This article is part of Communicate Effectively Series – A series on how to communicate publicly for success. Please read 9 simple steps before reading this post.

     Photo by purplemattfish

We have briefly talked about what makes a great speech and how to organize your talk. We also discussed the importance of a good introduction last week. Last week we also saw four simple ways to grab attention in less than 30 seconds. In this post,

lets see some more ways to do the same – attracting attention. These techniques are not very common and therefore have higher chances of success.

  1. Show a Picture – The first tool in this list is using pictures at the start of your presentation. Using picture as an introduction is a powerful way to attract audience. A picture generates curiosity. It makes people wonder, what will be this speech about? They say "A picture is worth thousand words", when used in introduction, people tend to ask "Which words?"

  2. Draw on a Whiteboard – Whiteboard, flipcharts or the old blackboards, using them for introducing your speech is another unusual and uncommon way of starting your presentation. Draw or write something relevant to your topic and interesting for your audience.

  3. Tell a Joke – Jokes ease up tension and stress in almost any situation. Telling jokes during the first 30 seconds of your presentation can relax the audience and you – the speaker. Everyone likes to laugh, people like things that are funny and in general, people like people that are fun. But remember, choose jokes that are clean and appropriate, or this technique might fall on face and you might hamper your credibility. This technique works great for humorous speeches.

  4. Share some News – A sensational news or an unexpected news interests people. If you start your speech with a recent news on a related topic, audience will turn their radar on for more similar content which interests them. Alternatively you can also share some interesting fact, as discussed in previous post.

  5. Create Drama – Dramatizing openings make a presentation very lively. Even before you greet your audience with a formal "Hello", if a little drama is created, it will grab attention instantaneously. This is often a good start if your speech is storytelling type.

  6. A video – Just like showing a picture, a video can also do magic too. A short video about the topic, something that will generate some questions in audience’s mind. Asking questions is one of the basic tools that was discussed earlier. Videos are very helpful in building a foundation of the talk and when used effectively, can make a speech successful.

  7. Give a Freebie – This last tool, in this post, is the most uncommon of this list. This technique involves declaring that there are some freebies at the end of the speech for anyone who meets a certain criteria. I have seen this trick mostly used by people in sales.The criteria for getting the freebie is usually asking a question or answer a quiz or something similar to that. 

Do These Work?

These are the seven little-used tools to grab attention in less than 30 seconds. I have used some of these and have also seen these being used by speakers in various settings. My experience with these tools has been very satisfying and others have shared similar results. The key to using these tools is to apply them in a proper setting. These seven tools and four other tools that we discussed earlier should be picked carefully. If you are presenting a technical report in office, a news or using a whiteboard might work better than creating a drama in front of your boss and several seniors. The key is to pick a proper tool and apply it effectively. Pick a wrong tool and this might affect your credibility. 

What Have You Seen?

Have you seen any other tools used? Have you used them in any presentations or talks? What are your favorite ones? Do you like one better than other? What do you think? Tell us about them in the comments section.

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Further Reading:

  1. How to Attract Your Audience’s Attention in Less Than 30 Seconds
  2. You Will Fail to Attract Your Audience if You Don’t Do This
  3. How to Effectively Organize Your Next Presentation
  4. 9 Basic Steps to Giving a Great Presentation

Related Posts:

  1. How to Attract Your Audience’s Attention in Less Than 30 Seconds
  2. You Will Fail to Attract Your Audience if You Don’t Do This
  3. 9 Basic Steps to Giving a Great Presentation
  4. How to Effectively Organize Your Next Presentation