Next level communicators understand the power of introductions.
Next level communicators understand the power of introductions.
Mark Twain, one of the most sought after orators of his time, understood the power of an introduction. He once invited to speak on the day commemorating Europeans arriving at Plymouth Rock; it was to be a festive occasion, but Twain immediately “rained on their parade.” In a speech entitled, “Plymouth Rock and the Pilgrims,” his first words shocked his audience: “I rise to protest. I have kept still for years; but really I think there is no sufficient justification for this sort of thing. What do you want to celebrate those people for?—those ancestors of yours of 1620—the Mayflower tribe, I mean. What do you want to celebrate them for?” Mark Twain would go on to talk about what these ancestors had done to Native Americans and the evil of colonization…all in his introduction! Talk about getting their attention.
Whether we agree with Mark Twain’s view of the pilgrims and American history is not the takeaway. Rather, what should stick with us as communicators is he immediately grabbed their eyes, which is the whole purpose of an introduction.
The first words which come out of our mouths are the most important part of our presentation. Communication experts say we live in the most challenging time in world history as speakers, because of what technology has done to attention spans. Some have gone as far as to point out how we only have about ninety seconds or so to grab our audience's attention, or they will fiddle with their phones, check their emails or wonder what they are going to do with the rest of their day. Yeh, I know the really good stuff of your speech is in the body or the conclusion, but if the crowd is checking emails because you failed to grab them, then they will be distracted when the punchline of your talk comes around. Just like the first forty eight hours of a murder investigation are the most critical, so our opening ninety seconds are the most important part of what we will say. So we have to come out the gate swinging.
Here’s some essentials when putting together your introduction:
The purpose is to make people lean in. You can do this by making a provocative statement (Like Mark Twain), telling a joke, a fascinating story or raising an important question. You can also capture the crowd by some sort of visual aid. There’s a lot of ways to make people lean in and listen.
Introductions should not be random, but must tie into the body of your talk. Because of this, your opening remarks should be prepared after you figure out the essence of what you are going to say, or what your first point is. Think of it this way: When a person is building a house, they don’t build the front porch, or put together the landscaping first, but the main body of the home. Our introduction is the front porch or landscape- it’s what people first notice, but its value is that it is attached to the home. Figure out the central idea, or the first point, and then think through the introduction. What we say in the beginning should attach directly to our opening point, or to the central theme of the message.
Introductions should be brief. Do I need to say more? I try to stay in the two to three minute range (at the most) for my introduction.
What I am reading:
Gratitude, Cornelius Plantinga.
Don’t forget to check out my latest book, Grace to Overcome.
