Public Speaking Experience

With Mom joining Toastmasters and my increasing interest in motivational speaking, Peter and I spent Monday evening with a Master Speaker, Patricia Fripp at the Salt Lake City Library for Family Night this week. What an awesome experience! If you are interested in her and her amazing ideas here is a link to all sorts of good information:
http://fripp.com/speakingschool.html

She gave us 24 ways to open a presentation--and since this is one of the most important parts of a good speech that will be remembered and repeated I thought I would post these:

1. Story
2. A little known fact
3. Interesting statistic
4. Powerful quotation
5. Rhetorical question
6. Relate to situation, introduction, introducer
7. A challenge
8. Startling statement
9. Relate to corporate report/program/headlines
10. Tie into the meeting theme
11. Bold claim or promise
12. Find immediate connection to the audience (So what – Me too!)
13. Recommendation first (business presentations)
14. Significance of your topic
15. A needed explanation
16. Mention what is on the mind of the audience
17. Read a letter or review
18. Transport them to a different place or time… “Imagine…”
19. Dictionary definition of words in the theme
20. Compliment the audience
21. Relevant joke (not recommended unless original)
22. Refer to something earlier in the program
23. Remember a special date or cause
24. Poem/Song

And the WORDS:
1. I wish you could have been there…
2. I’ll never forget the first time…
3. It was one of the most exciting days of my life…
4. It was the scariest moment of my life...
5. It was not exactly what I expected…
6. What would the world be like without…
7. I love your theme…
8. If I were to ask you…
9. Who would have thought...
10. Remember the good old days? When…
11. It was just one of those days…
12. I will never forget the time when…
13. There I was… my very first day…
14.You have an awesome responsibility…
15.Just like you, I was brought up to believe…
16.Come back with me…
17.Imagine…
18.Let’s start with a history lesson…
19.The year was…
20.Suddenly… everything fell into place…
21.As I was growing up… my dad always said….
22.You know what it is like when…
23.Have you ever had the feeling that…
24.To put this report into historical perspective…