A good presentation or speech starts with a good introduction. Your introduction should have three main characteristics:
1. It gets the audience’s attention.
2. It gives the topic and core message of presentation.
3. Gives a brief overview of what will be discussed in presentation.
It is very important that you grab the audience’s attention from the very beginning. If you fail to do so, your presentation could be doomed from the start.
Here are some helpful techniques that you may want to use during your introduction:
1. Use a famous quote. A great quote is a good way to start your speech. Make sure your quote can be tied into the message of your presentation.
2. Tell a joke. Humor is a good way to begin a presentation if humor comes naturally to you. It’s a great way to break the ice in order to ease tension and get your audience to relax. However, if you are not a good joke teller, steer clear of this technique.
3. Tell a story. Tell a short compelling story that will go well with your presentation. Please make sure it IS A SHORT STORY.
4. Encourage audience participation. A great way to get audience participation during the introduction is doing the “show of hands” method. Conduct a short survey with a show of hands. Again, it should go well with your presentation or speech.
5. Make a Thought Provoking and Bold Statement. This technique will only work if you speak with a loud voice that is in contrast to your normal tone of voice.
Using any one of these techniques is great way to start a speech or presentation.