oh wow I'm so nervous gosh these lights are so bright is this mic on is there even a mic opening a speech is so stressful there's nothing worse than walking on stage and not knowing what to say or worse saying something super awkward can you see my hands shaking imagine you naked imagine you naked imagine you naked imagine you naked got a seat clearly hello Chicago Oh Hughes we're in Houston hello Houston in this video I'm gonna give you the best and worst speech openers for your next presentation pitch speech or toast [Music] let's start with the worst ways to open I hear these speaking cardinal sins all the time please don't open your speech by never start with anything technical gosh these lights are so bright is this mic on is there even a mic friends do a tech check or show up a little early if you call attention to something not working that's all your audience will think about never mention your nervousness do I look as nervous as I feel wow there are so many people here so I should start by saying that I am NOT a great public speaker so this should be short many people think it's vulnerable or honest to start with how nervous they are but actually for your audience it's distracting why the moment you mention your nerves you make your audience nervous and they will begin looking for all the signs of your nervousness it becomes a giant nerve-wracking wave that you start from stage never give a half-hearted welcome thanks for having me well it's so nice to be here thanks for that intro do not start with a boring nicety or worse saying something nice but not sounding like you mean it I can't tell you how many times I have seen people get on stage and say I'm so happy to be here but look so incredibly unhappy as they say it fake fake fake the only exception to this is if you can turn it into a joke like the amazing Ken Robinson he opened his talk with a boring nicety but then made it funny let's watch good morning how are you it's been great isn't it it's been I've been blown away by the whole thing in fact I'm leaving okay now that we've talked about the worst ways to start a speech let's talk about the best speech opener idea number one use stories the absolute best way to start a presentation is with a story there is nothing better to capture the imagination and attention of an audience let's watch how David Brooks hooks you in right at the start with his story so we all have bad seasons in life and I had one in 2013 my marriage had just ended and I was humiliated by that failed commitment whoa hooks you in or right away he gets right to the heart of it stories help your audience feel right there with you here are some film the blanks you can use to start your next speech with a story once upon a time I'm here for a reason and it's an interesting story the best thing that ever happened to me was speech opener idea number two your big idea I love when speakers share their big idea right up front they don't make you wait for it they dive right in let's watch how Stacy Smith starts off her talk with her big idea framed in an interesting way today I want to tell you about a pressing social issue now it's not nuclear arms it's not immigration and it's not malaria I'm here to talk about movies here's some film the blanks you can use to open your speech you're here for a reason it's the single most important thing I want to share with you today is today I want to share a big idea speech opener number three a quirky one-liner no one loves humor more than me and I can promise you that your audience will as well if you dare try to open your speech with something intriguing very intriguing humor or curiosity is a great way to start a speech on a high and please get creative think of an interesting fact about you your audience or your topic that can lead you into your content for example when I gave my TED talk in London I opened with my quirky one-liner hello my name is Vanessa and I am a recovering awkward person you can also use an interesting fact or even a question to the audience try some of these film the blanks did you know do you ever worry about have you ever wondered for example I do tons of corporate workshops and trainings and here are some interesting factoids I start with that hook the audience in did you know that it takes less than a second to make a first impression did you know that your nonverbal communication is 12.5 times more powerful than your words did you know that we are lied to 200 times a day got you hooked right I would love to speak to your group any time call me okay you are ready for your next speech your next question might be how do I end my speech I have 20 top closing lines from history's greatest speakers go to science people.com / closers to grab your free download do you have powerful presentation skills whether you're on a stage on a video in a boardroom or in a meeting I want to show you how you can share any of your ideas powerfully confidently and authentically in my new course powerful presentations I'm gonna give you my framework that you can use for sharing any idea whether that's in person or online in video or on stage I'll also show you some of those pesky things that are really hard in a presentation like where to put your hands and how to hold a mic how to show visuals how to tell stories even how to be funny join me to my course powerful presentations at science' people.com slash presentations