called a hook or a grabber.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Talking about your nervousness will make you more nervous and will make them look for signs of your nervousness. Just start your speech.
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?
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?
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Advanced Public Speaking Copyright © 2021 by Lynn Meade is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.
Last Updated: April 2, 2024 Fact Checked
This article was co-authored by Clinton M. Sandvick, JD, PhD . Clinton M. Sandvick worked as a civil litigator in California for over 7 years. He received his JD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998 and his PhD in American History from the University of Oregon in 2013. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 800,896 times.
An opening statement is the most important points in a trial and it provides an attorney with an opportunity to engage with the jury about their case. An opening statement should always include an introduction; a body, which includes a story and a discussion of disputes and weaknesses; and a conclusion.
To write an opening statement, start with your introductory remarks that summarize the case, state your theme, and intrigue the jurors. Then, go on to introduce your client, as well as any other witnesses involved in the case. Next, identify the main points of contention in the case and tell the jury your story of what happened from your client's point of view. You should also briefly mention any weaknesses in your case to lessen their impact when your opponent brings them up. Finally, conclude your opening statement by summarizing the theme of your case and asking the jury for a specific verdict. To learn how to rehearse and deliver your opening statement, scroll down! Did this summary help you? Yes No
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Published on 15 Feb 2022
Having a well written welcome speech that you’re confident about goes a long way in overcoming public speaking nervousness.
A great welcome speech sets the tone for the conference. It makes everyone feel welcome and creates the appropriate environment for the exchange of knowledge. The speech should broadly outline the contents of the event and, most importantly, make everyone feel excited for what’s to come.
In this article, you will find our best tips to create a successful welcome speech and some examples with analysis for inspiration.
Formal vs. informal language.
The first thing you should decide is whether you want to use formal or informal language. For larger events that include scientists of various fields where everybody might not know each other, you may want to use formal language. For smaller yearly conferences for researchers in your field where most people know each other, it’s common to use informal language.
I find that, in general, a rather informal or casual speech is more successful. That way you set the tone and bring everyone to the same level, promoting questions, comments, and socialization during the event.
Start with a warm welcome. As alluded before, this can range from very formal (“Good morning to all attendees”) to informal (“Hello and welcome, everyone!”). These will be your first words, so you need to grab everyone’s attention—use a clear, strong voice.
A smile goes a long way to make everyone feel welcome and in a good mood. Make eye contact as you start addressing the room.
It can be great to inject a bit of humor, if appropriate. It could be something as simple as, “We are lucky to be in such a beautiful location with so many beaches close by. I hope that is not the main reason you’re here!”.
Is it a first-time event, a yearly conference put on by a scientific organization? In any case, you’ll want to mention the motivation behind the conference, what brings you together. If the event is related to a specific organization, you can mention its history and purpose.
It is common for scientific conferences to have one or more distinguished guests or speakers. Mention them and thank them for accepting the invitation to participate. Make sure you have their names, credentials and affiliations correct.
If the event is being held for the first time, thank the creators by name. Give some words of appreciation to the organizing committee. You don’t need to mention every single person involved, but rather the essential ones.
Mention the main topic(s) of the conference, the common interests for all attendees. For annual conferences of scientific organizations, a specific subject within the field is usually chosen for each year. For example, for an annual meeting of an immunology organization, the year's topic could be “Infectious Diseases” or “Immunotherapies.”
Briefly outline the event’s agenda. You can mention whether there will be sessions with specific (sub)topics, poster presentations, spaces for exchange and networking. Don’t get into too many details. You can direct people to the conference brochure, if there is one, for specifics on the schedule.
End your speech on a high note by getting everyone excited about the talks to come. Highlight all the strengths of the conference: any high-impact research that will be shown, the variety of topics that will be covered, the great number of attendees, the different countries represented.
If the first speaker follows your welcome speech, don’t forget to introduce him or her. Introduce them with their full name and credentials and give a brief description of their career achievements.
Practice with colleagues and friends to get some feedback and familiarize yourself with your speech. You want to be familiar enough that you don’t need to look down at your notes constantly. However, don’t over rehearse. You don’t want to sound robotic, but rather natural and conversational.
Be sure you know how to pronounce all the names in your speech. Make eye contact with the audience and with specific attendees as you mention their names.
In general, you should keep your speech short, usually around 5 minutes. Consult with the organizing committee so you know how long they expect you to talk.
Virtual events are very common right now and likely will be for a while. This creates some challenges when giving a welcome speech. Making eye contact with the attendees is not possible when you’re on a video call. That being said, you can still give a great speech and get people excited virtually. Just make sure that people can clearly see and hear you before you start.
1. welcome and opening remarks - 2015 coast/ssew symposium.
In the above example of opening remarks for a scientific symposium , the speaker starts by welcoming everyone with a smile and lots of eye contact. It seems the attendees are in the same field of research and among familiar faces. Accordingly, her language is informal. She adds a bit of humor when she talks about collecting money in a bowl.
She follows by explaining the origin of the organization that the symposium is for, along with the main topics that will be covered. In the middle, she asks the audience some questions to keep them engaged. Finally, she creates positive expectations by presenting a “sneak peek” of brand-new research and mentioning “leaders” in the field of microbiome.
Read this welcome speech for an annual international conference.
This seems to be a scientific conference with attendees from various countries and from a broad range of fields. The formal language used is therefore appropriate. The speaker welcomes the attendees and introduces the distinguished keynote speakers.
The origins and goals of the conference are outlined. He broadly describes the topics that will be discussed. Then, he thanks the organizing committee, companies and volunteers involved. Finally, he mentions “internationally notorious speakers,” a great way to spark people’s interest.
In this welcoming address, the speaker starts by warmly welcoming the audience. He uses rather informal language since it seems this is a regularly held event where most people know each other. He throws in some humor, directly addresses the audience, and asks them questions to grab their attention at the beginning.
By conveying the value that the attendees will find in the lectures to come, he creates anticipation. He makes lots of eye contact throughout and doesn’t even have notes! By the end, he tells a personal story and connects it to the theme of the event.
With these tips and examples, we hope that you are inspired to write a great welcome speech. Remember to keep it brief, conversational, and not overly formal, unless necessary. Eye contact and a smile go a long way.
If you’re looking for more general conference presenting tips, you should read our 15 Best Tips for Presenting at a Conference .
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Hrideep barot.
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!
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:
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.
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.
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
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:
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!”
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
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.
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
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.
(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.
*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!
*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.
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.
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.
“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.
“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.
“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!
“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!
“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.
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
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.
“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:
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.
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!
“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).
“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.
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
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.
“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.
“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:
“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.
“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!
“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.
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.
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.
“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.
“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.
“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.
“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.
“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!
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.
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.
“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.
“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.
“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.
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.
“ 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.
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.
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.
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.
*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.
*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.
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
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.
(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.
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.
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.
“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.
“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!
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.
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.
“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:
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.
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
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.
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).
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.
“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.
“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.
“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.
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.
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.
“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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By: Grace He | Updated: March 18, 2024
You found our list of opening and closing remarks for meetings .
Opening and closing remarks for meetings are statements that introduce and wrap up workplace get-togethers. The purpose of these remarks is to set the tone of the subject matter and summarize topics covered during the meeting. Examples of opening and closing remarks for meetings include quick welcomes to attendees, announcements explaining the reason for the meeting, and conclusions that wrap up the content covered.
Utilizing opening and closing remarks is among the top public speaking tips for employees . You can use conference jokes or conference quotes as your opening or closing remarks. These icebreaker jokes are a great addition to your conference agenda .
This list includes:
Here we go!
Preparing opening and closing remarks will provide definitive starting and ending points for your meetings. You can set the tone while alerting attendees to the main topic as well as sharing a list of agenda items. These remarks also create an opportunity to open your meeting with a warm welcome and close on a note of gratitude and encouragement.
Next, read about virtual workshop ideas and virtual brainstorming ideas , and team meeting tips .
Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about opening and closing remarks for meetings.
Opening and closing remarks for meetings are introductions and conclusions that bring a sense of organization to your agenda. You can use opening remarks to announce the topic of your meeting, while closing remarks will provide a wrap-up and alert attendees to any follow-up meetings or actions needed.
Good opening remarks are important because they set the tone for the meeting, set goalposts, and keep listeners engaged. Similarly, good closing statements summarize essential topics, establish goals for future sessions, and provide calls to action.
Some options for good opening remarks include quick reasons for the meeting and brief rundowns of topics you will cover. Choosing an opener that matches the tone of the topics you want to address is essential.
Preparing good closing remarks can be as simple as reiterating information already covered and assigning the next steps. Additionally, these remarks should leave meeting attendees with a sense of understanding and accomplishment. Examples of some good closing remarks include thank yous to workers for attending, confirmations of the following steps, and reminders of follow-up items.
Author: Grace He
People & Culture Director at teambuilding.com. Grace is the Director of People & Culture at teambuilding.com. She studied Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, Information Science at East China Normal University and earned an MBA at Washington State University.
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People & Culture Director at teambuilding.com.
Grace is the Director of People & Culture at teambuilding.com. She studied Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, Information Science at East China Normal University and earned an MBA at Washington State University.
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Ending a presentation on a high note is a skill that can set you apart from the rest. It’s the final chance to leave an impact on your audience, ensuring they walk away with the key messages embedded in their minds. This moment is about driving your points home and making sure they resonate. Crafting a memorable closing isn’t just about summarizing key points, though that’s part of it, but also about providing value that sticks with your listeners long after they’ve left the room.
To leave a lasting impression, your presentation’s conclusion should clearly reflect your core message. This is your chance to reinforce the takeaways and leave the audience thinking about your presentation long after it ends.
Start by recognizing what you want your audience to remember. Think about the main ideas that shaped your talk. Make a list like this:
These key points become the pillars of your core message.
Provide context by briefly relating back to the content of the whole presentation. For example:
Connecting these elements gives your message cohesion and makes your conclusion resonate with the framework of your presentation.
When you reach the end of your presentation, summarizing the main points helps your audience retain the important information you’ve shared. Crafting a memorable summary enables your listeners to walk away with a clear understanding of your message.
To effectively summarize your presentation, you need to distill complex information into concise, digestible pieces. Start by revisiting the overarching theme of your talk and then narrow down to the core messages. Use plain language and imagery to make the enduring ideas stick. Here are some examples of how to do this:
The Rule of Three is a classic writing and communication principle. It means presenting ideas in a trio, which is a pattern that’s easy for people to understand and remember. For instance, you might say, “Our plan will save time, cut costs, and improve quality.” This structure has a pleasing rhythm and makes the content more memorable. Some examples include:
Finally, you want to circle back to the key takeaways of your presentation. Rephrase your main points without introducing new information. This reinforcement supports your audience’s memory and understanding of the material. You might summarize key takeaways like this:
The final moments of your presentation are your chance to leave your audience with a powerful lasting impression. A strong conclusion is more than just summarizing—it’s your opportunity to invoke thought, inspire action, and make your message memorable.
A call to action is your parting request to your audience. You want to inspire them to take a specific action or think differently as a result of what they’ve heard. To do this effectively:
Example Phrases:
End your presentation with something memorable. This can be a powerful quote, an inspirational statement, or a compelling story that underscores your main points. The goal here is to resonate with your audience on an emotional level so that your message sticks with them long after they leave.
To hold your audience’s attention and ensure they leave with a lasting impression of your presentation, fostering interaction is key.
It’s important to integrate a Q&A session because it allows for direct communication between you and your audience. This interactive segment helps clarify any uncertainties and encourages active participation. Plan for this by designating a time slot towards the end of your presentation and invite questions that promote discussion.
Getting your audience involved can transform a good presentation into a great one. Use open-ended questions that provoke thought and allow audience members to reflect on how your content relates to them. Additionally, inviting volunteers to participate in a demonstration or share their experiences keeps everyone engaged and adds a personal touch to your talk.
At the end of your presentation, you have the power to leave a lasting impact on your audience. A persuasive ending can drive home your key message and encourage action.
When you’re concluding a presentation with the goal of selling a product or idea, employ carefully chosen sales and persuasion tactics. One method is to summarize the key benefits of your offering, reminding your audience why it’s important to act. For example, if you’ve just presented a new software tool, recap how it will save time and increase productivity. Another tactic is the ‘call to action’, which should be clear and direct, such as “Start your free trial today to experience the benefits first-hand!” Furthermore, using a touch of urgency, like “Offer expires soon!”, can nudge your audience to act promptly.
Your closing statement is a chance to solidify your professional image and leave a positive impression. It’s important to display confidence and poise. Consider thanking your audience for their time and offering to answer any questions. Make sure to end on a high note by summarizing your message in a concise and memorable way. If your topic was on renewable energy, you might conclude by saying, “Let’s take a leap towards a greener future by adopting these solutions today.” This reinforces your main points and encourages your listeners to think or act differently when they leave.
What are some creative strategies for ending a presentation memorably.
To end your presentation in a memorable way, consider incorporating a call to action that engages your audience to take the next step. Another strategy is to finish with a thought-provoking question or a surprising fact that resonates with your listeners.
Yes, using a quote can be very effective. For example, Maya Angelou’s “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel,” can reinforce the emotional impact of your presentation.
An effective conclusion should recap the main points succinctly, highlighting what you want your audience to remember. A good way to conclude is by restating your thesis and then briefly summarizing the supporting points you made.
To leave a strong impression, consider sharing a personal anecdote related to your topic that demonstrates passion and conviction. This helps humanize your content and makes the message more relatable to your audience.
A simple and sincere expression of gratitude is always appropriate. You might say, “Thank you for your attention and engagement today,” to convey appreciation while also acknowledging their participation.
A compelling closing sentence could be something like, “Together, let’s take the leap towards a greener future,” if you’re presenting on sustainability. This sentence is impactful, calls for united action, and leaves your audience with a clear message.
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Description, event details.
Federal Cybersecurity & Privacy Professionals Forum Meeting - August 27, 2024
Security and Privacy: general security & privacy
Activities and Products: conferences & workshops , standards development
COMMENTS
Remember to present your data in a clear, accessible way, and always cite your sources to maintain credibility. 10. Creating a Powerful Hook with Anecdotes and Quotations. Anecdotes and quotations can be a powerful tool in your opening speech, serving as hooks that draw your audience into your presentation.
3. Do's and Don'ts of Opening Remarks. 10 Types of 'Interesting' Opening Remarks. 1. Shock them with Statistics. 2. Props and Placards. 3. The Potential of A Promise.
Financial PowerPoint Template with Calculator by SlideModel. 5. Use the Word "Imagine". "Imagine," "Picture This," and "Think of" are better word choices for when you plan to begin your presentation with a quick story. Our brain loves interacting with stories. In fact, a captivating story makes us more collaborative.
11. "Let's embark on a journey through our discussion on…". 12. "I'm delighted to have the chance to share my insights on…". 13. "Thank you for the opportunity to present to such an esteemed audience on…". 14. "Let's set the stage for an engaging discussion about…". 15.
Like openings, the best closings share short, sweet, and specific qualities. Effective closings don't belabor points, but instead reiterate the key points in simple and motivational terms. Prolific advocates inject personal style into their delivery. They include strong themes and narratives that appeal to ethics, morality, and justice.
To save you time and effort, I have curated a list of 5 versatile case study presentation templates, each designed for specific needs and audiences. Here are some best case study presentation examples that showcase effective strategies for engaging your audience and conveying complex information clearly. 1. Lab report case study template.
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. Example: "They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but if the doctor is cute, forget the fruit!". 5.
Ask a puzzling question you promise to reveal in the end. Propose a riddle. Suggest that the audience complete a mathematical equation and promise to give the answer context during the speech. 21. The Activity Open - Of all the 25 ways to open, this one triggers the most immediate engagement.
Idea 4: Video. This could work just as marvellous as sharing an image and opening a short discussion on its interpretations. You could even start with a video and use it as a segue into your presentation. For example this video could be used as a great example for a marketing strategy by the brand and could be a great way to get the audience ...
1) A Quote - Name a topic, and more often than not there is a great quote or saying that suits your subject matter perfectly. An example - one that I often use to open a presentation dealing with public speaking: "It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.". - Mark Twain. 2) A "What If" Scenario ...
One of the best ways to open your speech with a buzz is to startle or shock them. You can shock an audience in many ways, but they all rest on the major senses of V.A.K.S: Visual. Auditory. Kinaesthetic (touch) and Smell. We don't want your audience tasting your talk, but it should leave a good taste in their mouths.
Make eye contact with your audience members and make sure they are still engaged with the information you're presenting. Carefully-chosen transitions are powerful ways to not only introduce the next segment, but also pull in an audience's attention all over again. 4. Tell a personal story. Telling a brief, personal story early in a ...
Start with a polite welcome and state your name. Follow with your job title and/or the reason you're qualified to speak on the topic being discussed. 2. State the Purpose of Your Presentation. Now that your audience knows who you are and your qualifications, you can state the purpose of your presentation.
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.
Analyze their response and tweak the joke accordingly if necessary. Starting your speech with humour means your setting the tone of your speech. It would make sense to have a few more jokes sprinkled around the rest of the speech as well as the audience might be expecting the same from you. 4.
A list of some of the best conference opening remarks that speakers can use when starting a presentation or meeting. ... Here is our list of the best conference opening remarks examples. Conference opening remarks examples are statements that introduce your meeting to attendees. Examples include serious opening conference remarks, funny opening ...
Theme of the Case. In the opening statement, a lawyer should provide the jury with a theme that will serve as. framework for every piece of evidence the jury hears during the case. The theme should communicate how the evidence will fit together, and why your client's position in the case is the right one. For instance, a lawyer defending a ...
Write your opening statement exactly as you want to present it; Reduce it to a general outline; then. Reduce it one last time to a key word outline that you may or may not use during your opening statement itself. 2. Practice your opening statement in front of an audience or in front of a mirror.
1. Welcome and Opening Remarks - 2015 COAST/SSEW Symposium. In the above example of opening remarks for a scientific symposium, the speaker starts by welcoming everyone with a smile and lots of eye contact. It seems the attendees are in the same field of research and among familiar faces.
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.
Opening and closing remarks for meetings are statements that introduce and wrap up workplace get-togethers. The purpose of these remarks is to set the tone of the subject matter and summarize topics covered during the meeting. Examples of opening and closing remarks for meetings include quick welcomes to attendees, announcements explaining the ...
30 Example Phrases: How to Conclude a Presentation. 1. "In summary, let's revisit the key takeaways from today's presentation.". 2. "Thank you for your attention. Let's move forward together.". 3. "That brings us to the end. I'm open to any questions you may have.".
The FORUM co-chair Katherine Schroeder provides opening remarks and provides an update from NIST's Computer Security Division and Office of Information Systems Management. ... Presentations 2024. Opening Remarks. Welcome and NIST Updates. August 27, 2024. Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to LinkedIn Share ia Email.