How to open a talk that sparks curiosity

You get five reliable ways to open a talk, the reason to open on tension, and a rule for when to give your name.

The first sixty seconds of a talk hold the most attention a room will ever give you. Three common openings spend that attention on information. They start with the agenda, with your name and job, or with the words "today I am going to talk about". The lesson's default is firm. Leave all three out. When your identity is the context the room needs, give it in one sentence and move.

Open on tension. The lesson gives five reliable choices. You can ask a question the audience answers in their head, show a strange object they cannot place, make a claim that sounds impossible, offer a single vivid image, or drop the room into a scene. Each one opens a curiosity gap at once.

One of the most-watched talks on the history of the universe opened with a video of an egg scrambling, played in reverse so the egg unscrambled itself. Before the speaker said a word, the room had seen the idea that time runs in a direction. Your name comes after the curiosity. You earn the introduction by first making the room curious.

Key ideas.

Open a talk with a question, a strange object, an impossible-sounding claim, a single vivid image or a scene, so a curiosity gap opens at once.
Openings built on the agenda, the speaker's name and job, or the words "today I am going to talk about" spend the room's peak attention on information.
Give your name after you have made the room curious, and give it first only when your identity is the context the room needs.
The first sixty seconds of a talk hold the most attention a room will ever give the speaker.

Questions.

How should you start a presentation?

Start with something that opens a curiosity gap. The five reliable choices are a question the audience answers in their head, a strange object, a claim that sounds impossible, a single vivid image, or a scene. Each one spends the room's peak attention on tension. Give your name once the room is curious.

Should you introduce yourself at the start of a talk?

Introduce yourself after you have made the room curious. Opening with your name and job spends the first sixty seconds, when attention is highest, on information. The exception is when your identity is the context the room needs. Then give it in one sentence and move on to the scene, question or claim that pulls the room in.

What is an example of a talk opening that creates curiosity?

One of the most-watched talks on the history of the universe opened with a video of an egg scrambling, played in reverse so the egg unscrambled itself. Before the speaker said a word, the room had seen his whole idea, that time runs in a direction. The opening showed the idea and opened a curiosity gap in the same moment.

Lesson 5.3 of From Story to Stage, a free written course by Aaron C. Leaman, published by Brighter Future. The terms it uses are defined in the glossary.