Page 101 - Today’s Business Communication; A How-to Guide for the Modern Professional

90 TODAY’S BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

1. Ask a question 6. Make a startling statement
2. Tell a story 7. Tell a personal anecdote
3. Find a quotation 8. Use humor
4. Use a visual aid 9. Reference expert opinion
5. Cite a statistic 10. Tell a success story
Figure 7.2 Ten techniques for making a powerful introduction

into the material? Dozens? Hundreds? Thousands? For us, it’s been in the
high hundreds, for sure. By this point in our lives, the lazy introduction is
the quickest way to make us grab our iPads and start updating our Face-
book pages or checking our various email accounts. We simply believe if
you do not care enough to make a compelling introduction that captures
our attention, we do not care enough to leave our iPads alone. The tips
that follow, and in Figure 7.2, will help you supercharge your introduc-
tion and capture your audience’s attention.
Don’t limit yourself to using only one of the tips. Many introductions
will use more than one of these tips:

Ask a Question

We like this approach least, because it’s easy, but it is certainly better than
no introduction at all. If you take this approach, make your question rhe-
torical or provocative. Anticipate the response you will get from the audi-
ence. We have seen too many presentations fall apart because the speaker
asked a question and the audience didn’t provide a response.

Tell a Story

We find stories about something you’ve read or something you’ve seen
or someone you’ve known to be highly effective. Just make sure the story
relates clearly to your topic. Stories not only engage your audience, but
you can leave them with a cliffhanger you will return to in the presenta-
tion’s conclusion.

Find a Quotation
We regularly thumb through online books of quotations when looking
for ways to make compelling points. We figure if someone else has said