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

Whether you are a student, a work-person, or even a salesman, some day or another you will have to give a speech for different reasons. And no matter how much you have prepared for your speech, you will find yourself puzzled at the start of the speech. Although it’s very common to feel a little confused or nervous right before the start of the speech.

But you must know that the opening of your speech is the most crucial part and you have to do it right. No matter how great your content is if you don’t manage to start your speech at a good note then it will all go in vain. So the bottom line is you will have to work on how to start your speech.

But it’s not as easy as it sounds, you might prepare your content of the speech within a couple of hours but come with an opening statement will take a lot of time and there won’t be any luck. So that’s why we are presenting you with this article where we are discussing the simple ways to start a speech. So here are some of the popular and best ways to start the speech and grab everyone’s attention for good.

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1. Thank the audience as well as the organizers

It is the classic way to start a speech and it is still very much in fashion. So if you don’t want to go out of the box and come with something extreme than you can always start the speech with a thank note.

You can thank the audience for coming and you can also thank the organizers for inviting you to the event. Use the name of the senior organizers who invited you, this would feel more comfortable and they will feel proud as well.

2. Start with a positive statement

This is another classic way to start a speech and it would never go wrong either. The meaning of a positive statement is that whatever you say should make wanna listen to you more eagerly.

For example, you can start the speech by saying that they are going to enjoy the speech session and there are going to be some surprises as well!

This will definitely grab their attention without putting a lot of effort in the opening statement. Here you will need to come up with an opening statement that is simple as well as positive.

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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 the popular ways to start a speech. See the whole point of looking for the best way to start the speech is to get everyone’s attention and show them that you are ready to give a phenomenal speech. Plus, when you start the speech on a good note you make a good impression of yourself in front of the audience. And when you do that you will be more confident about yourself. In short, the opening statement of your speech, and the way you start your speech is extremely important. And we have tried to provide you some of the good ways to start the speech, we hope you like it.

Thank you for visiting and we hope that our article, How to Start a Speech was helpful for you. Best of luck with the speech!