That’s also a great motto to have on your desk when you’re planning your talk. Anticipate how you will start when the mind is flesh to catch every word you utter, anticipate what impression you will leave at the end when nothing else follows to erase it.

Since the days of Aristotle, books on this subject have divided the discourse into three sections: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. Until recently, the introduction often was, and it really could afford to be as quiet as a free ride. The speaker then was both a bearer of news and an entertainer. Many years ago, he often filled the niche in the community that is now occupied by newspaper, magazine, radio, television, telephone, and movie theater.

But conditions have changed amazingly. The world has been transformed. Inventions have sped up life more in the last hundred years than ever since Belshazzar and Nebuchadnezzar. Automobiles, airplanes, radio, television, we move with increasing speed. And the speaker must be in keeping with the hospitable rhythm of the times.

If you are going to use an introduction, it should be short like a commercial. It is about the temperament of the average modern audience. “Do you have something to say? Okay, let’s do it fast and with very little frills. No oratory! Give us the facts quickly and sit down.” But do inexperienced speakers often achieve such commendable speed in their openings?

The moment you present yourself to the audience, you have their attention naturally, inevitably. It’s not hard to get it for the first five seconds, but it’s hard to keep it up for the next five minutes. So start with something interesting in your first sentence. Not the second. Not the third. You must tread your way through tortuous paths, because a lot depends on you, your audience, your theme, your materials, the occasion, etc.

So arouse your audience’s curiosity with your first sentence, and you’ll have their interested attention. Curiosity can often be aroused by starting with an effect and making people eager to hear the cause.

Start with a note that goes directly to the personal interests of the audience. That is one of the best possible ways to start. It will surely attract attention. We are very interested in things that touch us in a meaningful, momentary way.

Paint the big picture and frame the issue in an attention-grabbing way.

The speaker can gain the immediate attention of his audience by:

A. arouse curiosity

b. Related to a human interest story

vs Starting with a specific illustration

d. using display

my. asking questions

F. Opening with a catchy quote

gram. Show how the topic affects the vital interest of the audience

H. Starting with shocking facts

Don’t make your opening too formal. Make it look free, causal and investable. This can be done by referring to something that has happened or something that has just been said.