how to start your presentation

The first 30 seconds of your presentation will determine whether people listen to the next 30 minutes

And yet most people waste their opening scene

They open with "So ummm hi guys, thanks so much for having me (looks back at slides) basically what I'm going to talk to you about today is..."

Nobody is listening. They're on their phones

Here's what I coach my clients to do instead:

Start with the audience, not with yourself

Your audience is sitting there asking one unconscious question: "Why should I care?"

Answer that question early and you have their attention 

Delay it, and you may never get it back

Some of the strongest openings I've seen:

- A bold claim that challenges what the room believes 

- A short personal story that creates immediate tension 

- A startling fact that reframes their assumptions 

- Silence. Just standing there. Owning the room before you speak

What you should almost never do:

- Open with your credentials 

(You're literally on a pedestal. I assume you know your stuff)

- Open with an apology — "Sorry I'm a bit nervous" 

(That just makes me hyper-sensitive to any signs of nervousness from now on)

- Open by reading your own title slide 

(If you can't look at us for 30 seconds, it tells me you don't know where you're going)

Those 30 seconds are not about information. They're about emotion

You're setting the thermostat for the room. That's what charismatic people do

They set the tone and energy of any room they enter

Make the audience feel something and they'll follow you anywhere 

Make them feel nothing and no amount of data will save you

Last week in Vietnam I ran a workshop 

Charismatic lady stands up to speak (we always do practice runs) 

She opens with 3 words: "Embrace uncomfortable environments" 

She says it with an upward inflection at the end (try it) 

I tell her to inflect downward at the end instead (try that too)

Tiny change. Huge difference in conviction and emotion

The first version sounds unsure 

The second version has me hanging on to your next word

Your slides are ready. Your content is strong

But have you rehearsed your opening scene out loud, on your feet, with the right tonality and inflection?

If not, that's your homework before your next talk

The separation is in the preparation

But nowhere more so than in the first 30 seconds