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9 Killer Opening Lines For Unforgettable Speeches: Oliver Aust

The document provides 9 killer opening lines for unforgettable speeches. These include surprising the audience, highlighting a problem, giving a shocking statistic, asking an unusual question, showing a prop, inviting the audience to dream, asking the audience a question, creating suspense, and starting with a story. These types of openings will grab the audience's attention rather than thanking them or stating the topic.

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Vaibhav Patil
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131 views

9 Killer Opening Lines For Unforgettable Speeches: Oliver Aust

The document provides 9 killer opening lines for unforgettable speeches. These include surprising the audience, highlighting a problem, giving a shocking statistic, asking an unusual question, showing a prop, inviting the audience to dream, asking the audience a question, creating suspense, and starting with a story. These types of openings will grab the audience's attention rather than thanking them or stating the topic.

Uploaded by

Vaibhav Patil
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Oliver Aust

9 Killer Opening
Lines for
Unforgettable
Speeches
Oliver Aust

These openers kill your


audience’s attention:

Thank you for this opportunity …


Today I will talk about …
I’m so happy to be here.

Use these instead …


Oliver Aust

#1 Surprise the audience

“Our industry is in a terrible


state … That’s what I could have
said ten years ago.”

Twists like that grab the


audience’s attention.
Oliver Aust

#2 Highlight a problem

A problem puts our brains on


high alert. We need to know the
answer and therefore listen – as
long as it is relevant to us.

“We waste 10 hours a week in


meetings. Here’s how we reclaim
that time.”
Oliver Aust

#3 Give a shocking statistic

“Workplace crime costs


businesses like yours 50 billion a
year.”

The audience thinks: “Really?


What kind of crime are we
talking about? Does it affect
us?” So they will listen.
Oliver Aust

#4 Ask an unusual or
provocative question

Questions create a knowledge


gap, and the audience will listen
to find out what the answer is.

“Why has our industry


underperformed this year?”
Oliver Aust

#5 Show a prop

I once showed a glass of


volcanic ash to a group of
reporters who wanted to know
why aircraft can’t fly near an
eruption.

The answer: because the ash is


so fine that it can damage the
engines. Take a look.
Oliver Aust

#6 Invite the audience to dream

Most talks are mundane.


Instead, create a powerful
vision.

“Imagine a society where waste


is a thing of the past.”
Oliver Aust

#7 Ask the audience

“Who in this room has dealt with


a difficult customer this year?”
Oliver Aust

#8 Create suspense

I used this at the beginning of a


talk recently:

“90% of startups think that they


have a great product. Yet 90% of
startups fail. Are the 90% wrong
about their product, or is there
something else at play?”
Oliver Aust

#9 Start with a story

“Our customer service is excellent.


Here’s how we do it” will get the
audience to check their phones.

“As an immigrant, our founder was


so poorly treated by different
businesses that he was determined
his customers would never suffer
like he did” gets the audience to
lean in.
Oliver Aust

Tl;dr

1. Surprise the audience


2. Highlight a problem
3. Give a shocking statistic
4. Ask an unusual or
provocative question
5. Show a prop
6. Invite the audience to dream
7. Ask the audience
8. Create suspense
9. Start with a story
Oliver Aust

To receive more tips like these,


subscribe to my newsletter through
the link in my bio and receive a free
guide with 50 presentation hacks.

Join thousands of
founders and CEOs
worldwide in leveling up
your presentation skills.

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