How To Start A Speech – 12 Best Ways To Grab Your Audience

Whether you’re a student, a professional, or a salesperson, chances are you’ll find yourself giving a speech at some point. And no matter how well-prepared you are, it’s common to feel a bit flustered at the beginning.

However, it’s crucial to nail the opening of your speech because it sets the tone for everything that follows. Even if your content is excellent, a weak start can undermine your message. So, it’s essential to focus on how you begin your speech.

But crafting a compelling opening isn’t always easy. While you might whip up the content of your speech in a few hours, finding the right opening statement can be time-consuming and challenging. That’s why we’ve put together this article—to explore simple yet effective ways to start a speech. Here are some popular and impactful methods to captivate your audience from the get-go.

How To Start A Speech

1. Express Gratitude:

A timeless approach to beginning a speech is by expressing gratitude. This classic method never goes out of style. You can start by thanking the audience for attending and expressing appreciation to the organizers for the invitation. Mentioning the names of senior organizers who invited you adds a personal touch and makes them feel acknowledged.

2. Positive Opening:

Another effective way to start a speech is with a positive statement. This approach never fails to captivate the audience’s attention. Begin by stating something optimistic that piques their interest and makes them eager to listen further. For instance, you could mention that they’re in for an enjoyable speech session with a few surprises in store! This simple yet positive opening statement is sure to grab their attention effortlessly.

Also check – How To Be Charming / How To Be A Better Girlfriend

3. Begin with “the way things used to be…

If it’s a business conference or any other place where you are selling your ideas or any other product then this one should be the best way to start the speech. Here you can start the speech with “remember the days when we used to..” Or “remember the last summer when we..”

These statements will grab the attention of your audience and they will be all ears for what you are going to say. You can also use this line to say something relatable and make them have your attention. See when you say something relatable or ask such a question the audience will definitely listen to you and they will also nod in order to answer your question.

4. Start with a strong emotion

Whether it’s a positive emotion or negating emotion, you will have your audience’s attention when you start the speech with strong emotion. This will also interest the audience as the discussion will be headed in an interesting way and they will wait what you are going to say next.

Here you can say, “the worst part of this profession/thing/etc is..”, “isn’t it lovely when.” Just like these, you can come with your own opening statement depending upon the topic you are going to deliver a speech. But make sure the opening statement is relatable and you have a solid reason behind whatever you are saying.

5. Get straight to the point

If you are a pretty confident person and have delivered a number of speeches then this might a good shot as well. Although you will have to be super confident about yourself and your speech to start the speech with a solid fact or getting straight to the discussion of the day.

You can simply say, “okay so today we are going to talk about…” Or here is the fact you want to know about…” “There are a few things you should be aware of when it comes to….”

This way the audience will know that you are super confident about your speech and that you know what you are going to talk about.

6. Start with a question

Here it comes another best way to start a speech, that is, by asking a question! Whether the audience is interested or not they will listen to your question and it will definitely make them think about what you have asked!

For example, if you are delivering a speech on the business strategies then you can ask your audience a question about the business. And just like that, you can ask anything and ask the audience to raise their hand in order to answer. And if they did then you can another question as well. And after you have made your point you can start the speech with the full attention of your audience.

7. Start the speech with a joke

Although this one is the most difficult and risky way to start a speech because there are good chances that your audience may not like the joke, and if that happens then you will find yourself in an awkward place in front of the people. On the other hand, if you managed to start the speech by making your audience laugh then you can consider your speech a successful one already.

But make sure you know your audience very well before you make any joke and try to play it safe as well.

8. Start your speech by referring to current events

When you start your speech by making a quote on recent events then your audience will be fully engaged as all of them would be aware of the matter and they will definitely eager to see what you opined about the particular scene.

Some people also bring the newspaper and make an opening statement by reading out the heading of the newspaper. It will also do a good job of grabbing the attention of the audience. Although you will have to make sure that the event you are referring to is relevant for your speech.

9. Compliment the audience

Complimenting your audience is always a nice way to start the speech. You can thank them or pay them a genuine compliment such as “it’s an honor to be with such an intelligent audience”

You have to make them believe that you are honored to be with them and how thankful you are. You will have to greet them as if you are seeing an old friend.

10. Refer to a historical event

Historical events can also be used to start the speech. And they do a good job as well. Here too you will have to determine the taste of your audience and pick an event that is relevant to the subject of your speech.

You can say, “we are witnessing this for many years”, ” it’s been a long time since” etc are a good way to start the speech.

11. Start with a quote by a popular person

Popular quotes are always a great way to start a speech. It doesn’t matter if the quote is well known or not, but it will definitely make them grab your attention. Here you either say the next line in support or in opposition to the quote. It will help you set the tone for your speech and give an idea for what you are going to speak about.

12. Start the speech with What If or Imagine Scenario

Last but not the least, you can always start the speech by asking the audience “what if” or “imagine if”. These two definitely are a great way to start the speech and invites the audience to follow your thought process.

Conclusion:

So, these are some popular ways to kick off a speech. The key to finding the best way to start is to grab everyone’s attention and show them you’re ready to deliver an outstanding speech. Starting strong also leaves a positive impression on your audience, boosting your confidence in turn.

In short, the opening statement sets the tone for your speech and can make a big impact. We’ve provided some good starting points, and we hope you find them helpful.

Thanks for reading our article on how to start a speech. Best of luck with your speech!