AUTHOR: Lolly
HOW TO START A PRESENTATION
9 frameworks for your opening line, 4 famous examples and lots of psychology
YOU ONLY HAVE ONE CHANCE
TO MAKE A FIRST IMPRESSION
Depending on who you listen to, you have 60, 30 or even 15 seconds to pique your audience’s interest before they get back to planning lunch, mentally scrolling their to-do list or practicing some mindfulness, with your presentation as calming white noise.
So is it 60, 30 or 15?
No idea. We should probably get it done in ten - just to be safe.
HOW TO START YOUR PRESENTATION WITH THE PERFECT OPENING LINE
Your opening line is the most important thing you’ll say all day - and you’re wasting it telling them all about you?
Fuck that.
You need to be giving them a reason to keep listening, say something unexpected that triggers dopamine, say something important while their memory is at full tilt, say something emotional to boost retention, and say something that establishes credibility because 80% of audiences decide whether to trust you in this vital time slot.
So, no pressure.
3. BE HONEST
9 tried and tested ways to start your presentation - back by psychology
Throw in a stat or a secret that will make them feel uncomfortable. Disruption works because it hijacks our orienting responses - basically the built in brain bit that answers the question ‘what the fuck is that?’ Your brain gives your audience an answer and then you say ‘lol, no.’, forcing the amygdala to light up like a fruity and give you all its attention.
“If we don’t [fix problem] today, [scary consequence] will happen within [timeframe].”
“Right now, most [people in your position] are spending [£X / hours] on [task] - and getting nothing back.”
“By the time I finish this presentation, your competitors will have lost [£xxm / X team members / X customers / X number of other important things] - but you’ll have learned how to gain double that in half the time.”
For example:
“If we don’t stop wasteful practices today, the copper you need to create your products will be gone in 20 years.”
2. BE EMOTIVE
Weave your words so your audience is hit right in their squishy centre bit and transported to a different reality. By building imagery through words and describing sensory detail, you activate dual coding theory, which boosts memory retention by pairing imagery with words - and makes them feel all the emotions that come with it.”
“Picture [everyday moment - describe the sensory detail that makes it vivid]. Now imagine if [core problem / dream scenario].”
“You can hear [sound]. You can smell [detail]. You can feel [tactile sensation]. That’s what [pain point or transformation] looks like.”
“It’s [time of day]. You’re [doing X]. And then it hits you. [Moment of realisation tied to your message].”
For example:
“You’re running late to pick up your child so you reach for your phone as you’re pelting it down the street - to find it’s missing. Okay. Plan B. You spot a woman pushing a pram - she’ll understand your panic and lend you her phone in a flash.
But you’re met with a blank stare. Then she laughs and says “A mobile phone without any copper supplies? Good one.”
You didn’t forget your phone. There are no phones left.”
Tell a secret straight away and you will build instant trust through vulnerability. Vulnerability is a speaking superpower. It signals honesty and humility and lowers psychological distance, which increases empathic engagement. When speakers admit a weakness or failure, the audience becomes more receptive because it means you’re just like them, right?
“I used to be the one who [embarrassing mistake]. Now, I get paid to make sure you don’t befall the same fate.”
“I’ve experienced the [emotion] of watching [challenge / fear] first hand. More than once. So, you could say I’m a bit of an expert in avoiding it now.”
“When I was [age], I [did a thing]. It [failed in this way]. Since then, I’ve been obsessed with how to avoid ever feeling that [emotion] again.”
For example:
“Back when I was lecturing at a college in London, I used to love to berate the students who came in with the latest iPhone, using them as an example of the problem that was causing copper depletion.
All the while, knowing I had the same kitchen drawer full of old phones I hadn’t recycled yet that they did.”
But if you’re here for the full 60 second fill-in-the-blanks script template and nothing more, here y’are:
1. BE DISRUPTIVE
4. BE CONTROVERSIAL
Say something that goes against the common advice - as long as you can back it up. Pattern interruption is so powerful - now, more than ever, as ChatGPT writes everyone else’s opening lines using the same core frameworks. But controversy goes beyond the unexpected - and creates cognitive dissonance, which makes your audience want to resolve the tension. And they’re yours until that happens.
“Everyone says [common advice]. That’s bullshit. Here’s why - [reason it doesn’t work].”
“We’ve all been told [standard belief]. But it’s costing you [money/reputation/opportunity] every single day.”
For example:
“Everyone is telling you to recycle your products at end-of-life. But that’s bullshit. Recycling isn’t going to buck the trend of depleting copper.”
5. BE A SNEAKY LITTLE BITCH
Starting your presentation with a quote is hardly a novel move. But if you put a sneaky little twist on it, you subvert expectations and get your audience leaning in to see how you’re going to reinterpret the familiar. That contrast is what makes it sticky.
“You’ll have all heard the saying, ‘[add quote here]’ - but here’s what I think.”
“[add quote here] - is what [author] believed. That’s cute. Here’s why they were full of shit.”
For example:
“Attenborough once said “However grave our mistakes, nature will be able to overcome them.”
Why are you so desperate to prove Attenborough wrong? That’s what you’re doing, right? By carelessly throwing your copper away as the clock ticks down to its disappearance. That’s the only explanation I can see for these disastrous actions.”
6. ASK A QUESTION
Show your audience, from syllable one, that this presentation is going to be about them. Asking a question turns passive listeners into active thinkers. Just think back to school and how quickly you were snapped out of a daydream when your teacher called your name. Even if your question is just rhetorical, it activates engagement and triggers curiosity and mental participation.
“How much do you spend on [pain point] each year? And how much do you lose because of it?”
“What would it mean if you could stop [problem] and start [dream outcome] - today?”
For example:
“How much do you spend on waste disposal every year?
How much do you spend buying copper?
What if I were to tell you, you may as well be throwing £[total of the two answers] down the drain?”
7. OPEN AN IMAGINATION LOOP
Probably the easiest hack for immediate audience engagement is these two magic words - “What if”. Kickstart their imagination, get their visual brains doing the hard work of emotive storytelling for you, activate curiosity through future pacing and throw them into this different reality.
“What if you could [achieve your greatest dream] by changing just one thing.”
“What if you [describe nightmare scenario]. Would you know what to do?”
For example:
“What if you were suddenly thrown into a world without technology. No phones. No computers. No transport. No power. Proper stone age shit.
Reckon you’ve got what it takes?”
To find out how to close it again, you’re going to want to download this fill-in-the-blanks script template.
8. MAKE THEM FEEL SEEN
You know what they want, what’s been keeping them from it - expose them, look into their souls. When an audience feels recognised, it releases oxytocin, strengthening trust and empathy. This is classic mirror marketing, where we show someone their reflection, but cleaner, sharper, and just aspirational enough to make them want to listen.
“You’ve worked your whole career for [goal]. And now [barrier] is standing in your way.”
“You’re tired of [frustration]. You deserve [better future].”
For example:
“You’ve dedicated your working lives to the pursuit of innovation. Being held back because of material availability must be unbelievably frustrating.”
9. MAKE A REFERENCE
What’s going on in their world that joins them all together? If you can build shared schema, you can connect yourself to everyone in that room through empathy and relevance.
“[Current trend/regulation/market shift] is hitting every person in this room. But what if we could turn it into an advantage?”
“Right now, [competitor/industry issue] is getting all the headlines. But the real story is happening here.”
For example:
“Tightening regulations. Supply chain disruption. Material wait times. Landfill tax. What if the answer to all these challenges was lying in your waste?”
EXTRA TIP
If you can make it funny, humour disarms faster than Sandra Bullock with that bomb in Speed. But ‘telling a joke’ isn’t an opener to replace the above - only to weave in - and only if you can pull it off.
EXAMPLES OF HOW 4 FAMOUS FOLKS STARTED THEIR PRESENTATIONS - AND WHY IT WORKS
1. STEVE JOBS, 2005
“Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories.”
Why it works:
It opens a curiosity loop.
It taps effortlessly into the Zeigarnik Effect; our annoying need to close incomplete loops. They know they’re getting three tasty stories, if they just pay with their attention. A sweet deal.
It disarms.
“No big deal” reduces social distance and ego. Listeners relax because the setup feels intimate, not performative. The cognitive fluency of it all is easier to process than jargon or corporate stiffness.
It provides a comfortable frame with the promise of novelty.
People crave structure but love surprise. Jobs delivers both; a promise of both format (three stories) and the unknown (what could they possibly be about?).
How to apply it:
Don’t overthink it. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not. Don’t chase fireworks. You just need familiarity and a sprinkle of intrigue.
2. CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE, 2009
“I’m a storyteller. And I would like to tell you a few personal stories about what I like to call ‘the danger of the single story.’”
Why it works:
This opening works for a lot of the same reasons as Jobs’, but with a few - almost undetectable - bonus points.
Vulnerability as authority.
Phrases like “I’m a storyteller” and “personal stories” humanise the speaker and invites reciprocal emotional openness while also increasing credibility through trust and activating mirror neurons that create a deep sense of empathy and connection.
Conceptual novelty.
“The danger of the single story” is both familiar and conceptually unique. That tension hooks curiosity and sets a thematic frame for the rest of the talk.
How to apply it:
Authority isn’t achieved by listing your professional achievements. It comes from owning your humanity. Walking the walk and being brave enough to share your authentic story.
3. BARACK OBAMA, 2004
“Let’s face it, my presence on this stage is pretty unlikely.”
Why it works:
Self-awareness as connection.
He says what everyone’s thinking. He’s done an objection analysis and he’s owning the negative ideas that could have hurt him otherwise. By doing so, he immediately diffuses tension and earns trust through social mirroring.
Relatability through humility.
“Let’s face it” is not a phrase you commonly hear in political correspondence. Obama moves himself closer to his audience through colloquialisms and gets into the friend zone. Shoulder to shoulder, not above.
How to apply it:
Don’t think that just because you’re the one on the stage that puts you on a pedestal. You have to work to get on your audience’s level so that you can see eye to eye.
4. JANE MCGONIGAL, 2012
“You will live 7.5 minutes longer than you would have otherwise, just because you watched this talk.”
Why it works:
Evocative and surprising.
“You’ll live longer” is not something we’re promised every day. And without having to do anything we weren’t already planning to? No risk. All reward.
Audience first.
It’s a direct benefit, aimed at the exact people she’s talking to, and something they probably want.
Curiosity gap.
How could they stop listening now that they know what’s on the line?
How to apply it:
Uncover your audience’s deepest desire and tell them you know how to make it happen - they just need to listen.
how to start your presentation
You’ve got the tools, now you just need the template. Download this fill-in-the-blanks script, choose your favourite framework and pour everything you know about your audience’s hopes, dreams and fears into those empty spaces.
Right now you’re nodding along, probably awestruck by all the genius.
But most people will still open their next presentation and revert to old, bad habits.
Giving anyone who takes the time to reinvent their opening line the advantage.
Don’t be like most people. Don’t be like your competition.
Be the one who owns the room before the slides even load.