Seminar and Discussion

The beginning of a presentation is just as crucial as the conclusion. How long the audience will
"tune in" to your presentation is often determined by the opening or beginning of your speech.
The majority of people think of a PowerPoint, so they create their slides, look at them, and
consider what they will say on each slide. While slides are important, the initial focus should be
on engaging your audience. Here are some steps to start presentation:
1. Focus on Why?
Why are you there to talk about the topic and even more importantly why is it important
for the audience to listen to you.
2. Fairy-tale time frame
You might start with a story, begin with a compelling and relevant story, quote, statistic,
or question to grab the audience's attention. This will pique their interest and make them
want to listen further.
3. Use a visual themes
Display a powerful picture or a brief video clip that is relevant to your subject. Using
visuals to capture the interest of your audience can be very effective.
4. Highlight the benefits
In the event that your talk includes a proposal, item, or concept, begin by highlighting the
advantages that the audience will experience by listening to you speak.
Some terminology used for you while presenting the opening of your speech:
At the beginning of a presentation we usually welcome the audience, introduce ourselves and our
topic. This is a very standard way of introducing yourself:
o Welcoming and Introducing; Good Morning/afternoon/evening everybody and welcome
to my presentation. My name is… (name) and I’m a…(job title) at…(company name).
o The topic of my presentation is…
o Today I’d like to talk to you about…
Some other things you might want to do in your introduction before beginning with you first
main point, let your audience know what the structure of your presentation is.
o Give an overview
I’m going to focus on /look at /deal with three main points or I’ve divided my
presentation into three main parts. First of all, I’ll talk about… Second, we’ll look at…
and finally, I’ll explain / show you / tell you about…
If necessary, limit the scope of the presentation; although there are several theories, this
talk will only focus on two...
o Timing
If your audience doesn’t know how long the presentation is going to be, let them know;
my presentation will take about… (number of minutes)
o Questions
it can also be helpful to let them know when they can ask questions. If you have a strict
time limit and you don’t want to be interrupted you can say something like; there’ll be
plenty of time for questions at the end of my presentation. I’d appreciate it if you could
leave any questions you may have until the end of my presentation. If you have any
questions during the presentation, feel free to interrupt at any time.