The opening of your presentation is critical to grabbing the attention of the audience. Think of how TV shows tease you to stay tuned for more after the commercial break. Your opening needs to contain this same sort of tease. You want your audience on the edge of their seat wanting more. There are three components to our killer opening. And the first objective is to quick one minute or less introduction that establishes both credibility and enthusiasm.
The content of this brief intro should state the purpose of your presentation, which may be restating your Twitter headline that we discussed in the previous lesson. This headline should be suspenseful and surprising. Make your audience think to themselves. Hey, this sounds like news I've never heard before. The second objective is to get our audience attention and develop rapport. There are a lot of ways we can do this.
You might start with a personal story which may be either entertaining or emotional. You may start with a shocking statement. statistics to catalyze your audience engaging their brain in the discussion and by figuratively saying wake up and pay attention. In the same way you might open with a question the same way I was asking in the introduction to this course about what made for an effective presentation. This to get your audience thinking about the subject matter. Coming out of this, your audience should have some sense of the desired outcome you have in mind.
The third objective is to give an executive preview of your presentation. Think of this as a movie trailer. Our preview gives the audience just a glimpse of what lies ahead. It also provides a roadmap so that they will stay with you throughout the presentation. It could be an agenda, it could be an anchoring graphic with different phases to show the natural breaks between the different ideas. There are a few other things for us to consider and delivering our killer open.
If our goal is to build energy, create excitement and attract audience interest, I think it might be helpful for us to review some of the things we should not do in our opening statement. First of all, never apologize for yourself or taking up their time. That's not the start we're looking for. I don't care if you're reviewing the latest pronouncements of the iasb or delving into the technical bulletins of the IRS. You never say something along the lines of I'll try to get through this as quickly as possible because I know you all have better things to do. Second, jokes, jokes are very risky.
They often have nothing to do with our presentation and when they fall flat, they destroyed the ethos and pathos connection we have with our audience. Instead of going for a laugh, it's a lot less risky just to go for a smile, tell them relevant and personal. Funny story. That way, if no one laughs there's still contextual value to the story. Third, nothing kills the mood quicker than talking about logistics. For instance, In the audience about how much time you plan to speak or thanking the sponsors or telling people that you're glad to be here, leave that information for someone else to convey.
The agenda is an important element of your opening, but it's also not your leadoff statement. In this short lesson, we talked about how to make a splash when you kick off your presentations. Three points to remember in this lesson, first, hit them with a headline that engages them immediately and specifies the purpose of the presentation. Don't be afraid to give them your best stuff to kick things off. follow it up with an attention grabber that piques audience interest challenges their intellect and leaves them wanting for more information. Third, give the audience a preview, but only in a way that foreshadows your key messages and allows them to keep track of your progression through the presentation.
So before you open your next presentation with the words, I'm glad to be here. Consider whether there's a better way to grab your audience's attention. In our next lesson, we're going to talk about how you get your message across. Until then, I'm Blair cook.