Great Teaching: Eight Strategies to Immediately Engage Your Audience

Have you ever been bored by a speaker before he finished his first sentence? What about when you step up to the front of a room to speak. Do you know exactly what your first words will be? Whether welcoming new students to the first class of a semester, making a presentation at a 4-H event or speaking at a conference, your introductory statement can make or break you. In fact, your first two or three words can determine a successful launch or leave you stalled-out. This paper describes eight strategies that both novice and seasoned speakers may use to successfully launch presentations.