Comments on: Three levels of presentation openings – which should you use?

By: Marco Montemagno

Marco Montemagno — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:38:37 +0000

Hi Olivia! Hi at at http://www.presenterimpossible.com I’m sharing tips and advice for all the people interested in delivering unconventional presentations and I agree with you about the opening! I just wrote “9 tips to get your audience’s attention in 10 seconds” maybe can be an additional help for your readers

By: Cum incepem o prezentare? (2) | pregateste-te.ro

Cum incepem o prezentare? (2) | pregateste-te.ro — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 06:14:31 +0000

[...] prezentate au fost completate si adaptate pornind de la articolul publicat pe http://www.speakingaboutpresenting.com/content/presentation-openings-levels/, cu acordul autorului Olivia Mitchell. Comenteaza prin [...]

By: khaqan

khaqan — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 13:34:20 +0000

Hi Mam, I impressed after read your presentation opening.

By: Olivia Mitchell

Olivia Mitchell — Mon, 24 May 2010 09:34:49 +0000

Hi Shankar
That does sound like a great system for opening a presentation.
Olivia

By: Shankar Nath

Shankar Nath — Mon, 24 May 2010 03:30:22 +0000

When addressing a group of juniors at work, I always use the Steve Jobs Stamford Univ. Commencement Speech pattern. Here’s how he did it -
Sentence 1 – “I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world.” (Praise the audience)
Sentence 2 – “Truth be told, I never graduated from college and this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation.” (Connecting with the audience)
Sentence 3 – “Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories.” (Set the agenda)

I call this the NOBO approach (NO-Brainer-Opening) and has worked everytime I address my staff members who are junior to me and esp. in sales meetings.

By: bunny_car (bunny_car)

bunny_car (bunny_car) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 07:26:08 +0000

http://tinyurl.com/cfsg2w
Presentation Openings | Speaking about Presenting: Presentation Tips from Olivia Mitchell

By: 10 Steps to Promote Learning in Your Conference Presentation « ALA Learning

10 Steps to Promote Learning in Your Conference Presentation « ALA Learning — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:37:34 +0000

[...] that is about to take place. Olivia Mitchell, who blogs over at Speaking and Presenting, suggests three possible openings – Organized Opening, Story Opening, Dramatic Opening — and discusses when/why to use [...]

By: Life After PowerPoint! » Blog Archive » Where to Start a Speech

Life After PowerPoint! » Blog Archive » Where to Start a Speech — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:25:47 +0000

[...] I’ve blogged about ways to begin a speech here and Olivia Mitchell offers her insights here. [...]

By: Ricardo Bueno

Ricardo Bueno — Fri, 01 May 2009 18:52:09 +0000

Hi Olivia!

Thank you for the quick response and the reinforcement! I never opened up with an extensive business/company profile because I didn’t want to come across as pushy. I guess I figured “I’m here to be helpful and if people see value in what I do, they’ll ask me for help afterwards” – and those are the kind of people I ultimately want to work with anyhow.

What I don’t have are handouts. I have my business cards and I direct people to website (portfolio and blog) and schedule appointments then and there. I’m often pretty good about follow up to which has worked well. BUT…maybe I should cook up a few hand-outs to compliment my presentation

Thanks Olivia!

By: Olivia Mitchell

Olivia Mitchell — Fri, 01 May 2009 08:22:08 +0000

Thanks Ricardo for adding your experience. Notice that I say that opening with a question is “risky” not that it shouldn’t be done. The risk is that some audiences who are conditioned to take a very passive role during a presentation will not respond. The riskiness also depends on the personality of the presenter – if you’re the type who can develop instant rapport – the risk will be less. So congrats that it works for you – and it may not work for everyone and for every audience.

I definitely don’t recommend opening with your business/company profile. People aren’t interested in this until they’ve decided that they might want to do business with you. As not everybody in your audience is likely to be interested in this, I would recommending putting this information in a handout.

Olivia