When presenting to an audience, first impressions count. If you lose
their attention in the first five minutes, you’ll lose it forever.
It’s human nature for us to judge a person based on their behaviour.
In fact, it’s impossible not to form an opinion. People make up their
minds within five seconds of hearing or seeing someone – whether or not
they care about what is being said.
You will often hear advice on how you should dress to impress and
control your posture so you appear assertive and approachable. While
these are true, what comes out of your mouth in the first five seconds
of presenting is crucial if you are to make a good first impression. It
largely determines whether you will achieve the outcome you want. For
example, if your goal is to educate, sell, entertain or influence your
audience, your opening line must not only grab their attention but also
go hand-in-hand with what you want to convey overall.
When planning for a presentation, you should carefully consider your
opening line. The purpose of the first five seconds is to captivate.
This means anything your audience was thinking or feeling before you
started – whether it was based on how you dressed or walked onto the
stage – has now been forgotten and they want to hear and see more of
you.
Here are five ways to captivate your audience in the first five seconds:
Shock opener
Shock your audience by making a very provocative statement. Everyone
loves a bit of controversy, so what better way to see people’s
reactions.
Example: “Your competitors care more about your customers than you
do. They are watching your every move. If you don’t communicate with
your customers enough, they will quickly lose interest and your
competitor will snap them up.”
Show opening
Bring a fascinating or ambiguous object that links to your talk and show it without explaining what it is until the end.
Example: If you are giving a presentation on financial performance,
show a picture of three different people, someone positively in the
media, someone neutral and someone really being nailed by the press,
continue to hold it through your speech. At the end, ask them to reveal
the connection with the numbers – they will always remember it.
Story opener
Share a cliffhanger opening. The key is to set the scene for your
audience, so that they can create their own picture in their heads.
Example: “Who the hell do you think you are to talk to me about
developing my people?” Pause for five seconds. “These were the first
words I heard when I met with…”
Compelling question
Solicit a compelling question. Everyone loves to talk about
themselves at a networking event and the same is true during a
presentation. Ask a question in the first five seconds and, if it’s a
good one, they’ll continue to ponder a response beyond the end of your
presentation.
Example: “So what if you fail? Who will care and what are the consequences anyway?”
Surprise opener
We often switch off when we see a presenter walk on the stage and
head straight into “Hello, I’m Mark and today I’ll talk to you about
goal-setting”. Instead, before you even introduce yourself, surprise
your audience with something delightful that they wouldn’t expect.
Example: As you begin presenting, remove more items of clothing than
is usual. Take off your jumper (to reveal a RELAX t-shirt) and slip off
your shoes (and socks if you dare!). Now, as if it’s nothing, begin your
talk.
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