How To Start A Presentation

How To Start A Presentation Tips And Tricks – 22 Powerful Strategies
21 JUL 2016  Justin Croxton Presentations

Learning how to start a presentation is just as important as knowing how to finish it.  It is the beginning of the conversation that can make or break it in capturing your audience’s attention.  We forget that there are many ways to start a presentation that will engage the hearts and minds of the people you want to convey your message to.  At CustomShow, we value the importance of design and slide management, and we also understand that the delivery can be just as important as the slides you may use.  We wanted to list 22 power tips and tricks that anyone from marketers and sales people to the common man can use to nail the beginning of their next presentation.

Start Your Presentation By Getting People’s Attention

Getting your audience’s attention from the beginning is the most important thing one can do in starting a presentation.  Yes, you want to introduce yourself and complete the formalities as quickly as possible, but without grabbing their attention, you’ve already lost them.  Remembering the importance of capturing the attention of who you’re speaking to will set you up for the many other strategies we convey.

Welcome Them With A Thank You

Another important formality is welcoming your audience with a thank you.  It shows both sincerity and appreciation and additionally establishes the sense of community with your audience.  A great example of this is welcoming them coupled with a thank you for the opportunity to speak, pitch or share.

Memorize Your First Opening Line

In general it is not a good idea to memorize your entire speech. It is however a good idea to memorize the beginning 4 – 10 sentences.  This is critical because it allows you to feel confident and ride the wave of confidence as you continue your presentation.  Even marketers and sales people can benefit from this approach with slides they use to further buttress their messaging.  Most people think the best presenters wing it. While this is true, they typically practice and memorize the beginning and ending of their talks.  This is a professional practice you should always leverage to your advantage.

State The Purpose Of Your Presentation

Generally your audience will know your purpose or why you’re there but you want to be sure make it clear to them.  For example, as a sales person you may be pitching to win a marketing and leasing assignment of a building in New York.  As you begin to pitch the owner’s management team, they’ll know you’re there to talk about how you can help market and lease their building.  But another approach can be changing the purpose to “I’m here discuss our team’s capabilities but more importantly discuss strategies you can implement and why they would be effective.”  Thinking about the purpose gives you that northern star to point throughout your presentation and they’ll constantly revert back to it.

State how you want to deal with questions

Always remember to let the audience know how you will handle questions.  If you are in a marketing or sales presentation, I would not bring this up. Simply give them the free will to ask questions when they best see fit.

Silence…Nothing More

We are all uncomfortable when there is silence.  Yet incorporating silence into your presentation can be a valuable tool causing the audience to be attentive to what you are going to say next.  We got this one from Scott who wrote a great post on 5 ways to open a presentation.

Tell A Joke

As a followup to silence or as a standalone, tell a joke to elicit laughter form the audience.  Even for marketing and sales representatives, this can be a way to lighten the room and become more connected with the audience.  Don’t overdo this as it can steer people away from your purpose, but  proper usage of this technique can be effective in starti