Brian Tracy shows seven ways to open a presentation that connect to your closing. Start with a problem, a rhetorical question, a startling statement, a personal story, a common goal, a comparison, or a promise of benefits.
Hello there. An important part of designing an excellent talk is to plan your opening and to introduce the subject so that it connects to your closing. We imagine that a talk is like a circle, and it starts at the top like a clock, and it goes tick, tick, tick, and it comes around back to where it started. The opening sets the stage. It's almost like spiking a volleyball. The opening sets the stage and starts the ball in play and leads to wham. The end of the game. So here are seven ways that you can open a talk effectively to achieve this result. The first way to open a talk is to present a problem that needs a solution. For example, you can say, ladies and gentlemen, our sales are down while the market is growing and our competition is taking our best customers. That's a problem that needs a solution, and it gets everybody really interested in what you're going to say and the solution you're going to present. The second way to open a talk is to present a common goal and promise to show them how to achieve it. In your talk, you can start by saying, everyone wants to be financially independent, but only 5% of people achieve it. In this talk, I'll show you how you can be a part of the 5%. You have everybody's attention. Another way that you could open a talk is to ask a rhetorical question to grab attention. A rhetorical question is one that has an obvious answer, such as, how many people here want to live to be 100? This is a fabulous opening since everybody will raise their hand or lean forward, and then you say, well, I will share with you today some helpful habits that can dramatically increase the likelihood of you getting to 100 years old. And everybody is interested in health will be leaning forward to hear what you have to say. They'll wonder, what is it? What can I do? How can I achieve that goal? A fourth way you can open a talk is to make a startling statement. I once heard a speaker friend of mine say, ladies and gentlemen, 72% of you here will be out of this current job within the next 12 months. Now, that's a startling statement, and it causes everybody to relate to it personally. And then he went on to explain and talk about change and transition and downsizing and the importance of keeping up your skills and so on. A fifth way you can open your talk is to tell your own story of why you're here. You could say something like, when I got into sales management, I didn't know anything about how to sell or how to manage people, and most of my best people quit within two months. Then I sat down and I figured out that the problem was me. This is a very good way to open a talk if you're speaking to sales managers, especially because they can instantly relate to what you're saying. A sixth way that you can prepare a wonderful opening is to compare or contrast two things or two conditions that gets people's minds really alert to the subject. For example, you could say more people are healthy and living to be 100 today than at any other time in human history. And yet more people are overweight and dying of degenerative diseases today than ever before in human history. Why is this happening? After this, everybody will be interested and ready for your talk. Lastly, promise them advantages and benefits from listening. In other words, you could say, with what you learned today, you're going to gain two hours of productive time every day, increase your income, and have more time for your family. This is a powerful way to get people's attention. Thank you for viewing this video on the seven Most Effective Ways to Open a Talk and Make a Powerful Presentation. If you enjoyed this video, please press the like button below and and click on the link on the screen to subscribe to my channel.
