How to start a speech

examples of speeches

If you bore your audience from the beginning, there is little chance that your message will get across effectively. Don’t start by saying welcome, or thank you, or any polite platitudes that are almost guaranteed to lose your audience in seconds.
When you are standing in front of a group to speak, the first few seconds are about convincing your audience that you are worth listening to. How do you quickly develop personal credibility? Credibility is developed primarily by demonstrating confidence and competence:
Your appearance, your nonverbal language, and your vocal quality are three ways to demonstrate confidence quickly, but to develop personal credibility, you’ll also need to demonstrate competence. Simply put, you will have to tell the audience why you are competent.
Explain to the audience why you are competent. Find one or two pertinent details in your experience that relate to the topic. The audience doesn’t need a full resume, just a brief detail. Take some time to note specific details from their background or experience that relate specifically to subject matter competence.

types of speeches

This is the same situation that exists between you and your major competitors in the marketplace today. You are going to have to use all of your leadership skills to win the big marketing battles of the future.”
“Twenty percent of the people in our society make 80 percent of the money. Are you a member of the 20 percent? If not, would you like to join the top 20 percent or even the 10 percent? Well, in the next few minutes, I’m going to give you some ideas to help you become some of the highest paid people in our society. Would that be a good goal or objective for the time you have to spend on your own?

examples of persuasive speeches

Even after spending hours preparing and practicing your speech, when it comes time to get in front of the audience and deliver the talk, you only have a few seconds to create the atmosphere in the room and build rapport. Learn how to start a speech and make a great impression on your audience using these 7 powerful tips.
Starting a speech with a story, personal anecdote or case study are some of the most effective ways to grab the audience’s attention. While your story can be around an event (see #2 above), personal stories are best for humanizing your message and helping the audience become more engaged in what you have to say.
Figuring out how to start a speech doesn’t have to be difficult, even something as simple as introducing the problem you want to solve can be effective. Choose a problem that most of your audience shares to really capture their attention. For example, you could start by saying, “X percent of Baby Boomers don’t have enough retirement money set aside for them to support themselves for the rest of their lives. We need to address this problem and take steps to make sure that everyone who retires is able to support themselves for the rest of their lives.

phrases to start a speech

If you bore your audience from the beginning, there is little chance that your message will get across effectively. Don’t start by saying welcome, or thank you, or any polite platitudes that are almost guaranteed to lose your audience in seconds.
When you are standing in front of a group to speak, the first few seconds are about convincing your audience that you are worth listening to. How do you quickly develop personal credibility? Credibility is developed primarily by demonstrating confidence and competence:
Your appearance, your nonverbal language, and your vocal quality are three ways to demonstrate confidence quickly, but to develop personal credibility, you’ll also need to demonstrate competence. Simply put, you will have to tell the audience why you are competent.
Explain to the audience why you are competent. Find one or two pertinent details in your experience that relate to the topic. The audience doesn’t need a full resume, just a brief detail. Take some time to note specific details from their background or experience that relate specifically to subject matter competence.