One of America's Top 5 Speech Coaches .  He is the author of the Amazon Best-Sellers  How to Give a Speech  and  Speak for Leadership: An Executive Speech Coach's Secrets for Developing Leadership Presence . His book,  Fearless Speaking ,  was named in 2019 as  "One of the 100 Best Confidence Books of All Time."   He is also the author of the  Dr. William Scarlet Mysteries .   Contact Gary here.  

Tags: leadership skills , public speaking training , public speaking , business presentations , public speaking tips , Speaking for Leadership , Public Speaking Techniques , how to start a speech , how to give a speech , speech introduction , how to persuade an audience , how to open a speech , speech coach , speech coaching , public speaking for leadership , presentations , The Genard Method , Dr. Gary Genard , CEO , speak for leadership , public speaking training company , executive coaching , keynote speaker training , how to start a presentation , motivational speaker training , TEDx speaker training , public speaking coaching , speech hooks , speech training , speech expert , online public speaking training , executive coach , public speaking books , leadership books , books on leadership , leadership expert , leadership authors , executive speech coaching , speech for leadership , public speaking for doctors , public speaking for lawyers , public speaking for engineers , public speaking for IT professionals , public speaking for data scientists , public speaking for scientists , public speaking for business , how to win friends and influence people , public speaking for business executives , talk like TED , Red Season , Dr. William Scarlet Mysteries

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Make A Speech Introduction That Grabs Audience Attention

The speech introduction is the first part of a speech and the first opportunity to grab the audience’s attention. The speaker should state the topic, make it relatable to the audience, establish credibility and preview the main points. You should write or finalize your introduction at the end so that it reflects what you actually said.

Listen up, audience!

No matter whether you are giving an informative speech to enlighten an audience about a certain topic or a persuasive speech aims to convince the crowd to adopt a particular viewpoint. But whichever type of speech you’re writing or delivering, one thing is true:  You must create an attention-grabbing speech introduction.

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What Is The Best Way To Start A Speech?

Whether in speech writing or public speaking, the role of a good intro cannot be understated.  It is your best chance to captivate your audience’s attention and entice them to be with you until the rest of your speech. 

It’s also your opportunity to introduce the topic and thesis statement and set up the points you’ll discuss later.  So, keep in mind that you emphasize the relevance of your subject matter to the audience and contextualize it properly. 

These are some of the best ways to make a compelling introduction speech. 

• State a quote or use a historical event reference.  Analyze your target audience and look for a powerful quote from a relevant figure or a historical event that will resonate with listeners and relate it to your topic. A notable quotation can immediately establish a strong connection. On the other hand, an important event will help you illustrate your point or paint a scenario better. 
• Share a personal story.  Sometimes, you don’t have to search far and wide to demonstrate a point. You can tap into your personal experience and share something about yourself. Generally, audience members enjoy hearing stories as they pique their interest and get a glimpse of who the speaker is. Your anecdotes will also make you more human and accessible.
• Start with an “Imagine” or “What if?” scenario.  Want to make your audience engaged? Let their imagination run. In many speeches over the years, some of the most successful ones used this technique. Speakers transport the audience to the future or a scenario wherein their proposed idea or belief reigns. For example, “What if we live in a world where everyone can access healthcare?”
• Count on a video or any other visual aids.  If you’re a public speaker keen to use technology, you may also want to commence your speech with visual aids. For instance, you can show a pre-prepared video to draw the crowd’s attention right before you speak. If you’re talking about hunger and food security, you can show footage of how such issues take a toll in many third-world countries.
• Tell surprising statistics.  One of the most effective ways to shock — and, ultimately, grab your audience’s attention is by telling real, hard facts. If you’re looking for a good attention-getter, you can rely on surprising statistics about your topic. For instance, if your topic is bullying, you can mention that in the US,  around 3 million students are victims of bullying.
• Ask the audience a question.  Another way to hook your audience is by asking them a question. It can be a direct one (e.g., “Who among here are…” then ask for a show of hands). It can also be a rhetorical question (e.g., “What is the meaning of life?”). The key is interacting with the crowd to get their attention and effectively introducing your subject matter. 

What Should You Include In the Introduction?

When you look at intro samples and templates on the web,  you’ll find that effective speech introductions contain key elements. And one of the most important is your attention-grabber, which will compel your audience to listen to your speech and narrative.

You must also introduce your speech topic and indicate why it matters to your audience. You should also share something about yourself, especially your credibility, to discuss a particular subject matter. 

Once you’ve laid out these foundations,  state your central idea or thesis statement.  Tell the audience members the point of view you want them to adopt, and  give them a preview of the main points you’re discussing if you’re giving a persuasive speech.  If you’re writing or delivering an informative one, you can provide them with a brief speech outline or the key points you’ll touch upon throughout the body of the speech.

What Are The Best Lines To Introduce A Speech?

One of the most common public speaking tips you’ll encounter is to have a good introduction. To help you capture the audience’s attention, here are some ideas you can use in your speech.

• A famous quote (For example, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower” by Steve Jobs)
• A song lyric (“Imagine there’s no countries/ It isn’t hard to do/ Nothing to kill or die for/ And no religion, too,” from “Imagine by John Lennon)
• A line from a poem (“You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I’ll rise,” from “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou)
• A line from a movie (“Greed, for a lack of a better word, is good,” from “Wall Street”)
• Reference to a historical event (“Two hundred years ago, one of the most important proclamations was made. Through the Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln, the enslaved Black people were given freedom.”
• Reference to a notable figure (“Stan Lee, the man behind iconic Marvel characters, was hired as an editorial assistant at a comics company after graduating high school.”).
• A bold statement (“Prostitution must be legalized.”)
• A serious statement (“Climate change is a pressing issue.”)
• A humorous line (“Don’t underestimate me. That’s the job of my mom.”)
• A shocking statistic (“If you’re consuming too much fast food and baked goods, did you know that you are 51% more likely to be depressed?”)
• A direct question (“Who among here plays violent video games?”)
• A rhetorical question (“Is there a more powerful feeling than love?”)
• A personal story (“Back when I was a fresh college graduate, I busied myself applying to the top multi-national companies.”)
• An anecdote (“Long ago, there was a man — an old but healthy man — who dared climb Mount Everest. He was 80, and he succeeded.”)
• A what-if scenario (“What if there were no poor people?”)

How Do You Introduce Yourself In A Speech?

Whether you’re a first-time speaker or a veteran, how you approach introducing yourself in a speech is important in establishing your credibility. To avoid getting called boring, you might want to shy away from the usual “Hi, everyone. I’m (your name). I (your credentials), and today I will be talking about (points of the speech).”

Usually, someone else may have given your name and background. This gives you the liberty to begin your speech more interestingly. 

You can start by stating any of the introduction lines listed above, then transition to why listening to you will matter to them. For example, if you’re talking about mental health and depression, you can follow up a surprising statistic with something like, “I know because I was a part of that statistic. Now, I’ve studied to become a therapist myself.”

To further create an air of authority, you must be mindful of your body language  (taking a deep breath before speaking can help you shake off your nervousness and tension).  Additionally, you must make eye contact and speak words clearly. 

How Do You Introduce A Speaker?

Now, if you’re tasked to introduce the one who will deliver the speech, it’s your responsibility to set the right atmosphere and build excitement. 

One of the first things to do is know how to pronounce the speaker’s name and ensure that what you’ll say about the speaker’s credibility is factual.  Since you’re only introducing the speaker, keep things simple and concise. If you want to enrich your introduction, you can ask the speaker what they want to be highlighted (Do they have a new book? Which prestigious groups are they affiliated with?). 

Like what the speaker would do, you must also make eye contact to engage the audience. Practice and have a run-through before you take the stage to guarantee a smooth delivery. 

What Is An Example Of A Speech Introduction?

Speakers and speech writers know how challenging it is to grab an audience’s attention.  Here’s a good example of an introductory speech that uses statistics. This is from English restaurateur  Jamie Oliver  who delivered a TED Talk about food:

“Sadly, in the next 18 minutes when I do our chat, four Americans that are alive will be dead from the food that they eat. 

My name’s Jamie Oliver. I’m 34 years old. I’m from Essex in England, and for the last seven years, I’ve worked fairly tirelessly to save lives in my own way. I’m not a doctor; I’m a chef, I don’t have expensive equipment or medicine. I use information, education.”

What Is The Introduction For A Speech On Bully

Looking for inspiration for a good introduction where your topic is bullying? Check out this sample intro from actress and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador  Millie Bobby Brown  during World Children’s Day in 2019:

“In world capitals — in buildings like this — adults talk about children’s rights. But today, young people don’t want to be talked about. They want to do the talking.

 Millions of people responded to UNICEF surveys and petitions about what the Convention on the Rights of the Child meant to them. In the words of one young person: ‘Be an active voice. Don’t let things go unnoticed. So today, I want to talk about an issue that is very personal to me. Something that so often goes unnoticed — but causes real suffering. Bullying.”

What Are Some Other Examples Of Speech Introductions?

Below are some more speech introduction examples you can take inspiration from. 

• “Three things I learned while my plane crashed” by Ric Elias : “Imagine a big explosion as you climb through 3,000 ft. Imagine a plane full of smoke. Imagine an engine going clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack. It sounds scary. Well, I had a unique seat that day. I was sitting in 1D.”
• “How to find and do work you love” by Scott Dinsmore : “8 years ago, I got the worst career advice of my life.”

“How great leaders inspire action” by Simon Sinek : “How do you explain when things don’t go as we assume? Or better, how do you explain when others are able to achieve things that seem to defy all of the assumptions?”

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Speech introductions

The introduction and conclusion of a speech are essential. The audience will remember the main ideas even if the middle of the speech is a mess or nerves overtake the speaker.  So if nothing else, get these parts down!

Introduction

The introduction gives the audience a reason to listen to the remainder of the speech. A good introduction needs to get the audience’s attention, state the topic, make the topic relatable, establish credibility, and preview the main points. Introductions should be the last part of the speech written, as they set expectations and need to match the content.

Attention getters

The first few sentences of a speech are designed to catch and maintain the audience’s attention. Attention getters give the audience a reason to listen to the rest of the speech. Your attention getter helps the audience understand and reflect on your topic.

• Speaker walks up to stage with notes stuck to hands with jelly.
• Did you know there is a right way to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?
• Rob Gronkowski once said, “Usually, about 2 hours before a game, I stuff in a nice peanut butter and jelly [sandwich] with chocolate milk.”
• A little boy walks in from a long day at school, telling his mom that he is starving. His mom is confused because she knows she sent him to school with a full lunch. As she opens his lunch box, she sees his peanut butter and jelly, with the grape jelly smeared on the side of the bag. She realizes there has to be a better way to make a PB&J.
• Bring in a clear sandwich bag with jelly seeping through the bread of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Logical orientation

Once the audience is invested in the speech, logical orientation tells the audience how the speaker will approach and develop the topic.

• Peanut butter on both sides of the bread with jelly in the middle is the best way to make a PB&J.
• PB&Js have developed a bad reputation, because of the jelly making the bread soggy and hands sticky.

Psychological orientation

Like the logical orientation of a speech, the psychological orientation is also going to provide the audience with a map for how and why the topic is being presented.

• Most of us remember our moms – dads too – packing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in our lunches. We also remember how the jelly did not just stay in the sandwich, but became a new stain on our shirts and the glue that held all the playground dirt to our hands.
• We can end this torture for future generations by making sure all parents are aware of the best way to make a PB&J.
• I have eaten numerous PB&Js myself, but my real authority on the topic comes from being a mom of two boys and the maker of many PB&Js.

Both the logical and psychological orientations give the audience a road map for the speech ahead as well as cues for what to listen to. This will help the audience transition from the introduction to the main points of the speech.

Beebe, S. A., & Beebe, S. J. (2012). A concise public speaking handbook . Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Lucas, S. (2012). The art of public speaking . New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Sprague, J. & Stuart, D. (2013). The speaker's compact handbook, 4th ed . Portland: Ringgold, Inc.

Vrooman, S. S. (2013). The zombie guide to public speaking: Why most presentations fail, and what you can do to avoid joining the horde . Place of publication not identified: CreateSpace.

How to make a speech introduction that grabs the attention?

• Filed under: Public speaking articles , Public speaking tips and tricks , Speaking tips , Speech delivery , Speech preparation

A speech introduction plays a big role in how well you manage to grab attention. The problem is that the majority of introductions lead the listeners to believe that the presentation is utter crap. If the beginning of your speech is dubious, your listeners will be frustrated.

So, what is a good speech introduction? A good speech introduction draws the audience’s attention to you, raises interest and tells the listeners that something exciting is coming.

But if your prelude leaves the listeners thinking, „Meh?“, you’ll find yourself in a difficult situation. Therefore in today’s blog post I will tell you everything you should know about how to make a speech introduction that grabs attention.

Table of Contents

What are the main objectives of a speech introduction?

The regular speaker has only two objectives:

• „I have to get it done somehow .” Note that the emphasis here is on the word „somehow”.
• „I have to get it done as soon as possible.” For the listener, it means a 30-minute speech made in 15 minutes.

However, these two objectives have nothing to do with the interests, needs, and expectations of listeners . And so it happens that in addition to a dull introduction, the entire presentation is quite boring.

I think that eight in ten presentations begin with „Hello, my name is…” and „I’m so lucky to be here”. Indeed, the message is important, but a good speech introduction offers much more. Your task is to be better than the regular speaker.

Broadly speaking, there are three objectives:

• Grabbing attention
• Raising interest
• Sharing background information and clarifying the rules

What’s the main purpose?

Clearly, the main purpose of a speech introduction is to raise interest. If you manage to do that right from the start, it’ll be easier for you to grab attention later on.

Some think that making an introduction is just saying what you’re going to talk about. Wrong! Your introduction should be able to make the audience want to listen to you even more. Tell your listeners why this topic is important and, most importantly, how they can benefit from your presentation.

Example 1: Which book are you more likely to read?

The one that starts with , „Jack was born in Berlin in 1961. His parents were Peter, a military officer, and Josephine“.

Or the one that starts like this , „The first bullet hit Jack’s shoulder“ .

The latter, I’m sure, because it raises immediate interest and questions, „What did Jack do to get shot?“, or „The first bullet? So, he was shot more than once?“

Okay, but when will I be talking about other things?

Indeed, raising interest doesn’t mean that you don’t need to talk about yourself or your topic. You do, just don’t mention them first thing.

Example 2: Which introduction grabs your attention?

Is it the classic one, „Hello! I’m Janek, and today, I’ll be talking about public speaking “ .

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Or rather, „The human brain is a wonderful organ. It starts to work as soon as you are born and doesn’t stop until you’re in a situation like I am right now. This means that you have to face a group and talk about what interests them for two hours. Hello, I’m Janek and today, I’ll be talking about… “

As you can see, I used a story to raise interest, and then, mentioned other important things . These are just two examples how to raise interest right from the start. And this should be the main purpose of your introduction.

How long does a speech introduction need to be?

ln general, the rule of thumb for short speeches is that your prelude shouldn’t exceed 10-15% of the total volume of your presentation. Longer speeches, however, are based on the following rule: „The introduction must be substantially and temporally proportionate.“

Example 1: If you need to make a 30-minute speech , then more than 3-4 minutes long beginning tends to overdo it and say nothing.. Consequently, the 10-15% rule is appropriate here.

Example 2: If you need to make a 120-minute speech, a 12-18-minute introduction is too long. This means that the 10-15% rule doesn’t apply here, and a substantive and temporal proportion is more important.

Thus, an overly brief introduction may not raise interest, but an overly long introduction is simply annoying.

What parts does it consist of?

First of all, it should be noted right away that the tips below may vary depending on presentation. You must decide when to talk about one or another thing. For example, if the listeners are your acquaintances, skip self-introduction.

#1: Grabbing attention

A company organises an annual Christmas seminar, which will bring together ca. 100 people from all over the country. Before the start, coffee and cake is offered in the hall, and as the participants meet each other once a year (at a similar event), a lively conversation is all over the place… „Oh, Jack, you’re here as well? How are you?“

The main speaker buries themselves in their laptop, trying to get the projector to work. Once done, they lift their head, look at someone on the front row, and asking, „Shall we start?“ When they receive an affirmative answer, they start with their presentation, but in general, most people chatting in the room at the same time don’t even notice it!

So, this bizarre presentation goes on for about six minutes until somebody in the front row loses it and asks the people to be quiet. „Look! Please stop and pay attention to the speaker who’s been there for a while now.“ Finally, Jack & Co wake up and agree to talk later during the break.

Did you notice what happened in this introductory story? It was not the speaker drawing attention but a participant. But who should really do it? The speaker, obviously.

An effective speech introduction begins with a wake-up call

It’s likely that before the start, the listeners are busy with their own stuff: talking to each other, surf the Web on their laptops or mobiles, walking around, calling, etc. If your introduction is along the lines, „Well, let’s start. My name is…“, people in the third row may not even notice you.

Therefore, grabbing attention is vital , so think carefully about how to do it.

Wake-up calls you can use

Video clips

Say nothing, just start by showing a relevant video clip. If it’s a humorous video, even better. It will definitely draw attention and make it much easier for you to continue. Note, however, that the clip shouldn’t be too long. I believe a 3-minute clip is the absolute maximum.

Audio or music

I once started one of my lectures playing the guitar. I summarised the purpose of the presentation playing the guitar at the same time. It soon turned into a joint singing, which, in turn, worked better than any morning coffee.

Stand in front of the audience and be silent

“Let thy speech be better than silence, or be silent.” – Dionysius Of Halicarnassus

Many don’t believe how effective it is. I’ve used this method from time to time. Go on stage, smile in a friendly way, and just stand there. Here’s a tip – try to establish eye contact with somebody from the audience, maybe with the loudest participant, or somebody else.

Once done, you’ll see how fast the rest of the group will try to silence the loudest one. My practice shows that just standing there in the front takes about 30 seconds to draw attention.

You can still artificially prolong the time to make the silence last. And then you start in such a way that everyone thinks, „Wow, that was mind-blowing…“

Do something unusual

For example, don’t start talking facing the listeners, but with your back turned. It may be confusing at first, but works really well. As soon as you’ve grabbed attention, face the listeners – you don’t want to cause them neck pain, right?

Question to the audience

Ask an exciting and relevant question that will make listeners ponder straight away. Here you have to think about how to make a good transition.

Good joke or story

For the sake of a good presentation , don’t start with the cliché, „Something funny happened to me on my way here“. Even if that was the case, nobody will believe you.

Still, making a good joke or two is usually a good idea. And if you’re able to make the listeners giggle during your introduction, you’ve done well. However, you must also remember that your joke must not be cruel or offensive in any way.

Bonus: Do whatever you like

To wrap up, I must say that, in essence, you can do everything you want to draw attention. As long as it meets the two requirements below, everything goes:

• The „wake-up call“ must be related to the topic

Think for yourself, what happens if you make a somersault with a loud cry as a speech introduction and then start without connecting what you’ve just done to your topic? Obviously, you will grab attention, but the listeners may mistake you for a schizophrenic. Starting with introduction, everything you do must be connected to the topic.

• Your listeners must be able to relate to what you do

Let’s go back to the previous example: even if you manage to connect the somersault to the topic, this approach may not be suitable for a particular audience. Younger listeners are likely to take it as a good joke, whereas older listeners might be puzzled. Therefore, remember to always think about the background of your listeners.

• Don’t try to be somebody else

This means that everything you do should make sense. As soon as you try to be someone else, you’re doomed. Even more so, if the listeners have seen the original. In other words, find your own style and adapt it to the two points above.

#2: Self-introduction

Have you seen a speaker giving you a lecture instead of making a speech introduction? They are showing a variety of slides using PowerPoint, with chronologically listed achievements, commenting, „And then I studied here…“ and „Then I worked there…“ At the same time, you’re surfing the Web and playing Solitaire.

Self-introduction is most often required if the listeners don’t know you. In this case, remember to briefly highlight the following things in your self-introduction:

• How you are connected with the topic
• What your experience is
• What your greatest achievements are

Please note that the emphasis here is on the word „briefly“. From time to time, you may need to make a presentation for the experts in the field. In that case, it would be reasonable to introduce your background in a few sentences. Otherwise, try not to be tempted to introduce yourself in too much detail.

#3: Introducing the topics

Here, it would be reasonable to outline the main topics you’re planning to talk about during your presentation. This gives the audience an overview of what to expect. You don’t have to cover all sub-topics and points but point out 3-4 most important ones.

#4: The purpose of the presentation

The fact that you outlined your topics in the previous paragraph doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone clearly understood the purpose of your presentation. You could say, „Today, we’ll be talking about how to make a speech introduction that grabs attention“, but the listeners may not understand why it’s so important to talk about in the first place.

Let the listeners know what to expect at the beginning of your speech. A clear description of your purpose is, to my mind, the best way to do that. You need to clearly outline what the main purpose of your presentation is and what you want to achieve. If your goal (or goals) is clearly worded, the listener will know how they can benefit from your presentation.

There are benefits also in the positive emotions you share with the listeners

Benefits are not always equivalent to money. Have you ever attended at a lecture or training, thinking, „But I already knew it… I just never thought about it in this way!“ It’s already good, right?

Sometimes, when you ask someone about how the presentation was, they’ll say „You know, it was awesome!“ If you specify if they learned anything new, they might even come to the conclusion that they haven’t, but the emotion is what counts. This is one of the tricks many coaches use.

For example, „My goal today is to give you an overview of the main causes of the fear of public speaking and share the tricks how to overcome it so that it doesn’t interfere with your presentation.“

#5: The schedule of the presentation

Before you read on, here’s a task. What do you think is the most important part of the schedule for the listeners? Wait, don’t read on, just think about it!

Is your answer is, „When will I make pauses?“ If so, you’re wrong.

The most important question is “When will you finish?”

Exactly. You could be the world’s best performer, but we all have a life outside the room, so when introducing the agenda, make sure to mention immediately what time you finish. If you fail to do this, be prepared that this will be the first question!

When will you make pauses?

Each audience has a number of passionate smokers who want to know when they can have a smoke. In addition, there is an even larger number of passionate coffee lovers who want to find out when they can have another cup. Well, and then there are a lot of other passionate people who want to know when they can have a walk.

Some people like to like to do the Q&A round in the end. Others don’t care if it’s in the beginning or in the end. Anyway, don’t forget to mention it in your introduction, encouraging the listeners to participate in the discussion and ask questions.

Extra piece of advice: In the case of a short presentation, do the Q&A round in the end Q

If your presentation is short (for example, up to 30 min), remember to mention in your prelude that the Q&A round happens in the end. Otherwise, it may happen that people will be asking questions on the go, which means running out of time.

#7: Sharing the background information

Some speakers believe that as soon as they’re done with the topics used to raise interest, it’s okay to transit to topic development. Unfortunately, there are many more questions that the listeners expect you to answer. Especially, if it’s a longer presentation.

You may have to share your contact information, information about downloading materials, and other things that are secondary but still important. I recommend to mention them last.

Extra piece of advice: avoid saying „Before I start“

I’ve heard several speakers starting their presentation with „Before I start…“ For example, „Before I start, here’s an announcement from the organisers. Namely, the lunch break will be at 12:30, not at noon sharp.“

First of all, what do you mean by saying „Before I start?” You already started. And secondly, you started with a negative message telling the obviously hungry listeners that they had to wait longer for their meal.

Most importantly, as the main purpose of your introduction to raising interest, how well do you think you managed to do that?

Do I always have to go through these points?

Not really. As I said at the beginning of this chapter, what you mention in your introduction depends primarily on who your listeners are and what the general situation is.

For example: if you need to make the same speech at a company meeting on Monday that you did last week, you don’t have to make a decent speech introduction but can get straight to the point.

Example 2: If you’re at your grandmother’s anniversary celebration, for which the whole family comes together, there may be people who don’t know you. In this case, a brief introduction is appropriate, but, obviously, you won’t be talking about some topics or rules.

Speech introduction as a full-course dinner

I remember waiting for lunch once after the first part of training. There was just water and a delicious strawberry dessert on the table. The dessert really looked great.

A girl named Teele sitting opposite me looked at the dessert and said, „ It’s a pity we can’t have the dessert first. “ I was very surprised and asked, „ But why? “

It turned out that the rules wouldn’t allow eating the dessert first. I laughed at it as it got me thinking, „ A speech introduction is like a full-course dinner “ .

Do you want to know how?

Appetiser = Grabbing attention

A proper full-course dinner starts with an appetiser. However, you don’t always get it. But if it’s a proper dinner, you shouldn’t worry.

As mentioned above, grabbing attention is one of the most important parts of your introduction , that’s why I advise you to think about it in several ways. Also remember that what might work well in a small room may not be as effective in a larger room.

Soup = Self introduction

Soup follows after the appetiser. Nice warm and thick soup is generally served more often.

In terms of making a presentation, this means that around eight presentations in ten start with, „Hello! My name is…“. If the soup is poor, in terms of making a presentation, this means a long history lesson on the topic Me, My Education, Work, Family, and Other Things . Some speakers even manage to prepare slides.

Main course = O verview of topics

The main course is most expected. Indeed, there are exceptions if a person orders soup instead of the main course, but we are talking in a generalised way right now.

A good main course is something juicy and tasty, something that gives you joy. A bad main course leaves you thinking you can’t be bothered to continue.

Dessert = Raising interest

Basically, it’s the same with the dessert. Quite often, you just don’t get it. Or you do, but you have to buy it yourself.

However, in the context of making a presentation, „ dessert “ is the most important part of your introduction. You can introduce yourself and your topic, but if the audience isn’t interested in the rest of your presentation, you have obviously made a mistake in the beginning.

This, in turn, brings us back to the question I asked Teele in the beginning. Here’s the question:

Why can’t you have dessert first?

If the main purpose is to raise interest, why do you spend it on greetings and introducing yourself and your topics? Better think of the different ways to raise interest right from the start. There are different ways to do that, e.g., stories, examples, jokes, quotes, etc.

When should I have my speech introduction ready?

Humans are as lazy as you let them be, that’s why I advise you to write your introduction once the body and the summary of your presentation are ready. Surprisingly, introduction comes last.

Why? It may happen that if you get your introduction ready first thing, you may need to change it later after adjusting the original plan. For example, if you introduce new ideas that you didn’t plan at first, you will need to leave some original ideas out.

If you use the original speech introduction, you’ll promise something you may not be talking about. However, if you leave your introduction to the last, you’ll know exactly what to include.

Practicing your introduction

Making a good speech beginning requires a lot of effort. You can be the fastest man in the world, but if you fail to start off, you’ll never win a medal. In other words, if you are boring and you fail to grab interest, it will be much more difficult for you to do so in the body of your presentation.

Therefore, take your time to prepare and think through what you can do to draw attention and interest right from the start. If you’re making a longer speech and don’t have enough time to practice the entire speech, I definitely recommend to practice your introduction.

You’re probably more nervous at the beginning of the speech than as the speech progresses, so the fact that you’ve practiced your prelude repeatedly gives you a great deal of self-confidence.

Read more about how to do a proper elevator pitch here.

To sum up: How to make a speech introduction that grabs attention?

A good start creates a great foundation for your success. So think carefully about what you do and how you do it. Starting your speech, you have just one chance to impress, positively influence, and interest the audience. If you fail to do it with your introduction, why do you think you will succeed later on?

Thus, I recommend the tips outlined in today’s blog post on how to make a good speech introduction to use in your next presentation.

The main thing you should keep in mind:

• It should make 10-15% of a presentation.
• A good start must seek attention. No matter how you do it, it must be related to the topic you’re talking about, the audience, you, and the positive environment you’re creating.
• It’s important to establish a relationship of sympathy between you and the audience.
• The main purpose of introducing your presentation is to raise interest. If the listeners are with you from the first moments, it’ll be easier for you to make the rest of the speech.
• Let the audience know who you are and why you’re making a speech.
• Describe what you’ll be talking about and give an overview of the structure of your presentation – how long it is, which topics you’re going to cover, if and when there will be pauses, when your speech ends.
• All listeners are always thinking about the same thing, „ What benefit do I get from your presentation? “ Be sure to answer this question straight away.
• You should write your introduction last as only you know what you’ll be introducing. This way, you’ll also avoid including something in your introduction that you won’t be actually talking about.

Related questions

What is an impromptu speech? An impromptu speech is a speech which given without any thorough preparation. It is five- to eight-minute speech with a characteristically short preparation time of couple of minutes. ( full article here )

What is elevator pitch? An elevator pitch is a well-thought, meaningful, and repeatedly practisced brief (about 30-60 seconds long) overview of who you are, what you offer, and how your partner can benefit from it ( full article here ).

What is a persuasive speech? The main objective of a persuasive speech is to make your listeners do what you want them to do. For example, „buy my product“, „vote for me“, „believe what I’m talking about“, and so on. ( full article here)

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4 Ways of Making the Best Introduction Speech

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Published Date : December 17, 2020

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First impressions influence how others perceive you. An impactful and best introduction speech about yourself will significantly affect a crowd’s first impressions if delivered succinctly and tactfully. 

It is splendid to deliver your speech to the audience. However, the actual speech delivery can be challenging as many individuals struggle with nervousness and forgetfulness, which can affect speech delivery. Also, planning and composing a self-introduction speech can be nerve-wracking and tedious. 

How do we overcome the jitters, prepare, compose, and deliver the most impactful introduction speech to our intended audience?

Let me share the fail-proof ways of planning, creating, and delivering compelling and remarkable introduction speech ideas. 

Pro tip: Before giving any speech , practice your speech at least three times. You can use Orai to practice privately and get feedback on your speech .

What is Introduction Speech ?

This speech is the primary means of introducing oneself to an intended crowd. The crowd can be your colleagues, employers, groupmates, business partners, or only people you want to influence your thoughts and beliefs. It should be concise enough to introduce your goals, interests, or ideas in a short time. 

Importance of Speech of Introduction

A speech of introduction presents a brief background of yourself to the crowd regarding goals, interests, strengths, beliefs, and achievements. It is concise enough to introduce, break the ice, and imprint oneself on the public.  

Four Characteristics of a Good Self-introduction Speech

Leaving lasting first impressions is as important as giving your introductory speech . Good speech of self-introduction must have the following qualities:

Details about your personal life and success regarding names, dates, and events should be presented as accurately and factually as possible. No bluffs should be included, and events should be chronologically correct as they reflect your credibility and honesty. 

A good introduction speech example should be concise in delivering your goals, interests, and intended influence on the crowd but not too dragging to create impatience. The longer you talk, the higher the chances of the audience getting disinterested in your intentions, leading to impatience and disengagement. 

It is essential to give a catchy, concise, and factual introduction to promote and sustain audience engagement.

Adaptable to the Audience and Occasion

A self-introduction speech should convey relevant and adaptable information to the intended audience and occasion. You can jot down notes about the audience’s preferences and type of event and accustom your speech accordingly. Nothing is more impactful than an introduction speech that significantly appeals to audience interest and is occasion-specific. 

You can build steady anticipation for your speech by adding inspirational words, quotations, or compelling words. In this manner, your audience will sustain their engagement with your address and initiate interaction.

Steps in Creating an Introduction Speech

The  step-by-step process of crafting your speech of introduction includes: 

Preparation

• Practice and editing
• Planning; and 
• Actual delivery of a speech . 

Preparing for your speech involves creating a speech outline, presenting hobbies and interests, self-selling, and standing out. 

The following sentences are part of an introduction speech example based on the steps of speech preparation:

“Good Morning! My name is John Dewey, and I am a computer programming student at Berkeley University.’’ [straightforward introduction] 

“I am developing an app that allows people to order pizza through their Twitter accounts. This innovation is the latest app that I designed.” [interest and career plans]

“My second app won a University award for its contribution to helping people locate nearby dog parks.” [relevant work background]

“Because of my extensive knowledge in app writing and wide professional connections, I know what is useful and helpful to youth nowadays. My apps provide convenience and immediate assistance.” [self-selling]

Practice and Editing

The second major step in speech creation is practicing and editing your speech . You can trim down your speech , use short sentences, rehearse, and memorize your address accordingly. 

An introduction speech example showing the use of simple sentences is presented below:

“I used to stay at the off-campus dorm with my best friend. It is in this dorm that I began assembling and disassembling cellphones and laptops.” 

Planning your speech involves determining your target audience, relevant points, and speech purpose and tone. 

Actual Delivery of the Speech

Lastly, essential considerations before delivering your speech include relaxation, acceptable body language , avoidance of rush, and use of humor in case of a mistake.

How Do You Start an Introduction Speech?

Finally, after spending hours outlining, editing, and rehearsing your speech introduction, you will deliver the speech to the target audience.

The start of an introduction speech is crucial as it captures the audience’s attention and determines the length of interest and engagement of your audience towards your speech . If your crowd felt bored at the start of the speech , there is a small chance of conveying your audience’s influence and message. 

Let us take on the different ways of starting a speech of introduction and actively engrossing your target crowd.   

1. Current Events Reference

Starting your speech with a current, relevant news event is an effective way to grab attention, showing the topic’s relevance in today’s world. You can use news or the latest trends related to your intended speech purpose and target audience. 

An excellent introduction speech example may start with “Good afternoon. America hits 1,000,000 cases of COVID-19 for July 2020.”

2. Use of Quotations

Initiating an introduction speech with a pertinent quote sets the tone for the rest of the speech . You can start a speech of introduction with a quote from Bill Gates, “Life is not fair, get used to it.”

3. The ‘What If’ Scenario

The power of engagement lies in the speaker’s ability to immediately draw his/her crowd’s attention to the speech . Asking a ‘what if’ scenario entices the public to follow the flow of your thoughts. 

“What if we are the sole human inhabitants of this galaxy? What would happen if our races become extinct?”

4. Use of the Word ‘Imagine’ 

This technique applies guided imagery by attracting your audience toward visualizing a mental image of an extraordinary situation. It aims to engage all the audience’s senses to maximize impact and encourage them to think positively. 

“Imagine being stranded on a deserted island with no one beside you. What would be the first thing that you would do?”

5. Storytell 

A well-rehearsed short story or anecdote draws the audience’s attention and elicits emotional involvement and inspiration during a speech . People would remember personal stories more easily than formal public speeches. 

Start with a touching story from someone or your life story, and watch how this story paints an immediate visual appeal relatable to your audience. 

“When I was young, we had a large dog that protected me from harm…”

6. Begin with a Shock

Have your audience hanging on their seats during your speech by delivering powerful, compelling, or startling statements followed by a brief silence. You will engage them with your speech while wondering what you will say next.

“We cannot lose. We can’t lose…”

7. Ask Questions

Presenting a literal or figurative question to your audience at the opening of your speech elicits an intuitive answer, whether a response is needed or not. It allows the audience to feel included in your thoughts and build rapport. 

“Who would not want to be perpetually rich from his perseverance?”

8. Play with Humor

Humor is an effective way of gaining an audience’s interest. You can crack a few jokes to start your speech but always make it appropriate and relatable to your target audience and occasion. 

9. Statistics

You can use a compelling, personalized statistic to incite an emotional plea and convey your message directly to the audience. It can also be an astonishing factual statistic that solves the audience’s problems and is relevant to your chosen topic. 

“It is amazing that 70% of the world population recovered from Covid-19…”

How Do You End an Introduction Speech ?

As compelling as you sound when you start your speech and proceed with the body, you are challenged to end your speech as confidently and as impactful as possible. 

The following are unique finishes for your formal speech of introduction while confidently leaving a call to action or a gentle emotional tug. You can even create your signature close for your introduction speech . 

1. Title 

You can use the title of your speech (if there are any) as your final remarks. Final words linger, cement your message, and move your audience. 

2. Circular 

You can bounce back to your opening quote or story, reiterate, and summarize the main points of your speech . 

“We have arrived at the end where we have started…”

3. Challenge 

You can leave an impressive call or challenge for change, action, or participation from your audience. This challenge will motivate your audience to initiate actions based on what they heard from your speech . 

“Let us not rise to get up but rise once we have fallen…”

4. Quotation 

Cite a famous quotation to create a lasting impression for your speech , as well as initiating its closure. 

“With your help, we can think anew, and act anew on the new issues before us today.” – quote from President Abraham Lincoln

5. Repetitive 

Use a phrase and build it repetitively and cumulatively, similar to an increasing drum roll. This repetitive finish will increase the impact of your speech to the audience. 

“A duty, do it. An opportunity, grab it. It is a journey; enjoy it. A goal, attain it…”

6. Singsong

Deliver and restate a specific phrase a few times within your speech . Ask your audience to repeat back the phrase on cue. This singsong finish leaves a remarkable ending to your speech . 

7. Benediction 

 You can extend kind gestures by giving blessings at the end of your speech . 

“Godspeed and take care on your journey…”

8. Congratulatory 

 Use a congratulatory remark as the final part of your speech . This congratulatory finish motivates the audience toward change or action. 

“I salute all the individuals on their selfless plight…”

9. Demonstration 

Lastly, you can show some gestures or point to a prop to signal the closure of your speech . 

For example, you can imitate the closure of a book with your hands and say, “Now concludes the final chapter…”

Sample Self-Introduction Speech Outline

Here is an example of an  introductory speech outline that will serve as a guide for your creation of self-introductory speech :

SPEECH OUTLINE:

• Grab their interest
• Provide background information
• Create your item of discussion using minimal sentences
• Cite examples
• Offer an impressive answer to your self-introduction speech .

Here are the links for more sample introductory speech outlines:

• http://copilotninja.com/glossary/self-introduction-speech/  
• https://www.template.net/business/outline-templates/introduction-speech-outline/
• https://www.hawaii.edu/mauispeech/documents/introjackoutlinewordtemplate.doc

Sample Self-introduction Speech Topics

The following are self-introduction topics that you can use for your speech :

• What sets you apart from other individuals?
• What’s your main goal in life? 
• What incident plays a large part in your life? Tell the incident and message. 
• What are your unique skills?
• What are your essential milestones in your life?

Can you provide examples of classic speech transcripts for learning and inspiration?

Consider exploring these inspiring speeches for learning and motivation: Bill Gates’ TED Talk (2015) on pandemics, Sheryl Sandberg’s Harvard commencement address (2014), Ronald Reagan’s Memorial Day speech (1984), and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have Been to the Mountaintop” speech . These powerful examples offer valuable lessons in speechwriting and the art of impactful communication.

Parting Words

An introduction speech is essential to delivering your purpose and influence to your target crowd. It can either build or break your credibility or provide a compelling impression on your audience.

You can start by preparing, practicing, editing, and planning for your impactful speech . Once the speech is deliberately created, you can deliver, initiate, and end your introduction speech through the various tips mentioned. 

Your speech can obtain long-lasting first impressions by delivering a remarkable and powerful self-introduction speech with a bang and ending it with a call for action or change. 

Shake away your jitters. You can also download the Orai app to conceptualize, deliberate, and deliver your most promising and compelling introduction speech ! Start your free trial today, which is available on the app store. 

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How to write a best man speech for a wedding in a few simple steps

Some best-man speeches linger in people's memories long after the event has ended because the orator has perfected the art of writing a speech. A best man's speech demands a delicate balance of wit, sincerity, and eloquence. So, do you know how to write a best man speech that meets and exceeds expectations? How do you ensure that you entertain the audience and reminisce on shared moments?

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preparing for your best man speech, 1. introduction, 3. the toast, how do you perfect your groomsman speech, final words.

Writing a best man speech is a task that carries profound significance at any wedding. Best man speeches are about distilling years of camaraderie and shared experiences into a few heartfelt minutes that resonate with everyone present. With so much riding on those words, knowing how to write the speech is essential. Below is a step-by-step guide to help you navigate this responsibility with clarity and confidence.

How to write a best man speech

The best man speech is a traditional part of weddings . It is delivered by the groom's chosen confidant and closest friend to celebrate the occasion. The speech typically combines humour, anecdotes, and heartfelt sentiments to honour the groom, congratulate the couple, and entertain the wedding guests.

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Preparing for your best man speech begins with clearly understanding your role beyond delivering a speech. It includes asking yourself relevant questions, such as 'How long should a best man speech be' and 'What is required of me within that time frame.'

Timing is critical when it comes to preparing and planning your speech. Begin outlining your speech well in advance, ideally a few weeks before the wedding. This allows ample time to collect meaningful anecdotes and memories that resonate with the groom and reflect your relationship with him.

Consider moments that highlight his character, milestones you've shared, and humorous anecdotes that add a personal touch. Gathering these details ensures your speech is both genuine and memorable.

Best man speech format

When it comes to actually writing your best man speech, aim for a concise delivery that lasts between 3 to 5 minutes, roughly translating to 500 to 700 words.

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What should a best man speech include? It typically has three parts: an introduction, a body, and a toast. The introduction should capture attention with a memorable opening line or anecdote. The body should then follow, transitioning smoothly from humour to sincerity.

A well-structured speech typically begins with a brief yet impactful introduction that grabs attention and sets the tone for the rest of the speech. It is a chance to introduce yourself, your relationship, and your role as the best man.

Here, ensure you clearly state who you are and how you know the groom. This provides context and establishes your credibility. For instance,

"For those who don't know me, I'm [Your Name], [Groom] 's best friend from college. We've shared countless adventures and laughs over the years."

Following the introduction, weave in anecdotes that showcase the groom's character or share memorable moments you've experienced together.

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For example, you might share a story about how the groom's dedication to his friends helped you through a tough time or recount a humorous incident highlighting his fun-loving personality. These anecdotes add a personal touch and often inject humour into the speech, keeping the audience engaged.

Next, include a personal message to the couple that expresses your genuine sentiments and well-wishes. This part of the speech should convey sincerity and gratitude, acknowledging the occasion's significance for both the groom and his partner.

For instance, you could reflect on the groom's kindness and loyalty as qualities that will undoubtedly make him a wonderful partner.

Here are a few examples of such a statement:

"[Groom's Name], I've seen you grow into the incredible person you are today, and I couldn't be happier to see you find someone as wonderful as [Bride's Name] to share your life with. [Bride's Name], thank you for bringing out the best in him and for being his perfect match. May your marriage be filled with endless joy, laughter, and unwavering love. Here's to a lifetime of shared dreams and beautiful moments."

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"To [Groom's Name] and [Bride's Name], your love and commitment to each other inspire us all. I feel incredibly lucky to have witnessed your journey together and am grateful to call you both friends. May your marriage be filled with endless love, laughter, and unwavering support for each other."

Conclude with a heartfelt toast, raising a glass to the couple's future happiness and celebrating their love. This symbolises communal support and well-wishes from all gathered, marking the beginning of their new journey together in a celebratory manner.

Consider the following when writing the toast:

• Thank the couple for allowing you to be part of their special day.
• Share your hopes and blessings for their future together.
• Raise the glass and invite everyone to join you in celebrating the newlyweds.

Below are some groomsmen speech ideas for the toast:

"Ladies and gentlemen, please raise your glasses. Here's to [Bride] and [Groom]. May your days be filled with laughter, your nights with romance, and your years with endless joy. To a lifetime of happiness, love, and cherished memories. Cheers!"

Farewell speech for students who have just finished school

"Everyone, let's raise our glasses to the incredible couple before us. [Bride] and [Groom], may your love continue to grow deeper with each passing day, and may you always find strength and comfort in each other. To a beautiful journey ahead filled with love, laughter, and countless adventures. Cheers!"

Perfecting your best man speech involves refining your content, practising your delivery, and managing your nerves effectively. Start by revisiting your speech to ensure it flows smoothly from one point to the next. Trim any unnecessary details and focus on impactful anecdotes and sincere sentiments.

Also, make sure your jokes are tasteful and your heartfelt moments are genuine. A well-structured speech with a balance of humour and emotion will captivate the audience and leave a lasting impression.

Next, practise your delivery multiple times. Rehearse in front of a mirror, record yourself, or present to a trusted friend. Pay attention to your tone, pacing, and body language. This helps you become more comfortable with the material and identify areas that need improvement.

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Finally, manage your nerves by visualising success and employing relaxation techniques. Deep breathing, visualisation, and positive affirmations can help calm your anxiety.

Remember that feeling nervous is normal, but with adequate preparation, you can channel that nervous energy into an enthusiastic performance. Focus on the joy of celebrating the couple and the honour of being their best man.

Now you know how to write a best man speech. Writing a best man speech is a unique honour that requires a blend of humour, sincerity, and careful planning. By understanding your role, preparing thoroughly, and structuring your speech effectively, you can deliver a memorable tribute that celebrates the couple's love and brings joy to the occasion. Focus on crafting heartfelt anecdotes, practising your delivery, and managing any nerves to ensure your speech leaves a lasting impact.

Tuko.co.ke also published a guide to writing short speeches for school assemblies . It provides inspiring examples of short speeches perfect for school assemblies, delivered by students or faculty, to set a positive tone for the day. Each speech here is designed to engage and motivate the audience, covering a range of topics such as character and discipline.

Whether you're looking for ideas to write your own speech or just need guidance on how to start and structure it, these examples offer valuable insights and practical tips.

Source: TUKO.co.ke

Nicholas Nganga (Lifestyle writer) Nicholas joined Tuko's team as a content creator in 2024. He has 4 years of experience in content writing. He previously held other editorial and journalism positions, including news and articles editing role at FW Africa and a Food Science Writer at PressPublish. He works on content encompassing biographies, fashion and lifestyle, gaming, and more. In 2022 Nicholas graduated from the Jomo Kenyatta University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Biotechnology. You can reach him via email: [email protected].

Trump lies about Kamala Harris' race, bashes moderator at Black journalists convention in Chicago

The shortened event was full of incendiary comments from the former president, including claims illegal immigrants are taking “black jobs.” trump also accused the presumptive democratic presidential nominee of “only promoting indian heritage.”.

Former President Donald Trump argued with moderator Rachel Scott over questions he faced during an appearance Wednesday at the National Association of Black Journalists annual convention at the Hilton Chicago.

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

Former President Donald Trump questioned the racial identity of Vice President Kamala Harris and lambasted a moderator’s question about derogatory statements he has made toward the Black community in a combative interview Wednesday before a large crowd of Black journalists meeting in Chicago.

The question-and-answer session at the National Association of Black Journalists conference at the Hilton Chicago began more than an hour late — with Trump blaming audio issues — and ended early.

The shortened event was full of incendiary comments from the former president, including claims illegal immigrants are taking “Black jobs.” When asked if it was appropriate to call Harris a “DEI hire,” which many Republicans are calling her, Trump accused the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee of “only promoting Indian heritage.”

“I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?” Trump asked.

Rachel Scott, a congressional correspondent for ABC News and the event’s moderator, quickly replied, “She’s always been Black.”

Harris has long identified as being both South Asian and Black. She was born in Oakland, California, to an Indian mother and Jamaican father and is the first Black person and first Asian American vice president in U.S. history.

Trump added, “She was Indian all the way, and all of a sudden she made a turn, and she became a Black person.”

Asked about controversy over invite, Trump took offense

The first question Scott asked featured a lengthy overview of derogatory comments and actions Trump has made toward the Black community: “You’ve used ‘animal ‘and ‘rabid’ to describe Black district attorneys. You’ve attacked Black journalists, calling them a loser, saying the questions they asked are, ‘stupid and racist.’ You had dinner with a white supremacist at your Mar-a-Lago resort. So my question, sir, now that you’re asking Black supporters to vote for you: Why should Black voters trust you after you have used language like that?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question so, in such a horrible manner,” Trump replied, adding that he believed ABC News was “fake news.” The former president brought up Scott’s question later in the event, calling it “very rude.”

“That wasn’t a question. She didn’t ask me a question. She gave a statement. That wasn’t a question,” Trump said.

Responding to backlash about his remarks, Trump’s campaign said the former president “remains defiant in the face of media bias and will continue working to make life better for all Americans regardless of how poorly he’s treated by supporters of Kamala Harris.”

“Today’s biased and rude treatment from certain hostile members of the media will backfire massively,” Trump adviser Lynne Patton said.

The event started more than an hour late, with Trump and his campaign blaming audio issues. However, according to a source, the delay was also related to Trump’s refusal to allow his remarks to be fact-checked.

“President Trump patiently waited and waited for them to fix their audio problems,” the campaign posted on X. “But President Trump has a rally in Pennsylvania tonight — so because of THEIR audio problem, they lost time in the panel.”

Trump repeatedly complained about the audio during the event, at one point blaming Scott for the state of the equipment.

Harris did not respond directly to Trump’s comments about her race.

“Today, we were given yet another reminder,” she said at a campaign event in Houston. “This afternoon, Donald Trump spoke at the annual meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists, and it was the same old show, the divisiveness and the disrespect. Let me just say, the American people deserve better.”

Preceding Trump Q&A, backlash from Black journalists

The NABJ’s Q&A with Trump, announced on Monday night, caused internal and external backlash among the group’s members. Some members said Trump’s treatment of Black reporters during his presidential term was enough for them to boycott the event. Others were upset about the timing of the announcement — two days before the convention began, and as many members were already en route to Chicago.

But Trump insisted, “I come in good spirits. I love the Black population of this country. I’ve done so much for the Black population.

“I have been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln,” Trump said, as someone in the crowd screamed, “b———-.”

Afterward, journalist Diara Townes, who traveled from Raleigh, North Carolina, for the convention, called the contentious session “wild.”

“If you choose to see someone a certain way, that is your subjective choice, that is not an objective reality. So perhaps for Trump, he never viewed Kamala as a Black person. That doesn’t mean she isn’t,” Townes said.

Townes criticized NABJ for inviting Trump to what’s supposed to be a “safe space” for journalists, but also criticized the moderator’s performance. She said Scott’s decision to come “out the gate hot is not a way to approach this particular interviewee.

“I think there was a lot of pressure to not go easy, considering the other two journalists on the panel: one who has a history of being a little bit easier on Trump and then one who I don’t know as well. I don’t know how well she’s been battle tested,” Townes said. “And I think it negatively affected what could have been, maybe, a substantive conversation.”

The two other journalists on the panel were Harris Faulkner of Fox News and Kadia Goba, politics reporter at Semafor.

Brandon Pope, a host at WCIU and NABJ member, said he was “disappointed” in the program overall.

“If I’m being frank, I’m disgusted at how blatant he is in his lies. Disgusted at cheers from people in the audience. And really taken aback by the conversation writ large,” Pope said. “I want to salute Rachel Scott … [who] did a great job in trying to give critical questions.”

No discussion about Project 2025

But Pope added there were “key things that weren’t discussed” in the conversation that was supposed to last an hour. “Project 2025 is a major thing for the Black community and has major implications for the Black community,” Pope said. “The fact that we didn’t even get to that, I think, is a problem.”

The director of Project 2025, viewed as a far-right blueprint for a second Trump presidency, on Tuesday stepped down from the project, citing criticism from Trump and others.

Organizers of the convention were forced to reschedule or cancel events due to Trump’s appearance — citing security concerns. That included part of a career fair, according to one of the convention’s organizers.

Harris won’t attend the convention due to logistics, including selecting her running mate, according to a source familiar with the discussions.

Trump used Harris’ absence to criticize the NABJ, telling Scott he had been told his Democratic opponent — whomever it was — would also appear.

“It turned out my opponent isn’t here, " he told Scott. “You invited me under false pretense.”

NABJ President Ken Lemon on Wednesday said the organization is continuing to negotiate with Harris, including about a question-and-answer event, either virtually or in person, in September. Lemon said negotiations with both parties began in January.

Before dropping out of the race, President Joe Biden confirmed his attendance at the conference.

Demonstrators protest Trump’s NABJ appearance

The NABJ event marked Trump’s third visit to Chicago since 2016, when he canceled a Chicago rally after scuffles broke out in the UIC Pavilion. In 2019, Trump came to Chicago for his first presidential visit and disparaged the city, calling it “embarrassing to us as a nation,” at a police conference. Later, he was met by thousands of protesters outside Trump Tower during a fundraiser he hosted.

Outside Wednesday’s event, a small crowd gathered to protest Trump’s appearance. But police seemed to outnumber the protesters around 11:30 a.m. as protesters began chanting, “Say it loud, say it clear, racists are not welcome here.”

A brass band played along with the chanting across the street.

Hatem Abudayyeh, head of the Chicago-based U.S. Palestinian Community Network which organized some of the protesters, said they were protesting both Democrats and Republicans for “complicity” in the violence endured by Palestinians in Gaza.

“Trump doesn’t get a pass, of course, especially because of his racism and his fascism and his reactionary policies and the policies of the Republican Party,” Abudayyeh said.

His group also plans to march in August during the Democratic National Convention, along with the Coalition to March on the DNC and the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, which also came Wednesday to protest Trump’s appearance.

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JD Vance introduces himself as Trump’s running mate and makes direct appeal to his native Rust Belt

Introducing himself to the nation after being tapped as Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance used his address to the RNC to share the story of his hardscrabble upbringing and make the case that his party best understands the challenges facing Americans.

Relative political newcomer JD Vance looks to win over Republicans, help take back the White House

Donald Trump has named Sen. JD Vance of Ohio as his running mate, choosing a onetime critic who became a loyal ally and is now the first millennial to join a major party ticket at a time of deep concern about the advanced age of America’s political leaders.

Day three of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin has kicked off, and Republican Presidential Nominee Donald J. Trump has entered the arena before Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance is expeted to address the delegates.

Donald Trump supporters are showing their support for the former president in a new way at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. They are wearing bandages on one of their ears -- a tribute to the bandage Trump has been wearing since the assassination attempt. (AP video: Mike Householder)

Former Trump White House official Peter Navarro, released from prison Wednesday, pledged to offer a message of national unity when he speaks to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. (AP Video: Nathan Ellgren)

Trump’s eldest granddaughter was the latest family member to seek to humanize the former president at a crucial moment for Trump. “On Saturday, I was shocked when I heard that he had been shot and I just wanted to know if he was okay,” she said.

Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speaks during the Republican National Convention Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

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Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speaks during the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Usha Chilukuri Vance introduces her husband, Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, on third day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump gestures as he arrives at the Republican National Convention Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Gold Star family members on stage during the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Donald Trump Jr., arrives to speak on third day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Kai Madison Trump speaks on third day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Supporters cheer during the Republican National Convention Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump on stage doing his walk-through on the third day of the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump attends a stage rehearsal during the third day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speaks during a fundraiser at Discovery World Science and Technology Museum, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

A vendor sells Trump 2024 cereal during the third day of the 2024 Republican National Convention near the Fiserv Forum, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Peter Navarro, former Director of U.S. Office of Trade & Manufacturing, speaks during the Republican National Convention Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

A delegate puts on a bandage on his ear during the Republican National Convention Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Delegates wear bandages on their ears during the Republican National Convention Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Follow AP’s live coverage of the 2024 presidential race.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — JD Vance introduced himself to a national audience Wednesday after being chosen as Donald Trump’s running mate, sharing the story of his hardscrabble upbringing and making the case that his party best understands the challenges facing struggling Americans.

Speaking to a packed arena at the Republican National Convention, the Ohio senator cast himself as fighter for a forgotten working class, making a direct appeal to the Rust Belt voters who helped drive Trump’s surprise 2016 victory and voicing their anger and frustration.

Former President Donald Trump is introduced during the Republican National Convention Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee. At right is Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

“In small towns like mine in Ohio, or next door in Pennsylvania, or in Michigan, in states all across our country, jobs were sent overseas and children were sent to war,” he said.

“To the people of Middletown, Ohio, and all the forgotten communities in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Ohio, and every corner of our nation, I promise you this,” he said. “I will be a vice president who never forgets where he came from.”

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The 39-year-old Ohio senator is a relative political unknown, having served in the Senate for less than two years. He rapidly morphed in recent years from a bitter critic of the former president to an aggressive defender and is now positioned to become the future leader of the party and the torch-bearer of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” political movement.

The first millennial to join the top of a major party ticket, Vance enters the race as questions about the age of the men at the top — 78-year-old Trump and 81-year-old President Joe Biden — have been high on the list of voters’ concerns. He also joins Trump after an assassination attempt against the former president — in which Trump came perhaps millimeters from death or serious injury — underscoring the importance of a potential successor.

Former President Donald Trump and Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio arrive during the second day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum, Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

But Trump’s decision to choose Vance wasn’t about picking a running mate or the next vice president, said Indiana Rep. Jim Banks, who introduced the senator at a fundraiser earlier Wednesday.

“Donald Trump picked a man in JD Vance that is the future of the country, the future of the Republican Party, the future of the America First movement,” he said.

Vance shared his story and introduced his family

In his speech, Vance shared his story of growing up poor in Kentucky and Ohio, his mother addicted to drugs and his father absent. He later joined the Marines, graduated from Yale Law School, and went on to the highest levels of U.S. politics — an embodiment of an American dream he said is in now in short supply.

“Never in my wildest imagination could I have believed that I’d be standing here tonight,” he said.

Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio is introduced during the Republican National Convention Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Vance gained prominence following the publication of his bestselling 2016 memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” which tells the story of his blue-collar roots. The book became a must-read for those seeking to understand the cultural forces that propelled Trump to the White House that year. Vance spent years as a Trump critic, assailing the former president with insults, before he changed his mind.

Vance, who had never attended, let alone spoken at a previous Republican convention, spent much of his speech talking up Trump and going after Biden, using his relative youth to draw a contrast with the 81-year-old president.

Vance says he was in fourth grade when “a career politician by the name of Joe Biden supported NAFTA, a bad trade deal that sent countless good American manufacturing jobs to Mexico.”

“Joe Biden has been a politician in Washington as long as I’ve been alive,” he added. “For half a century, he’s been a champion of every single policy initiative to make America weaker and poorer.”

The crowd inside the convention hall welcomed Vance warmly. They erupted into chants of “Mamaw!” in honor of his grandmother, and chanted “JD’s Mom!” after he introduced his mother, a former addict who has been sober for 10 years.

Vance was introduced Wednesday night by his wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance, who talked of the stark difference between how she and her husband grew up — she a middle-class immigrant from San Diego, and he from a low-income Appalachian family. She called him “a meat and potatoes kind of guy” who respected her vegetarian diet and learned to cook Indian food for her mother.

Trump, again wearing a bandage over his injured ear, watched Vance speak from his family box and was often seen smiling.

Most Americans — and Republicans — didn’t know much about Vance before Wednesday night. According to a new poll from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, which was conducted before Trump selected the freshman senator as his choice, 6 in 10 Americans don’t know enough about him to have formed an opinion. That includes 61% of Republicans.

Democrats have attacked Vance for his past support for a national abortion ban, his criticism of U.S. involvement in Ukraine, and his eagerness to blame Democrats for Trump’s assassination attempt. But the young senator steered clear of such controversies in his remarks, which were light on the red-meat conservative attacks that convention audience typically expect.

Biden’s campaign responded with a blistering statement calling Vance “unprepared, unqualified, and willing to do anything Donald Trump demands.”

“Tonight, J.D. Vance, the poster boy for Project 2025, took center stage. But it’s working families and the middle class who will suffer if he’s allowed to stay there,” said Michael Tyler, Biden campaign communication director.

A Trump aide just released from prison electrified the crowd

Convention organizers had stressed a theme of unity, even before Trump survived an attempted assassination at a rally in Pennsylvania Saturday. Trump’s refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election and the subsequent attack on the U.S. Capitol, officials said, would be absent from the stage.

But that changed with former White House official Peter Navarro, who was greeted with a standing ovation hours after being released from a Miami prison where he served four months for defying a subpoena from the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of the former president’s supporter.

“If they can come for me, if they can come for Donald Trump, be careful. They will come for you,” he said in a fiery speech, comparing his legal troubles to those faced by Trump, who earlier this year was convicted on 34 felony charges in his criminal hush money trial.

Also spotted on the floor of the convention: Paul Manafort, Trump’s 2016 campaign chair, and Roger Stone, who were both convicted as part of the investigation into Russia’s meddling in that election . Trump pardoned both Manafort and Stone.

Families blamed Biden for the losses of their loved ones

Beyond Vance’s primetime speech, the Republican Party focused Wednesday on a theme of American global strength.

In a particularly powerful moment , the relatives of service members killed during Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan took the stage, holding photographs of their loved ones.

Christy Shamblin, whose daughter-in-law Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee died in the attack, spoke of the six hours she said Trump spent with her family in Bedminster, New Jersey and “spoke to us in a way that made us feel understood.”

“Donald Trump carried the weight for a few hours with me. And for the first time since Nicole’s death I felt I wasn’t alone in my grief,” she said.

Herman Lopez, whose son, Marine Cpl. Hunter Lopez, was among those killed, read aloud the names of all 13 U.S. service members who died in the Aug. 26, 2021, attack.

Also featured were the parents of Omer Neutra, one of eight Americans still being held hostage in Gaza after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

His parents, Ronen and Orna, said Trump called them after their son, a soldier in the Israeli army, was captured, and offered support. As they spoke, the crowd chanted “Bring them home!”

Cooper reported from Phoenix. Associated Press writers Christine Fernando in Chicago, Ali Swenson in Minneapolis, Farnoush Amiri, Michelle L. Price and Bill Barrow in Milwaukee, and Will Weissert and Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington contributed to this report.

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RNC 2024 live updates: Trump becomes Republican nominee; vivid speech recalls 'blood' during assassination attempt

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Former President Donald Trump formally accepted the GOP presidential nomination in Milwaukee on Thursday night, nearly a week after he survived an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.

Trump spoke for around 90 minutes, laying out future plans if he were to be reelected president this fall. But he also gave viewers deeper insight into last week’s campaign rally shooting, telling the crowd: “The assassin’s bullet came within a quarter inch of taking my life" and "blood was pouring everywhere."

Trump — who said “I’m not supposed to be here tonight” — added that he would never recount this story because “it’s too painful to tell.”

The Republican National Convention has concluded

After four nights of speakers and the official nomination of Donald Trump as the Republican Party presidential nominee for the third election cycle in a row, the Milwaukee convention floor voted to close out its proceedings.

The Democratic National Convention will begin on Aug. 19.

DNC chair: 'Over the past four days, we’ve seen speakers endorse a far-right, dangerous vision'

Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison blasted Trump, Sen. JD Vance and the Republican Party in a statement released after the RNC concluded.

"Over the past four days, we’ve seen speakers endorse a far-right, dangerous vision that would see Americans’ basic liberties stripped away and replace the rule of law with the rule of Trump. No amount of desperate spin can change how unpopular and out of touch their disastrous plans are for the American people," Harrison said.

"The more voters learn about the Trump-Vance ticket — the most extreme running mates in modern American history — the more fired up they are to reelect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris this November.”

Takeaways: Trump delivers a message of ‘unity’ — until he doesn’t

The big question heading into the closing night of the convention was whether the Trump who took the stage in Milwaukee would be any different than the Trump who took the stage in Butler, Pa., five days earlier. Or at the very least, whether he would sound any different.

Read Yahoo News National Correspondent Andrew Romano's takeaways from Trump's speech and the last day of the RNC here .

Trump's speech concludes with balloon drop, opera

Trump's convention speech, which clocked in at 93 minutes, concluded with hundreds of red, white, blue and gold balloons falling from the ceiling.

In the background, opera singer Christopher Macchio sang "Nessun Dorma," an aria from a Puccini opera, before transitioning to a rendition of "America the Beautiful" as the rest of Trump's family joined him on stage.

Trump finishes marathon keynote address

Trump accepted the Republican Party's presidential nomination shortly after midnight Eastern Time, wrapping a speech that lasted more than 90 minutes.

The four-day Republican National Convention convention is preparing to come to a close.

Trump praises Viktor Orbán, prime minister of Hungary who recently met with Putin

In a discussion of international affairs, Trump praised the prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán.

"Hungary, strong country, run by a very powerful, tough leader. Tough guy. Press doesn't like him 'cause he's tough," Trump told the crowd.

Orbán has held the position since 2010 and has dealt with international controversy over some of his political views, which include his promotion of the white nationalist "great replacement" conspiracy theory , implementation of anti-LGBTQ laws and a 2022 speech that was described as " pure Nazi. "

Last week, Trump met with Orbán for the second time in six months . Trump's visit was less than two weeks after Orbán traveled to Russia to meet with Vladimir Putin and then to Beijing to meet with Xi Jinping.

Trump limits mentions of Biden by name, ignores Harris

After speaking for more than 90 minutes on Thursday, Trump mentioned President Biden by name only once, even though he repeatedly took issue with the policies of “this administration.”

He refrained from mentioning Vice President Kamala Harris altogether.

With many Democrats pressuring Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race following a much-criticized debate performance, Harris has been viewed as the likely frontrunner to replace him as the party’s nominee.

As that fluid situation played out this week, and Biden was diagnosed with COVID, some speakers at the convention saw fit to attack Harris in their speeches.

“Let me remind you. Kamala had one job, one job. And that was to fix the border. Now imagine her in charge of the entire country,” former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said in her speech to the convention on Tuesday.

Trump falsely claims countries are emptying prisons and sending inmates to the U.S.

In his speech on Thursday night, Trump repeated one of his frequently made claims that foreign governments are emptying their prisons and mental institutions and sending those people to the United States.

“They’re coming from prisons. They’re coming from jails. They’re coming from mental institutions and insane asylums,” Trump said, adding, “We become a dumping ground for the rest of the world.”

Multiple news organizations have investigated the claim that the Biden administration has been flying people in from other countries and have determined that there is no evidence for it.

Did the Trump administration really build most of the wall?

In his RNC speech, Trump, while speaking about the southern U.S. border, said his administration had built "most of the wall" he promised to build. During Trump's 2016 campaign, he said his administration would build a wall at least 1,000 miles long across the southern border and he would have Mexico pay for it.

"The wall — we were dealing with a really difficult Congress," Trump said. "I call it an invasion. We give our military almost $800 billion — I said, 'I'm gonna take a little bit of that money 'cause this is an invasion.' And we built — most of the wall was already built, and we built it through using the funds because what's better than that? We have to stop the invasion."

The New York Times reported that, in reality, the Trump administration built about 458 miles of border wall, a lot of which was either replacing or maintaining the already existing wall. Trump officials only put up 47 miles worth of new barriers.

Photos: Trump on stage at the RNC

Former President Donald Trump delivered his keynote address at the Republican National Convention on Thursday, formally accepting the GOP's nomination just five days after surviving an assassination attempt on the campaign trail.

Here are some photos of his historic appearance on the convention's final night.

Trump's proposal to remove taxes on tips comes with trade-offs

The Associated Press reported on Trump's plan :

Like many tax proposals, Trump’s push to exempt tips could have unintended consequences. Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution, argues that Trump’s proposal could actually backfire for many tipped workers. For example, some customers may respond to tax-free tips by reducing their gratuity. Secondly, it could take the steam out of efforts in some states to gradually increase the minimum wage for tipped workers so that their base pay is in line with the minimum wage for other workers.

Trump pledges to 'end electric vehicle mandate on day 1'

“I will end the electric vehicle mandate on day one,” Trump said in reference to a rule issued by the Biden administration that would make a majority of new passenger cars sold in the U.S. either all-electric or hybrids by 2032 in an effort to fight climate change.

In a meeting last month with the country’s top oil executives, Trump floated a deal. In return for $1 billion of campaign support from the companies, Trump pledged to kill Biden’s environmental restrictions, the pursuit of wind power, and the incentives for electric vehicles, the Washington Post reported .

As president, Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord, expanded offshore oil drilling and allowed drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and called climate change a hoax by the Chinese government intended to weaken the U.S. economy.

Trump mentions Biden by name — twice

Despite earlier reports that suggested Trump did not plan on mentioning President Biden by name at any point during his RNC speech, Trump said Biden's name on two occasions.

"If you took the 10 worst presidents in the history of the United States — think of it, the 10 worst, added them up — they will not have done the damage that Biden has done," Trump said. "I'm only going to use the term once. Biden. I'm not going to use the name anymore. The damage that he's done to this country is unthinkable."

Trump made an almost verbatim comment about Biden during a campaign stop in October 2023.

Melania Trump gets a shoutout — and a standing ovation

Former first lady Melania Trump traveled to Milwaukee for her husband's keynote speech at the Republican National Convention on Thursday night. And when the former president praised her in his remarks, she received a standing ovation.

"On this journey I am deeply honored to be joined by my amazing wife, Melania," Trump said, triggering an adoring response.

Melania Trump, who was seated next to JD Vance in the VIP box, smiled and waved to the crowd.

Trump blames Biden for wars in Ukraine and Gaza

Trump attacked President Biden in Thursday’s speech, depicting him as a threat to global safety.

“There’s an international crisis the likes of which no one has ever seen,” Trump said. Nobody can believe what’s happening. War is now raging in Europe and the Middle East.”

“Our planet is teetering on the edge of World War III,” Trump said, adding, “This administration can’t come close to solving the problems.”

"I say it often," Trump continued. "If you took the 10 worst presidents in the history of the United States, think of it, the 10 worst, added them up, you will not have done the damage that Biden has done."

Over the course of the Republican National Convention, four basic lines of attack against Biden’s policies have been repeated by the speakers: that Biden is responsible for the inflation caused primarily by the coronavirus pandemic; that Biden’s reversal of Trump’s hard-line measures to curb immigration resulted in a record number of undocumented immigrants that wars broke out in Israel and Ukraine because Biden was not as feared as Trump by our adversaries and that Biden is to blame for the hasty withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan that left 13 soldiers dead.

The convention speakers have also been critical of Biden because of his age, speaking gaffes and what they see as an overall decline of cognitive ability.

“Even in his prime he had bad judgment,” former Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York said Wednesday regarding Biden’s advice to former President Barack Obama not to order the military raid in Pakistan that killed terrorist mastermind Osama Bin Laden, “and it’s only gotten worse with age. We can’t rely on Biden to make this kind of crucial 3 a.m. decision. Heck, we can’t rely on him at 3 in the afternoon.”

“When I was President Trump’s White House press secretary, I got the chance to take my 4-year-old son up to ‘Bring Your Kid to Work Day,’” Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday. “Much like Jill now drags Joe to ‘Bring Your Husband to Work Day.'"

Trump kisses rally victim Corey Comperatore's firefighter helmet

Trump devoted a segment of his keynote speech on Thursday night to the victims of the shooting at his rally, especially Corey Comperatore, the 50-year-old former Buffalo Township fire chief.

"Tragically, the shooter claimed the life of one of our fellow Americans. Corey Comperatore, unbelievable person, everyone tells me. Unbelievable. And seriously wounded two other great warriors, spoke to them today: David Dutch and James Copenhaver," he said.

"Two great people. I also spoke to all three families of these tremendous people. Our love and prayers are with them and always will be. We're never going to forget them. They came for a great rally," he said. "They were serious Trumpsters, I want to tell you."

Trump went on to call Comperatore "a highly respected former fire chief" who shielded his family during the attack. "What a fine man he was."

"Corey! Corey! Corey!" the audience chanted.

Trump went over and kissed the firefighter's helmet on stage that he said was provided by the fire department and the victim's family.

Trump seeks to show off his softer side

A key objective of the Republican National Convention was to further humanize Trump for voters. On Thursday, the former president did so by recounting the shooting on Saturday at his campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

“I’m not supposed to be here tonight,” said Trump, who was injured in the shooting.

The audience responded with a chant of “Yes you are! Yes you are!”

In a moving display, Trump kissed the fire helmet of Corey Comperatore, 50, who was killed when gunfire erupted at Trump’s Pennsylvania rally and led the crowd in a moment of silence for the former firefighter.

Over the past year, Trump has been found liable for sexually assaulting and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll, and was later, in a second defamation lawsuit, ordered to pay her $83.3 million. A New York judge ruled that he had violated his business assets in violation of New York law and ordered him to pay $355 million in fines plus interest. A New York jury found him guilty in a criminal trial of falsification of business records stemming from his $130,000 hush money payment to keep adult film actress Stormy Daniels from sharing her story about an alleged extramarital affair.

None of those uncomfortable facts were mentioned during the convention. Instead, three women were tasked with offering an alternative version of Trump’s character.

“When the president hired me, I was the first mom and the third woman ever to serve as White House press secretary,” Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in her speech on Tuesday. After detailing the attacks she endured from critics, Sanders added, “It was President Trump who defended me.”

“When I look at Donald Trump, I see a wonderful father, father-in-law and, of course, grandfather to my two young children, Luke and Carolina,” Lara Trump, Trump’s daughter-in-law, said in a speech delivered onTuesday.

“He calls me in the middle of the school day to ask how my golf game is going and tells me all about his. But then I have to remind him that I’m in school and I have to call him back later,” Kai Trump, Trump’s granddaughter, said in her speech on Wednesday.

Trump recalls shooting in RNC speech: 'My hand was covered with blood'

Trump delivered his keynote address at the Republican National Convention on Thursday, formally accepting the GOP's nomination just five days after surviving an assassination attempt on the campaign trail.

“As you already know, the assassin’s bullet came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life. So many people have asked me what happened," Trump said. "And therefore, I’ll tell you what happened, and you’ll never hear it from me a second time, because it’s too painful to tell.”

The former president then recalled the shooting at the rally in Butler, Pa., on Saturday.

"I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me really, really hard," he said. "I said to myself, 'Wow, what was that?' It could only be a bullet, and moved my hand to my right ear and brought it down. My hand was covered with blood.

"I immediately knew it was very serious," he said. "We were under attack."

As he spoke, images of Trump bleeding on the floor of the rally stage were displayed on screens behind him.

"There was blood pouring everywhere," Trump added. "And yet in a certain way I felt safe because I had God on my side.

Trump begins with message of unity

In his opening remarks of a speech in which he accepted the Republican presidential nomination, Trump struck a tone of unity.

“Together we will launch a new era of safety, prosperity and freedom for citizens of every race, religion, color and creed. The discord and division in our society must be healed and we must heal it quickly," Trump said.

That message was expected. In an interview with the New York Post the day after being shot at his Pennsylvania campaign rally, Trump said he “threw away” the speech he had first prepared to deliver at the RNC and wrote a new one.

“I want to try to unite our country,” he told the paper.

In speeches delivered earlier in the week by his daughter-in-law Lara Trump and his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., a similar pattern emerged in which the former president’s relatives spent much of their remarks attempting to humanize him. But the convention has also heard its share of harsh criticism for President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on topics like inflation and a surge in the number of undocumented immigrants crossing the outhern U.S. border.

Videos of Trump taken prior to Saturday’s shooting have played on multiple nights and have featured him making fun of Biden’s age and have portrayed Democrats as incompetent and dishonest.

Trump takes the RNC stage

Trump came out for his RNC speech — his first time speaking on stage since his assassination attempt last weekend. Lee Greenwood sang "God Bless the U.S.A.," a regular song on the Trump campaign trail, as the stage backdrop flashed the name "TRUMP" in neon lights.

Just prior to his walk to the podium, a White House backdrop was projected behind him.

Cover thumbnail photo: Mike Segar/Reuters

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony: All you need to know

Picture by Florian Hulleu/Paris 2024

Ambitious, historic, spectacular – these are some of the words used to describe the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony since the first plans were unveiled three years ago.

Set to be the first Olympic Games Opening Ceremony held outside a stadium , the 26 July celebration will transform the French capital into a stadium and theatre as the traditional parade of athletes takes place in boats along the Seine, passing the most iconic Parisian landmarks.

Here is all you need to know about the Opening Ceremony.

• Paris 2024 day-by-day highlights: When to catch the top moments from the Olympic Games
• Twelve of the biggest athletes to watch at Paris 2024

When will the Opening Ceremony be held?

The Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will take place on Friday, 26 July .

The event will start at 19:30 CEST and is expected to last more than three hours.

Why is this ceremony historic?

Paris 2024 will mark the first time in history of the Olympic Summer Games that the Opening Ceremony is held outside a stadium.

Instead of familiar images of athletes marching out along an athletics track, guests and viewers will be treated to a colourful river parade through the heart of the French capital.

The Seine , the city’s main water artery, will substitute for the traditional track, the quays will become spectator stands , while the setting sun reflecting off famous Parisian landmarks will provide the backdrop for the event.

This outdoor concept also makes Paris 2024 the largest Opening Ceremony in terms of audience and geographical coverage .

What is the route of the parade?

The parade route along the Seine is a visual journey through Parisian history and architecture.

The Austerlitz Bridge next to the Jardin des Plantes is the starting point for the flotilla, which will then continue west for 6 kilometres along the Seine, passing under historic bridges and by iconic landmarks, such as the Notre-Dame and the Louvre , as well as some Games venues, including the Esplanade des Invalides and the Grand Palais .

Grouped on the boats with their national teams, the athletes will ultimately arrive opposite the Trocadero – the esplanade across from the Eiffel Tower – where the official protocols will be carried out, the Olympic cauldron lit, and the Paris 2024 Games officially declared open.

How many athletes will take part?

Almost 100 boats carrying an estimated 10,500 athletes will float along the Seine during the parade. The larger of the 206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) represented in the parade will have boats to themselves, while the smaller ones will share boats.

Camera equipment set up on the decks will allow spectators to see the athletes up close and witness their emotions.

What entertainment performances can we expect?

Thomas Jolly , a French theatre director and actor, is overseeing the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies as artistic director .

While most of the entertainment acts remain under wraps, based on the hints so far, we can expect a show on a grand scale with an eclectic mash up of the old and the new. Speaking to the media in January, Jolly said that he wants to showcase the contrasting cultures of France, be that opera or rap, thus bringing together all the pieces that form the nation's diverse cultural identity.

For his part, ceremonies choreographer Maud Le Pladec promised that every bridge along the parade route will have dancers on it. Le Pladec will lead 400 dancers out of the total 3,000 artists who are set to take part in the Paris 2024 Opening and Closing Ceremonies, all decked out in one-of-a-kind costumes by Daphne Burki .

The French television presenter serves as the costume director for the show, leading a team of hundreds of dressmakers, hair stylists and makeup artists. Burki’s focus on sustainability also means there will be many vintage and upcycled pieces used in the ceremonies, mixed in with newer creations.

What will the athletes be wearing?

Artists will not be the only ones showing their style at the Opening Ceremony. With a line-up of luxury brands designing athlete uniforms, expect the Olympians to shine as well.

Team USA mix preppy jackets with jeans for a cool, all-American look, while Italian athletes will show up in casual, dark blue sets . Hosts France worked with a luxury brand to come up with vests and jackets that tie in with the general Paris 2024 look.

Other teams, such as Canada, Great Britain and Sweden , opted for a more athleisure look, all evoking the colour palettes of their national flags.

Some nations went even further with the patriotic details. Mongolian outfits have already created a buzz on social networks for their intricate embroidery and traditional silhouettes .

Brazil and Guatemala ’s looks are also sure to turn heads. Brazil’s denim jackets feature animals that are native to the country, while the Guatemalan athletes are dressed up in folkloric hats and bags to make a colourful statement on the Seine.

What are the different ways to watch the Opening Ceremony?

Almost 600,000 people will be able to enjoy the Opening Ceremony in person. True to its slogan, “Games Wide Open”, Paris 2024 tried to make the event accessible to as many people as possible by taking it outside of the traditional stadium setting.

There were 222,000 free tickets available to watch the parade from the upper banks of the Seine, in addition to 104,000 paid tickets on the lower quays. This marks the first Opening Ceremony where most spectators will not pay an admission fee – another historic milestone for Paris 2024.

Those in Paris who could not get tickets will be able to watch the Opening Ceremony on 80 giant screens set up throughout the city.

An additional 1.5 billion people from around the world are expected to tune into the television broadcasts of the ceremony.

Find the Paris 2024 Media Rights Holders in your country here .

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For the first time, the opening ceremony is unfolding outdoors and outside of a stadium. A nautical parade of 85 boats carrying some 10,500 athletes from each Olympic delegation will unfold along the Seine running through the city, starting from the Pont d’Austerlitz and culminating at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.

More than 3,500 actors, dancers and musical performers will take their marks on Paris’ historical sites, bridges and rooftops. Jolly, who is best known for his rock-opera musical “Starmania,” has created 12 tableaux, or scenes, that will encapsulate the ambition of these Paris Olympics to mix postcard-worthy settings with ultra-contemporary artists, choreography, costumes and props. Bringing the Summer Olympics back to Paris for the first time in a century, these games will also stand out as the first ever gender-balanced edition.

However, the weather isn’t playing ball, as rain is expected to fall down during festivities. But organizers have made sure no technical glitches could ruin the show by pre-recording the voices of all performers, while immersive audio from the performances will be produced through walls positioned along the Seine.

Read on for the biggest moments from this year’s Olympics opening ceremony, updating live.

Zizou Kicked Things Off

Then things went gaga.

After the opening video, Lady Gaga took over headline proceedings and on a flamboyant note, giving a colorful performance of Renée Jeanmaire’s “Mon Truc en Plumes” (My Thing With Feathers). She was accompanied by a troupe of dancers from the revered Moulin Rouge cabaret and played on a piano floating down the Seine. Although this marks the first time Gaga has performed at the Olympics, she has sang in French before – Edith Piaf’s La Vie en Rose — in Bradley Cooper’s “A Star is Born.” This is to be her biggest performance to date, topping her 2017 SuperBowl Halftime Show. 

Celine Dion Brought it All to a Tear-Jerking Close

As had been widely – and excitedly — touted in the days leading up the event, Celine Dion made a spectacular and emotional comeback performance as the opening night ceremony drew to a close, her first live show since disclosing that she had a rare medical disorder in 2022. The Canadian icon and Queen of Power Ballads didn’t just sing Edith Piaf’s “Hymne A L’Amour,” but did so halfway up the Eiffel Tower and beneath a set of giant Olympic rings. No, you’re crying!

Vive La Rock!

In a segment dedicated to the French revolution, local metal icons Gojira pulled out their angular guitars for a head-banging performance alongside French-Swiss opera singer Marina Viotti. Adding to the dramatic display, they appeared in front of castle while cannons belched out fire.

‘Pookie’ on the Pont

French-Malian singer Aya Nakamura, who ranks as the world’s most popular contemporary French-speaking artist, sang her two biggest hits, “Pookie” and “Djadja,” whose lyrics were laced with Aznavour’s “Ma Boheme” and “For Me Formidable.” Dancing and singing on the Pont des Arts, she was accompanied by the orchestra of the French Republican Guard and 36 choristers from the French Army. 

There were some exquisitely choreographed dance performances throughout the entire show, most taking place all along the Seine. From a high-kicking Moulin Rouge show by dancers kitted out in pink, to an extreme splashy display featuring hundreds of performers in a fountain and one in which dancers looking like hotel bellboys pushed around large Louis Vuitton cases (LVMH is a sponsor, of course). There were also some quieter individual performances, including a ballet display on a rooftop.

Parkour Mystery?

A trip to the minions.

In a special segment dedicated to French filmmaking, there were nods to the Lumiere Brothers and their groundbreaking “The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station” (the one where people thought the train was coming through the cinema screen) plus Georges Méliès sci-fi classic “A Trip to the Moon.” But much of the time was devoted to more contemporary icons of local cinema, the banana-loving, nonsense-talking yellow creatures known as the Minions. While the “Despicable Me” franchise may be produced by Universal’s U.S. animation powerhouse Illumination, at the helm has been French filmmaker Pierre-Louis Padang Coffin, who co-directed four films and provided most of the Minions iconic voices. In honor of this — and perhaps Illumination’s French tax rebate — an extended and specially-made animation was shown in which Kevin, Stuart, Bob and co attempted various sports in a submarine (with predictably disastrous results).

Gender Balancing Act

Kicking off the first ever gender-balanced edition of the Olympics, the ceremony also fittingly celebrated 10 French female icons, including philosopher Simone de Beauvoir; Simone Veil, an Auschwitz survivor who championed abortion rights in France; Louise Michel, a 19th century political activist and leader of the French anarchist movement; Olympe de Gouges, an 18th century social reformer and playwright; Alice Milliat, a pioneer of women’s sport; Gisele Halimi, a Tunisian-French lawyer and feminist; and Alice Guy, the first female filmmaker, among others. These women were feted as part of the Sororité, Sisterhoo tableau. Jolly said “the French national anthem becomes a symbol of unification and a call to pay tribute to the women of France’s history, represented by 10 golden statues emerging from the Seine.” Last time Paris hosted the Paris Olympics, in 1902, there were only 2% of female athletes. Estanguet said inclusiveness was a key goal for these Olympics. 

100m Drag Race

Fashion was — of course — a part of the Olympic festivities, with a special section towards the end involving a red-carpeted catwalk over a bridge on which various models and celebrities showcased the work of young French designers while local DJ-producer Barbara Butch took care of the music. Alongside the DJ various stars of “Drag Race France” were spotted, including contestants Paloma and Piche and host Nicky Doll. The “Assassin’s Creed”-y parkour athlete also turned up on the runway, performing some impressive one-handed cartwheels (he was still carrying the Olympic flame).

Rain (and LeBron James in a Plastic Poncho)

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