The Importance of a Strong Introduction in Presentations


As you prepare your presentation, be especially mindful of the introduction. Research has shown that you have a mere eight seconds to capture people’s attention. If you fail to engage your audience in that amount of time, you may have lost your chance for capturing and maintaining their attention. Therefore, it is essential that you create a compelling introduction that will hook your audience right from the start. Here are a few reasons why you should have a strong introduction. 

Gain Audience Attention and Interest

The first few sentences of a presentation are designed to catch and maintain the audience’s attention. This is what compels the audience to listen to the rest of your presentation. One of the biggest mistakes novice speakers make is starting their presentation with a short biography of who they are and why they are there. While many audiences will be polite and remain quiet, there’s a good chance they have already tuned out what the speaker is saying. If you don’t say something that captivates the audience right away, it will only be more difficult to do so as you continue speaking. 

State the Purpose of Your Presentation

A strong introduction will also make the audience aware of the purpose of the presentation. Have you ever sat through a speech wondering what the point was? Or perhaps you have listened to a presentation and had no clue what the speaker was talking about. An introduction is important because it makes the audience fully aware of the topic, why it is important, and what they can take away from the presentation. 

Establish Credibility

In addition to grabbing the audience’s attention, a strong introduction also allows the speaker to establish credibility. You may be an expert on your topic but if the audience doesn’t perceive you this way, your knowledge and expertise won’t matter. As a public speaker, your first job is to show the audience why you are a credible source on the given topic. 

Here are a Few Tips for Making Your Introduction Strong:

  • Start with a shocking fact or statistic that leads to your main point.
  • Begin with a dramatic story that illustrates your point.
  • Start with a funny quote or humorous story.
  • Start with a compelling photograph, visual piece, or demonstration.
  • Open with a rhetorical question that gets the audience to think about the topic.