How to greet the audience at the beginning of a PhD defense talk/presentation?

Question

I'll be giving a 30-min public talk as a part of my PhD defense next month. It would be attended by the examination committee (consisting of my advisor and two examiners). I reckon that some professors/lecturers from the university might also join it apart from my colleagues and friends. What would be a suitable - neither too short or seemingly-snappy nor too long and boring - way to address the audience at the very beginning of my talk? For instance, starting with > Hello everyone sounds a bit too informal to me. Personally, I am inclined to starting with > Respected members of the examination committee...but I am not sure if that, because of the "*Respected* ", may be considered too traditional (unfortunately, I don't recall how my colleagues who graduated in the last years did it - you never focus on such aspects until it is your turn :-$). Should I refer to the examination committee using names, as in:> Respected members of the examination committee, Prof. X, Prof. Y, and Prof. Zor better not?For peers and friends, addressing could simply continue as > ... and dear colleagues and friends. Should I also try to sandwich another category specifically for the other professors and lecturers? If so, what could be a suitable way to address them?

Answer 1

First off, congratulations on reaching your defense! You did something not many people get to do (including me), so take some time to feel excited in-between feeling nervous.

There are standard ways to begin a talk, and generally, these aren't bad to memorize. For one, having a low-impact (and brief) start to your presentation memorized will let you look away from your computer and out at the audience. You'll be able to make eye contact with your colleagues, friends, and maybe family, and use their delight and smiles to boost your mood.

So something like, "My name is [______], and welcome to my thesis defense. So thank you to my committee [take a second to look them each in the eyes as you say it], my friends [find them in the audience and smile at them], and colleagues [same thing here] for coming here and finding this room. Thank you for your support and your attendance. I'm here to tell you about the results of my research over the last [five, six, or seven] years of my life. So without any further ado, let me begin."

(and then you can begin)

From the defenses that I went to, people waited to name specific names at the end of their talk in a sort of pre-question acknowledgement section. So that's when you can pull out the specific titles and names of your committee members. Starting with the general acknowledgement keeps it short, but it also gives you a moment to collect yourself that should (in my experience) make the whole presentation go easier.

In the end, think about what you said about remembering the beginning of your colleagues' defenses: you didn't remember. In other words, you can't mess this up! People are there to celebrate with you -- even if your committee still has the final say -- so try and keep that in mind.

Good luck, and have fun. Congratulations again!