How To Have An Interesting And
Effective Safety Meeting . . .
Your Opening - Part II
"Before I speak, I have something important
to say."
--Groucho Marx
How you begin a presentation is as important as a
smooth, fast start is to a sprinter. Like the sprinter who must
not stumble at the starting block, you must avoid the handicap of
a poor introduction. If you capture attention and interest at the
beginning, you’re likely to keep your listeners with you until
the end. But if you lose them from the start, when they really want
to listen, you’re letting yourself in for some heavy sledding
in trying to get them back. That’s why you should practice
your introduction until you can say it without stumbling or looking
at any notes.
It’s also important that you know how to design
your opening so it arouses interest. Two effective ways to do this
were described in: "Your Opening Part I’ (1. Relate the
Topic to the Audience, and 2. Startle the Audience). Here are five
more:
1. Emphasize the Importance of Your Topic
"What we discuss today may save your life tomorrow."
Often you can combine this technique with the others. Begin by stating
that your topic will have a strong impact on an audience’s
life, limb, money, sex-life or happiness and guaranteed you’ll
have their rapt attention. Just don’t lie. Certainly a session
on fall protection could save somebody’s life. However, if
you are talking about hangnails, it’s a long stretch to say
the topic is of life and death importance.
2. Display An Object
Perhaps the easiest way in the world to gain attention
is to hold up something for people to look at. Almost any creature,
from the simplest to the most complex, will give heed to that kind
of stimulus. Even the most dignified audiences will accept the use
of a "prop," provided the use of it makes sense.
3. Begin With a Rhetorical Question
You can ask one or more rhetorical questions in your
opening or elsewhere in your presentation. An introduction relying
on a single question is likely to provoke an immediate mental response
from the audience. As soon as you ask, for example, "What would
you do if a fire broke out in this room—and the exit door wouldn’t
open?" the listeners are thinking of their answers as they
anticipate yours.
Like beginning with a startling statement, opening
with a question works best when the question is meaningful to the
audience and firmly related to the content of the presentation.
It also works most effectively when you pause for just a moment
after each question. This adds dramatic impact and gives the question
time to sink in.
4. Tell a Short Story
We all enjoy stories—especially if they are provocative,
amusing, dramatic, or suspenseful. To work well as introductions,
they should also be clearly relevant to the main point of the speech.
Used in this way, stories are perhaps the most effective way to
begin a speech or presentation. You can use stories based on your
personal experience, a newspaper report or you can make one up as
long as you let your audience know it's fictitious.
5. Start Right Off With Audience Participation
One of the best ways to "get your audience involved"
in your presentation is by actually involving them. Right from the
get-go ask for a volunteer or perhaps ask for a show of hands in
answer to a question such as "How many of you have been in
more than four automobile accidents?"
Be careful using this opener. Getting an audience
to participate, especially if you want them to move around, may
alienate them. They probably came to watch and listen to you. Don’t
force the participation. Be lighthearted about it and cheerfully
coax your audience.
One Final Tip:
Because your opening is so vital, memorize it.
Not only will this help you connect with your audience (you won’t
be looking down at your notes) you’ll also be less likely to
stumble when you start.
Read On
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