This is a dreadfully boring way to begin, and I invite you to remove it from your public speaking toolbox permanently.Ī few minutes of focused thinking should be all you need to come up with an opening that leads intelligently into your topic without sounding like everyone else’s presentation in this field.Īnd remember to avoid “introducing your Introduction,” like this: “Let me start out with a story…”, or, “I heard an amusing anecdote the other day….” Just tell us the story, the anecdote, or the in-the-know reference that will delight these listeners. Primacy won’t have much of a chance to operate, for instance, if you use the dreary “Today, I’d like to talk about…” approach in your opening. The good news is that since you know your topic well and you’re psyched up to get your message across, you should be well positioned to succeed. Neither will happen unless you can grab their attention sufficiently enough that they’re ready, willing, and able to listen to you spin your verbal magic! You Can Be Creative, Can’t You?Īchieving this objective takes thought, a bit of imagination, and yes, a little creativity. Your audience, in other words, needs to be both fully engaged and predisposed favorably toward you and your message. (3) The first minute is when you introduce your message and tell the audience why they need to hear it. (2) Your opening sets the entire tone of your presentation (including whether you’ll be interesting or not). After that point, you’ll be able to change those opinions about as easily as you can change a hamster into a ham sandwich. (1) Audiences make value judgments about you, your organization, and your message in the first 30-60 seconds. Here are three reasons why your Introduction-whether in a live or virtual talk-needs to be engaging and interesting immediately: In terms of public speaking, of course, this translates into your Introduction and Conclusion. Primacy states that people remember most vividly what they hear at the beginning of a talk and recency says those same people will strongly recall what you say at the end. The two concepts are primacy and recency. My next blog here at FON, “How to End a Speech Vividly and Memorably,” will deal with the other end of your presentation: your Conclusion. I’ll discuss both concepts here, then provide some powerful tools for your opening gambit: your speech Introduction. When it comes to influencing listeners in speeches, presentations, videos and podcasts, two concepts explain why you need to nail your beginning and ending. You’re just not sure how … or for that matter, exactly why. You probably already know that starting out strongly is something you need to do. To learn how, take a look at my essential e-book, “ How to Start a Speech.”) Your Opening Gambit (One way to do that, of course, is to begin with power and purpose. There’s just one problem: how do you start the thing off with a bang? You’ve put together an excellent presentation or video that you know is going to meet your audience’s needs. Let’s say you’re explaining your group or organization’s philosophy of integrative health. Speaking with that level of focus is important, I said, because your material alone-no matter how strong-can’t create the responses you’re looking for in stakeholders. In my previous blog in this space, I discussed the concept of mindfulness, and how incorporating mindful speaking can benefit your integrative medicine practice or research.
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