How you open your speech sets the tone and expectations of the presentation. In this excerpt from a workshop for teens about public speaking, I share some tips on how to open a speech.
To review, you can open your speech with
- A question
- A story
- A startling fact or figure
- A quote
The purpose of these various types of openings is to grab the audience’s attention and let them know what to expect.
Also, keep in mind that the body of your speech should take up the most time … the open and close should be much shorter … no more than about 5% of the total time of your speech.
The above video was excerpted from two 45-minute workshops I facilitated for a group of teens and young adults. I am available to speak to your group, both in-person and virtually, on a variety of topics. For more information, visit www.carmaspence.com/speaker.
