“It would be interesting to find out what goes on in that moment when someone looks at you and draws all sorts of conclusions.” – Malcolm Gladwell
You already know that first impressions can be decisive for landing a date, a job, or a standing ovation. In the same way, the strength of your presentation opening may be the difference between leaving your audience yawning and unconvinced, or moved and persuaded. The clock is ticking, the audience is waiting: how are you going to make your first move?
Why It Matters
Researchers at New York University recently studied the neuroscience behind first impressions, as well as the kinds of information our brains collect. In the study, people were placed in an MRI machine and shown a picture of a person along with six sentences that corresponded with that picture. The sentences said both positive and negative things about the person. They came to an unusual conclusion by the end of the study: when we encounter a new person, the same area of the brain that assigns prices to objects is activated. Essentially, we are deciding which value to give the person we are meeting. In this case, it happened in only six sentences.
This occurs because of two major parts of the brain:
1. The Amygdala – The area of the brain that receives data from all of our senses, creating a center for social assessment because of the complexity of this information.
2. The Posterior Cingular Cortex – This is the part of the brain where we assess the value of information delivered by the amygdala and based on existing emotional memory.
Even without visual stimuli, our brains process voice cues in the same way. Psychologist Phil McAleer from the University of Glasgow discovered that even a “hello!” activates our first-impression-alert. “From the first word you hear a person speak, you start to form this impression of the person’s personality.”
Furthermore, social psychologist Amy Cuddy from Harvard Business School drives the “why it matters” argument home with her recent study on first impressions: “When we form a first impression of another person it’s not really a single impression. We’re really forming two. We’re judging how warm and trustworthy the person is, and that’s trying to answer the question, “What are this person’s intentions toward me?” And we’re also asking ourselves, “How strong and competent is this person?” That’s really about whether or not they’re capable of enacting their intentions. Research shows that these two trait dimensions account for 80 to 90 percent of an overall first impression, and that holds true across cultures.”
Irrefutably, first impressions have a meaningful effect on your audience. Presentations and public speeches are a unique way to share this one-sided introduction across a large group. So, how can you ensure that your opening will leave a positive impression on your audience’s amygdala and posterior cingular cortex?
Before You Begin
As you develop the content of your presentation or speech and long before you decide on a great opening, make sure you are also mindful of these “pre-pre-opening” impression makers:
1. Personal Care – From watching out for bad breath to jewelry choices, treat each opportunity to appear in public as you would an interview, first date, or a “meet the parents” moment.
2. Content Work – You won’t be able to develop a strong start if you don’t have a clear message with concise takeaways. Ensure that your presentation writing is mindful of its audience, clearly written, well-edited, and that you are familiar enough to deliver the remainder of the presentation after the Earth-shattering opening you’ll have planned. Not sure if your content is up to snuff? We have a handy guide for that.
3. Presentation Design – Don’t start strong and then jump into a mediocre presentation filled with cat memes and Comic Sans font. Let your design reflect the hard work you’ve put into content and your professional appearance by following some of our tips for keeping things simple, powerful, and embarrassment-free.
Starting Strong
You may be overwhelmed with the number of ways to open a presentation. Do you start with a brochure handout? A prop? Jump right into the data? Here are a few powerful ways that we’ve found that can enhance the strength of your opening. Try these on for size:
Prospective and Retrospective – Consider opening your presentation with a statement about the past, or a forward-minded statement about the future. It doesn’t have to encompass an entire story or explanation, it just needs to be powerful enough to grab the attention of your audience through its relevancy or “uniqueness.” Here is a further explanation of what a “prospective” or “retrospective” opening entails:
Quotes – Add some credibility and a point of interest to your speech in a short amount of time with a wisely-chosen quote. These thought-provoking tidbits can add authority (depending on who delivered it) and show you’ve done a little research beforehand. As an added bonus, they can also be incredibly easy to memorize. For forgetful presenters, you may consider placing the text on your first slide to give you a little help.
Storytelling – Research suggests that when we open a presentation with data or information, the language processing portion of our brain is activated. However, when a story is told, other areas of our brain light up. For example, describing the taste of hot coffee will activate our sensory cortex, and a story about running away from a charging pack of geese will light up our motor cortex. This is because our brains are wired for an empathetic understanding of the world around us, and storytelling can recreate these moments of emotion for us.
Researcher Uri Hasson from Princeton describes this shared experience with an example of a woman telling a story: “When the woman spoke English, the volunteers understood her story, and their brains synchronized. When she had activity in her insula, an emotional brain region, the listeners did too. When her frontal cortex lit up, so did theirs. By simply telling a story, the woman could plant ideas, thoughts and emotions into the listeners’ brains.“
What better way to engage your audience than by starting with the power of a story? It can be relevant, non-relevant, humorous, highly personal, or a few short sentences long. No matter how you approach it, it’s proven to work.
A Moment Of Silence – When properly wielded with a good deal of composure (and a silence-worthy subject), consider opening with a few short words and then a moment of meaningful silence. Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, Nelson Mandela, and Barack Obama are just a few famous faces who have successfully used pauses throughout their delivery and opening. And in the oft-quoted and immortal words of Mark Twain: “the right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.”
The Right Question – Get your audience to start thinking critically by asking a question crafted exactly for them. What are they struggling with, frustrated with, and want to change? Or what is something that they desire, look forward to, and wish for? In order to form an impactful hypothetical or actual question, you’ll need to get to know your audience first. Once you are confident in your familiarity, can then ask them a question that makes them respond (inwardly): “how did they know that?!”
A Single Visual – Similar to using a moment of silence, consider making your opening slide a single, powerful image that will grab their attention. The image needs to accomplish three goals: it needs to be relevant to your message, speak for itself, and it needs to be powerful enough to grab the audience’s attention without having to explain it.
A Startling Statement or Fact – Jesus was the master of this opening, used famously in his Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Listeners on that hillside probably stopped eating their bread and fish for a good minute or so to consider the implication of the poor inheriting a kingdom. In a similar, although perhaps less historically relevant way, you can use this technique by sharing a piece of information or statistic that will surprise, shock, or change your audience’s existing understanding. Just be sure to elaborate on the statement later on in your presentation.
Like a seasoned chess player calculating the very first move, a strong presentation opening can give you the the victory of a great first impression. Utilize one (or more) of these techniques to strengthen your existing presentation, or keep them in mind as you write fresh content. You can’t lose.
Question: How can you improve your presentation opening?
