30 Seconds or Less

Team,

30 seconds. That’s how long you have to grab you audience. Look back at your presentation and tell me what you spent the first 30 seconds doing. Thanking the audience? Telling us why you are here? Your introduction? The audience has already tuned out. They’ve decided this will be an average presentation at best.

How can you hook the audience right from your first sentence? Think SSQ; Story, Startle, or Question. The SSQ technique works because it gets your audience to be active participants in the presentation.  How does it work?

·       A Story open is just what it sounds like; starting your presentation right in a story. For instance, “If you zipline in Costa Rica you need to be prepared for snakes.” Launch directly into the middle of your story with as little setup as possible.

·       A Startle open is to make your first line something that shocks or alarms or puzzles the audience. For instance, “I was not a very good listener when I was on fire.” The audience almost has to lean forward to hear what comes next.

·       A Question open is one where your first sentence is a question that makes your audience think. For instance, “What do you think is the number one reason that small businesses fail in the first year?” The audience then participates by saying their answers, “All good answers but they are wrong. Well, they aren’t wrong, but just not the number one reason. The number one reason small businesses fail in the first year is their potential customers don’t know anything about them. Their hours. Their menu. Their location.”

I challenge all of you to re-work your presentation to start with the SSQ.

Now of course you will want to thank the audience, the event coordinator, and whoever introduced you. But you do that later after you’re sure your audience is hooked.