Simon Hall writes...
I’m happy to say this horror show doesn’t happen to me very often now.
That’s a comfort, making me hope my teaching, and sometimes preaching, is having an effect…
And word of these banned beginnings to a talk, presentation, or any form of public speaking has spread here in Cambridge.
But! I did suffer one of the terrible trio last week…
And winced, grimaced, and had to curl my toes in my shoes in order to stop myself from saying something.
Or, knowing me, probably yelling.
What is this dreaded start to a talk, I suspect I can hear you asking?
The undisputed number one of my three most detested taboos.
It goes like this:
- Hello, can you hear me ok?
Aaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrggggggghhhhh!!
Stop for a moment to consider what such a start says about your talk.
Maybe... if it’s the best way you can begin, is the rest really worth hearing?
And as for yourself as the presenter…
Does it show command of the moment, authority, and confidence?
I don’t think I need to say any more, do I?!
How to avoid even being tempted into this trap?
Get to the venue early.
Check the IT and sound systems are working, where to stand and how much to project your voice.
That way you can stride out with confidence and not worry whether everyone can hear you.
At number two of the terrible trio of starts comes this:
- Thank you so much for inviting me, it’s an absolute honour to be here et cetera et cetera.
Again, is that really the best way you can begin?
Will it impress and intrigue an audience from the very start?
Once again, let’s say no more.
If you have thanks to offer, leave them for towards the end of your talk.
But not the finale itself:
That should be an emphatic rendition of your key message.
Finally, to my third most loathed beginning to a presentation:
- Let me introduce myself. I’m…
You really don’t need to do this.
On pretty much every occasion, the audience will have had some information about who is speaking, and their subject.
Even if they haven’t, why not smash straight into your talk with a killer opening line…
And then introduce yourself afterwards?
Which of those two strategies shows authority and confidence, and is most likely to make an audience want to hear more?
The start is the most important part of a talk, because modern attention spans are so short.
Fail to engage your audience from the beginning, and you risk not taking them with you at all as they drift away onto their phones.
Far better to launch straight into your story, give us a sense of your authority and character, and hook us into wanting to hear more.
Then introduce yourself, if you feel the need to do so.
Simple as that.
For example, if I was giving a talk on what we’ve discussed in this blog, I might open it like this:
- Do you want to know how to interest, engage, and impress an audience from the very start of a presentation? And equally, how very much not to do so?
Straight into the story, a sense of my character and authority (however quirky)...
And hopefully a hook to leave the audience wanting to find out what happens next.
Here endeth the lesson on the best way to start - and not to start - a presentation.
By the way, can you hear me ok? Can you hear me at the back there…?
