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Third, speech titles should be original, if possible.
Overworked titles scream BORING and are the quickest way to encourage your audience to switch off before you've even got started.
Titles may take many forms. Variations include a quotation, a question, a paradoxical statement, or a shocking statement. Whatever speech title you pick, it must serve the purpose of attracting attention to your presentation.
If there will be no opportunity to use a title, or to have it announced, don't waste time developing one. It actually works against you to announce the title of a speech if it isn't necessary!
Here are some examples of effective titles:
There are 5 common mistakes people tend to make when creating a speech title, leaving the audience less than excited about hearing the speech... and possibly even detracting from the brilliance of their delivery!
A title that acts as a 'teaser' will make your audience curious... a title that gives away the subject AND angle of your speech will create very little buzz! What's more, your audience will form pre-conceived ideas about the topic before they've even heard you speak.
For example, DON'T call a speech about the health benefits of fresh fruit "The Health Benefits of Fresh Fruit" (yawn!). Find a way to put your own unique spin on the topic and create a headline that will ENGAGE listeners rather than send them to sleep (eg. "How Eating Fresh Fruit Can Help You Live Longer".)
Don't create a lo-o-ong title! It needs to be eye-catching and readable at a glance - particularly important if the speech will be getting publicity.
This should really come under the 'boring' category, because using dull, overworked titles can cause your listeners to switch off before you get going - as can clichéd expressions (quiet before the storm etc) unless wittily incorporated.
There are several ways in which your title might be inappropriate...
Remember: You can't save a bad speech with a good title, but you CAN make a good speech even MORE memorable with a title that grabs attention and makes your listeners keen to hear what you have to say.
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Strong speech introductions will make your audience want to hear more and can sometimes be the most memorable parts of your presentations.
These speech writing tips are the most important when creating your presentation. Follow these basic rules and you will produce a speech to be proud of!
Effective speech writing ensures that your audience will listen to your entire presentation and truly remember your message.
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Learning objectives.
Introductions and conclusions can be challenging. One of the most common complaints novice public speakers have is that they simply don’t know how to start or end a speech. It may feel natural to start crafting a speech at the beginning, but it can be difficult to craft an introduction for something which doesn’t yet exist. Many times, creative and effective ideas for how to begin a speech will come to speakers as they go through the process of researching and organizing ideas. Similarly, a conclusion needs to be well considered and leave audience members with a sense of satisfaction.
In this chapter, we will explore why introductions and conclusions are important, and we will identify various ways speakers can create impactful beginnings and endings. There is not a “right” way to start or end a speech, but we can provide some helpful guidelines that will make your introductions and conclusions much easier for you as a speaker and more effective for your audience.
The introduction of a speech is incredibly important because it needs to establish the topic and purpose, set up the reason your audience should listen to you and set a precedent for the rest of the speech. Imagine the first day of a semester long class. You will have a different perception of the course if the teacher is excited, creative and clear about what is to come then if the teacher recites to you what the class is about and is confused or disorganized about the rest of the semester. The same thing goes for a speech. The introduction is an important opportunity for the speaker to gain the interest and trust of the audience.
Overall, an effective introduction serves five functions. Let’s examine each of these.
The first major purpose of an introduction is to gain your audience’s attention and get them interested in what you have to say. While your audience may know you, this is your speeches’ first impression! One common incorrect assumption beginning speakers make that people will naturally listen because the speaker is speaking. While many audiences may be polite and not talk while you’re speaking, actually getting them to listen and care about what you are saying is a completely different challenge. Think to a time when you’ve tuned out a speaker because you were not interested in what they had to say or how they were saying it. However, I’m sure you can also think of a time someone engaged you in a topic you wouldn’t have thought was interesting, but because of how they presented it or their energy about the subject, you were fascinated. As the speaker, you have the ability to engage the audience right away.
The second major function of an introduction is to reveal the purpose of your speech to your audience. Have you ever sat through a speech wondering what the basic point was? Have you ever come away after a speech and had no idea what the speaker was talking about? An introduction is critical for explaining the topic to the audience and justifying why they should care about it. The speaker needs to have an in-depth understanding of the specific focus of their topic and the goals they have for their speech. Robert Cavett, the founder of the National Speaker’s Association, used the analogy of a preacher giving a sermon when he noted, “When it’s foggy in the pulpit, it’s cloudy in the pews.” The specific purpose is the one idea you want your audience to remember when you are finished with your speech. Your specific purpose is the rudder that guides your research, organization, and development of main points. The more clearly focused your purpose is, the easier it will be both for you to develop your speech and your audience to understand your core point. To make sure you are developing a specific purpose, you should be able to complete the sentence: “I want my audience to understand…” Notice that your specific speech purpose is phrased in terms of expected audience responses, not in terms of your own perspective.
One of the most researched areas within the field of communication has been Aristotle’s concept of ethos or credibility. First, and foremost, the idea of credibility relates directly to audience perception. You may be the most competent, caring, and trustworthy speaker in the world on a given topic, but if your audience does not perceive you as credible, then your expertise and passion will not matter to them. As public speakers, we need to communicate to our audiences why we are credible speakers on a given topic. James C. McCroskey and Jason J. Teven have conducted extensive research on credibility and have determined that an individual’s credibility is composed of three factors: competence, trustworthiness, and caring/goodwill (McCroskey & Teven, 1999). Competence is the degree to which a speaker is perceived to be knowledgeable or expert in a given subject by an audience member.
The second factor of credibility noted by McCroskey and Teven is trustworthiness or the degree to which an audience member perceives a speaker as honest. Nothing will turn an audience against a speaker faster than if the audience believes the speaker is lying. When the audience does not perceive a speaker as trustworthy, the information coming out of the speaker’s mouth is automatically perceived as deceitful.
Finally, caring/goodwill is the last factor of credibility noted by McCroskey and Teven. Caring/goodwill refers to the degree to which an audience member perceives a speaker as caring about the audience member. As indicated by Wrench, McCroskey, and Richmond, “If a receiver does not believe that a source has the best intentions in mind for the receiver, the receiver will not see the source as credible. Simply put, we are going to listen to people who we think truly care for us and are looking out for our welfare” (Wrench, McCroskey & Richmond, 2008). As a speaker, then, you need to establish that your information is being presented because you care about your audience and are not just trying to manipulate them. We should note that research has indicated that caring/goodwill is the most important factor of credibility. This understanding means that if an audience believes that a speaker truly cares about the audience’s best interests, the audience may overlook some competence and trust issues.
Credibility relates directly to audience perception. You may be the most competent, caring, and trustworthy speaker in the world on a given topic, but if your audience does not perceive you as credible, then your expertise and passion will not matter to them.
Trustworthiness is the degree to which an audience member perceives a speaker as honest.
Caring/goodwill is the degree to which an audience member perceives a speaker as caring about the audience member.
The fourth major function of an introduction is to establish a connection between the speaker and the audience, and one of the most effective means of establishing a connection with your audience is to provide them with reasons why they should listen to your speech. The idea of establishing a connection is an extension of the notion of caring/goodwill. In the chapters on Language and Speech Delivery, we’ll spend a lot more time talking about how you can establish a good relationship with your audience. This relationship starts the moment you step to the front of the room to start speaking.
Instead of assuming the audience will make their own connections to your material, you should explicitly state how your information might be useful to your audience. Tell them directly how they might use your information themselves. It is not enough for you alone to be interested in your topic. You need to build a bridge to the audience by explicitly connecting your topic to their possible needs.
The last major function of an introduction is to preview the main ideas that your speech will discuss. A preview establishes the direction your speech will take. We sometimes call this process signposting because you’re establishing signs for audience members to look for while you’re speaking. In the most basic speech format, speakers generally have three to five major points they plan on making. During the preview, a speaker outlines what these points will be, which demonstrates to the audience that the speaker is organized.
A study by Baker found that individuals who were unorganized while speaking were perceived as less credible than those individuals who were organized (Baker, 1965). Having a solid preview of the information contained within one’s speech and then following that preview will help a speaker’s credibility. It also helps your audience keep track of where you are if they momentarily daydream or get distracted.
Now that we have an understanding of the functions of an introduction, let’s explore the details of putting one together. As with all aspects of a speech, these may change based on your audience, circumstance, and topic. But this will give you a basic understanding of the important parts of an intro, what they do, and how they work together.
An attention-getter is the device a speaker uses at the beginning of a speech to capture an audience’s interest and make them interested in the speech’s topic. Typically, there are four things to consider in choosing a specific attention-getting device:
First, when selecting an attention-getting device is considering your speech topic and purpose. Ideally, your attention-getting device should have a relevant connection to your speech. Imagine if a speaker pulled condoms out of his pocket, yelled “Free sex!” and threw the condoms at the audience. This act might gain everyone’s attention, but would probably not be a great way to begin a speech about the economy. Thinking about your topic because the interest you want to create needs to be specific to your subject. More specifically, you want to consider the basic purpose of your speech. When selecting an attention getter, you want to make sure that you select one that corresponds with your basic purpose. If your goal is to entertain an audience, starting a speech with a quotation about how many people are dying in Africa each day from malnutrition may not be the best way to get your audience’s attention. Remember, one of the goals of an introduction is to prepare your audience for your speech . If your attention-getter differs drastically in tone from the rest of your speech the disjointedness may cause your audience to become confused or tune you out completely.
These will help you start brainstorming ideas for how to begin your speech. While not a complete list, these are some of the most common forms of attention-getters:
Second, when selecting an attention-getting device, you want to make sure you are being appropriate and relevant to your specific audience. Different audiences will have different backgrounds and knowledge, so you should keep your audience in mind when determining how to get their attention. For example, if you’re giving a speech on family units to a group of individuals over the age of sixty-five, starting your speech with a reference to the television show Gossip Girl may not be the best idea because the television show may not be relevant to that audience.
Finally, the last consideration involves the speech occasion. Different occasions will necessitate different tones or particular styles or manners of speaking. For example, giving a eulogy at a funeral will have a very different feel than a business presentation. This understanding doesn’t mean certain situations are always the same, but rather taking into account the details of your circumstances will help you craft an effective beginning to your speech. When selecting an attention-getter, you want to make sure that the attention-getter sets the tone for the speech and situation.
Tones are particular styles or manners of speaking determined by the speech’s occasion.
The link to the topic occurs when a speaker demonstrates how an attention-getting device relates to the topic of a speech. This presentation of the relationship works to transition your audience from the attention getter to the larger issue you are discussing. Often the attention-getter and the link to the topic are very clear. But other times, there may need to be a more obvious connection between how you began your attention-getting device and the specific subject you are discussing. You may have an amazing attention-getter, but if you can’t connect it to the main topic and purpose of your speech, it will not be as effective.
Once you have linked an attention-getter to the topic of your speech, you need to explain to your audience why your topic is important and why they should care about what you have to say. Sometimes you can include the significance of your topic in the same sentence as your link to the topic, but other times you may need to spell out in one or two sentences why your specific topic is important to this audience.
A thesis statement is a short, declarative sentence that states the purpose, intent, or main idea of a speech. A strong, clear thesis statement is very valuable within an introduction because it lays out the basic goal of the entire speech. We strongly believe that it is worthwhile to invest some time in framing and writing a good thesis statement. You may even want to write a version of your thesis statement before you even begin conducting research for your speech in order to guide you. While you may end up rewriting your thesis statement later, having a clear idea of your purpose, intent, or main idea before you start searching for research will help you focus on the most appropriate material.
The final part of an introduction contains a preview of the major points to be covered by your speech. I’m sure we’ve all seen signs that have three cities listed on them with the mileage to reach each city. This mileage sign is an indication of what is to come. A preview works the same way. A preview foreshadows what the main body points will be in the speech. For example, to preview a speech on bullying in the workplace, one could say, “To understand the nature of bullying in the modern workplace, I will first define what workplace bullying is and the types of bullying, I will then discuss the common characteristics of both workplace bullies and their targets, and lastly, I will explore some possible solutions to workplace bullying.” In this case, each of the phrases mentioned in the preview would be a single distinct point made in the speech itself. In other words, the first major body point in this speech would examine what workplace bullying is and the types of bullying; the second major body point in this speech would discuss the characteristics of both workplace bullies and their targets; and lastly, the third body point in this speech would explore some possible solutions to workplace bullying.
The importance of introductions often leads speakers to work on them first, attending to every detail. While it is good to have some ideas and notes about the intro, specifically the thesis statement, it is often best to wait until the majority of the speech is crafted before really digging into the crafting of the introduction. This timeline may not seem intuitive, but remember, the intro is meant to introduce your speech and set up what is to come. It is difficult to introduce something that you haven’t made yet. This is why working on your main points first can help lead to an even stronger introduction.
Willi Heidelbach – Puzzle2 – CC BY 2.0.
As public speaking professors and authors, we have seen many students give otherwise good speeches that seem to fall apart at the end. We’ve seen students end their three main points by saying things such as “OK, I’m done”; “Thank God that’s over!”; or “Thanks. Now what? Do I just sit down?” It’s understandable to feel relief at the end of a speech, but remember that as a speaker, your conclusion is the last chance you have to drive home your ideas. When a speaker opts to end the speech with an ineffective conclusion, or no conclusion at all, the speech loses the energy that’s been created, and the audience is left confused and disappointed. Instead of falling prey to emotional exhaustion, remind yourself to keep your energy up as you approach the end of your speech, and plan ahead so that your conclusion will be an effective one.
Of course, a good conclusion will not rescue a poorly prepared speech. Thinking again of the chapters in a novel, if one bypasses all the content in the middle, the ending often isn’t very meaningful or helpful. So to take advantage of the advice in this chapter, you need to keep in mind the importance of developing a speech with an effective introduction and an effective body. If you have these elements, you will have the foundation you need to be able to conclude effectively. Just as a good introduction helps bring an audience member into the world of your speech, and a good speech body holds the audience in that world, a good conclusion helps bring that audience member back to the reality outside of your speech.
In this section, we’re going to examine the functions fulfilled by the conclusion of a speech. A strong conclusion serves to signal the end of the speech and helps your listeners remember your speech.
The first thing a good conclusion can do is to signal the end of a speech. You may be thinking that showing an audience that you’re about to stop speaking is a “no brainer,” but many speakers don’t prepare their audience for the end. When a speaker just suddenly stops speaking, the audience is left confused and disappointed. Instead, we want to make sure that audiences are left knowledgeable and satisfied with our speeches. In the next section, we’ll explain in great detail about how to ensure that you signal the end of your speech in a manner that is both effective and powerful.
The second reason for a good conclusion stems out of some research reported by the German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus back in 1885 in his book Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology (Ebbinghaus, 1885). Ebbinghaus proposed that humans remember information in a linear fashion, which he called the serial position effect. He found an individual’s ability to remember information in a list (e.g. a grocery list, a chores list, or a to-do list) depends on the location of an item on the list. Specifically, he found that items toward the top of the list and items toward the bottom of the list tended to have the highest recall rates. The serial position effect finds that information at the beginning of a list (primacy) and information at the end of the list (recency) are easier to recall than information in the middle of the list.
So what does this have to do with conclusions? A lot! Ray Ehrensberger wanted to test Ebbinghaus’ serial position effect in public speaking. Ehrensberger created an experiment that rearranged the ordering of a speech to determine the recall of information (Ehrensberger, 1945). Ehrensberger’s study reaffirmed the importance of primacy and recency when listening to speeches. In fact, Ehrensberger found that the information delivered during the conclusion (recency) had the highest level of recall overall.
Matthew Culnane – Steps – CC BY-SA 2.0.
In the previous sections, we discussed the importance a conclusion has on a speech. In this section, we’re going to examine the three steps to building an effective conclusion.
Restating a thesis statement is the first step to a powerful conclusion. As we explained earlier, a thesis statement is a short, declarative sentence that states the purpose, intent, or main idea of a speech. When we restate the thesis statement at the conclusion of our speech, we’re attempting to reemphasize what the overarching main idea of the speech has been. Suppose your thesis statement was, “I will analyze Barack Obama’s use of lyricism in his July 2008 speech, ‘A World That Stands as One.’” You could restate the thesis in this fashion at the conclusion of your speech: “In the past few minutes, I have analyzed Barack Obama’s use of lyricism in his July 2008 speech, ‘A World That Stands as One.’” Notice the shift in tense. The statement has gone from the future tense (this is what I will speak about) to the past tense (this is what I have spoken about). Restating the thesis in your conclusion reminds the audience of the main purpose or goal of your speech, helping them remember it better.
After restating the speech’s thesis, the second step in a powerful conclusion is to review the main points from your speech. One of the biggest differences between written and oral communication is the necessity of repetition in oral communication. When we preview our main points in the introduction, effectively discuss and make transitions to our main points during the body of the speech, and review the main points in the conclusion, we increase the likelihood that the audience will retain our main points after the speech is over.
In the introduction of a speech, we deliver a preview of our main body points, and in the conclusion, we deliver a review . Let’s look at a sample preview:
In order to understand the field of gender and communication, I will first differentiate between the terms biological sex and gender. I will then explain the history of gender research in communication. Lastly, I will examine a series of important findings related to gender and communication.
In this preview, we have three clear main points. Let’s see how we can review them at the conclusion of our speech:
Today, we have differentiated between the terms biological sex and gender, examined the history of gender research in communication, and analyzed a series of research findings on the topic.
In the past few minutes, I have explained the difference between the terms “biological sex” and “gender,” discussed the rise of gender research in the field of communication, and examined a series of groundbreaking studies in the field.
Notice that both of these conclusions review the main points initially set forth. Both variations are equally effective reviews of the main points, but you might like the linguistic turn of one over the other. Remember, while there is a lot of science to help us understand public speaking, there’s also a lot of art as well. You are always encouraged to choose the wording that you think will be most effective for your audience.
The final part of a powerful conclusion is the concluding device. A concluding device is a final thought you want your audience members to have when you stop speaking. It also provides a definitive sense of closure to your speech. One of the authors of this text often makes an analogy between a gymnastics dismount and the concluding device in a speech. Just as a gymnast dismounting the parallel bars or balance beam wants to stick the landing and avoid taking two or three steps, a speaker wants to “stick” the ending of the presentation by ending with a concluding device instead of with, “Well, umm, I guess I’m done.” Miller observed that speakers tend to use one of ten concluding devices when ending a speech (Miller, 1946). The rest of this section is going to examine these ten concluding devices and one additional device that we have added.
The first way that Miller found that some speakers end their speeches is with a challenge. A challenge is a call to engage in some activity that requires a special effort. In a speech on the necessity of fund-raising, a speaker could conclude by challenging the audience to raise 10 percent more than their original projections. In a speech on eating more vegetables, you could challenge your audience to increase their current intake of vegetables by two portions daily. In both of these challenges, audience members are being asked to go out of their way to do something different that involves effort on their part.
A second way you can conclude a speech is by reciting a quotation relevant to the speech topic. When using a quotation, you need to think about whether your goal is to end on a persuasive note or an informative note. Some quotations will have a clear call to action, while other quotations summarize or provoke thought. For example, let’s say you are delivering an informative speech about dissident writers in the former Soviet Union. You could end by citing this quotation from Alexander Solzhenitsyn: “A great writer is, so to speak, a second government in his country. And for that reason, no regime has ever loved great writers” (Solzhenitsyn, 1964). Notice that this quotation underscores the idea of writers as dissidents, but it doesn’t ask listeners to put forth the effort to engage in any specific thought process or behavior. If, on the other hand, you were delivering a persuasive speech urging your audience to participate in a very risky political demonstration, you might use this quotation from Martin Luther King Jr.: “If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live” (King, 1963). In this case, the quotation leaves the audience with the message that great risks are worth taking, that they make our lives worthwhile, and that the right thing to do is to go ahead and take that great risk.
When a speaker ends with a summary, they are simply elongating the review of the main points. While this may not be the most exciting concluding device, it can be useful for information that was highly technical or complex or for speeches lasting longer than thirty minutes. Typically, for short speeches (like those in your class), this summary device should be avoided.
The purpose of a conclusion that refers to the future is to help your audience imagine the future you believe can occur. If you are giving a speech on the development of video games for learning, you could conclude by depicting the classroom of the future where video games are perceived as true learning tools and how those tools could be utilized. More often, speakers use visualization of the future to depict how society would be, or how individual listeners’ lives would be different if the speaker’s persuasive attempt worked. For example, if a speaker proposes that a solution to illiteracy is hiring more reading specialists in public schools, the speaker could ask her or his audience to imagine a world without illiteracy. In this use of visualization, the goal is to persuade people to adopt the speaker’s point of view. By showing that the speaker’s vision of the future is a positive one, the conclusion should help to persuade the audience to help create this future.
Probably the most common persuasive concluding device is the appeal for action or the call to action. In essence, the appeal for action occurs when a speaker asks their audience to engage in a specific behavior or change in thinking. When a speaker concludes by asking the audience “to do” or “to think” in a specific manner, the speaker wants to see an actual change. Whether the speaker appeals for people to eat more fruit, buy a car, vote for a candidate, oppose the death penalty, or sing more in the shower, the speaker is asking the audience to engage in action.
One specific type of appeal for action is the immediate call to action. Whereas some appeals ask for people to engage in behavior in the future, an immediate call to action asks people to engage in behavior right now. If a speaker wants to see a new traffic light placed at a dangerous intersection, he or she may conclude by asking all the audience members to sign a digital petition right then and there, using a computer the speaker has made available ( http://www.petitiononline.com ). Here are some more examples of immediate calls to action:
These are just a handful of different examples we’ve seen students use in our classrooms to elicit an immediate change in behavior. These immediate calls to action may not lead to long-term change, but they can be very effective at increasing the likelihood that an audience will change behavior in the short term.
By definition, the word inspire means to affect or connect with someone emotionally. Both affect and arouse have strong emotional connotations. The ultimate goal of an inspiration concluding device is similar to an “appeal for action,” but the ultimate goal is more lofty or ambiguous. The goal is to stir someone’s emotions in a specific manner. Maybe a speaker is giving an informative speech about the prevalence of domestic violence in our society today. That speaker could end the speech by reading Paulette Kelly’s powerful poem “I Got Flowers Today.” “I Got Flowers Today” is a poem that evokes strong emotions because it’s about an abuse victim who received flowers from her abuser every time she was victimized. The poem ends by saying, “I got flowers today… Today was a special day. It was the day of my funeral. Last night he killed me” (Kelly, 1994).
The next concluding device is one that should be used primarily by speakers who are recognized as expert authorities on a given subject. Advice is a speaker’s opinion about what should or should not be done. The problem with opinions is that everyone has one, and one person’s opinion is not necessarily any more correct than another’s. There needs to be a really good reason for your opinion. Your advice should matter to your audience. If, for example, you are an expert in nuclear physics, you might conclude a speech on energy by giving advice about the benefits of nuclear energy.
Another way a speaker can conclude a speech powerfully is to offer a solution to the problem discussed within a speech. For example, perhaps a speaker has been discussing the problems associated with the disappearance of art education in the United States. The speaker could then propose a solution for creating more community-based art experiences for school children as a way to fill this gap. Although this can be a compelling conclusion, a speaker must ask themselves whether the solution should be discussed in more depth as a stand-alone main point within the body of the speech so that audience concerns about the proposed solution may be addressed.
Another way you can end a speech is to ask a rhetorical question that forces the audience to ponder an idea. Maybe you are giving a speech on the importance of the environment, so you end the speech by saying, “Think about your children’s future. What kind of world do you want them raised in? A world that is clean, vibrant, and beautiful—or one that is filled with smog, pollution, filth, and disease?” Notice that you aren’t asking the audience to verbally or nonverbally answer the question. The goal of this question is to force the audience into thinking about what kind of world they want for their children.
The last concluding device discussed by Miller (1946) was a reference to one’s audience. This concluding device is when a speaker attempts to answer the audience question, “What’s in it for me?” The goal of this concluding device is to spell out the direct benefits a behavior or thought change has for audience members. For example, a speaker talking about stress reduction techniques could conclude by listing all the physical health benefits stress reduction offers (e.g. improved reflexes, improved immune system, improved hearing, reduction in blood pressure). In this case, the speaker is spelling out why audience members should care. They’re telling the audience what’s in it for them!
Finally, one tactic a speaker often uses is to link the introduction of the speech to the conclusion. For example, if you began your speech with a quotation, your conclusion may refer back to that person’s words in respect to what your audience has learned throughout your speech. While not always necessary, linking back to your introduction can provide a feeling of coming full circle for your audience. The repetitive nature can also help aid in remembering your speech and topic. However, you don’t want to just repeat. Instead, you want to utilize similar aspects of your attention getter to illustrate growth or movement from the beginning of your speech to the end.
A concluding device is a final thought you want your audience members to have when you stop speaking.
A challenge is a call to engage in some activity that requires special effort.
An appeal for action occurs when a speaker asks their audience to engage in a specific behavior or change in thinking.
An immediate call to action asks people to engage in behavior right now.
Inspire means to affect or connect with someone emotionally.
Advice is a speaker’s opinion about what should or should not be done.
As you read through the ten possible ways to conclude a speech, hopefully, you noticed that some of the methods are more appropriate for persuasive speeches and others are more appropriate for informative speeches. To help you choose appropriate conclusions for informative, persuasive, or entertaining speeches, we’ve created a table to help you quickly identify suitable concluding devices.
Your Speech Purpose and Concluding Devices
Types of Concluding Devices | General Purposes of Speeches | ||
---|---|---|---|
Challenge | x | ||
Quotation | x | x | |
Summary | x | x | |
Visualizing the Future | x | x | |
Appeal | x | ||
Inspirational | x | x | |
Advice | x | ||
Proposal of Solution | x | ||
Question | x | x | |
Reference to Audience | x |
Ebbinghaus, H. (1885). Memory: A contribution to experimental psychology [Online version]. Retrieved from http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Ebbinghaus/index.htm .
Ehrensberger, R. (1945). An experimental study of the relative effectiveness of certain forms of emphasis in public speaking. Speech Monographs, 12 , 94–111. doi: 10.1080/03637754509390108.
Kelly, P. (1994). I got flowers today. In C. J. Palmer & J. Palmer, Fire from within . Painted Post, NY: Creative Arts & Science Enterprises.
King, M. L. (1963, June 23). Speech in Detroit. Cited in Bartlett, J., & Kaplan, J. (Eds.), Bartlett’s familiar quotations (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Little, Brown & Co., p. 760.
Miller, E. (1946). Speech introductions and conclusions. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 32 , 181–183.
Solzhenitsyn, A. (1964). The first circle. New York: Harper & Row. Cited in Bartlett, J., & Kaplan, J. (Eds.), Bartlett’s familiar quotations (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Little, Brown & Co., p. 746.
Stand up, Speak out Copyright © 2017 by Josh Miller; Marnie Lawler-Mcdonough; Megan Orcholski; Kristin Woodward; Lisa Roth; and Emily Mueller is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.
Hrideep barot.
Ask a million people how to start a speech with a bang and you will get a million different answers.
While some prefer to start their speech with the good old charm of a quote, others prefer to put on their hats of creativity to discover new ways to capture the attention of their audience.
So, yes! There’s not just one best way to start your speech with a bang but you have a whole spectrum of ways- each unique on its own!
Sit back, grab a cup of coffee, and relax as I highlight 50 Powerful Speech Opening Lines from some of the World’s Most Influential Speeches along with guidance on how to use each of these techniques in your next speech/presentation.
Alright, let’s dive in!
The attention span of your audience is at its peak at the very beginning of your speech. Shouldn’t you use this to your advantage? Of course, yes!
A strong opening remark captures the attention of your audience, sets the theme of your speech, and most importantly, instills curiosity for the remainder of your speech in the minds of your audience.
Before we analyze each of these speech opening lines, let me provide you with a quick list of techniques (all of which we are going to discuss in great depth!) for you to start your speech/presentation:
3. the power of a prop, 4. quest of a question, 5. hint of humor, 6. share a story, 7. surprise, surprise, surprise, 8. foster interest with facts.
11. activity for the audience, 12. element of fear, 13. invite them into your imagination, 14. quintessential quality of a quote, 100 best speech opening lines (the ultimate resource), 1. don’t just “say” sing a song.
Now, you must be thinking that I’m crazy to even suggest this but hear me out.
Doing something entirely different on stage just makes you stand out from the usual crowd. Because let’s admit it, we expect the speaker to simply start talking and when the speaker does something different, it surprises us and makes us intrigued for the remainder of the talk.
Having said that, singing is any day a safer bet since we all love to swing by the music.
But, if you are not at all confident about your singing skills, don’t go for it! Instead, you can try channeling the power of poetry, something very similar to singing but still light on your vocal cords. Don’t be confused! We’ve written an entire article on Getting Your ‘Wordsworth’: Poetry in Public Speaking , just for you! Do check it out.
Step 1: Pick a relevant yet famous song related to the theme of your speech/presentation
Step 2: Choose how you wish to use the song to present your point. Do you wish to agree with the lyrics? Or disagree with the lyrics?
Step 3: Pick a few lines (not more than 2-3 lines) that suits your theme the best
Step 4: Craft a statement to explain the connection of the song with the topic of your speech/presentation
Step 5: What are you waiting for? Go ahead, warm up your vocal cords, and start singing
1. it is okay not to have a plan by mithila palkar.
(Sings the Song) “Some of you must have seen the video of this song online, and I’ll tell you the story of how I made it.” Mithila Palkar
Budding Indian Actress and Singer, Mithila Palkar started her TED Talk by singing a Marathi Song, a song that went viral on the internet and made her famous.
Instead of simply talking about how she marked the transition from a viral singing star to a renowned actress, she made her audience live her journey by singing the exact same song.
Two things happened here:
No matter how much we deny it, humans are judgemental beings!
We have expectations for every single thing on this planet and when someone challenges these expectations, we’re left shocked.
And as a result, they’ve all our attention. That is exactly my mantra here, “Shock the audience to get their attention!”
Step 1 : Ask yourself, “Who is my audience?” Look for the basic information on their average age, level of education, pre-conceived notions, and cultural background. Still confusing, right? The Importance of Knowing Your Audience When Delivering a Speech is an article that carries the step-by-step guide, just for you.
Step 2 : Based upon this audience analysis, figure out their set expectation regarding the topic you are about to deliver your speech on.
Step 3 : Shred that expectation by challenging that set expectation in your opening remark. Remember not to be offensive and play by the rule of your moral compass
1. grit: the power of passion and perseverance by angela lee duckworth.
“ When I was 27 years old, I left a very demanding job in management consulting for a job that was even more demanding: teaching “ Angela Lee Duckworth
When using this strategy in your speech, it’s critical that you do your research so that you can come up with an unpopular viewpoint on the subject.
Present that unpopular viewpoint as your introductory words, and then gradually (it must be a progressive process) lead your audience to the realization, which is your speech’s main goal. Just like this speaker did!
Visuals overpower our auditory senses! Why not use it to the best of our advantage?
As our immediate reflex, we first see and then, listen. Bringing a unique prop/placard onto the stage would intrigue the audience even before you “actually” start speaking.
Without any further delay, let’s discuss the steps to use props/placards the right way.
Step 1: Prepare a list of props/placards that resonate the best with the theme of your speech/presentation. Don’t just bring anything on the stage!
Step 2: From this list, remove the generic options. For instance, if you are delivering a speech on environmental conservation, bringing a plastic bag on stage is too generic and won’t instill curiosity in the audience’s minds
Step 3: Now, out of all the relevant props/placards, which one do you think is the most convenient and affordable to bring on the stage? And, you have your answer!
Step 4: Once you have decided on the prop, craft a statement to establish the connection between the prop and the theme of your speech
1. why i live a zero waste life by lauren singer.
(brings a jar filled with waste and speaks) “This is all of the trash that I’ve produced in the past 3 years!” Lauren Singer
When you witness the speaker, Lauren, showcasing a jar filled with all of the trash that she has produced in the past three years, you can’t help wonder, “Is this for real?”
Because even the packaging of all the junk food items that we consume every week can easily overflood this jar.
Taking advantage of this embedded curiosity, Lauren structured the rest of her talk talking about all of the steps that she takes to lead a zero-waste life.
(stands in front of a mirror and speaks) “You are bold, you are brilliant and you are beautiful. There is no other woman like you. You are capable…” Ashley Graham
Breaking the norms of a traditional speech, Ashley Graham, instead of staring at the audience, stares at a mirror and speaks a few lines on self-affirmation.
Let’s admit it, most of us are critical of our own bodies, and standing in front of a mirror, we tend to focus upon all the possible flaws.
To set an example of positive self-affirmation, Ashley Graham takes upon herself to set an example with the help of a live exercise.
*does chemistry experiments* Andrew Szydlo
Watch this TED Talk and I’m sure you’ll find all the presence, of all those chemical equipment on stage, fascinating!
When the audience witnesses the efforts you are taking to deliver your talk, they are impressed and trust me, you are halfway there at capturing the attention of your audience.
Now, of course, it doesn’t mean that you put all your heart and soul into getting that perfect prop on stage.
If it’s not feasible, don’t! But if you can, that’s a great way to win your audience!
*smells flower* Dananjaya Hettiarachchi
In the previous example, we saw how bringing a grand prop captures the attention of our audience.
But the power of a prop goes WAY beyond this!
When a simple prop is connected with a meaningful yet unique message, the impact manifolds.
In this TED Talk, the speaker uses a rose to explain how each individual is unique in terms of his personality. A powerful message is delivered with the use of a simple prop.
A tried and tested trick that psychologists swear by to awaken the distracted minds is to “shoot a question”.
You could do that too in your next speech/presentation.
Step 1: Think of all the questions that can help you to set the theme of your speech
Step 2: Make a point to not include close-ended questions and questions that are simply TOO GENERIC
Step 3: The last element that your question must include is the element of curiosity. The purpose is to make the audience curious enough to listen to your entire speech looking for answers to that question. But while you are at it, make sure you don’t overpromise and your speech does have the answers to that question.
1. every argument against veganism by ed winters.
“So, when I say the word ‘Vegan’ to you, what do you think of?” Ed Winters
Just by hearing this question, our first thought is to run all the possible definitions of veganism and the audience of this speech did the same.
This question is very clever and I’ll tell you why. So, every time a definition would come into the mind of any audience member, the speaker would be presenting his arguments against veganism forcing the audience to align their thoughts with his thought process.
Without any possible digression, the speaker Ed Winters presents his thoughts on Veganism in a convincing manner with the help of the rhetoric of questions.
Now, this type of question sends the audience on a possible quest for answers but that’s not the only purpose that this technique serves. Next in order, let’s look at how questions set the theme of a speech.
“What is the best type of cheese to use to catch a bear?” Michael “Vsauce” Stevens
In this TED Talk, the speaker uses this technique as a rhetorical question and answers this question with the help of a cheese pun.
Moving ahead, he goes on unearthing the science behind asking questions. So, it only made sense for him to begin his speech with a question too to set the overall vibe and theme of the topic.
“So from a glance, do I look like marriage material?” Nina Donovan
In this TED Talk, we shall discover the strength of an interrogative remark in generating curiosity regarding the theme of your speech.
Since time immemorial, society has been setting “so-called” norms to determine if an individual is a potential marriage material (mostly, in the case of women).
To fit under this category of “marriage material”, one has to behave as per the so-called expectations of the society, and anything that defies the norm fails to fit in.
With the help of her powerful voice, the speaker here challenges the notion of this concept of “Marriage Material” and highlights the importance of individuality.
And by asking if the audience perceives her as marriage material, she surprises the audience while cultivating a sense of curiosity in them.
“So how do we learn? And why do some of us learn things more easily than others?” Lara Boyd
Admit it or not- we’ve always wondered why some people learn things better than us. What exactly is their secret?
And when you throw this question at the audience, they become intrigued to know this very secret with the help of your talk.
Curiosity is what makes us stick to the remainder of any talk. So, it’s high time we channelize it!
“Do you know the people that are asked the most questions? Have A Guess!” Karen Maeyens
An open-ended thought-provoking question like this forces the audience to activate their minds in the search for answers.
As they become more active, they listen better and focuses better on what you have to offer.
When Karen asked her audience who are the people that are asked the most questions, different minds pondered different answers and when she herself answered the question, those who thought of different answers were intrigued to listen to her justification and as a result of this, they stuck by!
“How would you like to completely silence your mind?” Anthony Metivier
We, humans, have restless minds- always pondering over something or the other.
So, what’s likely to happen when someone asks us if we would like to silence our minds? Ironically, we’ll be restless to know the answer. That’s what the speaker did through his TED Talk.
The next time you are giving a speech, you can consider opening it with a question that would result in a similar effect of restlessness in the minds of the audience.
For this to truly happen, make sure that your question is not generic. Otherwise, all your efforts will be in vain.
Ain’t we tired of listening to the phrase, “Laughter is the best medicine”?
I’m sure we all are but the reason why it’s still so prevalent is because of its universality.
Of course, laughter is the best medicine to an opening remark too. It makes your audience laugh and who doesn’t love a good laugh? We all do!
Humor puts the minds at ease and makes you sound more human, because of which, the audience perceives you as a credible speaker.
Step 1: Know your audience well. Your joke must resonate with them so as to make the desired impact. For instance, if you are addressing a school crowd and you make a joke about workplace communication mistakes. It won’t make the audience chuckle, would it?
Step 2: Puns? Self-deprecating humor? Or Funny Anecdotes? Identify the types of humor and figure out which one suits your personality in the best way. If you are not sure what types of humor are there and wish to seek a step-by-step guide on including humor in your presentation, make sure you read A Guide To Using Humor In Your Speech . Remember to choose the type of humor in alignment with your personality otherwise, it will look forced and won’t result in the impact you desired
Step 3: Step out and do a pilot survey! Try out the opener on a few folks who are similar to your target audience. Examine their reaction and, if required, adjust the joke
Step 4: Keep in mind that once you begin your speech with a pinch of humor, your audience will be expecting a few moments of laughter throughout the rest of your speech too. So, make sure you save 2-3 jokes (not more than that) for the remainder of your speech to meet those expectations
1. thoughts on humanity, fame and love by shah rukh khan.
“I’m a movie star. I’m 51 years of age. And I don’t use Botox as of yet.” Shah Rukh Khan
This TED Talk right here is the perfect case in point for you to witness all the four steps to humor (as discussed in the previous section) in action.
Known for his great performance in doing justice to a number of family roles in Bollywood films, the actor Shah Rukh Khan, in his TED Talk used the power of humor to make himself sound more human to align his talk with his perceived personality.
A humorous take on the drug, Botox, not only relates to the speaker’s professional credibility but also established the relatability quotient.
“It’s been a tough couple of days for us. It has been raining. We’re fine. Thank you for your prayers.” Ellen DeGeneres
Two lessons on humor can be perfectly drawn from this talk:
Since Ellen DeGeneres was hosting the Oscars Opening Ceremony, nobody expected her to be all serious in terms of her talk. The audience is expecting a more relaxed and chill vibe from the speaker.
So, starting her talk with a piece of humor not only sounded like a safer bet but also the most effective one.
What’s the thought that comes to your mind when you listen to the name, “Ellen DeGeneres”? I’m sure for most of us, it’s someone who’s great at presenting her opinions in a convincing manner with the help of comedy.
And that’s what you expect from her personality: Humor!
“Do you know when brown kids get slapped? Every brown birthday party.” Hasan Minhaj
The element of surprise won’t work if your audience is familiar with what you are about to tell them.
So, make sure that you are addressing the right element of surprise to the right audience to make them chuckle. And Hasan Minhaj did it absolutely right!
In this TED Talk, Hasan Minhaj told a piece of surprising cultural information about Indian teens to the American Audience and not the Indian Audience (because they will be familiar with it and it won’t be a shock).
“A tourist is backpacking through the highlands of Scotland, and he stops at a pub to get a drink. And the only people in there is a bartender and an old man nursing a beer. And he orders a pint, and they sit in silence for a while. And suddenly, the old man turns to him and goes, “You see this bar? I built this bar with my bare hands from the finest wood in the county, gave it more care and love than my own child. But do they call me McGregor the Bar Builder? No.” Points out the window. “You see that stone wall out there? I built that stone wall with my bare hands. Found every stone, placed them just so through the rain and the cold. But do they call me McGregor the Stone Wall Builder? No” Points out the other window. “You see that pier on the lake out there? I built that pier with my bare hands, drove the pilings against the tide of the sand, plank by plank. But do they call me McGregor the pier builder? No. But you fuck one goat…” Andrew Stanton
When humor is combined with effective storytelling, a great laugh is expected from the intrigued minds sitting in the audience.
Remember how we used to tell small anecdotes as kids while telling any joke? That’s what needs to be done here.
Build up the curiosity with the help of a story and end that story by bringing in an element of surprise to make your audience chuckle. Unexpected humor is always welcome!
We’ve all grown up listening to bedtime stories.
As we approached our teenage years and adulthood, we switched to narrating anecdotes from our lives to our friends, family, and colleagues.
In a nutshell, it’s the stories that connect us and will continue to serve this very purpose.
Hence, it’s only fair for us to channel this magic of storytelling into our public speaking events as well.
Step 1: Pick a story from your life or narrate something that happened to someone you know or simply form a gripping story. Whatever it might be, just make sure you are not exaggerating to come off as a relatable speaker. Most importantly, the story you choose has to be related to the theme of your speech
Step 2: Now that you have the story in mind, pick a narrative to design the structure of your story. Wait, don’t know what storytelling narrative structures are? Read 9 Storytelling Approaches For Your Next Speech or Presentation to know different ways to effectively narrate a story
Step 3: Use simple language while writing your story and be descriptive enough to help them imagine. Keep in mind that your audience should relate and it’s possible only when they can understand your story in its truest sense
1. life begins at the end of your comfort zone by yubing zhang.
“It’s a cold and foggy winter morning and I’m standing on the world’s tallest bungee platform. The platform I’m standing on is so tiny that I’ve to stand on my toes and balance myself against the wind…” Yubing Zhang
While highlighting how stepping out of one’s comfort zone is crucial, the speaker narrates a personal anecdote of her bungee-jumping experience.
To form a connection with the overall theme, she goes on to narrate how one bungee cord leap taught her the biggest lesson of her life.
Through the remainder of her talk, she then focuses upon sharing her lessons and guidance on how one can step out of his/her comfort zone to facilitate personal growth.
“It was 2:45 pm on a rainy friday in Los Angeles. My dad was just brewing a cup of coffee in the kitchen when he answered a call from an unknown number…” Ashley Stahl
While the previous example on storytelling taught us to build a connection with the overall theme of our speech, this TED Talk by Ashley Stahl teaches the significance of body language and voice modulation in effective storytelling.
Observe how she narrates this story with effective pauses and uses inflection to create a sense of drama and suspense.
That’s something we all should keep in consideration while narrating any story.
Storytelling is only effective when conveyed properly with the help of facial expressions, body language, and vocal tonality. This is all done to appeal to the sentiments of the audience because eventually, it is what will make our talk all the more persuasive.
“My story starts from a small, sleepy village of Madhya Pradesh with a population of barely a thousand people…” Surabhi Gautam
You don’t necessarily have to focus all your energy on writing your story with a proper build-up.
If you are using a story to build your credibility as a speaker as well as intrigue your audience, one simple way could be to just begin your speech with something as simple as, “My story starts from…”
Just like this speaker did!
Nothing fancy, nothing over the board but still manages to captivates the interest of the audience because of the following reasons:
“Panic. Embarassed. Exposed. No, that’s not how I’m feeling right now. Those are the feelings I had when I was a fourteen year old boy…” Matt Abrahams
Let’s be honest for a moment- we all have been through the feeling of “Panic, Embarrassed, Exposed” (just how Matt puts it) when asked to speak on stage.
By narrating a story that most of the audience members can relate to, Matt won the hearts of a majority of his audience members and established his credibility as a speaker.
“Two years ago my life changed forever. My wife and I welcomed our daughter Lela in the world…” Josh Kaufman
“This has been the turning point of my life”
How do you feel when someone says something like this to you? Intrigued to know more?
This is the power that the speaker used here. He narrated a story of how being a parent changed his life and eventually, relates this experience to the topic of his speech, which to be honest, is fascinating to witness!
“When I was seven years old and my sister was just five years old, we were playing on top of a bunk bed. I was two years older than my sister at the time — I mean, I’m two years older than her now — but at the time it meant she had to do everything that I wanted to do, and I wanted to play war. So we were up on top of our bunk beds. And on one side of the bunk bed, I had put out all of my G.I. Joe soldiers and weaponry. And on the other side were all my sister’s My Little Ponies ready for a cavalry charge. There are differing accounts of what actually happened that afternoon, but since my sister is not here with us today, let me tell you the true story –“ Shawn Achor
A descriptive story narrated using stylistic language has the strength to move the audience and immerse them into a fictional world.
In terms of storytelling, this technique is by far the most effective yet simplest way.
It’s commonly used while giving out persuasive speeches as it helps the speaker to align the audience’s thoughts with the speaker’s point of view. That’s what Shawn did through the help of his childhood story.
Of course, we all love surprises. Who doesn’t, right?
So, here’s a crazy idea! Why not surprise your audience with your opening remark?
Here’s how you can do so.
Option 1: Go up on that stage, say something totally unexpected and blow the minds! Now, your job doesn’t end here. Once you are done speaking your opening remark, provide your audience as to why you said what you said and what more are you going to offer through the rest of your content. Look at the first example in the next section to see its application.
Option 2: Another thing that you can do is to tell your audience something completely unknown related to the topic of your speech. Something that would make them go like, “Wait, what?” You can either present a shocking piece of information, an unknown taboo of that culture, or even a shocking habit of that cultural population.
Option 3: Tell something unknown not about the culture you are talking about but about yourself. We as humans are always attracted to gossip about other people’s lives. Of course, the audience would be interested in knowing something shocking about your life. But through the content of your speech, do remember to build that connection with your speech.
1. how to start a speech by simon lancaster.
“Who wants to get high? Yeah, you up for some? Should we really get this party started?” Simon Lancaster
Who comes up on stage and asks the audience, “Who wants to get high?”
It’s purely unexpected and shocking!
But in this TED Talk, as the speaker focuses upon highlighting the steps to crafting a strong opening remark (just like we are discussing at this moment), he took it upon himself to use this very element of surprise to capture the audience’s attention.
“The last time I used a flip phone was 3 hours and 24 minutes ago.” Ann Makosinski
Now, after listening to her opening remark, do you want to know why is she still using a flip phone in the 21st Century? (At least, I do)
And that is the strength of a strong opening remark.
After generating this needed curiosity in the minds of her audience, the speaker focused the remainder of her talk telling these reasons to the audience, one by one.
So, yes! We can safely say that starting our speech with an unpopular opinion is an elegant yet simple way to kick-start our speech.
“I can control your emotions and influence your behaviour without showing you anything, without touching you and without saying a word to you.” Dawn Goldworm
Hearing this opening remark is not just shocking but scary too!
I’m sure, just like me, you wish to unearth this secret to control and influence behavior so that you can control minds too.
It’s natural for you to listen to the remainder of the talk for this sole reason.
This way, capturing the attention of her audience was made easy for the speaker, Dawn Goldworm.
“I’m a professional troublemaker!” Luvvie Ajayi Jones
Listening to this opening remark, “what is your reaction?”
Are you thinking how exactly is she a troublemaker just like me? If yes, then the speaker has successfully inculcated this curiosity in us.
But what we all are also wondering is what does that have to do with the theme and the speaker does establish this connection in her follow-up statement right after her opening remark.
So, make sure the next time you are out there presenting a shocking remark, do follow it up with context, always.
“Okay now, I don’t want to alarm anybody in this room, but it’s just come to my attention that the person to your right is a liar. Also, the person to your left is a liar.” Pamela Meyer
While delivering a TED Talk on “How to Spot A Liar”, Pamela begins by spotting a few liars from the audience itself making everyone think, “How did she do that?”
And naturally, with minimum efforts, she lured her audience in to listen to her entire talk as she unfolds different ways in which we all can spot a liar.
“So, the chances are you have looked in at least one mirror today. You’ve had a shave or you combed your hair or maybe you checked your teeth for spinach after lunch, but what you didn’t know is the face that you’re looking at is not the face that everyone sees.” Caroline McHugh
A shocking way to surprise your audience is to simply begin with some obvious observations and follow them up with a unique observation about the very same things- leaving them surprised by catching them completely off-guard.
To get better at this technique, draw some inspiration from this TED Talk by Caroline McHugh as she does a similar thing.
It is so far the easiest way to start your speech with a bang!
Present a fact to elicit the shock value in the minds- be it positive or negative.
But incorporating the right fact in the right way is an art in itself. Let’s dive right into it!
First things first, make sure that your fact is not too generic. It has to be shocking in one way or the other to grip the audience’s attention.
Step 1: Present the fact using simple language. Avoid using technical terms here.
Step 2: Take a pause, give the audience a moment to ponder over it (But don’t wait for TOO LONG!). Next, present an extension of that fact, if you have any, or simply break down the fact by telling the audience how does this fact affects them. Give them the reasons.
1. can we not let our breakups break us by tasha jackson.
“I want you all to know that you are loved because today we can be surrounded by so many people but feel profoundly alone. 68% of Gen Z feels like nobody knows them. An average American has only one close friend and one in four feels like no one.” Tasha Jackson
While presenting facts, it’s important that we go from covering a larger umbrella to the smaller one
This way, the audience knows the exact way in which they are getting affected by this piece of information.
That’s exactly how the speaker, Tasha, rolled her TED Talk.
Once the audience was aware of the intensity of how breakups are affecting each one of them, they were all the more intrigued to know how they can not let breakups affect them to such a drastic extent.
It is this incentive that made the listeners pay attention to her talk as she unfolded all the solutions to this, one by one.
“In Sweden, where I come from, we have 40 thousand marriages a year and each year we have around 20 thousand divorces.” Jonathan Ljungqvist
Create the illusion of an audience poll with your piece of fact, just like this speaker did in his TED Talk.
After highlighting the drastic extent of failed marriages in Sweden, Jonathan took a pause to let that information sink in and in his follow-up statement, he started shooting a few questions at the audience.
After waiting for a few seconds (2-3 seconds is the ideal time duration to wait), Jonathan answered and highlighted the problem at hand.
This made the audience respect and agree with his fact, all the way more.
Through the remainder of his talk, he then went on highlighting the steps to increase love in any relationship.
“I read a recent survey, and what Americans fear most is public speaking and dying.” Dr. Christopher Kerr
How do we perceive death as an individual? It’s a question that most of us have a unique answer to.
In an attempt to establish the relevance of his topic, the speaker uses a fact that highlights how feared death is.
It’s what capitalized the attention of the audience and forced them to listen to what different perspectives he had to offer on the topic from a medical standpoint.
“Saudi Arabia has been engulfed in a massive diplomatic crisis over the gruesome killing of Washingto Post Journalist Jamal Khashoggi” Hasan Minhaj
Now, stating facts doesn’t mean that you just go on telling statistical figures. It also includes different pieces of information, particularly news events!
In this talk, Hasan Minhaj recalls one such news event to set the theme of his talk.
Recalling news events makes our talk relevant while establishing the context. It signifies that as a speaker you are up-to-date with the information that you have to offer. So, the audience looks forward to hearing a talk devoid of redundancies.
We live in a world where dating is the equivalent of buying a new pair of shoes.
Very often, with each dating experience comes the trauma of heartbreaks. As the speaker in this TED Talk rightly said, “breakups break us”.
But how to overcome it has always been a flaming question, particularly among the teens.
But to bring to light the intensity and ever-increasing prevalence of the situation, the speaker took the help of the statistics.
“ Sadly, in the next 18 minutes when I do our chat, four Americans that are alive will be dead from the food that they eat. “ Jamie Oliver
Here, while throwing light upon an alarming issue (hunger), the speaker considered presenting harrowing stats to get that desired ‘concerned mood’.
Similarly, when you wish to highlight an opportunity (say, the positive side of social media), present positive stats showcasing the success of people through social media.
Visuals are always gripping and easy on our minds.
Show respect towards your audience by giving them a needed break from the monotony of “just listening”.
Be a respite and engage them through the power of visuals for a change. Here’s exactly how you can do this.
Step 1: Get in touch with the tech team of your public speaking event and see if the needed technical support is there to facilitate the screening of an image/video.
Step 2: Now, find a visual interesting enough to arise the curiosity but not too generic to make it too predictable for the audience- all related to your theme.
Step 3: Craft a short, concise, and to-the-point follow-up statement to explain the relevance of that visual using simple language.
1. don’t believe everything you think by lauren weinstein.
*shows picture of an elephant.* Lauren Weinstein
In this TED Talk, Lauren draws a beautiful comparison between elephants and the nature of humans by showcasing a few visuals.
She does this through the use of storytelling. Narrating how despite all the strength an elephant has, it doesn’t attempt to break its chains of captivity.
After establishing this, she goes on to connect this act with the thesis of her speech, that is, how one should not always believe everything they think.
What we can take away from this TED Talk is, when visuals are effectively supported by storytelling and the rhetoric of drawing comparison, the impact increases manifold.
*plays a video about scrambled eggs* David Christian
In this unique TED Talk, David Christian explains the origin of the history of our world through the video of a scrambled egg. Unique, isn’t it?
That is exactly what we need to learn here.
We don’t necessarily need to find a visual that directly relates to the theme of our speech. Instead, we can go for a visual that we can use as an aid to explain a similar topic, that is, the theme of our speech.
*shows image of himself in the sea* Ruben Meerman
This TED Talk right here is an example of how you can establish a direct correlation between the visual and your topic- all through the use of storytelling.
Ruben Meerman began his speech by showing a few pictures of himself to talk about his health transformation.
When the audience witnessed the transformation right in front of their eyes, they were curious to know the secret behind it so that they can apply it to their respective lives.
That’s the power of a gripping visual!
YES! You read it right.
No matter how shallow it sounds but the outfit is the first thing we notice every time a speaker walks up that stage.
And if you are dressed differently than the rest of the speakers, you naturally capture the eyes of your audience.
By this, I don’t mean that you go to a branded store and buy the most expensive outfit from there and wear it for your event. What I mean is to put serious thought into deciding what to wear for your event.
Ideally, one should go for an outfit that is unique yet related to the theme of your speech but doesn’t hurt the dress code of the event too. Here’s how.
Step 1: The most basic step is to check with the admin if there is any particular dress code that the speakers need to adhere to. If not, feel free to put on your hat of creativity by following the next steps
Step 2: Pick an outfit that connects with the theme of your speech but is still unique enough for the audience to go like, “Wait, what outfit is this?”
Step 3: Go on the stage wearing that outfit, take a pause, let the audience wonder. After a meaningful silence of 2-3 seconds, start speaking. Open up by telling the audience the significance of the outfit that you are wearing
1. we are all different- and that’s awesome by cole blakeway.
(comes on stage weaing two different pair of socks and shoes) “Hi, my name is Cole and over the next few minutes, I’m going to teach you that it’s okay to be different. Since a young age, I’ve worn different colored socks and two different shoes.” Cole Blakeway
Fascinating opening remark, isn’t it?
Something as simple as wearing different pairs of socks can instill curiosity and help the speaker make his point, “we all are different”.
Since biblical times, we as humans try to fit in different situations. Be it a workplace, college, or even a social gathering for that matter.
In this TED Talk, Cole attempts to shed light on the lesson of embracing our true selves and how there’s nothing wrong with being different.
The tone of such a powerful talk was set just by wearing different pairs of socks.
(switches to a different outfit and speaks) “This is the first outfit change on the TED Stage, so you guys are pretty lucky to witness it, I think.” Cameron Russell
Of course, the traditional way to pull this technique off is to come on stage wearing a unique outfit.
But Cameron Russell finds her very own unique way of a live outfit change wherein she brings a wrap-around skirt and wears over her dress to make a simple point that appearance is not everything, it goes way beyond that.
Seeing a model by profession mark this unlikely outfit transition made the audience trust her thesis all the way more.
They say that communication is a two-way street.
Yet, more often than not, we forget to keep this in mind during all the public speaking events.
We tend o go on speaking and speaking. While sometimes we manage to keep the audience interested, the rest of the time we simply bore the audience to sleep.
To save you here, an easy bet is to organize an activity for your audience towards the very beginning of your speech.
Step 1: Familiarize with your audience. What’s the average age of your audience? What’s their educational and work background? Getting these basic details will help you structure an activity that would ensure maximum participation from them. For instance, if you are addressing a bunch of school students, your activity can involve more physical exercises and less mental exercise. Also, ask yourself, “What is the size of my audience?” This will help you decide on the extent of interactivity.
Step 2: Find an activity that is not too basic. Your activity should make the audience curious about your content. Something that makes the audience wonder, “What does this activity have to do with the theme?” But then they are left amazed as soon as you begin to connect the relevance of the activity with your speech.
Step 3: Don’t make it TOO LONG! Keep it short and sweet.
Step 4: Write a vivid description of the steps involved in the activity so that the audience is not left confused about what to do.
1. are you a giver or a taker by adam grant.
“I want you to look around the room for a minute and try to find the most paranoid person here and then I want you to point that person out for me. (waits and then says) Okay, don’t actually do it.” Adam Grant
Given that Adam’s audience was comprised of more adults, he made them perform a mental exercise as it’s most likely for them to participate in a mental exercise rather than expecting them to move up their seats to do something.
And that’s what happened. The audience participated! Because all they had to do was simply move their heads around to find out a paranoid person.
Most importantly, the activity wasn’t too generic for the audience for them to predict its relevance. So, it made them curious enough to listen to the remainder of Adam’s TED Talk to witness him unravel its relevance.
“Okay, I need a favor. I need all the girls who are between the age of 17 and 24 to stand up.” Courtney Ferrell
Audience Matters! I know, I’ve been saying this A LOT but it’s the key to a great speech opening.
Even in this TED Talk, the speaker made all the girls between the age group of 17 to 24 stand up since she knew that more than 50% of her audience would stand up.
It’s a win-win situation, I’ll tell you how.
When Courtney confessed that she’s about to tell the secret to channel the creative spirit of women and how to empower them.
Those who stood up felt directly connected to the theme and the rest were curious enough to know the secret to see if it can benefit them or someone they know.
“Alright, real quick- say your full name and then say the way white people say your name. So, my name is Hasan Minhaj. I would get a Ha-sen Min-haj-a” Hasan Minhaj
Two important lessons here, my friends!
Since Hasan was addressing a comparatively smaller crowd of around 7 teens, he could incorporate an interactive activity, giving each of his audience members an opportunity to speak.
Before asking each of his audience members to speakers, Hasan himself initiated the act of participation from his end.
This way, the audience was all the more thrilled to speak.
Because when you participate, your audience sees it as an incentive and feels more confident to participate seeing that you as a speaker are making an effort too.
“So, I have a little test for you. Don’t panic, I’m not here to judge you…” Ricardo Lieuw On
“Awaken the competitive nature of your audience members!” This should be your motto here.
But first, make sure that you are clear with the explanation of the rules so that it’s easier for everyone to follow.
Look how the speaker has introduced a competitive activity here to awaken the minds.
This serves two purposes:
Do you remember all the times when your mom used to make you eat green vegetables by instilling some sort of fear?
Be it the fear of dull skin or even poor eyesight for that matter, it eventually made you take that action.
Isn’t this aim of public speeches too? To persuade the audience to take some action after your speech ends? A hundred percent, yes!
So, let’s jump into how we can incorporate fear in our speech opening to make our audience listen to us.
Step 1: At the fear of reiterating myself, “Begin with analyzing your audience”. The Best Guide to Audience Analysis is an article for you to help you do just that.
Step 2: Done with analyzing your audience after reading the article? Now, make a list of their potential fears related to the theme of your speech.
Step 3: Figure out that one fear that is not too triggering. Here, ask yourself, “If I were to listen to this, would I be triggered to a huge extent?” If the answer is yes, leave that fear and choose one that is slightly less triggering but
1. why the secret to sucess is setting the right goals by john doerr.
“We’re at a critical moment Our leaders, some of our great institutions are failing us.” John Doerr
While highlighting how important it is to set the right goals for development, John Doerr begins his speech by pointing at how the institutions are failing their citizens by setting the wrong objectives.
When you are told that someone is failing you, you feel a sense of disappointment, and you are naturally drawn to know the reason behind it to figure out if there’s something you can do to improve the situation.
This is the exact feeling that we are going for here!
In this technique, we are looking forward to getting our audience to daydream without boring them.
This art of imagination works the best for persuasive speeches. Here’s how!
While delivering a persuasive speech, our aim is to align the audience’s thoughts with our thought process but there needs to be a bridge, right? A bridge that the audience can take to step into your thought process.
This bridge is the art of imagination.
Step 1: Decide the emotion that you want your audience to feel. Do you wish to go for a negative emotion or a positive one? My suggestion for you would be to go for a negative one since negative emotions overpower the positive ones, psychologically speaking.
Step 2: Once you have decided on the type of emotion, craft a descriptive outline for the piece of imagination that is related to the theme of your speech.
Step 3: Using simple yet descriptive language, write down your piece of imagination. Remember to write in a chronological order detailing each and every step otherwise your audience won’t truly immerse in that imaginary world. To explain to you in simpler terms, if a few steps are missing from the bridge, you cannot walk to reach the other side, can you?
Step 4: Focus the rest of your speech telling the audience what to do to avoid the situation (in case of a negative imagination) and what to do to reach the situation (in case of a positive imagination).
1. the barrier between us by tvisha bandhu.
“Picture this. You’re in the MRT, you’re scrolling through your phone, and you take notice of this lady walking through the cabin saying ‘hello, hello.'” Tvisha Bandhu
This speech is the perfect example of how one can kick start his speech through the power of closed imagination (one wherein you provided step-by-step details on what to imagine).
Look how the speaker, Tvisha Bandhu, uses her body posture and gestures to emote every sense of feeling encompassed within that imagination.
It works perfectly in sync with her descriptive writing. It’s so descriptive that she has even written the exact dialogues for the characters involved in her imagination such as “Hello, Hello” for the lady who walked through the cabin.
Descriptive writing backed by powerful body language and vocal tonality can increase the impact manifold.
“If I ask you to come on the stage right now & deliver a speech, think what kind of excuses would you come up with.” Pratik Uppal
The second example is of an open imagination.
You don’t necessarily need to provide step-by-step details for the audience to make them imagine a situation
One easy way is to simply tell them to ponder over their reaction to a particular situation and then, go on providing a brief of what exact situation they are put in.
In this TED Talk, the speaker asked the audience to imagine all the excuses that they can come up with to dread a public speaking event. Now, pause! Even you think! I’m sure you too can come up with many without anyone telling you what to imagine exactly.
This is what we call open imagination. Widespread usage of this technique can be seen in movies with open endings wherein the end is treated as possibly the beginning.
“Imagine if you could take your brain and turn it inside out and then have access to the information to be able to virtually solve any problem. It sounds pretty cool, right?” Collins Key
In the previous sections, we discussed the examples for two commonly-used types of imagination- open and closed.
Here, we shall discuss an example of how you can ask the audience to imagine something out of the world.
If you are a Potter-head, you know the strength that this technique entails. The entire series is based upon fiction encompassing a world where everything goes larger than life, even life itself but you still can’t seem to snap out of it because you are that engrossed.
In this TED Talk, Collins opened up his talk with one such piece of imagination wherein he asked the audience to imagine how would they feel if they could simply take their brain out and turn it inside out to find a solution in the blink of an eye instead of spending hours overthinking for it.
Fascinating, right? This intrigued the audience to listen to the rest of his speech in the search of a secret to solve their problems in the quickest way possible.
“Imagine it’s Wednesday 28th of August, 1963 & we’re in the United States Of American, specifically Washington DC.” Mark Robinson
Imagination is only effective if you catering the right piece of imagination to the right audience.
Now, take the example of this TED Talk. Had this TED Talk been delivered to an audience who is not aware of the significance of the person being spoken about, Martin Luther King Jr, his speech would have been totally ineffective.
So, make sure that whatever piece of imagination you have to offer is within the understanding of your audience.
This technique doesn’t require any fancy introduction.
For the longest time, great orators have been starting their respective speeches with one quote or the other to persuade their audience through the art of rhythm.
But the inclusion of this technique as an opening remark is easier said than done. Make sure you follow the steps in the next section.
Before we begin, remember not to use a quote that is too common. Use a quote that is less heard of!
Option 1: The easiest and safest bet is to use a famous quote related to the context of your speech. If the propounder of that quote is associated with the topic of your speech in one way or the other, it’s even better since it establishes the credibility of the quote.
Option 2: The other effective way is to make a quote of your own instead of relying upon someone else’s quote. It’s simpler than it sounds. An easier hack is to use alliteration (occurrence of similar sound at the beginning of adjacent words in a phrase) in the phrase you wish to highlight as your opening remark. For instance, even the title of this section, “Quintessential Quality of A Quote” uses this technique. Read Getting Your ‘Wordsworth’: Poetry in Public Speaking to know how exactly you can write a quote using alliteration and similar techniques.
1. increase your self-awareness with one simple fix by tasha eurich.
Tennessee Williams once told us, “There comes a time when you look into the mirror and you realize that what you see is what you’ll ever be. And then you accept it. Or you kill yourself. Or you stop looking in mirrors.” Tasha Eurich
To see the application of the first alternative in action, watch this TED Talk by Tasha Eurich.
While using someone else’s quote, attribution to the speaker is necessary. You can do so by simply saying something like, “As NAME OF THE SPEAKER rightly said…” Nothing too fancy, simplicity works the best.
Talking about the credibility of the original speaker of the quote, since this TED Talk is focused upon “Self-awareness”, it made Tennessee Williams who was a great playwright in Hollywood, a credible speaker to trust.
“Man makes mistakes & mistakes make the man.” Mathew George
Now, let’s talk about making a quote on our own. Shall we?
The most basic step we discussed under the “how-to” section was alliteration and that’s what the speaker, Mathew George, used in the creation of his opening remark too.
Alliteration provides a rhythm to your speech opening line and makes you sound persuasive naturally.
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We hope that you have found some value here in your journey as a public speaker!
If you wish to know about more such amazing speech opening lines, make sure you check out 15 Powerful Speech Opening Lines (& How to Create Your Own) .
Not just that! We’ve written a similar article on 50 Speech Closing Lines (& How to Create Your Own) l The Ultimate Guide . Make sure you read that to END YOUR SPEECH WITH A BANG!
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