Starting your speech: What professional speakers should NOT do

Much of the information I find on the Internet about speech writing hearkens back to Toastmasters or Speech Class 101. Avoid it! It could actually harm your speaking style. Seriously! However, I found this article by professional speaker TJ Walker to contain some good information, especially on what NOT to do.

What is the best way for me to start my presentation?

There is no one perfect way to start a presentation. You don’t have to tell a knee-slapping joke or start with a poignant anecdote. But you don’t want to start the way most presenters do. Why? Because most presenters start of by talking about themselves too much.

As a presenter, you have to make one fundamental choice about how you start: are you going to focus on yourself, or on your audience? If you focus on your audience, you will likely be a success. If you focus on yourself, no matter how polished you are, you will likely fail.

Here’s how most people start a presentation.

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