This is the final entry on the opening of your presentation so let’s review the main items:
2. Self-introduction
4. Topic
The last two things to include when you open your talk are:
7. Timing
8. Questions
7. Timing
It is a good idea to let the audience know how long you intend to speak for. This allows them to adjust their expectations. In other words, they will be more likely to maintain concentration if they know that you are speaking longer and not as likely to feel disappointed as long as you already announced that your talk would be short.
8. Questions
I highly recommend that the audience is made clearly aware of your preferred question policy. Do you want the audience to ask questions and make comments during your talk, or would you feel more comfortable if they saved this until the end?
Following this structure here is a sample opening:
Good Afternoon
My name is Anthony Carver. In my role as a corporate instructor in the last 10 years, I have enjoyed helping people from more than 100 companies communicate better.
I’d like to ask you all a question; please raise your hands if you love speaking in front of an audience.
Today, I’m going to talk about how to make a more effective presentation.
I shall divide my speech into 3 parts.
First, I want to tell you how to prepare your presentation.
Next, let me explain the basic structure of a presentation.
And finally, I intend to discuss how you can improve your body language.
By the end of my talk, you will have information that is sure to improve your presentation by more than 100%.
I’m going to speak for about 10 minutes.
And if you have any questions, I’ll be happy to answer them at the end of my talk.
