5 Attention-Grabbing Ways You Can Start Your Speech

Don’t read this blog post. Yes, I am serious. Don’t read this blog post at all! It’s of no value! 

 

Haha! Did I manage to grab your attention? 

Well, if you are reading this line, it surely means that I am successful! 

 

It is important to grab the attention of your audience in the first minute itself. If your speech does not have a hook, your audience will not listen to your entire speech. You might be giving a speech in front of your school, college or presenting a meeting in your office. The first few lines are capable of leaving a lasting impression on your audience.

This is the point at which your listeners form an opinion of you and what’s to come. The success of your presentation is dependent on capturing and retaining the attention of your audience.

 

Today I will be sharing 5 ways you can begin your speech:

 

1) Start your speech with an EMOTION 

We human beings immediately connect to emotions, be it positive or negative. After all, we human beings are emotional beings. We all might come from different places, different cultures, different upbringings. But, our emotions connect us. 

So, you need to leverage the emotional part of the speech to grab the attention of the listeners. Here is an example for you: 

 

Example: 

“The worst part about WFH is…” 

“I love to see people….” 

 

See? You could easily connect to it. 

 

2) Open your speech with a relevant question

It’s a sure-shot method to engage your audience. Opening the speech with a question instantly engages the audience. It helps in sparking curiosity in the audience and compels them to think. 

 

Example:

If your speech is about sharing your traveling experience

 Open the speech like:

“When was the last time you went for a trip?”

 

These questions will make the audience think and instantly involve them in your speech or presentation. 

 

3) Ask your audience to imagine things

Use this technique to change the status quo regarding any topic. When you ask your audience to imagine things, you help them to transfer from one situation to another. The audience begins to visualize things and also become a part of your journey. 

 

Example: 

“What if you could easily approach your crush?” 

“What if gravity suddenly ceases to exist?” 

 

4) Share surprising statistics/facts related to your topic

Commencing with unheard statistics can grab the audience’s attention. 

Numbers, statistics, and facts always help in situations where you want to give some social proof. Whenever you want to add a tinge of reality to your speech, you should add numbers or facts. 

 

Example

“Did you know that hot water will turn into ice faster than cold water?” 

“One-third of adults still sleep with a comfort object.”

 

5) Start your speech with a story 

We all have grown up listening to stories. So, we connect to it the most.

Stories help us to connect as humans. A well-told tale will compel listeners to lean in more than anything else. However, the story must be concise, with just the right amount of detail to bring it to life. It must be genuine and contain a “message,” or lesson, to support your point of view. 

 

Example

“When I was in college, I did something really fun..”

“I remember when I was playing tennis one day….” 

 

Takeaway

The start of your speech determines whether the other person will listen to your entire speech or not. So make sure to use the right hook to grab the attention of the listeners. 

 

Stay Awesome. Stay Productive.

-Divas Gupta


By divasgupta   |   May 9, 2022


5 responses to “5 Attention-Grabbing Ways You Can Start Your Speech”

  1. M Gunasekaran says:

    Yes it is correct, I observed in all meetings. I ensure that I start follow to grab the audience in future

  2. Paresh says:

    Yes it’s correct & worth it.

  3. Sindhuja M says:

    Yes it’s true.i also observed in many meetings.

  4. Abubakar says:

    Absolutely right

  5. Rajanee says:

    Yes!! It is very true.,👍