Gain Your Audience’s Attention

Begin your speech with an attention-getter—material intended to capture the audience’s interest at the start of a speech. People listening to a presentation may have other things on their minds (for example, a problem at home, a distracting sound coming from the next room, or worries about an upcoming test or paper). You need to help your listeners redirect their focus from these other matters to you and your message. Otherwise, they won’t absorb or remember the information you convey in your speech.

How do you craft an effective attention-getter? The following guidelines can help.

Tell a Story or an Anecdote. Most people love a good story, so opening with one can be a compelling yet comfortable way to begin your speech. If you start your speech with a story, be sure it relates to your message, takes up an appropriate amount of time, and comes across as believable. Avoid making up a story to open your speech unless you note that you are offering a hypothetical example.

Here is how one student used an anecdote to begin a speech about reforming the No Child Left Behind education law:

The May 2, 2005, issue of Time magazine reported that in the Utah War of 1857 to 1858, President James Buchanan sent thousands of federal troops into the territory to install a non-Mormon governor. The people of Utah did not respond well. They spooked the federal livestock, burned federal wagons, and incinerated over 300,000 tons of military provisions. Nearly 150 years later, the Utah legislature sent another message to Washington by becoming the first state to pass a bill that gives schools options for ignoring the No Child Left Behind Act.

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Notice how the anecdote about Utah in the 1850s grabs the audience’s attention by relating a dramatic historical incident in vivid language and startling detail. The story also relates to the speech’s topic because in both cases, the state of Utah rebels against a federal mandate.

Offer a Striking or Provocative Statement. A compelling fact or idea pertaining to your topic can immediately pull the audience into your speech. For example, you might present a surprising statistic or make an ironic statement to defy your listeners’ expectations about what they’ll hear during your speech. This approach works only if you present a fact or an idea that’s new, ironic, or counterintuitive to your audience. You also are likely to be more effective if you incorporate dynamic language into your striking or provocative statement.

Consider Václav Havel, a playwright and dissident who became the first popularly elected president of Czechoslovakia in more than forty years. From 1948 until 1989, Czechoslovakia was under the rule of corrupt, authoritarian Communist leaders, and after the Soviet Union and its allies invaded the country in 1968, Havel’s works were banned. He was arrested many times in the 1970s and 1980s and was a leader of the 1989 nonviolent Velvet Revolution. On January 1, 1990, in his first presidential address to the Czech people, Havel offered a striking statement that differentiated him from his unelected predecessors, who had controlled the Czech media and propagandized the government’s achievements:

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My dear fellow citizens, for forty years on this day you heard from my predecessors the same thing in a number of variations: how our country is flourishing, how many millions of tons of steel we produce, how happy we all are, how we trust our government, and what bright prospects lie ahead of us. I assume you did not propose me for this office so that I, too, should lie to you.3

Build Suspense. Consider increasing audience curiosity and anticipation before you reveal your topic. For example, “What will be one of the biggest problems in the next ten years?” or “One of the most exotic vacation spots in the world is unknown to 98 percent of American tourists.” Here’s how one student built curiosity in the introduction of his speech:

There is a growing problem on our campus. Affected students find it difficult to wake up and get to class. They may experience threats to their academic performance, physical health, and mental health, too. The problem is bingeing. I’m not referring to binge eating or drinking, although these are serious problems. If you’ve ever stayed up all night watching Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, or Orange Is the New Black, you know what I am talking about.

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This student then proceeded to document the risks of excessive binge watching and offered tips for controlling the time students spend viewing their favorite shows.

Let Listeners Know You’re One of Them. Consider highlighting similarities or shared interests between you and the audience. When listeners believe that a speaker is like them, they tend to see him or her as more credible—something that encourages them to pay close attention to the speech. However, to make this type of attention-getter effective, be sure to assert genuine common ground. Otherwise, you won’t win your audience’s confidence.

Here’s how one student highlighted common ground in a speech about the resources available on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ChooseMyPlate Web site:

When I surveyed our class, I discovered that over 70 percent of you agreed with this statement: “I try to eat a healthy diet.” Like many of you, I have been on a diet more than once, and I do my best to eat my fruits and vegetables. I would like to share one of the best resources that I have found—the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ChooseMyPlate Web site. This site shows how to select healthy meals from fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy products, and it includes a variety of tools to help you achieve your nutrition and fitness goals.4

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Use Humor. Most people enjoy jokes, amusing stories, or other humorous references. A funny or playful attention-getter can be a great way to gain audience interest, break the ice, and enhance your credibility. However, not all humor is created equal. If you begin a speech with humor, the material should relate to your topic. Also, consider your audience members, and choose material they will find funny. Don’t tell jokes or stories that may offend some or all of your listeners.

Also note that using humor as your attention-getter can be a high-risk, high-reward approach. If the audience appreciates a joke, your credibility is liable to increase, you’ll feel especially confident, and your speech will be off to a great start. For example, here is how an informative speaker began her speech about scientific skepticism regarding extrasensory perception (ESP):

If you have ESP, raise your hand, and tell the audience what this speech will be about.

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If you have trouble telling jokes or remembering punch lines, you may find that a relevant anecdote from your own life is a better source of humor. At one time or another, most people have told a funny story about something that has happened to them. This more personal approach may help you feel more relaxed and conversational.

Ask a Rhetorical Question. A rhetorical question—one that you want listeners to answer in their heads—can capture audience members’ attention because it gets them thinking about your speech topic. For example, to introduce a speech about the Winter Olympics, you could ask, “What’s the first sport that comes to mind when you think about the Winter Olympics?” Make sure your rhetorical question addresses something of interest to your audience. And avoid asking overly general questions (“What would you like to learn about winter sports?”). Your listeners won’t find them as interesting as more focused queries.

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Here is how a speaker could use a rhetorical question to gain audience attention in a speech about digilantism,5 or vigilante behaviors on the Internet:

Imagine that a photo of the back of your car (showing the license plate number, your bumper stickers, and a rather large dent) driving past a visible street sign appeared on a social media forum in your community. Below it was this caption—“40 mph in a school zone.” You are confident that you have never gone over the speed limit on that street. How would you feel?

Provide a Quotation. A stimulating quotation that illuminates your topic can make an effective attention-getter—especially if you’re quoting someone your audience likes and respects or if the quotation is thought provoking or counterintuitive. For example, in a speech about the credibility of Wikipedia, you might quote a related joke from Stephen Colbert about the site: “It’s the first place I go when I’m looking for knowledge, or when I want to create some.”6

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You also can quote an expert in the field as an attention-getter. Consider the beginning of a speech on the need for college students to improve their sleep patterns:

According to Dr. LeAnne Forquer and her colleagues in the Central Michigan University psychology department, “Adolescents and young adults, including college students, appear to be one of the most sleep-deprived groups in the United States. Individuals in this group require about 9 hours of sleep each night; however, most receive only 7 to 8 hours. This sleep deprivation can have detrimental effects on performance, including driving and academics.”7