“Hello. My name is Tom Dowd. How are you doing today? Today
we are going to talk about (insert boring topic introduction here)….”
How many presentations have you heard with this type of canned
opening? It is a mainstay in business presentations. Don’t lose your
audience before you truly get started. Avoid telling them what you
plan to do until you have already grabbed their attention. We have
most likely been taught to tell audiences what we want to tell them, tell
them and then rehash what we have just told them. Sometimes, we are
so literal that the introduction becomes, “I am going to tell you about
blah blah blah…,” which I have heard too often delivered monotone,
with no voice inflection.
Just dive in with your attention-grabbing introduction. You can tell
them what you are about to tell them, but get their attention first. I have
shocked more than one concerned audience when I’ve broken into a
coughing fit as an introduction to an inspirational speech about a childhood
friend with cystic fibrosis. Start a speech with a song, a bang, a
powerful quote, or a question that demands an immediate response.
There are so many more creative openings than “Hello, my name is….”
Your audience should be in for a surprise. You can give them one from
the start. It will set the tone for the rest of the presentation.
Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):
- Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
- Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
- Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
- The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
- From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
- The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood
See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com. Book, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only) purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com