How do you start off a speech?

Answer 1

Great question. The objective is to capture the audience's attention and get them to lean in and engage. I like to ask a relevant thought provoking question.

Answer 2

This is one of the most important parts of a speech - the introduction. You want to think about your audience. What is important to them? This is called audience analysis.

Then choose an interesting fact or question that will "grab" their attention and draw them into the speech.

For example, I could say:

"Squirrels are nimble, bushy-tailed rodents found all over the world. They belong to the Sciuridae family, which includes prairie dogs, chipmunks and marmots."

Or I could say:

"What animal can glide 300 feet and make 180 degree turns?"

By grabbing their attention from the beginning, you have started off in an impactful way!