How to Start a Speech: Strategies, Challenges & Examples

How do you start a speech with impact? What is the best way to start a speech? What’s the best introduction for a speech? What’s the best opening line for a speech? How to write an introduction for a speech?

Meet the Author: Benjamin Ball

Ben is the founder of Benjamin Ball Associates and leads the presentation coaching and pitch deck creation teams. Formerly a corporate financier in the City of London, for 20+ years he’s helped businesses win with better pitches and presentations, particularly investor pitches. He is a regular speaker and a guest lecturer at Columbia Business School and UCL London.  Follow Ben on LinkedIn or visit the contact page. 

TL;DR: How Do You Start a Speech with Impact?

If you want to give a great speech, the first few seconds of your speech are crucial—your audience will decide whether to listen or tune out almost immediately after your opening lines. Avoid generic openings like “Hi, my name is…” and instead grab attention with a powerful introduction.

How to Start a Speech – the Best Ways:
✔ Tell a personal story – Make your message relatable and engaging.
✔ Ask a rhetorical question – Encourage audience participation and curiosity.
✔ Use a strong quote – Inspire and set the tone.
✔ Share a surprising fact or statistic – Capture interest with impactful data.
✔ Describe a scenario – Help the audience visualise a situation.
✔ Do something unexpected – Break expectations to create a memorable moment.

A strong start builds credibility, maintains audience interest, and makes your message more memorable. Keep your opening concise, relevant, and engaging to set the stage for a compelling speech.

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Why is a Good Start To Your Speech Important?

Because audiences judge you within seconds. They quickly decide whether or not to listen. That’s why it’s so important to hook your audience at the start of your speech – immediately.  That’s the art of public speaking – to grab attention.

How to start a speech or presentation? When presenting, the first few seconds of your talk are the most important.

You can win, or lose, your audience within 10 seconds. Learn how to start a persuasive speech powerfully. That also means learning how to write a speech. Structuring an opening that grabs attention and sets the scene means the audience will be with you all the way through the rest of your speech. That’s how you ensure a successful speech.

Key Benefits of a Strong Opening

How to start a speech? Your opening sets the tone for your entire presentation. A strong start grabs your audience’s attention, establishes your credibility, and helps them to engage with your content. In the first minute you need attention-getters as your first words so you make a memorable first impression. This makes it much easier for you to deliver the rest of your speech.

Whether you’re pitching a new idea, presenting quarterly results, or leading a training session, how you begin your presentation sets the tone. Grabbing your audience’s attention from the start is not just desirable – it’s essential. Why?

1. First Impressions Matter
   Your audience forms opinions about you and your message within the first few seconds of your presentation. By starting strong, you demonstrate confidence, credibility, and preparedness, instantly engaging your audience and establishing trust.
2. You Capture Attention
   We all suffer from information overload, to grabbing attention is tough. A strong start piques curiosity and creates anticipation, compelling your audience to lean in and participate in your presentation. Whatever technique you use, your opening should command attention.
3. You Set Expectations
   A strong beginning sets expectations for what’s to come. It provides a roadmap for your presentation, outlining the key points and objectives you intend to cover. This clarity helps orient your audience, allowing them to follow along more effectively and stay engaged throughout the presentation.
4. You Build Momentum
   Like a locomotive gathering steam, a strong start propels your presentation forward. It creates energy, drawing your audience into the narrative and building anticipation for what lies ahead. This momentum carries through the rest of your presentation, sustaining engagement and making it more memorable.
5. You Maximise Impact
   Studies have shown that audiences recall information better when it’s presented at the beginning and end of a presentation. By starting strong, you maximise the impact of your message. Key points are more likely to stick with your audience long after the presentation concludes. This increases the likelihood of your audience taking action or making decisions based on your presentation.
6. You Differentiate Yourself
   Standing out from the competition is essential. A strong opening helps you differentiate yourself by demonstrating your unique perspective, insights, or approach. Whether it’s through storytelling, humour, or a bold statement, find a way to make your presentation memorable and distinct.
7. You Get your Audience in the Right Frame of Mind
   If your audience is feeling good, intrigued and curious after your first minute then you can feel confident that you have a good introduction and are about to deliver a good speech.

How to Start a Persuasive Speech

And as a business leader, great communication skills are vitally important. In addition, psychologists have shown us a phenomenon known as the primacy effect. Your audience is more likely to remember the first bits of information they hear.

Working with a speech writer/ public speaking coach can help you make the impact you want when you begin a speech.

What are Effective Ways to Begin a Speech?

Here are several excellent ways to start, many of which you’ll recognise from the greatest speeches of all time. (see below):

• Start with a personal story: A relevant story can draw listeners in and make your topic relatable. Personal stories are powerful.
• Ask a rhetorical question: Engaging your audience with a thought-provoking question encourages participation. A great speech will often include many rhetorical questions.
• Use a well-chosen quote: A powerful quote from an historical event can resonate with your theme and inspire your audience.
• Present a surprising fact or statistic: This can grab interest and highlight the importance of your topic.

These are our top tips for the most powerful ways to start a speech with impact:

Let’s review each of these best ways to start a speech and look at examples of a great way to begin a speech. The good news is that all of these are tried and tested techniques that you can use today.

1. Tell a Personal Story to Start Your Speech

Is there a short relevant personal anecdote that you could open with? If you can, use a local or topical angle and share a personal experience. Your audience will then know that you have tailored your talk for them. This will help to keep things fresh for you, particularly if you are delivering the same talk or presentation several times.

Or perhaps you could keep your audience in suspense with this one simple trick:

• Start a personal story at the beginning of your speech or presentation.
• Go into the main part of your talk
• Go back to and conclude your story near the end of your presentation.

Watch this technique in action: See how designer Danit Peleg shows how to start a speech with a personal story that sets the scene.

2. Ask a Thought-Provoking Question or a Rhetorical Question

You could start your presentation with a question – a rhetorical question is a powerful tool to make the audience think, or it could involve asking the audience to respond, usually by raising their hands if something applies to them.

Alternatively, a good idea is to set out the thought-provoking question that your presentation will address.  Work with your coach to find the best technique for you. Read our article on using powerful language in your talks.

Watch this technique in action: Here’s how 17 year-old Raymond Wang – winner of the 2015 Intel Science and Engineering Fair top prize – uses the rhetorical question technique to start his TED talk. See how to start a speech and create an immediate emotional connection.

3. Describe a Scenario to Start a Speech

This technique blends the first two approaches. You set a scene and then prompt the audience to imagine what they would do or think in those circumstances.  Scenarios are an effective way of demonstrating the relevance of abstract topics to the lives of the audience.

To use this technique:

1. Give an everyday example.
2. Get the audience to consider their own viewpoint
3. Then use the body of your speech to change or challenge it.

Watch this technique in action: See UPS’s Human Resource Manager, Regina Hartley, shows how to start a speech by setting out a scenario.

4. Do Something Unexpected When You Start a Speech

Will your audience have certain expectations about you or your talk, before you begin?

In this case, start with something unexpected – or even shocking – to make them reconsider their preconceived ideas.  The way you do this needs to be relevant to avoid being gimmicky.

When done well, it can be memorable, potentially humorous and even remarkable – with audience members sharing and reliving their reactions afterwards. Perhaps your presentation skills coach can help find a way for your talk to stand out?

Bob Geldof used an unexpected line when he was raising money for Live Aid:

“Don’t go to the pub tonight, please. Stay in and give us the money. There are people dying… now! So give me the money!”

Watch this technique in action: Our final example is Mohammed Qahtani, the winner of the 2015 Toastmasters Championship. He shows how to start a speech about the power of words.

Of course, most people who speak well will have worked with a coach at some point.  If you need help choosing a great public speaking coach, read our guide to choosing a public speaking coach

5. Grab Attention to Start a Speech in Business

First impressions matter. Before you start speaking, your audience will be on your side.  They want to hear what you have to say and are interested in your views. Your job is to meet their expectations and show you understand your audience’s needs. 

You can do this by grabbing their interest from the beginning. If you are talking to a group about a new idea coming from your division, make sure what you say up front will be interesting to your audience.

For example “By adopting this new process, your division can save 6 hours per day” will be much more effective than “Today I’m going to tell you about a new process we have been trying in our division”. If you can show from the beginning how your audience can benefit from listening further, then your opening words will work.

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6. Create Anticipation When You Start a Talk

The point of the start of your business presentation is to create interest for the next thing you are going to say.  Being slightly enigmatic is a great way to start.

For example, opening your first sentence with a question such as “Do you want to know how you can save money and lose weight?  I’ll show you how.” Will automatically get people on the edge of their chairs listening for the answer to your question. They will be with you for the rest of your speech.

What if you feel nervous about starting? It’s completely normal to feel nervous. You should practise your opening several times to build confidence. Remember to take deep breaths, make eye contact, and connect with your audience.

As long as your nerves can’t be seen by your audience, you are OK. A good introduction will help calm your nerves. Pausing for a few seconds before you start is another way to look and feel more confident.

7. Set the Scene When You Start a Speech

You want to get to the point in your first line.  Don’t be vague and imprecise; be clear and full of impact. Think of stating a news headline: your opening should be short and precise.  It should summarise the story and leave you wanting to know more.

So, if you can grab attention, set the scene and create anticipation, then your opening is going to help you start your presentation with impact.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Starting a Speech

Many speakers lose their audience in the first few moments without realising it.

One common mistake in how to start a speech is starting with an apology—saying “Sorry, I’m not a great speaker” or “I wasn’t sure what to talk about” instantly weakens your credibility. Another misstep is beginning with a long-winded introduction about yourself or your organisation. Unless it’s directly relevant, your audience doesn’t need a full biography before you get to the point.

Another error is launching straight into a dense list of facts or background information. People need a reason to care first. Similarly, starting with a cliché—such as “Webster’s Dictionary defines…”—feels outdated and uninspiring.

Finally, failing to prepare your opening properly can lead to nervous rambling or awkward pauses. A strong start sets the tone for your entire speech, so it’s worth getting it right.

Examples of Weak vs Strong Speech Openings

Think how you typically start a speech or talk in business. Do you begin with any of these first words?

– Hi, my name is … and I’m here to talk about…

– Before I start, I want to introduce myself…

– Thank you all for coming, Good morning, I’m really pleased to be here…

If you start your presentation like this, you are wasting the most important part of your presentation. You should avoid these when starting a speech. Also, avoid long-winded introductions, jargon, and filler phrases. You will lose your audience’s interest before you even get to the main content.

Practical Tips for Delivering a Strong Opening

A powerful opening grabs attention immediately. One effective approach is to start with a compelling story, statistic, or question that makes the audience think. For example, “What if I told you that half of your productivity is being wasted every day?” instantly sparks curiosity.

Another technique is using a bold statement or surprising fact. “Most people will forget 90% of what I say today—but here’s the 10% that matters” makes people want to listen. Humour can also work if used well, but it should be natural and appropriate for your audience.

Most importantly, be clear on why your speech matters to your listeners. Instead of generic pleasantries, tell them exactly what they’ll gain from hearing you. A confident, well-prepared opening shows your audience they’re in good hands—and keeps them engaged from the start.

And make sure your stage presence shows you know how to start a speech. Some delivery tips include:

Pause before you start speaking: a few seconds to look around before your opening words will help build expectation
Put energy in your voice: Imagine someone hard of hearing towards the back of the room
Look at people: Spend time with steady eye contact with people around the room
Practise: You’ll get better with practice, especially if you use a professional public speaking coach.

Do You Need Help Building World-Class Presentation and Speaking Skills?

We’ve been coaching business executives and leaders for 15 years to create and deliver powerful talks and presentations. Learn more about our intensive presentation coaching and public speaking training courses today. You’ll learn how to start a speech with impact.

Call Louise on + 44 20 7018 0922 or email info@benjaminball.com

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FAQs Frequently Asked Questions about Starting a Speech

It not easy to start a speech with impact. If you want to become accomplished and learn how to start a speech then get in touch. We’d be delighted to help you.

Feel free to reach out if you have more questions or need further assistance!

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