Public Speaking Tip #1

Capture the audience’s attention with the title of your presentation.

Take a stand, starting with the presentation title, recommends Scott Berkun in Confessions of a Public Speaker. Don’t try and address a broad, abstract topic. Argue a specific point of view, one that you are passionate about. If you’re bored, your audience will be too.

Ensure that your title is concrete and focussed so that the audience immediately grasps what you will be covering and why it will be valuable to them.

And include a hook that grabs people’s attention and helps you define your topic. For example, “Green Eggs and Brainstorming: How to Learn Creativity from Reading Dr. Seuss” is far more interesting, for you and the audience, than “Creativity for Beginners.”

Note: This is the first of a series of public speaking tips based on my research in this area.

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