How to make the most of the 1st minute in a speech.

One of the worst things that public speakers do is waste the first minute of their speech. They reintroduce themselves, thank the host, and kill that first 60 seconds with banal commentary about the event.

What should you do instead, whether you're talking to an event of 10,000 people or a meeting with 10 people? Use what I call a “lean in line.” A lean in line is just what it sounds like, a line you say that causes the audience to lean in to hear more.

It doesn’t have to be a mic drop moment. It doesn’t have to be outrageous or over the top or shocking. It just has to incite curiosity.

For example, I use to give a speech about a book I wrote called “Start.” The wrong way to start that speech would have been, “I’m excited that you’re here and really look forward to telling you about my brand new book Start!” That seems so obvious and dumb but I promise that you’ve heard speakers do that exact same thing.

Instead, I used to start the speech by saying, “I didn’t know how to answer the old woman on the plane.”

Then I would pause like a crazy person. I would hold that pause until it felt uncomfortable. That sentence encouraged people to say, “Wait, what woman? Why didn’t you know how to answer her? What had she asked? What stopped you in your tracks?”

It stirred up some curiosity.

In another speech, I opened by saying, “When I was in college I decided to try out for the football team.” This sentence immediately makes people laugh because clearly my body type has no business playing football.

Those aren’t crazy sentences, but they do make you want to know more.

In a third speech, I opened by saying, “If you have kids or have ever been a kid yourself, you know they say some ridiculous things. Especially at the dinner table.” 

Again, that’s not extreme, but it does get a soft laugh, the line about if you’ve been a kid, and it does make you wonder what ridiculous story I’m about to tell. What happened at the dinner table?

The caveat here is that you have to read the audience and not open up with something so dramatic it’s going to be off putting. Read the room and adjust accordingly. If you go too far with your lean in line, you’ll dig a hole with the start of your speech that will take the next hour to dig out of.

What about your introduction? What about your thank you? What about if you’re a pastor and need to say hello to the other campuses? James C. Humes, brilliant speech writer for several presidents, says to stick all of those things in the middle of your speech.

It’s not that you can’t say them, it’s just that there’s a better spot for them.

Save them for the middle part of your speech. I assure you they can wait. Once you’ve earned the audience, you can say what you want. Until them, work hard to earn the right.

For pastors, I promise no one is going to storm out of your sermon if you don’t acknowledge the other campuses. I attend a video campus and I’ve never once thought, “I can’t believe he didn’t say hi to our campus. It’s almost like we don’t matter to him!”

I also never feel relieved or delighted when I hear my campus get a shout out. I never think, “Phew, I wasn’t aware that I was watching a video screen, but now that he said I am and said hello, I feel better.”

Open with a lean in line.

Move less critical stuff to the middle.

There are a lot of minutes to talk about. Your speech is certainly more than just one or two, but that opening minute matters, make the most of it.

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