If you can’t grab people’s attention in the first minute – the magic minute – you’ll struggle to keep them on board for the rest of your presentation. Thanks to social media, our attention spans have shrunk. Presenters need to work hard to keep people’s attention. Give yourself and the audience a head start with an engaging opener to make the first minute magic.
Here are eight ideas to hook your audience in from the beginning.
1. Acknowledge the audience’s problem
Before you present, research your audience. Delve into a company or organisation to better understand their goals and pain points. Begin your talk by commending their wins or commiserating with their recent losses. Know the names of all the decision-makers. People love to feel acknowledged and important.
2. Link your topic to a current news headline
What’s making the headlines? Do any of them dovetail with your topic to give it currency and immediacy? Be aware, though, that most headlines are usually negative. Unless you are offering a solution, such as combatting escalating petrol prices with affordable electric vehicles.
3. Use an arresting image or a relevant prop for a demonstration
For years, climate experts and concerned locals on Sydney’s northern beaches had tried to convince the authorities to build a sea wall to protect properties against storms along the coast. Vast volumes of written reports and data failed to spark action. When a big storm finally washed away sections of beachfront homes, it was the photos of living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms exposed to the elements that woke everyone up. Sofas, beds and kitchen tables teetered on the edge of broken floors. People feared they might be next and demanded action.
4. Start with a startling statistic or unusual fact
Founder of OzHarvest Ronni Kahn starts her pitches or presentations with some sobering statistics designed to jolt people out of their complacency, such as one third of all our food is wasted and one in five grocery bags will end up in land fill. It’s hard to ignore those numbers.
Make sure your statistics link back to your message. Don’t draw too long a bow or you’ll lose credibility.
5. Ask a thought-provoking question
When you start with a question, you are inviting the audience’s immediate engagement, rather than their passive attention. Here are some ideas to get the ball rolling:
- If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
- What’s the number one threat to your business?
- What’s your worst habit, and what stops you from dropping it?
When you ask a question, give the audience time to think and respond. Ask people to share and give only positive feedback. Don’t judge or criticise. This is the beginning of your talk; you want to set up a positive framework.
6. Start with a famous quote
Starting with a relevant, funny or thoughtful quote can set the tone of your presentation and get people thinking. For example, if you’re addressing teenagers, you could put up a slide with this quote from Lady Gaga: ‘social media is, quite frankly, the toilet of the internet.’ You might ask for a show of hands if they agree. Raise your own hand to demonstrate. Use the result to kickstart the conversation.
It doesn’t have to be a quote from a famous person. It could be a quote from your CEO or even a satisfied or disgruntled customer whose feedback provoked change.
7. Break the ice with humour
Not everyone’s a stand-up comic, but a gentle joke, especially when something goes wrong with the technology, can help break the ice and make people feel more comfortable. Keep your jokes family-friendly so as not to offend anyone. You don’t need to have the audience in stitches, just add a little lightness and levity. Laughing will put you and your audience in a better mood. And if your joke flops, own it. ‘Mm, that joke was a lot funnier in my head,’ or ‘You can blame ChatGPT for that one.’
8. Tell a personal story or anecdote
We humans love stories. We’ve been telling them since we could first talk. Sharing stories is a potent way to draw people in. While AI is useful for research, generating ideas and writing standard content, it’s not yet a substitute for personal human stories – with all their flaws, quirks and unique perspectives. Tell a personal story to make your presentation memorable. Personalisation is a powerful storytelling tool. It reveals something about the speaker, and no one knows your story better than you do.
Theresa Miller
Theresa Miller has spent decades working as a journalist and now media trainer, coaching people across all industries – from CEOs and academics to climate campaigners, entrepreneurs and artists – to communicate confidently, clearly and concisely. In Speak Up – she shows you how to step up to the microphone, tell your story or explain your cause and make an impact.
https://unsw.press/books/speak-up/
https://www.audible.com.au/pd/Speak-Up-Audiobook/B0GS6TH8P9?source
Trending
Popular
