How to open a presentation: what to say and how to say it

Sharing a joke or an amusing anecdote can win over an audience right at the start. But the risk is high, too. You need to be comfortable telling a joke. You need to know what your audience will be comfortable with. And you need to be prepared to move on quickly if the joke misses.

Get to the point. You’ll have the full attention of the audience when you begin. Don’t squander that with informal asides, apologies for a stuffy nose, or multiple thank-yous. After a few words that convey who you are, hit the audience with an eyepopping number, a surprising assertion, or a relevant story that sets up your presentation. For example:

According to the Federal Reserve, 40% of American adults don’t have the cash or savings to cover a $400 emergency expense.

In 1939, Albert Einstein wrote secretly to President Roosevelt about atomic weapons. After a scientific briefing, Roosevelt called in his military aide, General Pa Watson. “Pa! This requires action!” Thus began the Manhattan Project, a sprawling collaboration…

Deliver your big idea. The opening builds up to your big idea -- a single sentence that conveys your point of view and what’s at stake. The big idea is the main point you’re trying to make in your presentation. For example:

Customer experience is everyone’s business.

Or

AI and bioengineering will change the world more than anything in human history.