The opening moments of a presentation are critical to its overall success.

People form opinions about speakers quickly, and once they do, their first impressions can prove difficult to reverse. A strong beginning gives audiences confidence that you’re going to deliver a message worth hearing, and takes advantage of your presentation’s opening minutes, when listener attention is at its peak.

This book will introduce you to a broad range of speech starters, using dozens of real-life examples and original suggestions. You will find opens intended to surprise, persuade, motivate, engage, and amuse your audiences. Some tell a story, others help frame your topic, and a few rely on modern technology.

In 101 Ways to Open a Speech, you will learn:

•How to captivate your audience from your first words

•Why there are actually three opens for every speech

•How to select the right open for every occasion

•How to connect your open to your speech topic

•How not to begin a presentation

101 Ways to Open a Speech is the first and only in-depth book to focus solely on the open itself, and is an indispensable desktop reference for everyone who ever presents to any audience.

Although this book focuses on opens, almost all 101 techniques can also be used with great success in the middle of a presentation or to close just about any talk.