STARTING YOUR SPEECH five ways to open your presentation

Good openings to speeches count for a lot. They don't guarantee a good result for your speech – but it's a near certainty for success.

Starting your speech comes down to your choice and style. Choose something with which you are comfortable. And to make it even simpler there are at least five ways to open your speech:

1) Novelty. An innovative way to open your speech might take advantage of external props, lighting or sound effects. It could involve you speaking from somewhere other than the podium – perhaps from the middle of the audience seating area. The novelty opening aims to build interest and appreciation right from the start.

2) Drama. A dramatic opening to your speech could involve a serious tone of voice, an exclamation or a shout. It might entail a news item or some note of heightened urgency. Dramatic and novelty openings might well be considered together when opening your presentation.

3) Ask a question. When you raise a rhetorical question during your opening you don't expect it to be answered by your audience. Instead you use the question to set the framework for your speech. You pose an answer and then build the interest.

4) Humour. A humorous opening should succeed in setting the tone for your speech. But note that good humour has to be planned and timed to perfection. Practise and test this way of opening your speech. Note also that any humour should be safe for your particular audience.

5) Reference. Referring to other events, people, places and pastimes can be an effective way to open your speech. References set out parallel paths, connections and links that deserve further exploration. The most popular of all speech openings, the reference is a simple and effective start.

How you actually open your presentation is a matter of personal choice and style. There are several options always available to you. But your choice has purpose. Your opening aims to lay out the common ground with your audience. It sets the tone for everything that follows. It builds interest. And it affirms why you are qualified to speak on the subject.

You can find out more ways to begin a speech and other public speaking  techniques when you participate in a PresentPerfect^TM skills training course at one of more than 40 UK training venues.

"A quotation in a speech, article or book is like a rifle in the hands of an infantryman. It speaks with authority"

Brendan Francis