Chapter 1: Attention Grabber

“The beginning is the most important part of the work.”—Plato

Shock Value

Digital world needs shock.

You live in a fast-paced, high-tech, and anxious world. You are on your smartphone looking for the next picture, face, or image of whatever may entertain or thrill you. When speaking in front of any audience, whether it’s a sales meeting at work, in front of classmates in school, at church, or any capacity, it is important that you immediately get the attention of those you are speaking to.The first sentence you say when you open your mouth in front of your audience will most likely determine whether you will succeed. If you crash and burn in the beginning, it is hard to recover and go on to be successful because it sets the tone of your talk and it is your audience’s first impression of you. You only have one chance to make a first impression. We have become accustomed to hearing boring and dull openings. You do not know what you do not know. In other words, most of us do not know the significance, historically, of an attention grabber at the beginning of a speech. If you do not have that knowledge, then a boring or dull opening seems normal to you. Regardless of whether you know it or not, people will immediately decide in those first few seconds if they are or are not interested in what you have to say.

May I ask you a question? Do you put any thought, creativity, or preparation into your opening statement? Most speakers do not invest time into the opening of their speech. You spend the majority of your time on the body of your speech, mainly, the points you want to communicate. This lack of knowledge can destroy the effectiveness of your talk. It is obvious by what most people say in their opening statements: “My name is… Thank you for letting me speak...or telling a joke at the beginning of your talk” is too mundane, dull, and boring. Unless you are Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, or Eddie Murphy, do not start your talk with a joke or humor. Few can succeed in a humorous opening. Those three can, because their reputation and career are connected to comedy and humor. In most occasions, the audience already knows your name. I have heard speakers start off their speech by introducing themselves while the person who introduced them to the audience beforehand already gave their name and reason for being there. This shows that we are ingrained to start our talks in a boring, traditional, and dull way. Starting off well in your talk is the most important part of your talk or speech

Advice from an Expert

Dr. Lynn Harold Hough, former President of Northwestern University in the United States, was once asked by public speaking author Dale Carnegie, what was the most important fact that his long experience as a speaker had taught him. After pondering for a minute, he replied, “To get an arresting opening, something that will seize the attention immediately.”

Does it make sense now, why the very first words out of our mouths better command the attention of those we are speaking to? I am shocked at the amount of talks, speeches, or sermons where they don’t start commanding attention. Sadly, this is how most of us begin our talks in any capacity. There are several ways to command attention from your audience. I learned how to evaluate speakers from attending and becoming a member of Toastmasters International. Toastmasters is an organization dedicated to helping men and women become better communicators and leaders. After joining, I would evaluate whoever was speaking in my church to get extra practice in my speech evaluation. I was evaluating six to eight speeches a week at my church over a period of about a year. To my absolute astonishment, not one single speaker started their lesson, sermon, or talk of any sort with an immediate attention grabber. What conversations or talks do you remember for the rest of your life? Those that involve what I call “shock value.” These talks, conversations, or speeches stir your emotions. It could be the first time your love told you “I love you.” It may be the talk your sports coach had with you challenging you to work harder. I can go on and on with examples of shock-value moments in life. The point is, attention grabbers are intended to be a shock to the emotions. I have heard numerous speeches in Toastmasters International that involve shock value from the beginning of the speech. Surprisingly, in church, I have rarely heard a sermon or lesson begin with shock value. In my traditional church setting experience, it normally begins with the typical “Good morning, church,” “How are you all doing this morning?” “My name is…” or something to that effect. I haven’t ever heard a business meeting on any job I have worked where the manager began with shock value. We may think there is a time and a place for shock-value beginnings in our talk, yet maybe think it doesn’t fit just any opening statement in any speech, presentation, or meeting. The truth is, it fits all speech settings. Personally, I have used shock-value beginnings in sermons, Toastmasters speeches, sports talks to my youth teams, personal talks with friends, and even eulogies at funerals.

Guaranteed

Shock-value beginnings to your speech guarantee that you will get the attention of your audience. We speak because we want to be heard. We want those we are speaking to listening to us. Have you ever looked out into your audience and seen people not paying attention? This discourages many speakers. In any audience, no matter how good the speaker is, there is always that one person drifting off, texting on their phone, whispering to a friend, or sleeping. In my opinion, one is better than all. In a