4 The First Minute: The Most Important Part of Your Speech

It is imperative that you start your speech strongly. An audience will quickly decide on the level of engagement they will have with your presentation. If you can bring them on board right away, you will have a much easier time keeping them there. The following are ways to create a powerful beginning.

A. Capture Your Audience’s Attention

We are all preoccupied. In recent years, it appears that people’s attention spans have grown shorter. You may even be able to examine this tendency in yourself. When did you last give your full attention to someone communicating with you? You may have started with this noble intention, but likely, within a few moments, your mind began wandering in many different directions: “What was that strange sound my car was making this afternoon?” “What would be good for dinner?”

Everyone has experienced this phenomenon in themselves while others were speaking. It is not intentional; it is just how our minds work. I’ve experienced it firsthand as an audiobook fan. I begin listening to and following the story attentively, but often, within a short time, my thoughts drift far away, and I realize I haven’t heard a word for five minutes.

This is similar to the experience that an audience has when listening to a speech. The friendly folks in the audience may be sitting politely and looking up at the speaker attentively, but their thoughts may be a million miles away.

Without a strong motivation, trying to direct an audience’s attention toward your speech is not unlike herding cats! You must set up a strategy for accomplishing this vital task at the beginning of your speech. You should not expect your audience’s attention to come to you automatically; you must work for it. There are many ways to accomplish this; let me suggest a few effective methods:

Make Your First Words Dynamite

Your speech opening can capture your audience’s attention if it has a significant impact. Make your first words like a headline in a newspaper. In a limited number of words, the headline needs to lure potential readers by capturing their attention and persuading them to read more.

Can you create an opening that cuts through distractions and channels attention toward you? What choice of words will motivate an audience to listen? It could be a compelling fact or statistic placed at the beginning. Here is an example of a strong start:

With this introduction, you have captured your audience’s attention in addition to citing the benefits your audience will gain from your speech. Remember, the most motivating factor in reaching an audience is to satisfy the question, “What’s in it for me?”

B. Always Relate your Topic Directly to your Audience’s Needs

You are reading this book because you feel it will benefit you in the future. Perceived benefit is the motivating factor in almost everything we do. Let your audience know within the first few moments of your speech how listening to you will benefit them. Do not allude to it indirectly. Inform your audience about what they will receive in exchange for their attention.

C. Who is This Person?

The first question audience members will ask themselves is: “Is this person competent and trustworthy about the topic being discussed? What is their personal interest and connection to the topic? In other words, “Does the speaker know what he/she is talking about, and does the speaker care about the topic?”

It is essential to provide a little background about yourself. You do not want to recite your resume or belabor your credentials; in a couple of sentences, let them know you are competent and personally engaged with the topic.

D. Everyone Loves a Story

Ever since our early ancestors huddled around campfires, people have been drawn to stories for instruction and entertainment. The contemporary multibillion-dollar storytelling industries of movies, television, and book publishing attest to this. We need new stories generated incessantly to satisfy our insatiable thirst. Utilize this need to your advantage as a speaker, and consider starting your speech with a story to capture your audience.

Imagine a speaker is giving a presentation about the importance of wearing seatbelts. If the speaker began by saying, “I would like to talk to you about the importance of wearing seatbelts,” it would not likely create much enthusiasm. What if our speaker began with a story? Here’s an example:

Which one of these openings is more compelling? If possible, you want your audience sitting on the edge of their seats from the beginning. Any good writer knows you do not start an article by giving readers facts and statistics. It is much more effective to begin with a personal story and build from there.

Here is another example: “Mary Jones lives in a run-down apartment on the south side of Chicago.” The writer then tells her life story and transitions to the more prominent theme of poverty in America. This same technique is proper for speechwriting. A story will hook your audience from the beginning and capture their attention.

E. Get the Focus on You

Asking a rhetorical question or having your audience actively respond is also an effective way to begin a speech. You might start off with, “I’d like to see a show of hands for anyone who is thinking about buying a new car soon,” or “Please write down three financial goals that you wish to achieve in the next five years.”

These two opening statements engage the audience and prompt them to move from a passive listening role to a more active interaction. Many successful motivational speakers know the value of this approach. It is like a “wake-up call” for the audience.

Sometimes, speakers will have their audience stand up and stretch, interact with the person next to them, or shout out a slogan. This type of activity prepares an audience to listen to a speaker. It can also add value by signaling that your speech is about to begin. Often, before speeches, audience members chat and socialize. Rather than standing awkwardly at the podium, clearing your throat, and waiting for them to be silent, you can get your audience to turn their attention to you more gracefully.

F. Get to It!

A widely quoted piece of public speaking advice imparted over the last century is: “Tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them.”

Let us focus on the first section of this lesson.

Suppose you were to get inside a typical audience member’s mind and uncover their biggest concern before listening to a speech. It might be: “I hope this speaker doesn’t ramble on endlessly without direction and waste my time.”

When you briefly summarize what you will be talking about, your audience will breathe a sigh of relief. Your audience knows that you have a plan in place.

For example: “I want to tell you how to enhance your car safety. First, I want to convince you that wearing a seatbelt is always a good idea; second, I will focus on what it means to be a defensive driver; and finally, I’d like to review the advances that have been made in car safety features in recent years.”

One can argue that the introduction is the most essential part of your speech. With a strong start, you will find that your audience will keep listening as you progress through the rest of your presentation.