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The Quick Guide to Successfully Starting a Presentation
Expert Opinion from Rich Watts published June 5, 2025
A strong opening sets the tone for your entire presentation. It immediately captures your audience’s attention, engages their curiosity, and positions you as a confident, compelling speaker. A great opening also helps your audience understand why your topic matters—and why they should care.
Here are some practical ways to create an opening that makes your audience sit up and listen.
Top Tips for Different Types of Opening Lines
Not every style will suit your topic or your natural presenting style. Focus on the approaches that feel comfortable and authentic to you:
1. The Shocking Opening Line
Share an unusual fact, statistic, or bold statement.
Search online or within your organisation for a statistic that links to your topic and will get your audience thinking.
“The average school spends over £1M per year on cleaning products. We have the power to halve that cost.”
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2. The Humorous Opening Line
Use a light-hearted observation or a humorous misconception to put your audience at ease.
Don't forget that humour is subjective and so choose the time and place to use it, wisely.
If you are in any doubt, make a joke at your own expense or try a different tactic instead.
“How many Headteachers does it take to change a lifetime of using environmentally unfriendly cleaning products?”
“In my hands is a product that can save your school £500,000 this year.”
3. The Curiosity Opening Line
Make a promise or highlight something intriguing to spark interest within your audience's mind.
What secret are you going to reveal to them during your presentation? Considering the value that you are going to give to them can help create great curiosity-inspiring opening lines: "Today I am going to share with you the secret of how to make a million pounds in a month...", perhaps?!
4. The Participation Opening Line
Get your audience involved straight away. Ask a question that requires them to raise their hand to answer.
Asking the audience to respond or guess an answer creates immediate engagement and gets everyone thinking about the topic that you will be covering. It also ensures that everyone is paying attention in case there are more questions to come!
“Raise your hand if you would like to have an extra £500,000 to spend in your school budget this year?”
“Have you ever wondered if it is possible to be kind to the environment and to your bank balance?”
5. The Question Opening Line
If you are not confident asking a participation-style question, then a rhetorical question can be just as effective.
Pose a rhetorical question that is linked to your topic. Follow it with a big pause, giving your audience time to reflect.
This encourages focus and sets the right mindset.
What Else to Include in Your Presentation Opening
First up, remember to include some big pauses before and after your attention-grabbing opening line, to ensure that your audience notice it and have time to take it in.
Pauses also appear super confident, and we want our audience to recognise what a confident, engaging speaker we are!
Once you’ve captured attention, make sure your audience knows what to expect:
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Introduce yourself – who you are and why you’re presenting.
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State your topic – and why it matters to them.
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Give a brief agenda – outline the structure of your presentation so your audience knows what’s coming.
A strong opening plus a clear introduction gives your presentation the best chance of grabbing attention, keeping your audience engaged, and setting you up for success.
Good luck!
