Tips on how to Begin a Presentation [+ Examples]

Step one in mastering the artwork of delivering highly effective shows is knowing methods to begin a presentation correctly.

On this submit, you will uncover methods for crafting a stable presentation opening, designing an impactful opening slide, and delivering a memorable presentation.

Desk of Contents

Whereas there is not a one-size-fits-all strategy to beginning a presentation, profitable shows throughout all niches share widespread denominators contributing to their effectiveness.

On this part, you’ll be taught 4 important methods these shows leverage and methods to incorporate them into your subsequent presentation opening.

1. Lead with an attention-grabbing opener.

Capturing the viewers’s consideration is without doubt one of the most vital but difficult duties audio system face when beginning a presentation. Listed here are some real-world methods that make this activity a bit simpler.

Incite curiosity.

In Phil Waknell’s TedTalk, titled “The three Magic Elements of Wonderful Displays,“ he opens with an fascinating assertion: ”Most individuals who come to talk at Ted are right here as a result of they‘ve succeeded. I’m right here as a result of I have never.”

This opening assertion is highly effective as a result of slightly than lead along with his “credentials” or “accolades,” because the viewers probably expects, he defies that expectation.

He creates a way of intrigue that immediately piques the viewers’s curiosity and compels them to pay nearer consideration.

Infuse humor.

In Tom Thum’s TedTalk titled Beatbox Brilliance, he units a lighthearted tone by stepping on stage carrying outsized sun shades and declaring, “My identify is Tom, and I’ve come right here right now to return clear about what I do for cash.”

As you would possibly anticipate, this humorous strategy not solely elicits laughter but in addition surprises the viewers, who’re intrigued and pleasantly shocked on the tone he units for the presentation.

Ask a query.

Graham Shaw’s presentation titled “Why individuals imagine they’ll’t draw – and methods to show they’ll” begins with, “Hello, I’ve obtained a query for you – how many individuals right here would say they’ll draw?”

Seeing as this can be a comparatively lighthearted query that’s easy to reply, the viewers responds instantly.

Now, what makes this a robust opening method is that Graham then goes on to say:

“When individuals say they’ll’t draw, I believe it is extra to do with beliefs slightly than expertise and talent. Once you say you may’t draw, that’s simply an phantasm, and right now I’d wish to show that to you.”

By instantly difficult a extensively held perception among the many viewers and promising to debunk it through the presentation, he employs a robust method that retains the viewers absolutely engaged.

This strategy makes the viewers really feel “invested” within the consequence of the presentation and curious as as to if he can again up his declare.

2. Inform your viewers why they need to be listening to you.

Getting your viewers’s consideration is only one a part of the equation. After you have it, you could additionally clarify why they need to “hold” listening to you. Listed here are some methods to do that:

Spotlight related private expertise.

In Phil Waknell’s opening part, he talks about how he’s spent the final ten years serving to convention audio system, enterprise leaders, and entrepreneurs put together and ship highly effective shows.

This instantly indicators to the viewers that he’s somebody value listening to and positions him as a reputable supply of insights based mostly on the wealth of expertise he has gathered.

Spotlight your experience.

In the course of the opening part of Dr. Lara Boyd’s presentation titled “After watching this, your mind won’t be the identical,” she says, “I’m Dr. Lara Boyd, and I’m a mind researcher right here on the College of British Columbia.”

Sharing her credentials as a mind researcher is essential to gaining her viewers’s belief — particularly contemplating the technicality of her matter.

However even whereas creating shows outdoors fields like mind analysis, sharing {qualifications} and credentials in your opening part could be a highly effective method.

This helps you place your self as a reputable authority and reinforcing your viewers’s confidence in your capability to ship priceless info.

Inform your viewers what’s in it for them.

In Mel Robbins’ opening part for her presentation titled “Tips on how to cease screwing your self over,” she ends her introduction by saying:

“I’m right here for you. I’m going to let you know every little thing I do know in lower than 18 minutes about methods to get what you need.”

Though she began the part by highlighting her experiences and experience, she went additional by explicitly stating the advantages her viewers can anticipate from her presentation.

Doing this can be a nice solution to create a compelling purpose on your viewers to take a position their time and a spotlight and emphasize the worth of the presentation you’re about to ship.

3. Introduce your matter.

In case your matter is comparatively easy to understand or your viewers is especially educated, introducing your matter might be as straightforward as “At the moment, I’m going to be speaking to you about how we’ve constructed a six-figure software program firm in 6 months.”

Nonetheless, in case your matter is extra advanced or unfamiliar to the viewers, you could do a bit extra heavy lifting in your opening part.

For instance, Sam Bern’s “My philosophy for a cheerful life” presentation discusses how he lives a cheerful life regardless of having Progeria illness.

Nonetheless, as a result of this situation may be unfamiliar to some viewers members, he takes a while in his opening part to speak in regards to the sickness earlier than delving into the meat of his presentation.

Equally, for those who’re presenting on a posh matter or to an viewers that isn’t educated, it’s important to contemplate this when crafting your opening part.

4. Leverage storytelling.

Tales can create immersive experiences that captivate the viewers and convey a core message.

For instance, within the opening part of Sam Bern’s presentation, he tells a narrative about his struggles whereas making an attempt to attain his aim of changing into a drummer in his college marching band, regardless of dwelling with Progeria illness.

This units the tone for his total presentation by conveying an inspiring message of combating towards and succeeding regardless of the percentages.

One other nice instance is the opening part of Josh Kaufman’s presentation, titled “The First 20 Hours — methods to be taught something,” the place he tells a narrative about his expertise as a time-strapped first-time guardian.

This story enhances the presentation as Josh ultimately shares that this expertise triggered his curiosity in learning methods to develop into an environment friendly learner.

Lastly, Amy Morins’s presentation “The Secret of Turning into Mentally Robust” is one other wonderful instance of leveraging storytelling.

Amy begins her presentation with a thought-provoking story about observing a Fb pal’s seemingly excellent life.

She then highlights how such comparisons can result in detrimental thought patterns and emphasizes the significance of cultivating psychological resilience.

This relatable story not solely resonates along with her viewers but in addition units the stage for her message on constructing interior power.

All these shows are nice examples that spotlight how incorporating story-telling in your openings could be a highly effective software for creating memorable and impactful shows.

1. “Blackboard is Getting an Improve”

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That is the opening slide of a presentation to tell and educate instructors about vital modifications to the instructing infrastructure.

What we like: Change might be uncomfortable, particularly when modifying important infrastructure. That is why it’s vital to straight confront why the change is going on proper from the start of the presentation.

Greatest for: Displays that sort out vital modifications, particularly people who might evoke discomfort and straight affect the viewers.

2. “Exploring ChatGPT for Efficient Educating and Studying”

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That is the opening slide of a presentation that teaches instructors methods to use ChatGPT to interact and assist their college students.

What we like: This opening slide successfully units the tone for the presentation by capturing the viewers’s consideration with a compelling hook and impactful picture.

The phrase “ChatGPT is a disruptive, rising expertise,” paired with the putting picture of a obvious pink button, conveys the magnitude and significance of this emergent expertise and piques the viewers’s curiosity from the beginning.

Greatest for: Displays that discover traits or matters which can be new, cutting-edge, and even controversial.

3. “State of the Cloud 2023—The AI period”

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That is the opening slide of a presentation that explores the affect of the “AI period” and the “cloud financial system” on the financing ecosystem.

What we like: That is one other wonderful instance of opening a presentation with an attention-grabbing hook.

“Residing within the multiverse” is an unsettling however fascinating concept that instantly captures the viewers’s consideration and units the stage for a thought-provoking presentation.

Greatest for: Displays that introduce new or disruptive concepts to your viewers and require their full consideration and curiosity.

4. “2022 Girls within the Office”

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That is the opening slide of a briefing on the important thing findings from McKinsey & Firm’s “2022 Girls within the Office examine.”

What we like: This opening slide is superb as a result of it offers a wealth of supporting information as an alternative of instantly delving into the examine’s findings.

Sharing particulars, such because the variety of individuals and the examine‘s methodology, not solely strengthens the credibility of the analysis — it primes the viewers by addressing the essential query of why they need to care in regards to the examine’s outcomes.

Greatest for: Displays that ship important findings that require extra context for the viewers to understand their relevance absolutely.

5. “13 stuff you didn’t know you may do with the S Pen.”

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That is the opening slide of a presentation discussing the upgraded performance of the Samsung Galaxy Be aware’s stylus — the S Pen.

What we like: Proper from the opening slide, this presentation addresses the core downside it goals to resolve – customers not taking full benefit of the S Pen’s capabilities.

It’s also designed to talk on to the person by explicitly calling out the most typical use circumstances within the first sentence, “The S Pen isn’t simply nice writing and sketching.”

Greatest for: Displays that introduce a brand new product/providing or reintroduce a revamped product/providing.

6. “About Indegene”

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That is the opening slide of an introductory presentation by a health-tech firm referred to as Indegene.

What we like: This presentation by Indegene hits the mark proper from the opening slide. It skillfully makes use of the “what,” “why,” and “how” inquiries to succinctly convey the corporate’s identification, choices, and audience, all inside a single panel.

It then makes use of the opposite panel to determine credibility by highlighting the corporate’s spectacular buyer base.

Greatest for: Displays that require “promoting” your product or firm to the viewers. Some examples embrace gross sales conferences and investor pitches.

7. “Way forward for Commerce 2021”

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That is the opening slide for a presentation on the fourth version of the Dubai Multi Commodity Centre’s flagship report, “The Way forward for Commerce.”

What we like: Not like McKinsey’s briefing presentation, this opening slide uniquely establishes credibility by counting on the status of the presenting group, DMCC, and the in depth analysis performed over the previous 4 years.

This different methodology of creating credibility is useful when report findings aren’t derived from externally collected information, comparable to surveys, however as an alternative depend on the group’s experience in understanding and analyzing traits.

Greatest for: Displays that ship findings based mostly on “knowledgeable evaluation.”

8. “ChatGPT”

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That is the opening slide of a presentation explaining what ChatGPT is and the way writers can use it.

What we like: This opening slide makes use of a simple strategy that instantly addresses the viewers‘s questions proper from the presentation’s begin.

This strategy is efficient as a result of the first goal of the presentation is to teach the viewers about an rising and unfamiliar expertise — synthetic intelligence chatbots.

Addressing this aim straight from the opening slide is a good way to seize the viewers’s consideration and set the tone for a priceless and informative session.

Greatest for: Academic shows that introduce new or unfamiliar ideas or concepts.

One other (much less dramatic) instance might be seen in Pablos Holman’s intro part, the place he provides humor by sharing humorous laptop screenshots whereas discussing hacking right into a fellow lodge visitor’s laptop.

Though these are very completely different strategies of injecting humor firstly of a presentation, they present how infusing humor could be a highly effective software for including a contact of character and making a extra pleasurable presentation for the viewers.

4. Maintain it brief and candy.

Whereas it is vital to not rush by means of the beginning of your presentation, protecting your opening concise is equally vital. However keep in mind, concise doesn’t imply sacrificing substance; it merely means delivering info effectively.

Basically, you need a gap part that means that you can create a stable preliminary impression with out dropping the viewers’s curiosity.

So, how lengthy ought to this opening secretion be?

Most profitable presentation openings are beneath three minutes, and plenty of are shorter, typically clocking in at beneath one minute.

5. Embrace authenticity.

Opposite to widespread perception, there is not a particular character that makes somebody a greater presenter. The truth is, probably the most impactful shows have been delivered by people with numerous characters.

Take, as an example, the contrasting kinds of Tom Thum’s irreverent humor and animated mannerisms and Sam Bern, who adopts a relaxed and conversational strategy. Regardless of their variations, each audio system have garnered hundreds of thousands of views for his or her talks.

So, slightly than emulating or mimicking their shows, the important thing takeaway is to embrace authenticity.

Enable your character to shine by means of, lean in your strengths, and be human in your supply.

Mastering the Artwork of Charming Displays

Beginning a presentation is a ability that’s as a lot an artwork as it’s a science. Fortunately, additionally it is a ability that may be discovered and honed.

By implementing the methods on this information and refining them by means of expertise, you’ll develop into a grasp at delivering impactful shows that command consideration and depart an enduring impression.

All from the second you step onto the stage.