Every opening should be spectacular

Remember the Olympics opening ceremonies in Beijing? ….. or Sydney….. do you? Or do you forget? Does your audience remember your opening from last week’s presentation? Was their attention 100% as you started speaking, or were they still fiddling with their laptops and cell phones? Here are three tips that will make your next opening one for the record books:
1. Surprise the Audience
Start with a great story or an interesting question or some statistics that will blow them out of the water. I can remember one presentation I made to a city council. Before it was my turn to talk, I noticed that all the commissioners were falling asleep. To wake them up, I did a drum roll on the table – my subject was about horse training facilities (and I was simulating hoof beats). That really woke them up and they paid attention to my entire testimonial.
2. Think”team”
If beginning a presentation is really really difficult for you – you get out of breath and are on the verge of panic, try starting with something that involves the audience. It will take all the pressure off of you. Ask a question and get input from as many people in the audience as possible.
3. Develop some hype
Get the audience interested in the topic – tell them how they can benefit from listening to you…. will they save time, learn a new procedure, save money? How will you make their lives better? Tell them in the first minute, and you are guaranteed to increase their attention.
Enjoy the opening ceremony. It sets the stage. Flame on!

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