Ten blue-ribbon speech openings that will be remembered and repeated

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday at PR Newswire there was a press release titled Presentation experts Fripp, La Croix and Brown: Speech openings that are remembered and repeated. It lists the following ones, each of which is discussed further:

 

A story

Interesting statistics or little-known facts

A powerful quotation

A question, or a rhetorical question

A challenge

Tie to the headlines

Bold claim or big promise

Read a letter, email, or review

Compliment the audience

Relevant humor

 

(I have combined two of them – A Question and A Rhetorical Question because no one really wants to see a top list with eleven items).

 

That press release refers to a 2022 book by those three, titled Deliver Unforgettable Presentations: How to speak to be remembered and repeated in-person, online, and onstage. All three authors are well-known as speakers. Patricia Fripp was elected president of the National Speakers Association (NSA) in 1984. Darren LaCroix was the 2001 Toastmasters World Champion of Public Speaking, and Mark Brown was the 1995 Champion.

 

The prize blue ribbon came from Openclipart.