TEN STRATEGIES FOR A SUCCESSFUL DEBUT
Sébastien Thill
Did you know that within the first 30 seconds, we decide whether or not an audience will listen to us, and that it will be very difficult to change that first impression, especially if your presentation time is short?
A 2005 study conducted at Berkeley revealed that, in YouTube videos, most people decide within the first ten seconds whether they will stay to watch or immediately switch.
Why is the hook so important?
A successful hook is like grabbing your audience by the collar while they are casually walking. It's something that stops you and grabs your attention, it's an electroshock!
Creating a hook has three main objectives: to capture attention, to elicit sympathy, and to suggest competence (while it can, on the contrary, cause boredom or mistrust).
Ideally, we should captivate our audience in the first 30 seconds; not much more is needed.
Indeed, within the first 7 seconds, people decide if they like you as a person, and within the first 30 seconds, you will determine if they will listen to you or not. And it will be extremely difficult and sometimes impossible, if your time in front of them is short, to change that later in the speech.
Attention is at its peak at the beginning of any presentation, partly because the speaker must trust the audience.
"Hello, my name is …………. I am really happy to be here with you. Today, I would like to present to you a rather special card trick."
What does the audience think of this type of hook?
"This speaker is very boring. I won't listen to him."
It's just bad. Why? Because it doesn't grab attention.
So, to avoid this pitfall, here are some simple and field-tested techniques to make a successful entrance!
I ) Surprising statements
"Surprising statements" could be of the type:
"Did you know that a person wakes up between 22 and 28 times a night? Most of the time, we are only aware of it up to two times. Why? Every time you wake up during the night, and it lasts less than 60 seconds, you fall back asleep immediately, your brain doesn't remember it.
This again means that if you wake up in the night, see a ghost, and fall back asleep, the next morning you don't know you saw one."
Formula: "Did you know that..." + surprising fact.
II) Storytelling
If you tell a story in the first 30 seconds, before the introductory information,
it makes a huge difference to your opening.
“Do you know what a Japanese torii is? It’s a large red gate that you may have already seen, like a giant frame, often red, marking the entrance to a sacred space. But the most surprising thing is that a torii can be placed absolutely anywhere: in the middle of a lake, in a garden, in a forest. It’s a gateway to the sacred, an indication for the eye. A bit like a magic trick.”
Your audience members might then think: "Wow, that's interesting, I like hearing stories. This speaker is unusual. I'm going to listen to him."
III) Ask questions
1. Closed questions
Good questions are those that relate to the objective, time, date, or weather.
For example, as a normal question you can ask:
“Among you, who has already been to Japan?” This is an open question. Either “me” or “not me.”
Immediate counter-question: "Who knows about Japanese culture?" and "Who knows what a torii is?" (take out a miniature torii)
Psychologically, they unconsciously follow you when they've done it two or three times. That's why many speakers ask three questions at the beginning.
2. Open questions
Another good way to open your speech is to ask your audience an open question that
provokes thought. By asking a question, you activate a thought process, and through this process, you connect with your audience.
"What best symbolizes Japan for you?"
You can then bounce off one of the audience's answers, thus giving the impression of creating "on-demand" magic.
It often happens to me after a performance that I note one or more reactions from spectators, to integrate them into a future scenario.
3. Quiz
For example, you can ask your audience: "In your opinion, how long would it take
to go to Japan, aboard a rocket?"
Then you let people guess, discuss, debate, and then you show the solution in the tour itself (the number will later allow you to find a card, a number, a page, etc.).
4. Rhetorical questions
Great speakers always use rhetorical questions.
So how do you phrase rhetorical questions in the first place?
Anything you can use with "all," "always," "anytime," "never" is always a rhetorical question.
That is to say, the rhetorical question is as follows: I enter the room and ask the
first question: "Are we not all in search of wonder, in quest of that childlike state?"
Unconsciously, with this question, I force the audience to engage with this message.
Conversely, if I don't ask the question beforehand, this statement will arrive and completely fail.
IV) The Quote
The only thing to keep in mind is that it shouldn't seem too artificial or pathetic. One might think that quoting authors is a haughty attitude; on the contrary, quoting a great author is a sign of modesty, as it is a way of acknowledging that one cannot say it better.
Therefore, you should avoid the following phrasing: "As Seneca said..."
It is better to be more factual:
"Life isn’t about waiting for the storms to pass, it’s about learning how to dance in the rain." Seneca already said this; he taught us that life is the perspective we have on it. A bit like magic, for example, look..."
V) The Zeigarnik Effect
Another entry option needs to be addressed at this point: the open position. This is a simple entry point: you simply leave a problem or question open.
This is a perfect way to trigger the so-called "Zeigarnik" effect.
For example: “The three most important things in magic are emotional reactions,
factual elements, and a third incredibly important thing that I want to tell you about later in the next act. Welcome!”
This is how a matter is left pending. People give you their full attention because
they are interested in knowing that the opening is closed. This also helps to maintain
attention on the upcoming content.
VI) Common Ground
Establish common ground.
"None of you have ever been to Japan, if I understand correctly. I must confess that neither have I. But you will agree with me that it is possible to immerse oneself in this culture through many other means than by going there, just as it is possible to travel without seeing anything of the local culture."
VII) X years ago today
"Dear friends, did you know that Mr. So-and-so would have been 164 years old today if he had lived a little longer? He didn't. And yet we are talking about him right now, and his work has remained intact in the hearts of many humans. Thus, what we consider ephemeral is actually very relative. For example..."
VIII) The Hitchcock Effect.
People love stories. And there are stories that often don't even have a message, but every time a story is told, the subconscious flap opens. We don't even know why. Use these means to increase the attention of those around you.
An example of entertainment.
“Who in this room wears shoe size 39? 38? Shoe size 42?”
Then you collect the answers. Then you say: “Alright, thank you very much. You’ll understand during the evening!” They’d kill you!
They want to know: "What does that have to do with those shoes?"
IX) Demonstration, let the audience become active
You can pull a wrench out of your jacket in the middle of the stage while being witty; that's a demonstration.
I say, "That's how the human mind works. You can use it to fix a broken car, someone, change a tire. You can break a window or commit a violent crime with the same instrument."
At that point, people think, "Yeah, that's true."
"Thoughts are a tool. You are not your thoughts; thoughts are an instrument of you."
Or again:
"Here is a simple deck of cards. A deck of cards can be a friendly amusement, a collector's item, an advertising medium, a way for the Resistance to hide messages, a treacherous scam, a weapon (Ricky Jay!). It all depends on what you do with it, what your goal is."
X) Your personal experience
Talking about your personal experience allows you to connect more easily with your audience. They identify with your story. You create closeness with them.
Oscar Wilde wrote that what separates us is what we show, what brings us closer is what we hide.”
Hard to say it better, isn't it?
I don't know if that makes a good conclusion, but it's an excellent hook!
It's your turn to play!