Fellow speaker,
Professional speaker Patricia Fripp suggests these as possible opening techniques:
- Refer to something in the program - ask another speaker on the program how they closed their speech and then use their closing as your opener - use company's theme or slogans - sit in on the conference so can callback to best moments in your speech - poll audience in hallway on what they thought the best moments then callback to those moments in your speech
- Remember a special date or cause - founding of company - product launch - introduction of new advertising campaign - group(s) the company is committed to help
- Poem or song - use walk-on music - sing the opening one to three lines of a song, deliver the next couple of lines speaking. Transition into your message. Sing the last line of the song to transition into your next talking point - poem must be relatively unknown to the audience - use an original poem
Singing a song,
Tim Wilson
Professional Speech Coach
Free speaking tips at: http://speakingquicktips.blogspot.com
