Here are some examples for you to consider in preparing your keynote speech.

Remember the

the first minute is so important. To win in public speaking you have to capture critical attention immediately.

Notice that they employ humor in the following examples..  You’ve heard the old maxim, “always open with a joke.”  I would suggest, whenever possible, to use humor because there’s nothing like laughter to

loosen up people. Moreover, all three of these examples demonstrate a keen awareness of the audience. They are direct and purposeful, humorous and captivating. In short, they showcase the art of fire building.

Example #1 -A friend of mine once had the opportunity to speak to a group of 250

professionals who were in an adversarial relationship with her company. In her opening,

rather than not mentioning this conflict, she instead chose to go before them wearing a

bulletproof vest.  She told the group that her name was Jane, and then she gave the

name of her company. She continued, “ I understand that there’s a lot of hard feelings in

this room towards my department.  For that reason, I’ve worn a bullet-proof vest today.”

Everyone started laughing and clapping, so she took off the vest and said,

Example #2 -A CEO was addressing his top executives about budget problems and

depleted resources.  He’d hung a piñata in the middle of the room and he started

out whacking that piñata blindfolded, and hit it until it finally burst open. “You

know,” he began, “I want to start this meeting by telling you that this is exactly

how I’ve felt for the past few months.  Just like this piñata.  I feel like I’ve been

battered.  People keep asking me for more and more, but the resources are

depleted.”  As he picked up the scattered candy and began passing it out to the

group, he said, “Today, let’s discuss some alternative ways to meet your needs.”

Presentations (magazine)

Example #3 -I saw another speaker get up in front of a group of salespeople and begin  speaking in a foreign language (I think it was French).  He went on for a couple of minutes until he saw everyone looking around in puzzlement.  Then he paused and said, “Oh, I’m sorry.  I was speaking the wrong language there for a moment…One of the reasons that we’re not gaining market share is we’re speaking the wrong language to our customers.  Today we’ll learn how to speak the right language.” All of these examples are very captivating, as it caught everyone’s attention right from the start!

Remember you only get one chance to make a good impression and only one chance to capture critical attention…in the 1st minute of your keynote speech