Why is it so hard to start a speech or presentation, my clients say that after the first couple of minutes i feel comfortable, then i relax, and then things get going.
The problem for many of us is that it is hard because we are doing something that feels artificial, phony and contrived. A good speech is like a conversation. If you meet someone at a cocktail party, you do not begin with your name and title. You may begin with one thing: ask a question.
There is no perfect way of starting a speech but the best way is to start by saying something interesting about your audience. People do this in private conversation, they do not just start talking and telling facts about themselves. The reason it feels so hard to start a speech because you are doing something which you know is boring to the audience. How often have we heard someone say, ‘today i am going to talk about’. That phrase under scrutiny becomes meaningless. Everyone knows the day, everyone knows you are there to talk about something- all of these extra words are just boring and that is what is making you uncomfortable, so the real secret to not making a start of the speech hard is just to start by saying one thing interesting to your audience.