how to start a speech english

How to Start a Speech: 7 Tips and Examples for a Captivating Opening

1. choosing the right opening line.

Finding the perfect opening line for your speech is important in grabbing your audience’s attention. A strong opening line sets the stage for the points you want to make and helps you establish a connection with your listeners.

1. Start with a question

Engage your audience from the very beginning by asking them a thought-provoking question related to your topic. This approach encourages them to think, and it can create a sense of anticipation about what’s coming next.

• “Have you ever wondered how much time we spend on our phones every day?”

2. Share a personal story

A relatable personal story can create an emotional connection with your audience. Make sure your story is short, relevant to your speech, and ends with a clear point.

• “When I was a child, my grandmother used to tell me that every kind deed we do plants a seed of goodness in the world. It was this philosophy that inspired me to start volunteering.”

3. Use a quote or a statistic

Incorporate a powerful quote or an intriguing statistic at the outset of your speech to engage your audience and provide context for your topic.

• “As the great Maya Angelou once said, ‘People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.'”

4. Make them laugh

Injecting a little humor into your opening line puts everyone at ease and makes your speech more memorable. Just make sure your joke is relevant and doesn’t offend your audience.

• “They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but if the doctor is cute, forget the fruit!”

5. Paint a mental picture

Draw your audience in by describing a vivid scene or painting an illustration in their minds. This creates an immersive experience that makes it easier for your audience to follow your speech.

• “Picture this: you’re walking down the beach, and you look out on the horizon. The sun is setting, and the sky is a breathtaking canvas of reds, oranges, and pinks.”

2. Using a Personal Story

Sharing a personal story can be a highly effective way to engage your audience from the very beginning of your speech. When you open your talk with a powerful, relatable story, it helps create an emotional connection with your listeners, making them more invested in what you have to say.

Think about an experience from your life that is relevant to the topic of your speech. Your story doesn’t have to be grand or dramatic, but it should be clear and vivid. Include enough detail to paint a picture in your audience’s minds, but keep it concise and on point.

The key to successfully using a personal story is to make it relatable. Choose a situation that your audience can empathize with or easily understand. For example, if you’re giving a speech about overcoming adversity, you could talk about a time where you faced a seemingly insurmountable challenge and overcame it.

Make sure to connect your story to the main point or theme of your speech. After sharing your experience, explain how it relates to the topic at hand, and let your audience see the relevance to their own lives. This will make your speech more impactful and show your listeners why your personal story holds meaning.

3. Making a Shocking Statement

Starting your speech with a shocking statement can instantly grab your audience’s attention. This technique works especially well when your speech topic relates to a hot-button issue or a controversial subject. Just make sure that the statement is relevant and true, as false claims may damage your credibility.

For example, “Believe it or not, 90% of startups fail during their first five years in the market.” This statement might surprise your listeners and make them more receptive to your ideas on how to avoid pitfalls and foster a successful business.

So next time you’re crafting a speech, consider opening with a powerful shocking statement. It could be just the thing to get your audience sitting up and paying full attention. (Try to keep your shocking statement relevant to your speech topic and factual to enhance your credibility.)

4. Using Humor

Humor can be an excellent way to break the ice and grab your audience’s attention. Opening your speech with a funny story or a joke can make a memorable first impression. Just be sure to keep it relevant to your topic and audience.

A good joke can set a light-hearted tone, lead into the importance of effective time management, and get your audience engaged from the start.

When using humor in your speech, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

• Be relatable: Choose a story or joke that your audience can easily relate to. It will be more engaging and connect your listeners to your message.
• Keep it appropriate: Make sure the humor fits the occasion and audience. Stay away from controversial topics and avoid offending any particular group.
• Practice your delivery: Timing and delivery are essential when telling a joke. Practice saying it out loud and adjust your pacing and tone of voice to ensure your audience gets the joke.
• Go with the flow: If your joke flops or doesn’t get the reaction you were hoping for, don’t panic or apologize. Simply move on to the next part of your speech smoothly, and don’t let it shake your confidence.
• Don’t overdo it: While humor can be useful in capturing your audience’s attention, remember that you’re not a stand-up comedian. Use it sparingly and focus on getting your message across clearly and effectively.

5. Incorporating a Quote

When you want to start your speech with a powerful quote, ensure that the quote is relevant to your topic. Choose a quote from a credible source, such as a famous historical figure, a well-known author, or a respected expert in your field. This will not only grab your audience’s attention but also establish your speech’s credibility.

For example, if you’re giving a speech about resilience, you might use this quote by Nelson Mandela: “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

Once you’ve found the perfect quote, integrate it smoothly into your speech’s introduction. You can briefly introduce the source of the quote, providing context for why their words are significant. For example:

Nelson Mandela, an inspirational leader known for his perseverance, once said: “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

When you’re incorporating a quote in your speech, practice your delivery to ensure it has the intended impact. Focus on your tone, pace, and pronunciation. By doing so, you can convey the quote’s meaning effectively and connect with your audience emotionally.

Connect the quote to your main points by briefly explaining how it relates to the subject matter of your speech. By creating a natural transition from the quote to your topic, you can maintain your audience’s interest and set the stage for a compelling speech.

In our resilience example, this could look like:

“This quote by Mandela beautifully illustrates the power of resilience. Today, I want to share with you some stories of remarkable individuals who, like Mandela, overcame obstacles and rose every time they fell. Through their experiences, we might learn how to cultivate our own resilience and make the most of life’s challenges.”

6. Starting with a Question

Opening your speech with a question can be a great way to engage your audience from the start. This strategy encourages your listeners to think and become active participants in your presentation. Your opening question should be related to your core message, sparking their curiosity, and setting the stage for the following content. Here are a few examples:

• For a motivational speech : “Have you ever wondered what you would do if you couldn’t fail?”
• For a business presentation : “What’s the biggest challenge your team faces daily, and how can we overcome it?”
• For an educational talk : “How does the way we use technology today impact the future of our society?”

When choosing the right starting question, consider your audience. You want to ask something that is relevant to their experiences and interests. The question should be interesting enough to draw their attention and resonate with their emotions. For instance, if you’re presenting to a group of entrepreneurs, gear your question towards entrepreneurship, and so on.

To boost your question’s impact, consider using rhetorical questions. These don’t require a verbal response, but get your audience thinking about their experiences or opinions. Here’s an example:

• For an environmental speech : “What kind of world do we want to leave for our children?”

After posing your question, take a moment to let it sink in, and gauge the audience’s reaction. You can also use a brief pause to give the listeners time to think about their answers before moving on with your speech.

7. Acknowledging the Occasion

When starting a speech, you can acknowledge the occasion that brought everyone together. This helps create a connection with your audience and sets the stage for the rest of your speech. Make sure to mention the event name, its purpose, and any relevant individuals or groups you would like to thank for organizing it. For example:

“Hello everyone, and welcome to the 10th annual Charity Gala Dinner. I’m truly grateful to the fundraising committee for inviting me to speak tonight.”

After addressing the event itself, include a brief personal touch to show your connection with the topic or the audience. This helps the audience relate to you and gain interest in what you have to say. Here’s an example:

“As a long-time supporter of this cause, I am honored to share my thoughts on how we can continue making a difference in our community.”

Next, give a brief overview of your speech so the audience knows what to expect. This sets the context and helps them follow your points. You could say something like:

“Tonight, I’ll be sharing my experiences volunteering at the local food bank and discussing the impact of your generous donations.”

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some effective opening lines for speeches.

A powerful opening line will grab your audience’s attention and set the stage for the rest of your speech. Some effective opening lines include:

• Start with a bold statement: “The world needs your creativity now more than ever.”
• Share a surprising fact: “Did you know that the average person spends (…) years of their life at work?”
• Pose a thought-provoking question: “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?”
• Tell a short, engaging story: “When I was 10 years old, I discovered my passion for baking in my grandmother’s kitchen.”

Can you provide examples of engaging introductions for speeches?

• Use humor: “As a kid, I believed that 7 pm bedtime was a form of torture. Now, as an adult, I find myself dreaming of 7 pm bedtime.”
• Share a personal experience: “On a trip to Italy, I found myself lost in the winding streets of a small village. It was there, amidst my confusion, that I stumbled upon the best gelato I’d ever tasted.”
• Use an analogy: “Starting a new business is like taking a journey into the unknown. There will be challenges to overcome, and you’ll need resilience, determination, and a strong compass.”

Which speech styles can make a powerful impact on the audience?

Different speech styles will resonate with different audiences. Some styles to consider include:

• Inspirational: Motivate your audience to take action or overcome challenges.
• Storytelling: Share personal experiences or anecdotes to illustrate your points and keep listeners engaged.
• Educational: Provide useful information and insights to help your audience learn or grow.
• Persuasive: Present a compelling argument to convince your audience to adopt a particular perspective or take specific action.

How do successful speakers establish a connection with their listeners?

Establishing a connection with your listeners is key to delivering an impactful speech. Some ways to connect with your audience include:

• Show empathy: Demonstrating understanding and concern for your audience’s feelings and experiences will generate a sense of trust and connection.
• Be relatable: Share personal stories or examples that allow your audience to see themselves in your experiences, thus making your speech more relatable.
• Keep it genuine: Avoid overrehearsing or coming across as scripted. Instead, strive for authenticity and flexibility in your delivery.
• Encourage participation: Engaging your audience through questions, activities, or conversation can help build rapport and make them feel more involved.

What are some techniques for maintaining a friendly and professional tone in speeches?

To maintain a friendly and professional tone in your speeches, consider these tips:

• Balance humor and seriousness: Use humor to lighten the mood and engage your audience, but make sure to also cover the serious points in your speech.
• Speak naturally: Use your everyday vocabulary and avoid jargon or overly formal language when possible.
• Show respect: Acknowledge differing opinions and experiences, and treat your audience with courtesy and fairness.
• Provide useful information: Offer valuable insights and solutions to your audience’s concerns, ensuring they leave your speech feeling more informed and empowered.
• Emotional Intelligence (EQ) in Leadership [Examples, Tips]
• Effective Nonverbal Communication in the Workplace (Examples)
• Empathy: Definition, Types, and Tips for Effective Practice
• How to Improve Key Communication Skills
• 38 Empathy Statements: Examples of Empathy
• What is Self Compassion? (Exercises, Methods, Examples)

15 Powerful Speech Opening Lines (And How to Create Your Own)

Hrideep barot.

• Public Speaking , Speech Writing

Powerful speech opening lines set the tone and mood of your speech. It’s what grips the audience to want to know more about the rest of your talk.

The first few seconds are critical. It’s when you have maximum attention of the audience. And you must capitalize on that!

Instead of starting off with something plain and obvious such as a ‘Thank you’ or ‘Good Morning’, there’s so much more you can do for a powerful speech opening (here’s a great article we wrote a while ago on how you should NOT start your speech ).

To help you with this, I’ve compiled some of my favourite openings from various speakers. These speakers have gone on to deliver TED talks , win international Toastmaster competitions or are just noteworthy people who have mastered the art of communication.

After each speaker’s opening line, I have added how you can include their style of opening into your own speech. Understanding how these great speakers do it will certainly give you an idea to create your own speech opening line which will grip the audience from the outset!

Alright! Let’s dive into the 15 powerful speech openings…

Note: Want to take your communications skills to the next level? Book a complimentary consultation with one of our expert communication coaches. We’ll look under the hood of your hurdles and pick two to three growth opportunities so you can speak with impact!

1. Ric Elias

Opening: “Imagine a big explosion as you climb through 3,000 ft. Imagine a plane full of smoke. Imagine an engine going clack, clack, clack. It sounds scary. Well I had a unique seat that day. I was sitting in 1D.”

How to use the power of imagination to open your speech?

Putting your audience in a state of imagination can work extremely well to captivate them for the remainder of your talk.

It really helps to bring your audience in a certain mood that preps them for what’s about to come next. Speakers have used this with high effectiveness by transporting their audience into an imaginary land to help prove their point.

When Ric Elias opened his speech, the detail he used (3000 ft, sound of the engine going clack-clack-clack) made me feel that I too was in the plane. He was trying to make the audience experience what he was feeling – and, at least in my opinion, he did.

When using the imagination opening for speeches, the key is – detail. While we want the audience to wander into imagination, we want them to wander off to the image that we want to create for them. So, detail out your scenario if you’re going to use this technique.

Make your audience feel like they too are in the same circumstance as you were when you were in that particular situation.

2. Barack Obama

Opening: “You can’t say it, but you know it’s true.”

3. Seth MacFarlane

Opening: “There’s nowhere I would rather be on a day like this than around all this electoral equipment.” (It was raining)

How to use humour to open your speech?

When you use humour in a manner that suits your personality, it can set you up for a great speech. Why? Because getting a laugh in the first 30 seconds or so is a great way to quickly get the audience to like you.

And when they like you, they are much more likely to listen to and believe in your ideas.

Obama effortlessly uses his opening line to entice laughter among the audience. He brilliantly used the setting (the context of Trump becoming President) and said a line that completely matched his style of speaking.

Saying a joke without really saying a joke and getting people to laugh requires you to be completely comfortable in your own skin. And that’s not easy for many people (me being one of them).

If the joke doesn’t land as expected, it could lead to a rocky start.

Keep in mind the following when attempting to deliver a funny introduction:

• Know your audience: Make sure your audience gets the context of the joke (if it’s an inside joke among the members you’re speaking to, that’s even better!). You can read this article we wrote where we give you tips on how you can actually get to know your audience better to ensure maximum impact with your speech openings
• The joke should suit your natural personality. Don’t make it look forced or it won’t elicit the desired response
• Test the opening out on a few people who match your real audience. Analyze their response and tweak the joke accordingly if necessary
• Starting your speech with humour means your setting the tone of your speech. It would make sense to have a few more jokes sprinkled around the rest of the speech as well as the audience might be expecting the same from you

4. Mohammed Qahtani

Opening: Puts a cigarette on his lips, lights a lighter, stops just before lighting the cigarette. Looks at audience, “What?”

5. Darren Tay

Opening: Puts a white pair of briefs over his pants.

How to use props to begin your speech?

The reason props work so well in a talk is because in most cases the audience is not expecting anything more than just talking. So when a speaker pulls out an object that is unusual, everyone’s attention goes right to it.

It makes you wonder why that prop is being used in this particular speech.

The key word here is unusual . To grip the audience’s attention at the beginning of the speech, the prop being used should be something that the audience would never expect. Otherwise, it just becomes something that is common. And common = boring!

What Mohammed Qahtani and Darren Tay did superbly well in their talks was that they used props that nobody expected them to.

By pulling out a cigarette and lighter or a white pair of underwear, the audience can’t help but be gripped by what the speaker is about to do next. And that makes for a powerful speech opening.

6. Simon Sinek

Opening: “How do you explain when things don’t go as we assume? Or better, how do you explain when others are able to achieve things that seem to defy all of the assumptions?”

7. Julian Treasure

Opening: “The human voice. It’s the instrument we all play. It’s the most powerful sound in the world. Probably the only one that can start a war or say “I love you.” And yet many people have the experience that when they speak people don’t listen to them. Why is that? How can we speak powerfully to make change in the world?”

How to use questions to open a speech?

I use this method often. Starting off with a question is the simplest way to start your speech in a manner that immediately engages the audience.

But we should keep our questions compelling as opposed to something that is fairly obvious.

I’ve heard many speakers start their speeches with questions like “How many of us want to be successful?”

No one is going to say ‘no’ to that and frankly, I just feel silly raising my hand at such questions.

Simon Sinek and Jullian Treasure used questions in a manner that really made the audience think and make them curious to find out what the answer to that question is.

What Jullian Treasure did even better was the use of a few statements which built up to his question. This made the question even more compelling and set the theme for what the rest of his talk would be about.

So think of what question you can ask in your speech that will:

• Set the theme for the remainder of your speech
• Not be something that is fairly obvious
• Be compelling enough so that the audience will actually want to know what the answer to that question will be

8. Aaron Beverley

Opening: Long pause (after an absurdly long introduction of a 57-word speech title). “Be honest. You enjoyed that, didn’t you?”

How to use silence for speech openings?

The reason this speech opening stands out is because of the fact that the title itself is 57 words long. The audience was already hilariously intrigued by what was going to come next.

But what’s so gripping here is the way Aaron holds the crowd’s suspense by…doing nothing. For about 10 to 12 seconds he did nothing but stand and look at the audience. Everyone quietened down. He then broke this silence by a humorous remark that brought the audience laughing down again.

When going on to open your speech, besides focusing on building a killer opening sentence, how about just being silent?

It’s important to keep in mind that the point of having a strong opening is so that the audience’s attention is all on you and are intrigued enough to want to listen to the rest of your speech.

Silence is a great way to do that. When you get on the stage, just pause for a few seconds (about 3 to 5 seconds) and just look at the crowd. Let the audience and yourself settle in to the fact that the spotlight is now on you.

I can’t put my finger on it, but there is something about starting the speech off with a pure pause that just makes the beginning so much more powerful. It adds credibility to you as a speaker as well, making you look more comfortable and confident on stage. 

If you want to know more about the power of pausing in public speaking , check out this post we wrote. It will give you a deeper insight into the importance of pausing and how you can harness it for your own speeches. You can also check out this video to know more about Pausing for Public Speaking:

9. Dan Pink

Opening: “I need to make a confession at the outset here. Little over 20 years ago, I did something that I regret. Something that I’m not particularly proud of. Something that in many ways I wish no one would ever know but that here I feel kind of obliged to reveal.”

10. Kelly McGonigal

Opening: “I have a confession to make. But first I want you to make a little confession to me.”

How to use a build-up to open your speech?

When there are so many amazing ways to start a speech and grip an audience from the outset, why would you ever choose to begin your speech with a ‘Good morning?’.

That’s what I love about build-ups. They set the mood for something awesome that’s about to come in that the audience will feel like they just have to know about.

Instead of starting a speech as it is, see if you can add some build-up to your beginning itself. For instance, in Kelly McGonigal’s speech, she could have started off with the question of stress itself (which she eventually moves on to in her speech). It’s not a bad way to start the speech.

But by adding the statement of “I have a confession to make” and then not revealing the confession for a little bit, the audience is gripped to know what she’s about to do next and find out what indeed is her confession.

11. Tim Urban

Opening: “So in college, I was a government major. Which means that I had to write a lot of papers. Now when a normal student writes a paper, they might spread the work out a little like this.”

12. Scott Dinsmore

Opening: “8 years ago, I got the worst career advice of my life.”

How to use storytelling as a speech opening?

“The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller.” Steve Jobs

Storytelling is the foundation of good speeches. Starting your speech with a story is a great way to grip the audience’s attention. It makes them yearn to want to know how the rest of the story is going to pan out.

Tim Urban starts off his speech with a story dating back to his college days. His use of slides is masterful and something we all can learn from. But while his story sounds simple, it does the job of intriguing the audience to want to know more.

As soon as I heard the opening lines, I thought to myself “If normal students write their paper in a certain manner, how does Tim write his papers?”

Combine such a simple yet intriguing opening with comedic slides, and you’ve got yourself a pretty gripping speech.

Scott Dismore’s statement has a similar impact. However, just a side note, Scott Dismore actually started his speech with “Wow, what an honour.”

I would advise to not start your talk with something such as that. It’s way too common and does not do the job an opening must, which is to grip your audience and set the tone for what’s coming.

13. Larry Smith

Opening: “I want to discuss with you this afternoon why you’re going to fail to have a great career.”

14. Jane McGonigal

Opening: “You will live 7.5 minutes longer than you would have otherwise, just because you watched this talk.”

How to use provocative statements to start your speech?

Making a provocative statement creates a keen desire among the audience to want to know more about what you have to say. It immediately brings everyone into attention.

Larry Smith did just that by making his opening statement surprising, lightly humorous, and above all – fearful. These elements lead to an opening statement which creates so much curiosity among the audience that they need to know how your speech pans out.

This one time, I remember seeing a speaker start a speech with, “Last week, my best friend committed suicide.” The entire crowd was gripped. Everyone could feel the tension in the room.

They were just waiting for the speaker to continue to know where this speech will go.

That’s what a hard-hitting statement does, it intrigues your audience so much that they can’t wait to hear more! Just a tip, if you do start off with a provocative, hard-hitting statement, make sure you pause for a moment after saying it.

Silence after an impactful statement will allow your message to really sink in with the audience.

Related article: 5 Ways to Grab Your Audience’s Attention When You’re Losing it!

15. Ramona J Smith

Opening: In a boxing stance, “Life would sometimes feel like a fight. The punches, jabs and hooks will come in the form of challenges, obstacles and failures. Yet if you stay in the ring and learn from those past fights, at the end of each round, you’ll be still standing.”

How to use your full body to grip the audience at the beginning of your speech?

In a talk, the audience is expecting you to do just that – talk. But when you enter the stage and start putting your full body into use in a way that the audience does not expect, it grabs their attention.

Body language is critical when it comes to public speaking. Hand gestures, stage movement, facial expressions are all things that need to be paid attention to while you’re speaking on stage. But that’s not I’m talking about here.

Here, I’m referring to a unique use of the body that grips the audience, like how Ramona did. By using her body to get into a boxing stance, imitating punches, jabs and hooks with her arms while talking – that’s what got the audience’s attention.

The reason I say this is so powerful is because if you take Ramona’s speech and remove the body usage from her opening, the entire magic of the opening falls flat.

While the content is definitely strong, without those movements, she would not have captured the audience’s attention as beautifully as she did with the use of her body.

So if you have a speech opening that seems slightly dull, see if you can add some body movement to it.

If your speech starts with a story of someone running, actually act out the running. If your speech starts with a story of someone reading, actually act out the reading.

It will make your speech opening that much more impactful.

Related article: 5 Body Language Tips to Command the Stage

Level up your public speaking in 15 minutes!

Get the exclusive Masterclass video delivered to your inbox to see immediate speaking results.

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Final Words

So there it is! 15 speech openings from some of my favourite speeches. Hopefully, these will act as a guide for you to create your own opening which is super impactful and sets you off on the path to becoming a powerful public speaker!

But remember, while a speech opening is super important, it’s just part of an overall structure.

If you’re serious about not just creating a great speech opening but to improve your public speaking at an overall level, I would highly recommend you to check out this course: Acumen Presents: Chris Anderson on Public Speaking on Udemy. Not only does it have specific lectures on starting and ending a speech, but it also offers an in-depth guide into all the nuances of public speaking. 

Being the founder of TED Talks, Chris Anderson provides numerous examples of the best TED speakers to give us a very practical way of overcoming stage fear and delivering a speech that people will remember. His course has helped me personally and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to learn public speaking. 

No one is ever “done” learning public speaking. It’s a continuous process and you can always get better. Keep learning, keep conquering and keep being awesome!

Lastly, if you want to know how you should NOT open your speech, we’ve got a video for you:

Enroll in our transformative 1:1 Coaching Program

Schedule a call with our expert communication coach to know if this program would be the right fit for you

How to Brag Like a Pro as a Speaker

Less is More! Tips to Avoid Overwhelming Your Audience 

What does it mean to Resonate with the Audience- Agreement, Acceptance, Approval

• [email protected]
• +91 98203 57888

Get our latest tips and tricks in your inbox always

Copyright © 2023 Frantically Speaking All rights reserved

How to Start a Speech: The Best (and Worst) Speech Openers

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

One of the hardest things about public speaking is knowing how to start a speech. Your opening line is your first impression. It’s how you capture attention. It’s how you captivate the audience. So how do you make sure you nail it every time?

The best way to know how to open a speech is to look at what has worked in the past. When we examined the top speeches of all time and the most popular TED talks of all time, we found some interesting speaking patterns.

Time has identified the top 10 greatest speeches of all time. They are:

Opening Lines of the Top 10 Greatest Speeches of All Time

#1: Socrates – “Apology”

#2: Patrick Henry – “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death”

#3: Frederick Douglass – “The Hypocrisy of American Slavery”

#4: Abraham Lincoln – “Gettysburg Address”

Opening Line: “Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

#5: Susan B. Anthony – “Women’s Rights to the Suffrage”

#6: Winston Churchill – “Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat”

#7: John F. Kennedy – “Inaugural Address”

Opening Line: “We observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom — symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning — signifying renewal, as well as change.”

#8: Martin Luther King, Jr. – “I Have a Dream”

#9: Lyndon B. Johnson – “The American Promise”

#10: Ronald Reagan – “Remarks at the Brandenburg Gate”

How do all of these historical greats start their speeches? Is there a difference between these and some of the more modern top TED talks?

Before we dive in, let’s recap with some critical do’s and don’ts when opening a speech:

Opening Lines of the Top 10 TED Talks of All Time

Here are the opening lines to the top 10 Ted Talks of all time according to view count:

#1: Sir Ken Robinson – “Do schools kill creativity?” Opening Line: “Good morning. How are you? It’s been great, hasn’t it? I’ve been blown away by the whole thing. In fact, I’m leaving.”

#2: Amy Cuddy – “Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are” Opening Line: “So I want to start by offering you a free, no-tech life hack, and all it requires of you is this: that you change your posture for two minutes.”

#3: Simon Sinek – “How Great Leaders Inspire Action”

#4: Brene Brown – “The Power of Vulnerability” Opening Line: “So, I’ll start with this: a couple years ago, an event planner called me because I was going to do a speaking event.”

#5: Mary Roach – “10 Things You Didn’t Know About Orgasm” Opening Line: “All right. I’m going to show you a couple of images from a very diverting paper in The Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine.”

#6: Julian Treasure – “How to Speak so that People Want to Listen” Opening Line: “The human voice: It’s the instrument we all play.”

#7: Jill Bolte Taylor – “My Stroke of Insight” Opening Line: “I grew up to study the brain because I have a brother who has been diagnosed with a brain disorder: schizophrenia.”

#8: James Veitch – “This is What Happens When You Reply to Spam Email” Opening Line: “A few years ago, I got one of those spam emails.”

#9: Cameron Russell – “Looks Aren’t Everything; Believe Me, I’m a Model” Opening Line: “Hi. My name is Cameron Russell, and for the last little while, I’ve been a model.”

#10: Dan Pink – “The Puzzle of Motivation” Opening Line: “I need to make a confession at the outset here.”

What can we learn from these opening lines? There are some patterns that can help us. First, let’s start with what you shouldn’t do. Have you ever made one of these cardinal speaking sins?

Never Start a Presentation with…

Anything technical! This is a big mistake people make when they have not done a tech check ahead of time or are feeling nervous. Never start with these openers:

• Is this microphone working?
• Can you hear me?
• Wow, these lights are bright!

Your nervousness. Many people think it is vulnerable to start with how nervous they are about speaking — you can mention this later, but it should not be the first thing. Why? People will then only be looking for signs of your nervousness. Don’t start with:

• I’m so nervous right now!
• Wow there are so many people here.
• I’m not a great public speaker.

A lackluster or non-believable nicety. It’s great to be grateful to the person who introduced you, but it’s not a great way to include the audience. It’s ok to thank the audience for being there—but do it at the end (not as your opening line). These are all too boring:

• Thanks for having me.
• Thanks for that intro.
• Nice to be here.

Boring, shmoring! I have an exception here if you can make it funny. Ken Robinson started with a nicety and then turned it into a joke. He said, “ “Good morning. How are you? It’s been great, hasn’t it? I’ve been blown away by the whole thing. In fact, I’m leaving.”

More Public Speaking Resources

Get even more public speaking tips with our related resources:

• 10 Presentation Ideas that will Radically Improve Your Presentation Skills
• 6 Public Speaking Apps to try Before Your Next Presentation
• My Top 5 Favorite Public Speakers
• 15 Science-Based Public Speaking Tips To Become a Master Speaker
• How to Give Captivating Presentations
• How to Give an Awesome Toast

How to Start a Presentation

A story. The absolute best way to start a presentation is with a story. There is nothing better to capture the imagination and attention of an audience. Try to use these speaking openers as fill-in-the-blanks for your speech.

• I’m here for a reason. And it’s an interesting story…
• The best thing that ever happened to me was…
• Once upon a time…

In his talk, “The lies our culture tells us about what matters,” David Brooks started off with a great opening line AND a story. He said, “So, we all have bad seasons in life. And I had one in 2013. My marriage had just ended, and I was humiliated by that failed commitment.” Makes you want to watch right…

And if you need help on storytelling basics, be sure to check out some of my top 5 favorite speakers .

A BIG idea. Sometimes you want to share your big idea right up front. This can be helpful because it is intriguing and gets people clued in right away. All TED speakers try to integrate their big idea early.

• You’re here for a reason. It’s…
• The single most important thing I want to share with you today is…
• Today, I want to share a big idea…

I love how Stacy Smith starts off her talk with her big idea framed in an interesting way. She said, “Today, I want to tell you about a pressing social issue. Now, it’s not nuclear arms, it’s not immigration, and it’s not malaria. I’m here to talk about movies.”

Special Note: Be very careful to NOT deliver your one-liner by re-reading your title slide. You also want to position it as exciting and intriguing. For example, don’t say, “Today I am going to talk about body language.” Instead say, “Today I am going to teach you the single most important thing you can do to improve your charisma… and it starts with your body.”

A quirky one-liner. If you can use humor — do it! Humor or curiosity is a great way to start a speech on a high. You can get creative with these! Think of an interesting fact about you, your audience or your topic that can lead you into your content.

• One thing most people don’t know about me is…
• A teacher, a mother and a duck walk into a bar…
• I want to tell you something surprising.

When I gave my TEDx London Talk I started off with a quirky one-liner that immediately got a few laughs. It was “Hi, I’m Vanessa and I am a recovering awkward person.” It worked so well it is also the first line of my book, Captivate . 

II love the way Eve Ensler opens her speech with an interesting one-liner: “For a long time, there was me, and my body.”

This is a great tip from Conor Neill. He says that it is great to start with a question that the audience is asking themselves or would be very curious to know the answer to. This might be phrasing a pain point or worry for your audience.

• Do you ever worry about…?
• Have you ever wondered…?
• You might have always thought…

See Cono Neill’s examples here: 

Did you know…? Any interesting factoid or curiosity is bound to intrigue your audience. This is great if it leads into your content or a story. I like to start with did you know… Here are some that I use. You will have to fill in the blank for your audience:

• Did you know that it takes less than a second to make a first impression ?
• Did you know that your nonverbal communication is 12.5 times more powerful than your words ?
• Did you know that we are lied to 200 times a day ?

Jamie Oliver does this amazingly in his TED Talk. He starts with this mind-blowing fact, “Sadly, in the next 18 minutes when I do our chat, four Americans that are alive will be dead through the food that they eat.”

Hopefully these opening lines will give you some ideas to use to open your speech.

How to End a Speech: My Favorite Closers

Do you know how to end on a high? Leave a lasting impression in your presentation? Science tells us that the first and last parts of your presentations are the most important. Get our FREE download to get our closer guide.

Popular Guides

20 thoughts on “how to start a speech: the best (and worst) speech openers”.

Love your material

didnt help me but still good stuff

Thank you Vanessa. I’ve been a public speaker for 25 years and I’m impressed with your content here. Thank you. Looking forward to a deep dive into more of your material. With gratitude.

Found these examples super informative. Can’t wait to mix match the examples to see which one will work best for my presentation!

I am preparing to make a presentation on Public Speaking and came across your article. This is very instructive and timely too.Many thanks.

Comments are closed.

How to Deal with Difficult People at Work

Do you have a difficult boss? Colleague? Client? Learn how to transform your difficult relationship. I’ll show you my science-based approach to building a strong, productive relationship with even the most difficult people.

Related Articles

Science of People offers over 1000+ articles on people skills and nonverbal behavior.

Get our latest insights and advice delivered to your inbox.

It’s a privilege to be in your inbox. We promise only to send the good stuff.

• Personal Development
• Sales Training
• Business Training
• Time Management
• Leadership Training
• Book Writing
• Public Speaking
• Live Speaker Training With Brian
• See Brian Speak
• Coaching Programs
• Become a Coach
• Personal Success
• Sales Success
• Business Success
• Leadership Success

How to Start a Speech: The Best Ways to Capture Your Audience

You’ve heard the saying,  “First impressions are lasting; you never get a second chance to create a good first impression” —  right?

The same is true when talking about how to start a speech…

The truth is, when you start your speech, you must focus everything on making a positive first impression on your audience members (especially if you are doing the presentation virtually ). Capturing the audience’s attention from the very beginning is crucial to prevent them from being distracted, losing interest, or forming negative opinions.

The introduction is the formal greeting for speeches, so let’s be sure to get this right to hook the audience. Understanding the importance of speech openings can significantly impact making a strong first impression. Planning and delivering the first words with confidence and relevance is essential, as they set the tone for the entire presentation and ensure you deliver a professional start, free from hesitation or irrelevance.

Here are 15 different ways to start a speech as well as 2 extra BONUS tips at the end.

1) Thank the Organizers and Audience

You can start by thanking the audience for coming and thanking the organization for inviting you to speak.

Refer to the person who introduced you or to one or more of the senior people in the organization in the audience.

This compliments them, makes them feel proud and happy about your presence, and connects you to the audience like an electrical plug in a socket.

2) Start With a Positive Statement

A presentation tip at the start is to tell the audience members how much they will like and enjoy what you have to say.

For example, you might say:

“You’re really going to enjoy the time we spend together this evening. I’m going to share with you some of the most important ideas that have ever been discovered in this area.”

Remember that  speaking is an art,  so be an artist and take complete control of your performance,

3) Compliment the Audience

You can begin by complimenting the audience members sincerely and with great respect.

Smile as if you are really glad to see them as if they are all old friends of yours that you have not seen for quite a while.

You can tell them that it is a great honor for you to be here, that they are some of the most important people in this business or industry, and that you are looking forward to sharing some key ideas with them.

You could say something like:

“It is an honor to be here with you today. You are the elite, the top 10 percent of people in this industry. Only the very best people in any field will take the time and make the sacrifice to come so far for a conference like this.”

4) Start Your Speech With the First Sentence Referring to Current Events

Use a current event front-page news story to transition into your subject and to illustrate or prove your point. You can bring a copy of the newspaper and hold it up as you refer to it in your introduction.

This visual image of you holding the paper and reciting or reading a key point rivets the audience’s attention and causes more people to lean forward to hear what you have to say.

5) Refer to a Historical Event

For many years, I studied military history…

Especially the lives and campaigns of the great generals and the decisive battles they won. One of my favorites was Alexander the Great. Standing in the symbolic shadow of such historical figures can provide a powerful and engaging start to any speech, especially when drawing parallels to contemporary challenges.

One day, I was asked to give a talk on leadership principles to a roomful of managers for a Fortune 500 company.

I decided that the campaign of Alexander the Great against Darius of Persia would make an excellent story that would illustrate the leadership qualities of one of the great commanders in history.

I opened my talk with these words:

“Once upon a time there was a young man named Alex who grew up in a poor country. But Alex was a little bit ambitious. From an early age, he decided that he wanted to conquer the entire known world. But there was a small problem.

Most of the known world was under the control of a huge multinational called the Persian Empire, headed by King Darius II. To fulfill his ambition, Alex was going to have to take the market share away from the market leader, who was very determined to hold on to it.

This is the same situation that exists between you and your major competitors in the market today. You are going to have to use all your leadership skills to win the great marketing battles of the future.”

6) Refer to a Well Known Person

You can start by quoting a well-known person or publication that recently made an interesting or important statement.

One of the subjects I touch upon regularly is the importance of continual personal development.

I will say something like:

“In the twenty-first century, knowledge and know-how are the keys to success. As basketball coach Pat Riley said, ‘If you are not getting better, you are getting worse.’”

7) Refer to a Recent Conversation

Start by telling a story about a recent conversation with someone in attendance.

For instance, I might say:

“A few minutes ago, I was talking with Tom Robinson in the lobby. He told me that this is one of the very best times to be working in this industry, and I agree.”

8) Make a Shocking Statement With a Startling Fact

You can start your talk by making a shocking statement of some kind.

For example, you might say something like:

“Here’s a startling fact: According to a recent study, there will be more change, more competition, and more opportunities in this industry in the next year than ever before. And 72 percent of the people in this room will be doing something different within two years if they do not rapidly adapt to these changes.”

Click here If you want to learn more techniques to wow your audience.

9) Quote From Recent Research

You can start by quoting a relevant, recent research report.

One example is:

“According to a story in a recent issue of Businessweek, there were almost 11 million millionaires in America in 2018, most of them self-made.”

10) Start Your Speech With a Strong Opening By Giving Them Hope

The French philosopher Gustav Le Bon once wrote, “The only religion of mankind is, and always has been hope.”

When you speak effectively, you give people hope of some kind.

Remember, the ultimate purpose of public speaking, is to inspire people to do things that they would not have done in the absence of your comments.

Everything you say should relate to the actions you want people to take and the reasons that they should take those actions.

11) Be Entertaining

Bill Gove used to walk onto the stage after his introduction if he had just finished talking to someone on the side and was breaking off to give his talk to the group.

The audience got the feeling that his entire talk was one continuous conversation, devoid of meaningless filler words .

Bill would often go to the edge of the stage and then drop his voice in a conspiratorial way, open his arms, and beckon the audience members to come a little closer.

He would say, “Come here, let me tell you something,” and then he would wave them forward as though he was about to tell a secret to the entire room.

The amazing thing was that everyone in the room would lean forward to hear this “secret” that he was about to share. People would all suddenly realize what they were doing and break out in laughter. It was a wonderful device to get the audience into the palm of his hands.

12) Ask a Question

You can open by making a positive statement and then pose a rhetorical question to engage your audience and set the stage for your presentation.

Try something like this:

“This is a great time to be alive and in business in America. But let me ask you, what does it truly mean to be self-employed in today’s economy?”

Raise your hand to indicate what you want people to do. I have used this line, and after a moment of thought, I then say to someone who looks intrigued in the front, “How many people here feel truly self-employed?”

Invariably, someone will say, “We all do!”

I then compliment and affirm the answer: “You’re right! We are all self-employed, from the time we take our first jobs to the day that we retire; we all work for ourselves, no matter who signs our paychecks.”

Similarly, a 17-year-old science fair winner effectively engaged their audience with a question at the beginning of their TED Talk, showcasing the power of this technique.

13) Open With a Problem

You can start with a problem that must be solved. If it is a problem that almost everyone has in common, you will immediately have the audience’s complete and undivided attention.

For example, you could say:

“Fully 63 percent of baby boomers are moving toward retirement without enough money put aside to provide for themselves for as long as they are going to live. We must address this problem and take action immediately to ensure that each person who retires will be able to live comfortably for the rest of his or her natural life.”

Introducing a new idea at this point can be a powerful way to engage your audience further, by promising a solution that is both innovative and beneficial.

14) Make a Strong Statement, Then Ask a Question

You can start by making a strong and powerful statement and then ask a question. You then follow with an answer and ask another question. This gets people immediately involved and listening to your every word.

Here’s an example:

“Twenty percent of the people in our society make 80 percent of the money. Are you a member of the top 20 percent? If not, would you like to join the top 20 percent or even the top 10 percent? Well, in the next few minutes, I am going to give you some ideas to help you become some of the highest-paid people in our society. Would that be a good goal for our time together today?”

15) Tell a Personal Story

You can start your talk with a personal story. Some of the most powerful words to capture the complete attention of the audience and make a personal connection are, “Once upon a time…”

From infancy and early childhood, people love stories of any kind. When you start off a presentation with a personal anecdote using the words, “Once upon a time…” you tell the audience that a relatable story is coming. People immediately settle down, become quiet, and lean forward, eager to hear how your experience might mirror their own or offer them new insights.

When I conduct full-day seminars and I want to bring people back to their seats after a break, I will say loudly, “Once upon a time there was a man, right here in this city…”

As soon as I say these words, people hurry back to their seats and begin to listen attentively, connecting with the story on a personal level.

Incorporating a personal story is very effective.

In fact, it’s probably one of the best public speaking tips I’ve learned to this day.

Bonus Tip: Tell Them About Yourself

Very often, I will start a serious speech or presentation to a business, sales, or entrepreneurial group by saying:

“I started off without graduating from high school. My family had no money. Everything I accomplished in life I had to do on my own with very little help from anyone else.”

It is amazing how many people come up to me after a talk that began with those words and tells me that was their experience as well.

They tell me that they could immediately identify with me because they too had started with poor grades and limited funds, as most people do. As a result, they were open to the rest of my talk, even a full-day seminar, and felt that everything I said was more valid and authentic than if I had been a person who started off with a successful background.

Building a bridge like this is very helpful in bringing the audience onto your side.

Bonus Tip: Get Them Talking to One Another

You can ask people to turn to the person next to them to discuss a particular point.

For instance, you could say:

“Tell the person next to you what you would like to learn from this seminar.”

Whatever you ask your audience members to do, within reason, they will do it for you. Your commands and your thought leadership will easily influence them, as long as you ask them with confidence.

By following any one of these tips for starting your speech, you are sure to grab your audience’s attention every time. How do you start a speech? Let me know in the comments.

« Previous Post How to Develop Self-Discipline to Succeed Next Post » 15 Simple Ways to Be Successful in Life

About Brian Tracy — Brian is recognized as the top sales training and personal success authority in the world today. He has authored more than 60 books and has produced more than 500 audio and video learning programs on sales, management, business success and personal development, including worldwide bestseller The Psychology of Achievement. Brian's goal is to help you achieve your personal and business goals faster and easier than you ever imagined. You can follow him on Twitter , Facebook , Pinterest , Linkedin and Youtube .

• Most Recent
• Top 10 Leadership Qualities of Great Leaders
• How to Write a Book: Proven Start-to-Finish Steps
• 117 Leadership Quotes for Inspiration
• 7 Tips for Writing Motivation: Stay Motivated When Writing a Book
• How to End a Speech: What You Need for a Bang
• Free Webinar: How To Write a Book and Become a Published Author
• Free Video Series: 3-Part Sales Mastery Training Series
• Free Assessment: The Confidence Factor
• Free Assessment: Discovering Your Talents

Browse Categories

• Financial Success

Follow Brian & Join the Discussion

• Free Resources
• Best Sellers
• Knowledge Base
• Shipping & Returns
• Privacy Policy
• About Brian
• Brian Recommends

Your Privacy is Guaranteed. We will never give, lease or sell your personal information. Period!

© Copyright 2001-2024 Brian Tracy International. All Rights Reserved.

How to Start a Speech

As vocal coaches, we’ve seen many speakers struggle at the beginning of a speech. Learning how to start a speech is crucial for any speaker, as this can ensure your audience stays engaged right from the start. Discover how to do this by using our effective strategies to kick off every speech in an impactful way.

Crafting a strong opening requires a blend of creativity and strategy. You want your initial words to resonate, offering a compelling reason for your audience to invest their attention in your message. Whether you choose humor, a striking fact, or a powerful quote, your beginning should be relevant to your main topic and align with the general objective of your speech.

Understanding Your Audience

To adeptly captivate your audience, you’ll need insights into who they are and what matters to them. Fostering an emotional rapport with the crowd sets the stage for a receptive and engaged audience.

By demonstrating genuine empathy and understanding, you can create a connection that resonates deeply, allowing your message to penetrate their hearts and minds. This connection forms the foundation for a memorable and impactful speech experience, regardless if it’s a memorized or an impromptu speech.

Assessing Demographics and Preferences

Begin by gathering data on the age, occupation, and education level of your audience members. Consider their cultural background and interests as well. This information will shape the language, references, and examples you choose. For example, if your audience primarily consists of young entrepreneurs in the tech field, using current tech industry examples can be more engaging.

• Age tailors your language and references.
• Occupation/education influences the complexity of concepts discussed.
• Interests help align your speech with your audience’s passions.

In practice, you could distribute pre-event surveys or mine social media data, if available. Understanding these aspects makes sure that your words are not just heard but also resonate.

Building an Emotional Connection

Establishing an emotional connection transcends the mere understanding of demographics. It involves tapping into the collective feelings of your audience. Begin by identifying common values and experiences that you share with your audience. Using anecdotes that speak to these shared experiences can be a powerful tool in forming a bond.

• Shared values/experiences create a sense of unity.
• Empathy demonstrates that you understand their struggles or aspirations.

Use empathetic language to show comprehension and concern for their viewpoints or challenges. By doing so, you bolster an emotional bridge that guarantees your message doesn’t just reach ears, it lingers in the minds and hearts of your listeners.

Crafting a Strong Opening

Your speech’s opening is your first impression and your unique opportunity to captivate your audience. A strong opening grabs attention and also sets the tone for the messages that follow. Let’s look at how you can open your speech in a manner that’s both engaging and memorable.

Using a Powerful Quote

Begin with a quote that resonates with the theme of your speech. Make sure it’s relevant and comes from a credible source your audience recognizes. A well-chosen quote can offer a profound insight or spark curiosity. For instance, quoting a known figure like Nelson Mandela might give your speech a sense of gravity and wisdom right from the start.

Telling a Personal Story

Storytelling is a powerful tool . Start with a personal story or anecdote that ties into the main topic of your speech. This approach makes your message relatable and can stir emotions in your audience. When telling your story, remember to be concise and make the connection to your topic clear.

Refer to a Well-Known Person

Referring to a well-known person can instantly create a connection with your audience. It could be a recent achievement of a public figure or a historical character’s famous deed. Make sure this reference is intriguing and sets up the direction for your talk.

Injecting Humor

Humor can be a winning strategy , but it must be used cautiously. A well-timed joke that’s appropriate for the audience can break the ice and make your opening more engaging. Bear in mind to keep it tasteful and relevant to avoid losing your listeners’ respect.

Referring to Current Events

Linking your speech to current events can demonstrate immediacy and relevance, providing a timely hook for your audience. Mentioning a recent headline or a trending topic can show that your speech is up-to-date, offering a new perspective or insight on the matter at hand.

Engaging Your Audience From the Start

Interactive Questions and Show of Hands

Engaging your audience can be as simple as involving them directly in your speech. By starting with a thought-provoking question, you actively engage their minds. This could be a rhetorical question to make them think or an actual query expecting a show of hands. Here’s how you can do it effectively:

• Explicitly invite your audience to raise their hand in response.
• Ask questions that relate directly to your audience’s experiences or interests.
• Create curiosity by posing a problem that your speech will solve.

Sharing Relevant Statistics and Facts

Another method to grab attention is by hitting your audience with a compelling statistic that highlights the importance of your topic. Relevant facts can:

• Provide a surprising insight related to your topic.
• Establish your credibility as a knowledgeable speaker.
• Engage your audience by presenting a problem backed by data.

Remember that statistics should be up-to-date and verifiable. When discussing recent stats from reliable sources, guarantee they resonate with the audience. For example:

• “Did you know that according to Voiceplace, 90% of audiences value a presentation more when it starts with a compelling fact?”
• “Consider this: Recent findings on Voiceplace show that attention spans are shorter than ever. Your opening needs to combat that trend effectively.”

Utilizing Effective Speech Techniques

Crafting an engaging speech involves the strategic use of visuals and an understanding of non-verbal cues. These elements can significantly enhance your delivery and engage your audience on a deeper level .

Incorporating Visuals and Demonstrations

Visual aids can transform your presentation from monotonous to captivating.

• Use slides wisely: Do not overload your slides with text. Aim for high-quality images and concise bullet points.
• Props and physical objects: Bringing a physical object related to your topic can serve as a powerful visual metaphor or illustrate a point clearly.
• Relevant demonstrations: Live demonstrations not only break the monotony yet also help reinforce your message by showing real applications.

Mastering Tone and Body Language

Your voice is an indispensable tool to convey your passion and authenticity. The same thing happens with your physical expression. 

• Voice modulation: Practice varying your pitch, pace, and volume to maintain interest and emphasize key points.
• Purposeful gestures: Use hand gestures to underscore ideas , and make sure your posture is open and inviting.
• Facial expressions: Whether it’s excitement, concern, or joy, use your facial expressions to reflect the emotion of your topic and connect with your audience.

Remember, your goal is to appear confident and in control, which comes from preparation and experience. Practice is imperative, so seize every opportunity to rehearse and refine your performance.

Related Questions

How do you introduce yourself in a speech.

When you introduce yourself in a speech, it’s important to begin with your name and, if relevant, your position or the role you’re playing in the event. Your introduction should be concise yet engaging, offering the audience insight into your background and relevance to the topic at hand. Keep your tone warm and approachable, setting a welcoming atmosphere. 

What Is a Good Quote to Start a Speech?

A good quote to kick off a speech should resonate with the essence of your message and grab the audience’s attention. Select a quote that aligns with your topic and provides a springboard for your main points. Make sure the chosen quote is attributed to a reputable figure whom your audience recognizes and respects. 

What Should I Do Before Starting a Speech?

Before you begin your speech, it’s important to engage in thorough preparation, that includes practicing your speech, including your pace, tone, and body language, which will enhance your confidence and delivery. Inspecting the venue and testing any equipment you’ll be using guarantees you’ll be free from technical difficulties.

Starting a speech with a strong opening is imperative. To create a solid and memorable opening, it’s important to understand your audience, establish an emotional connection, and use powerful quotes, personal stories, humor or current events. These techniques combined with regular practice will ensure that you captivate your audience right from the start.

You May Also Like

How to Memorize a Speech

Comments are closed.

© 2024 Voiceplace. Voiceplace, Inc. Earnings Disclaimer

• Individual Training
• Corporate Training
• Speaking Tips

Free Vocal Assessment

Fix your biggest vocal flaw.

(~2 Min to Complete)

How to Start a Speech: 9 Tips You Can Use

Imagine standing in front of an eager audience, every pair of eyes on you. You only have a moment to capture their attention with your speech, or you’ll lose them. If you begin it well, your words have the potential to get the crowd buzzing and inspire your audience to action. Yet, to do this, the beginning of a speech needs to be captivating, which is not always easy to pull off, even for experienced speakers. For this reason, it’s crucial leaders know how to start a speech, as it’s an asset used throughout their entire careers.

9 Tips on How to Start a Speech

1. don’t wing it, 2. create an imaginary scenario, 3. use a quote, check out these quotes to get some ideas:, 4. use humor.

You can always start your speech out with a joke. Admittedly, this can be tricky to pull off since humor is subjective, but a joke can immediately put the audience at ease. Pick a joke that’s tasteful and relevant to the topic at hand. For obvious reasons, you should avoid starting with a joke if the subject of your speech is serious or sad.

5. Pose a Question

If you’re struggling with a way to begin your speech, why not try asking a question? The question you choose can be a literal question, such as, “How many people here run their own business?” Or you can go the rhetorical route by asking a “what if” question. A “what if” question is a great way to get people thinking about possible scenarios. For example, think about a speech that started by saying, “What kind of world would it be if every leader fulfilled their full potential?” The audience would immediately begin coming up with ideas and imagining what such a world would look like.

6. Pick a Statistic

7. shock the audience.

In another popular TED Talk, Pamela Meyer begins by making a shocking  announcement : “Okay, now I don’t want to alarm anybody in this room, but it’s just come to my attention that the person to your right is a liar.” Think of what a compelling way that is to get people to put down their phones and look at the speaker. It also ties nicely into the subject of her speech, “How to Spot a Liar.” With a shocking statement, you too can capture people’s attention in just a few seconds.

8. Describe a Problem

9. share a story, bonus tips for starting a speech, the one thing you should not do.

If there’s a surefire way to lose your audience right at the start, it’s by simply introducing yourself. First off, in most speech settings, someone will likely have introduced you anyway, so it would be a waste of time. Secondly, most people in the audience will already know who you are and why you are there. Introducing yourself treats your audience like children and may even lead to some people zoning out immediately. Don’t dawdle or play schoolteacher with the people in front of you. Launch right into your speech with the skills discussed earlier. The results will speak for themselves.

Start Your Speech Out the Right Way

Giving a speech is an art form that often relies on what happens at the start. Try out the above tips the next time you need to give a speech. Using  assertive communication  is another way to establish a connection with your audience. With the right beginning, you’ll have people following you every step of the way until you’ve finished.

Want more great quotes for starting a speech?  Check out the following:

50+ Success Quotes to Inspire Leaders

How to Start a Speech: 20 Best Ways to Capture Attention

Kicking off your speech the right way is essential for grabbing and holding onto your audience’s focus. When you think about how to start a speech, imagine laying down a solid foundation that piques people’s curiosity and interest from the get-go. This initial step is crucial as it sets the mood for your entire presentation and ensures your audience stays engaged and interested in hearing more. A compelling start not only draws listeners in but also establishes a connection, making them more receptive to your message throughout your talk.

Here are 20 different techniques how to start a speech

Ask a provocative question, share an intriguing fact, tell a compelling story, use a relevant quote, start with a joke, present a startling statistic, use a powerful image, begin with a personal anecdote, create a moment of silence, pose a hypothetical scenario, make a bold statement, use an engaging prop, reference current events, offer a surprising comparison, use an interactive element, start mid-story, address the audience directly, use a relevant audio clip, challenge a common belief, paint a vivid picture.

Begin with a question that challenges your audience’s assumptions or piques their curiosity, prompting them to think deeply about the topic. This approach engages the audience right away, encouraging active participation in your speech.

Present a surprising or little-known fact that highlights the relevance or urgency of your topic. This method grabs the audience’s attention by showcasing the importance or uniqueness of your subject matter.

Start with a story that is relevant to your main message. This technique draws your audience into a narrative, making your speech more engaging and memorable.

Open with a quote that sets the stage for your topic. This can lend authority and context to your speech, resonating with your audience and framing your subsequent points.

Find Your Quote Here: Popular quotes

Using humor can break the ice and make your audience more receptive. However, it’s crucial to ensure the joke is tasteful and appropriate for the context of your presentation.

A striking statistic can underscore the significance of your topic, highlighting its impact or importance in a way that captivates your audience from the start.

A compelling visual can evoke emotions and set the tone for your entire presentation, delivering a strong message without the need for words.

Related: Unlock Incredible Success with Visual Aids for Speech!

Sharing a personal story connects your audience to your topic on an emotional level, making your speech more relatable and authentic.

Employing a deliberate pause can create suspense and focus your audience’s attention, emphasizing the importance of what you’re about to say next.

Introduce a hypothetical situation related to your topic to engage your audience’s imagination and encourage them to consider different perspectives.

Starting with a controversial or bold claim can instantly focus your audience’s attention on your speech, setting the stage for a persuasive argument or intriguing narrative.

Incorporating a physical object can add depth to your message and make your speech more memorable, providing a visual anchor for your points.

Linking your topic to a recent news event or trend can demonstrate its relevance and urgency, making your message more timely and compelling.

Drawing an unexpected parallel can provide fresh insights and highlight interesting aspects of your topic, making your speech more thought-provoking.

Involving your audience with an interactive question or activity can make your presentation more dynamic and engaging, encouraging participation and attention.

Jumping into the middle of a story piques curiosity and invites your audience to listen closely to learn more, creating a sense of intrigue and engagement.

Making a direct connection with your audience establishes rapport and personalizes your speech, making it more impactful and memorable.

Incorporating audio can add a new dimension to your speech, whether it’s to evoke emotion, set the tone, or illustrate a point more vividly.

Questioning a widely accepted idea can stimulate thought and debate, setting the stage for a speech that invites your audience to see a topic from a new perspective.

Utilizing descriptive language to create a vivid scene can engage your audience’s senses and emotions, making your message more impactful and memorable.

You may also like

Top 20 Most Famous Motivational Speakers

3 Powerful Commencement Speech Examples for Graduation

Top 20 Graduation Speeches: Inspiring Words for Graduates

Leave a comment cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• April 1, 2023

How to Start a Speech: 27 Key Tips to Captivate Your Audience from the Get-Go

Do you wonder how to start a speech here are some cool tips to captivate your audience.

Public speaking is an essential skill for leaders, educators, and professionals across various fields. It is a powerful tool for sharing ideas, influencing others, and building a strong personal brand. While many people find it intimidating, mastering the art of public speaking can be achieved with the right techniques, practice, and mindset. One of the most crucial aspects of delivering a successful speech is nailing the opening, as it sets the tone for the entire presentation and can make or break audience engagement.

Whether you are a seasoned orator or a novice presenter, starting a speech effectively can be challenging. After all, first impressions matter, and the first few minutes of your presentation determine whether your audience will be engaged, bored, or indifferent. To help you captivate your audience from the start, we have compiled a comprehensive list of 27 key tips to consider when crafting your speech opening. These tips, combined with relevant examples, will guide you in creating an impactful and memorable introduction.

Understanding your audience, identifying the purpose of your speech, and maintaining a clear structure are all essential elements to consider. However, the true magic lies in the delivery. It is important to practice and refine your skills to ensure a confident and captivating performance. The following tips have been meticulously curated to provide a roadmap for success, enabling you to transform your speech from ordinary to extraordinary.

This blog post aims to provide you with a wealth of knowledge and examples, empowering you to overcome your public speaking fears and conquer the stage. By implementing these tips, you will be well on your way to delivering a powerful, engaging, and persuasive speech that leaves a lasting impression on your audience.

27 Key Tips for Better Speech with Relevant Examples:

• Begin with a strong opening line: Your opening line should be engaging and thought-provoking. For example, “Imagine a world where poverty is a distant memory.”
• Use a quote: Start your speech with a relevant and powerful quote. For instance, “As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, ‘Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.'”
• Tell a story: Share a personal or anecdotal story that relates to your speech topic. This will create an emotional connection with your audience.
• Utilize humor: Make your audience laugh with a tasteful joke or amusing anecdote. This can help break the ice and make your audience more receptive to your message.
• Ask a rhetorical question: Pose a question that encourages your audience to think critically about your topic, e.g., “What if I told you that a single decision could change your life forever?”
• Share a shocking statistic: Present a surprising fact or figure to grab your audience’s attention, such as, “Did you know that 1 in 4 people will experience mental health issues in their lifetime?”
• Use a prop or visual aid: Show your audience something tangible that relates to your topic, like a product, a photograph, or a diagram.
• Employ the power of silence: Pause for a few seconds before beginning your speech to build anticipation and capture your audience’s attention.
• Connect with your audience: Make eye contact, smile, and be personable. This will help you establish rapport and trust with your listeners.
• Address your audience directly: Refer to your audience as “you” to make your speech feel more personal and engaging.
• Establish your credibility: Briefly mention your expertise, background, or accomplishments related to your speech topic to establish your authority.
• State the purpose of your speech: Clearly outline the objective of your presentation and what you hope your audience will take away from it.
• Preview your main points: Give a brief overview of the key points you will cover during your speech, so the audience knows what to expect.
• Use a metaphor or simile: Make a comparison that illustrates your main point, such as, “Conquering your fears is like climbing a mountain – it may be difficult, but the view from the top is worth it.”
• Employ repetition: Repeat a key phrase or message to emphasize its importance and help your audience remember it.
• Share a personal experience: Connect with your audience by sharing a relatable experience that demonstrates your vulnerability and authenticity.
• Create suspense: Build intrigue by hinting at a compelling revelation or insight that will be shared later in your speech.
• Invoke emotion: Appeal to your audience’s emotions by using vivid language and descriptions that evoke feelings such as happiness, sadness, or excitement.
• Reference current events: Relate your speech topic to a recent news story or event to demonstrate its relevance and timeliness.
• Use an anecdote from history: Share a historical event or figure that relates to your speech topic, such as referencing Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address when discussing the power of public speaking.
• Start with a bold statement: Capture your audience’s attention with a controversial or thought-provoking assertion, like, “Our education system is failing our children.”
• Use a call to action: Encourage your audience to take action, whether it’s to support a cause, change a behavior, or adopt a new perspective.
• Address potential objections: Acknowledge any counterarguments or concerns your audience may have, and address them in your opening.
• Incorporate a relevant pop culture reference: Connect with your audience by referencing a popular movie, TV show, or song that relates to your topic.
• Use alliteration or rhyme: Craft a memorable opening line by using alliteration or rhyme, such as, “The power to persuade starts with the perfect presentation.”
• Offer a surprising insight: Share an unexpected fact or revelation that challenges your audience’s assumptions and piques their interest.
• Demonstrate vulnerability: Show your human side by admitting your own fears or struggles related to your speech topic.

The art of starting a speech effectively is a skill that can be honed with practice and dedication. By incorporating these 27 tips into your speech preparation and delivery, you can set the stage for a captivating and memorable presentation. Keep in mind that each audience is unique, and you may need to adjust your approach depending on your listeners’ needs and expectations. Nevertheless, these tips will provide a strong foundation for you to build upon, ensuring that you make a powerful first impression.

As you continue to refine your public speaking skills, remember that the key to success lies in engaging your audience, being authentic, and delivering a message that resonates with them. By doing so, you will not only captivate your listeners but also leave a lasting impact that goes beyond the stage.

In conclusion, delivering an exceptional speech begins with a strong and engaging opening. With these 27 tips and examples, you now have the tools to craft a compelling introduction that will set the tone for an unforgettable presentation. So, embrace your inner orator and step confidently onto the stage – your audience awaits!

Did you know? Freelancers like to use our  coworking space in Bangalore.

Learn more about our  office space  on  YouTube  where we talk about a variety of topics including personal finance, entrepreneurship, business and life.

Did you know? We also have a  private theater in Bangalore .

You'll also like this...

A Vivid Summary of The Master Key System

The Master Key System by Charles F. Haanel is a timeless masterpiece that explores the profound connection between the mind

45 Takeaways From The Power of Your Subconscious Mind

The Power of Your Subconscious Mind Summary Joseph Murphy’s seminal work, The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, is more than

Feeling is the secret – 36 key takeaways and summary

Feeling is the secret by Neville Goddard – A book summary In the realm of entrepreneurship, the power of thought

Exploring the 36 Best startups in Bangalore

Explore the best startups in Bangalore with a thorough analysis of their business models in this article. Bangalore has undoubtedly

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Work Theater is a coworking space in Bangalore for startups, individuals, teams and creatives.

© 2024 Work Theater (A unit of Chaitra Ventures )

Terms of service

designed by KatMantra Webdesign

Hey there, We're open for bookings. Do fill in your details and we will get in touch with you soon.

Check out our free Storytelling Masterclass

Philipp Humm

How to start a speech - 7 most effective hooks.

June 19, 2024

Starting a speech can be one of the hardest parts of public speaking. You want to grab your audience’s attention right from the start. If you’re wondering how to start a speech effectively, we’ve got you covered.

Here are 7 proven way how to start your speech and grab everyone’s attention from the first second. 

7 Effective ways How to start a speech

Hook #1: surprising statement.

Using a surprising fact is a great way to pique interest and make your audience eager to hear more.

Example 1: “70… the average person will eat around 70 insects while sleeping. Today, ladies and gentlemen, you’ll learn how to keep your home free of insects.”

Example 2: “Did you know that more people die each year from vending machines than from shark attacks? Today, we’ll discuss the unexpected dangers in our daily lives.”

Hook #2: Poll

Starting with a poll can engage your audience right away and make them feel involved.

Example 1: “Quick show of hands – Who likes pineapple on pizza? Who thinks pineapple on pizza is a crime? And who of you has no clue what I’m talking about?”

Example 2 : “By a show of hands, who prefers working from home? And who prefers working in the office? Today, we’ll explore the pros and cons of both.”

Hook #3: Quote

A relevant and intriguing quote to start your speech can set the tone for your speech and lend it authority.

Example 1: “As the grand Shakespeare said, ‘To swipe right or to swipe left, that is the question.’”

Example 2 : “Albert Einstein once said, ‘Imagination is more important than knowledge.’ Today, we’ll delve into why creativity is essential in problem-solving.”

Hook #4: Imaginary World

Asking your audience to visualize a scene can make your message more relatable and vivid.

Example 1 : “Imagine yourself at a favorite coffee shop, sitting on a big comfy couch, coffee in hand, smelling the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. Today, we’ll talk about how to create that same customer experience in our company.”

Example 2 : “Picture yourself on a serene beach, the sound of waves gently crashing. We’re here to discuss how you can achieve work-life balance and enjoy moments like these.”

Hook #5: Silence

A moment of silence can be powerful to start a speech, creating anticipation and focus before you begin.

Example 1: [Do nothing for a few seconds] “Welcome everyone.”

Example 2 : [Pause for a few seconds] “Good morning, and thank you for being here.”

Hook #6: Question

Asking a thought-provoking question can stimulate your audience’s imagination and interest.

Example 1: “If you could choose a superpower, what would it be?”

Example 2 : “What would you do if you had only 24 hours to achieve your biggest goal?”

Hook #7: Story

Sharing a personal story can make your speech more relatable and engaging.

Example 1: “Just the other day, I decided to enjoy my lunch in the park. I found the perfect spot, laid out my blanket, and took out my delicious sandwich. But before I could take a single bite, a little raccoon swooped in and snatched it right from my hands! Immediately, I jumped up, chasing after him. We zigzagged between trees, over hills, and through bushes, but I wasn’t quick enough. With one last mischievous look, the raccoon disappeared into the trees.”

Example 2 : “Last week, I was stuck in an elevator for an hour. What could have been a nightmare turned into an opportunity to meet new people and hear their fascinating stories.”

Final Thoughts

Give them a try. Take one of you upcoming speeches or presentations and think how you’d like to start. What hook can you use to start your speech? You’ll be amazed easy it is to include a hook, but also how effective  that hook  is  at grabbing your listeners’ attention.

Today, we briefly talked about storytelling. Storytelling is one of the most effective tools you can use in your presentations. But it can be challenging if you’re just starting out. If you want to learn more about structuring your stories, you may want to check out this next article in which a simple four-step story storytelling structure.

Free Storytelling Assessment​

Are you ready to transform your storytelling skills?

Discover how your storytelling skills score and uncover useful insights to help you become a charismatic storyteller:

• Completely free
• Actionable tips that work in real-life
• Results & report 100% tailored to you

• How to Order

Speech Writing

How To Start A Speech

How to Start A Speech - 13 Interesting Ideas & Examples

10 min read

People also read

The 10 Key Steps for Perfect Speech Writing

Understanding Speech Format - Simple Steps for Outlining

20+ Outstanding Speech Examples for Your Help

Common Types of Speeches that Every Speechwriter Should Know

Good Impromptu Speech Topics for Students

Entertaining Speech Topics for Your Next Debate

Understanding Special Occasion Speech: Types, Steps, Examples and Tips

Introduction Speech- Tips & Examples

How to Write A Good Acceptance Speech?

Writing A Presentation Speech In English: Tips And Examples

Commemorative Speech - Writing Guide, Outline & Examples

Farewell Speech | Writing Tips & Examples

How to Write an Extemporaneous Speech? A Step-by-Step Guide

A Graduation Speech Writing Guide with Examples

First impressions are crucial in public speaking, and starting a speech well is often the hardest part. It's the moment to capture your audience's attention or risk losing it. 

Many find this difficult, as a poor start can lead to disinterested listeners and missed opportunities. In this blog, we'll explore simple and creative ways to begin your speech, ensuring you engage your audience right from the start. 

Keep reading to find effective techniques to start your speech!

• 1. Different Ways to Start a Speech
• 2. How To Start Different Types of Speeches
• 3. What Not To Do While Starting a Speech
• 4. How to Start a Speech Examples

Different Ways to Start a Speech

When it comes to inspiring, persuading, and influencing audiences, your speech’s most essential element is the opening. 

So how do you start your speech in a way that will get the audience on your side?

Here are ten effective ways to start your speech successfully every time.  

Begin with a Quote

Quotes are gems of wisdom that resonate with people. They inspire and motivate while being easy to remember. 

Well-thought-out words of history’s best orators can sometimes be the ticket for your successful speech. 

One good example is: “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams.

Start with Statistics

Statistics are the proof that can add weight to your words. 

By opening with compelling and personalized statistics, you can add a quantifiable and persuasive aspect to your message. It provides you the basis for building your argument, supporting your claim, and proving it right.

An example could be: “72% of adult internet users use Facebook”.

Pose a Rhetorical Question

Rhetorical questions are engaging and thought-provoking. They invite your audience to think and participate in your presentation. These questions can captivate your listeners and lead them down the path of your message.

A very famous rhetorical question of all times by William Shakespeare is:

“If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not get revenge?” - The Merchant of Venice.

Open with a 'What If' Scenario

Creating a "what if" scenario sparks curiosity and imagination. You can use this technique to encourage your audience to envision a different perspective or a unique situation related to your topic.

For example: “What if you were blind for your life and today you just got to see the world? How have you imagined the world so far? And how do these colors attract you? By the way, is there anyone who is color blind?”

Make an Interesting Statement

You can start your speech with a powerful and catchy statement without asking the audience to pay attention to you. Interesting statements are very useful in engaging the audience and persuading them to listen and agree with you. 

A famous statement from Amy Cuddy’s Ted talk “ Your Body May Shape Who You Are ” is:

"So I want to start by offering you a free, no-tech life hack, and all it requires of you is this: that you change your posture for two minutes."

Share a Personal Anecdote or Experience

Sharing personal experiences creates a genuine connection with your audience. It allows them to relate to you on a human level and sets the stage for a compelling narrative.

For example: “I was in high school when I first fell in love…..”

People love stories of any kind from infancy and childhood. As soon as people learn that you are going to tell a story, they immediately settle down, become quiet and lean forward like kids around a campfire.

Give Meaningful Pauses

Pauses are the unsung heroes of a speech. Well-timed silence can emphasize your message and create an impact that words alone cannot.

Take a little pause every time you need to emphasize something. Knowing where to take a pause helps you make your message effective. 

For example: 

“Lyla is dead.”

“But they don’t know it yet.”

Envision a Scenario

By using the word "imagine," you can transport your listeners into your narrative. According to Frank Luntz, “One word automatically triggers the process of visualization by its mere mention: imagine.”

“Imagine” scenarios put the audience directly into the presentation by allowing them to visualize the extraordinary scenes. For example:

“Imagine you are hiking on Mount Everest, and you are just about to reach the peak, but suddenly you slip and roll down to the ground. How would you feel at that moment?”

Refer to the Historical Event 

You can capture your audience’s attention by referring to a historical event related to your speech. Well-known historical events are good reference points to get the audience to use their imagination. 

For example: “During the 1960s and ’70s, the United States intervened in the civil strife between North and South Vietnam. The result was a long running war of attrition in which many American lives were lost, and the country of Vietnam suffered tremendous damage and destruction.”

Start with Humor

Humor, when used thoughtfully, can instantly connect with your audience. It lightens the mood and draws people in, but it's essential to tread carefully to avoid offense.

An example of a humorous beginning is: “Speak when you are angry – and you’ll make the best speech you’ll ever regret.” - Dr. Laurence J Peter.

Usage of humor is a genius trick to get your audience involved in your speech.

Create Suspense

Starting your speech with suspense can immediately capture your audience's curiosity and keep them engaged as they eagerly anticipate what comes next. This technique is effective for drawing your audience into a story, a mystery, or a problem that needs solving.

Example: "As the clock struck midnight, and the footsteps echoed in the darkness, she knew that her life was about to change forever. But, what was waiting for her beyond that door?"

Open with a Definition

Defining key terms or concepts at the beginning of your speech can set the stage for a clear and focused discussion. This is especially useful when your topic involves technical or specialized terms that your audience may not be familiar with.

Example: "Today, let's begin with a clear understanding of 'sustainable development.' It refers to the practice of using resources in a way that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

Invoke a Contradiction

Opening with a contradiction can intrigue your audience by presenting two seemingly conflicting ideas or statements. This encourages them to explore the topic further and seek resolution.

Example: "In a world where we often believe that 'time is money,' today, we'll explore a paradox – how sometimes, time spent without rushing can be the most valuable time of all."

These opening techniques can help you capture your audience's attention and set the tone for a successful speech. The choice of which one to use will depend on your topic, audience, and the overall tone you want to convey.

How To Start Different Types of Speeches

Speech openings are not one-size-fits-all; they should be tailored to the specific type of speech you're delivering. 

Here, we'll explore how to start various types of speeches , providing examples to illustrate each approach.

How to Start a Graduation Speech

Starting a graduation speech is a unique opportunity to inspire and reflect on the journey of the graduates. A great way to begin is by acknowledging the significance of the moment. For instance:

Example: "Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed faculty, proud parents, and, of course, the brilliant Class of 2023 - today, as we stand on the precipice of our future, we are not just marking the end of an educational journey but celebrating the beginning of countless new adventures."

How to Start a Persuasive Speech

In a persuasive speech , your aim is to influence your audience's thoughts, beliefs, or actions. Begin with a statement that grabs attention and introduces your persuasive intent:

Example: "Picture this: a world where every individual makes small, conscious choices every day to reduce their carbon footprint. Today, I'm here to persuade you that we can create that world, one step at a time."

How to Start a Presentation Speech

Starting a presentation speech requires a balance between engaging your audience and previewing the content. Open a speech or presentation with an engaging fact or question related to your topic:

Example: "Did you know that in just the last five years, the world has generated more data than in all of human history before that? Today, we're going to delve into the fascinating world of data analytics and its impact on our lives."

In each of these examples, the opening lines are designed to fit the specific type of speech. 

Remember that a well-crafted opening not only captivates your audience but also makes the rest of your speech more impactful.

What Not To Do While Starting a Speech

Starting a speech can be daunting, and it's easy to make mistakes that can undermine your credibility or fail to engage your audience. Here are some common pitfalls to avoid:

1. Avoid Starting with Apologies Opening your speech with an apology, such as "I'm sorry if this is boring" or "I'm not a great speaker," sets a negative tone and diminishes your authority. Instead, begin with confidence and enthusiasm to captivate your audience from the start.

2. Don’t Use Overused Clichés Starting with clichés like "Webster's dictionary defines..." or "Since the dawn of time..." can make your speech sound unoriginal and uninspiring. Aim for a fresh and unique opening that grabs attention.

3. Avoid Overloading with Facts and Statistics While facts and statistics can be powerful, bombarding your audience with too many at the start can overwhelm and disengage them. Instead of starting straight with data-heavy facts, create a seamless speech format that weaves in fact and information smoothly. 

4. Steer Clear of Irrelevant Jokes Humor can be an excellent icebreaker, but starting with an irrelevant or inappropriate joke can backfire. Ensure that any humor used is relevant to your topic and suitable for your audience.

5. Don’t Read Directly from Your Notes Reading verbatim from your notes or slides can make your opening seem rehearsed and impersonal. Practice enough to deliver your opening naturally, making eye contact with your audience to establish a connection.

6. Avoid Long-Winded Openings A lengthy opening can lose your audience's attention quickly. Keep your introduction concise and to the point, leading smoothly into the main content of your speech.

7. Don’t Start with Negative Statements Beginning with negative statements or criticisms can alienate your audience. Focus on positive and engaging statements that draw listeners in and set a constructive tone for your speech.

8. Avoid Technical Jargon Starting with complex technical terms or industry jargon can confuse and alienate your audience. Use simple, clear language that everyone can understand, especially in the opening.

By avoiding these common mistakes, you can create a strong and engaging opening that sets the stage for a successful speech.

How to Start a Speech Examples

Here is an example of how to start a speech on stage:

Here are some more samples of how to start a speech for students:

How to Start a Speech Introduction Example

How to Start a Speech About Yourself?

How to Start a Speech In School?

How To Start A Speech In English

How To Start A Speech In English For Students

How To Start A Speech For Kids

How To Start A Speech In School Assembly

Need more examples? Have a look at these speech examples and get inspired!

Now that you've learned various ways to start your speech and make a strong impression, you're well-prepared for your speaking journey.

Not quite the perfect writer? Don’t worry! Whether you have ' do my essay for me ' request or 'write my speech' request MyPerfectWords.com has got you covered.

Our experts are here to ensure you receive high-quality speeches, debates, essays, or any other type of writing.

So, why wait? Just buy speech from our experts and relieve the writing stress!

Write Essay Within 60 Seconds!

Dr. Barbara is a highly experienced writer and author who holds a Ph.D. degree in public health from an Ivy League school. She has worked in the medical field for many years, conducting extensive research on various health topics. Her writing has been featured in several top-tier publications.

Paper Due? Why Suffer? That’s our Job!

Keep reading

7 ways for opening a speech! The ideal speech introduction to grab your audience’s attention

Maybe you know this: you may or must give a speech, but how do you start? Whether you’re giving a speech as an employer or to your colleagues, or you’re an external keynote speaker, the principles are always the same. Likewise, your preparation is not much different: whether it’s a keynote at a kick-off event , the festive speech at the company Christmas party , a motivational speech at a team event or even a laudatory speech at an awards ceremony – the search for the right begining should not be left to chance.

How do you get your audience’s attention so that they want to listen and can follow you easily? How do you sound interesting? In this article you will get the necessary tips for your ideal start for your next speech to inspire your audience. I have collected these speech introductions and examples in my work in the field of public speaking as a presenter and keynote speaker in front of over 5 million people.

Why is the beginning, i.e. the first few minutes of a presentation, so important? This is where the first impression is being made. Your audience intuitively decides within a few seconds whether they like the speaker and want to follow. After that, you still have up to three minutes to pick up your audience with the content of your speech.

Stop guessing how to WOW your audience!

We will send you our secret ingredients to WOW your audience for free! In the MAGIC MOMENTS FORMULA you can learn how to take any audience of any size and create a deep emotional experience for them in order to create a deeper emotional bond with you and your brand.

The first impression is crucial for further success

There’s a saying that goes, “ There’s no second chance for a first impression. ” It takes between 100 milliseconds and 7 seconds for your audience to get the same impression of you. If you as a speaker fail to make that first impression, no matter how impressive your speech, it will be very difficult to pick up your audience. 

US comedian Jerry Seinfeld , one of the most famous American comedians of the 90s, said that his fame only gives him a starting bonus for the first three minutes – at the latest then he has to deliver. If you don’t enjoy the celebrity bonus in your speeches, that means you have to deliver right from the get go to win over your audience.

Requirements for the ideal introduction for your speech

Before you can wow people as a speaker and give any thought to content, you need to set the stage. If you want to give a good speech and move your audience from A to B, two things are essential: you need to know where you want to go and where your audience is coming from .

Know the outcome of your speech

If you don’t know in which direction you want to move your audience, then no amount of tips will get you there. So before you tinker with the ideal introduction, you need to be clear about what your outcome is .

 What feeling do you want the audience to have when you leave the stage? What impression do you want to convey as a speaker? Even more public speaking tips you can find here.

Know your audience members

If you want to catch a fish, you have to use a bait that tastes good to the fish, not to the fisherman . The same applies to presentations: who decides what is a top speech? That is, of course, in the eye of your audience. Therefore, it is all the more important to know who the people are, listening to your speech. 

An American proverb says that your audience doesn’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Your audience won’t pay attention to you until they see that your speech is relevant to them. As a speaker, do you bring examples and tips and answer questions in your main points that matter to the audience? Do your main ideas strike a cord?

Tip: Try to find out as much as possible to know in advance what moves your audience and why people are here today. If you have the opportunity, use the time for successful networking and listen to their needs.

The goal of an ideal introduction to your speech

Only after you know your outcome and your audience you can focus on how to start your presentation, because now you know as a speaker in which direction your ship should sail. If you want to give a speech, you need to get your audience interested in you and your main points. For this to happen, you need the attention of your audience.

Speaker Tip: First create attention , then develop interest in your message and your main points to make it worth listening for your audience.

Giving a speech: seven perfect speech introductions

Now let’s look at tips and examples of how you as a speaker can inspire your audience. These tips should give you a guideline from where you can successfully transition from your chosen introduction to the main part and final part of your speech.

1. He who asks, leads – starting with a question

An elegant way to begin a speech is with a question . The goal is to engage your listener directly in your opening and generate interest. In order for the question to be effective, it must be tailored to your target audience. The question may be provocative, surprising or even make you smile, but it must be relevant.

For example, if you’re speaking to a group of retirees, a question like “Which one of you went to a disco last weekend?” would be just as out of place as asking a group of Wall street brokers “Which one of you has been involved in stocks?”. Your audience needs to feel like you know who you’re dealing with.

“Who remembers what they did last Saturday night?” was an opening I chose many years ago when giving a speech. Of course, after that, there was a story about my Saturday night that fit right in with the theme of my speech. People were immediately involved and everyone was thinking. Because just about everybody did something last Saturday and so it was relevant… even if many didn’t even remember it. 

With questions that fit the topics, you are sure to get the attention of the participants. However, always pay attention to what you trigger in your audience with a question and, if requested, also provide the appropriate answer.

Another speaking tip: When you ask a question, give your audience time to respond . Whether out loud, with a show of hands, or silently, people need time for what you say to have an impact. Of course, questions can also be used during your speech.

2. Start your speech with a quote

Using the words of another person in your speech is a proven way. The art of building a good speech is to pick up your audience where they are. A pointed quote that gets to the heart of your ideas or the occasion is the basic premise for choosing someone else’s statement as your lead-in. If people are familiar with the name of the person you are quoting, it gives you added credibility as a speaker.

Very similar to a quote is using a proverb to start your speech. Again, there is often a deeper wisdom behind it. Link this to the idea of your speech and you have a great introduction.

Again, I’ll give you an example from my own experience when I was asked to give a presentation on the topic of corporate mission statements many years ago. I decided to start with a quote, but the number of quotes on this topic are manageable. However, the corporate mission statement compares very well with the soul for people, and so on this occasion I found a quote on the subject of the soul and then drew the analogy with the corporate mission statement. “Outside the box” solutions are also the speaker’s friend. 

3. Inspire your audience with storytelling

A particularly powerful way to start is to share a story or personal real life experience with your audience at the beginning of your presentation. With a personal story, you create compelling moments and build an emotional connection with your audience. However, this is also where the biggest danger lies: your story must absolutely correspond to the facts and at the same time should have a connection to the topic of the event. The audience has a good nose for it, if you serve them a “suitably made” story.

Of course, storytelling is not limited to stories you have experienced yourself. You can also draw on a current or even historical event. Important, as mentioned above, is the connection to the goal of your presentation. Also, make sure that you start right in the relevant event and do not begin with Adam and Eve. Especially extroverted people like to get into narration and then it can happen that you lose the drive to your actual presentation and your audience is no longer on the point.

One of my stage coaching clients, for example, took his audience into a situation right at the beginning of his speech when he was at the start of his first triathlon. He immediately built up a tension, because he put his audience directly into it instead of talking about preparation and planning for the triathlon. Because he also found the right tone, the speech went down great. Bonus tip for your speech: Stories absolutely need to be rehearsed and tailored to your audience and the occasion. This does not mean, as already mentioned, that you add things, but that you leave out unnecessary things. Don’t just tell from memory, but really practice.

4. Start with an open loop

Starting with an open loop is something like the supreme discipline. Here, you start with a story, but don’t finish telling it until the end of your speech . This type of introduction is certainly a bit unusual and, in my opinion, more suitable for experienced speakers, especially to keep the tension high.

You start with the open loop in the same way as with storytelling and take your audience along until the point where the tension is at its highest. Instead of the resolution, you lead into the topic of your speech and then come to the main part, where the content is presented with further examples. Only at the end do you pick up the ball of your introductory story again and close the open loop.

As an example, I start one of my keynote speeches with such an open loop: I take the audience on my experience at the New York City Marathon. Since my preparation for it was far from ideal due to injuries, I wasn’t sure until the start how far I would run that day. My speech started with the thoughts going through my head at the start, with my uncertainty but also anticipation. The start of the marathon was then the Open Loop, which I only resolved at the end of the speech.

5. Enchant the audience with parables

A parable is a very short to short story which might not even have a plot of its own. While a parable can be told with action, as if something has actually taken place, it can also be about something hypothetical: “Imagine…” or “Suppose…”. In both cases, the point is that we want to make a connection to the content. 

The purpose of parables is to pick up the audience as they enter your presentation and provide an emotional experience that immediately introduces them to the topic through your words.

6. Facts, figures and statistics as an introduction for the speech

The FFS introduction is particularly useful if you have facts, figures or statistics that are not familiar to your audience and are also unusual. In addition, it must of course fit your topic and possibly support your thesis. A personalized statistic works best to meet your audience’s needs.

When we were designing the outline for one of my Executive Legacy Coaching clients’ investor pitch, we made a conscious decision to start with a number that would probably come as a surprise to many listeners. To back up the pain point that his product solves, he asked the panel how much they thought that an unhappy employee costs a company per year. Starting with that number was so effective because the audience’s estimates were all substantially lower than the true number, creating an a-ha effect.

7. Looking back

Another way to start your speech is with a look back . This variant is particularly suitable if you are to give a speech on the occasion of an anniversary or birthday. In your preparation, you should pay special attention to who is sitting in your audience: what connection do they have to the person or the company or the occasion and, above all, have they experienced the period themselves.

Some time ago, I had the privilege of being on stage at a company’s 20th anniversary. In order to give the audience as emotional an experience as possible, I first had to find out who was in the audience. Have people lived through these last 20 years, and are they likely to remember the moment from 20 years ago? Since my audience was mostly over 35 years old I assumed that was the case. Thus I dove into the world of 20 years ago: how did the world look and what moved people at the time? Immediately the people were in the emotions of the memories and from that I could then draw a bow to the company anniversary: “much has changed, but one thing has remained the same…”.

Giving a speech: here’s what you should avoid when getting started

Jokes are for comedians.

There are talented joke tellers and there are those who always flub the punch line. If you feel uncomfortable in the role of the joker, don’t do it. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t spice up the introduction with a little humor. Humor arouses positive emotions and loosens the atmosphere. A humorous introduction, which also works without a joke, signals to the participants that the event will not be dry as dust and that it is worth staying for.

Bonus tip: Humor is different in different regions and works best when you approach your audience with respect and humility.

Stay away from provocative introductions

A provocative introduction is like riding on a razor blade: very dangerous. You have to have an incredible ace up your sleeve to win your audience back. As a rule, I would strongly advise you not to use provocative introductions. If your audience perceives you as an unsympathetic person, no matter how ingenious the content of your speech, it will not bring the desired success.

Start with an apology

Some insecure speaker starts his speech with an apology for his insecurity or God knows what else. Please don’t do that. For one thing, the audience usually doesn’t notice it anyway, and for another, it immediately takes something away from your first impression. You might get sympathy for it, but in the rarest cases you will get the attention for your speech.

One of the most important tips I once received was that your audience wants you to win . That’s right, you read that correctly. Your audience wants you to be good. No one sits in the audience hoping for a boring speaker to come on now. Your audience wants you to do your job well. If you feel anxiety on the way to the stage, keep reading.

The way to the stage and the first seconds

The key to a perfect introduction lies not only in the preparation for your speech, but also in the emotional preparation in the moments before public speaking. Especially if you are nervous or even feel speech anxiety , it is even more important that you, to present convincingly, are in an ideal state.

Take a deep breath just before your performance, send positive emotions to your audience and off you go. Many speakers also like to take index cards with their notes to be prepared in case of an emergency. The phrase for the introduction as well as for the conclusion I would always write in full. For the main points, keywords are enough here.

When you finally arrive on stage, at first be aware of your audience . Before you begin, start with eye contact and confident body language to radiate stage presence . Only then, when you feel the attention of your audience, you start to talk. This confidence will automatically boost your credibility.

Bonus tip: if you’re unsure about your voice, a little voice training will help.

The ideal start for your virtual speech

Of course, the principles for your ideal start also apply at virtual events. So if you hold a webinar or a virtual presentation or are on stage at a hybrid event , nothing will change in the structure of your preparation. The main point in the virtual space is that you have to speak in front of the camera and this should be practiced. The specific elements of structuring your presentation stay the same.

Ask Ronny to coach you for your next performance

Click on the button and send a non-binding request to Ronny to be your coach for your next keynote, speech or presentation.

Feeling ready for your next speech?

In this article you have learned how to start your speech in an ideal way. Do you already have an idea which structure you like best? Remember that you always start with your outcome and your audience before you create a thread for your presentation.

The tone makes the music. Former American writer Maya Angelou summed it up this way: “Your audience won’t remember exactly what you said, but they’ll always remember how it made them feel.” Whatever the occasion, take your audience on an emotional journey.

If you feel that you still need help for your next speech or keynote , feel free to contact me  or just write me an e-mail ! Together many things are easier.

Which introduction appeals to you the most? Which start to a speech have you learned about here and would like to try out for your next performance? Please leave a comment below and share this article with someone who you think will profit from it. All the best for your next speeches.

There is no second chance for a first impression . The first impression is created in the first few seconds of perception and is crucial to whether your audience perceives you as likeable or unlikeable. If you mess up the first impression, the next few minutes will be a steep uphill climb to get the audience back on your side.

First, take three deep breaths and consciously put a smile on your face. Stand up straight, shoulders back, head up and visualize your audience and your goal. The important thing here is to move as quickly as possible from an internal focus (thinking about you) to an external focus (thinking about your audience). Imagine how your audience will benefit from your speech. For even more tips, I recommend you read my blog post Persuasive presentations: 3 Steps to Your Ideal State in Front of an Audience.

Ideally, you were introduced by a presenter who has also given some interesting background information about you to the audience. However, it always makes sense to leave nothing to chance here and, on the one hand, to discuss your introduction with the presenter upfront and, on the other hand, to include the most important points in your speech. I would always start with an introduction into the topic to get the audience interested and then introduce myself. The best way to find the right introduction is to read this article.

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 4.2 / 5. Vote count: 35

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

Similar Posts

How do you become a motivational speaker? In 5 steps to your first motivational speech!

Stop guessing how to WOW your audience!The first impression is crucial for further successRequirements for the ideal introduction for your speechKnow the outcome of your speechKnow your audience membersThe goal of an ideal introduction to…

9 event hosting tips for your next event

How stage coaching can help you to inspire your audience

How important is a professional presenter for an online event?

The golden dozen of video conference tips that will help you win every video conference!

Virtual presentation made easy – with the 9 best expert virtual presentation tips

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• About Ronny
• Our Clients
• Our Core Values
• STAGE HERO Coaching
• Homestudio Resources

© 2024 RLE Business GmbH. All rights reserved | Imprint | Privacy Policy 

Session expired

Please log in again. The login page will open in a new tab. After logging in you can close it and return to this page.

INQUIRE NOW

Request Ronny as a keynote speaker for your next event without obligation!

CHECK AVAILABILTY

Send us a non-binding inquiry for Ronny to coach you for your next keynote, speech or presentation!

Send us a non-binding request for Ronny as host for your next event!

STOP GUESSING HOW TO WOW YOUR AUDIENCE

Join our e-mail list for free to get the MAGIC MOMENTS FORMULA for free!

STOP GUESSING WHICH TECH TO USE IN YOUR HOME STUDIO

Join our e-mail list for free and we will send you the newest HOME STUDIO ASSISTANT checklist directly to your inbox. Each item has been carefully selected. 

STOP GUESSING WHO THE RIGHT KENOYTE SPEAKER FOR YOUR EVENT IS

Join our e-mail list for free and get your 18-page KEYNOTE SCOUT-checklist on how to find the ideal keynote speaker for your event

STOP GUESSING ABOUT YOUR IDEAL EVENT HOST

Join our e-mail list for free and get your free EVENT HOST SCOUT - checklist to find the ideal event host“. 

YES! I'M IN!

Join our e-mail list for free to get inspiring tips for speakers, presenters and event organizers!

• PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
• EDIT Edit this Article
• EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Happiness Hub Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
• Browse Articles
• Learn Something New
• Quizzes Hot
• Happiness Hub
• This Or That Game
• Train Your Brain
• Explore More
• Support wikiHow
• About wikiHow
• Log in / Sign up
• Education and Communications
• Communication Skills
• Public Speaking
• Speechwriting

How to Start a Speech

Last Updated: January 12, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Lynn Kirkham . Lynn Kirkham is a Professional Public Speaker and Founder of Yes You Can Speak, a San Francisco Bay Area-based public speaking educational business empowering thousands of professionals to take command of whatever stage they've been given - from job interviews, boardroom talks to TEDx and large conference platforms. Lynn was chosen as the official TEDx Berkeley speaker coach for the last four years and has worked with executives at Google, Facebook, Intuit, Genentech, Intel, VMware, and others. There are 15 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 396,949 times.

The best way to start a speech depends on the type and topic of the speech, your audience, and the overall tone of the event. The best way to ensure a successful speech is to grab your audience’s attention in the beginning of the speech; if you do so, they will likely stick with you to the very end. While there is no one way to capture an audience’s attention, there are several methods that may work. Choose the one that is the best fit for the event and your own personality.

Winning Your Audience’s Attention

• At an event held in honor of a particular person, you might tell a humorous story involving you and the person being honored. Just make sure that the story or joke is not embarrassing or potentially offensive.
• Try out your joke on a few different people before delivering it in your speech. If the joke falls flat or is offensive, cut it from your speech. [2] X Research source

• Try something simple that cuts to the chase, like “Seat belts save lives.”

• If your speech is about mood disorders, you might make a statement along the lines of, “Depression, manic depression, and mood disorders of a similar strain can have deadly side effects.”
• If you are giving a speech on self-defense, you could say something like, “If you're out alone and suddenly assaulted, your reaction in the first few seconds can be the difference between survival and death.”

• For a speech about dogs, you could describe the standard characteristics or daily life of a dog using a first person point of view, and end with the statement, “I am a dog.”

• A statistic about declining or increasing birthrates in a specific region or country could alert people to population issues.

• For a speech in which you are trying to persuade the audience to take protective measures against the sun, you can bring up a statistic relating to the number of people who die from skin cancer on an annual year.

• For a speech about maternity care in the United States, you could tell a story about an experience related to maternity care that you or someone you know went through.
• If you were delivering a speech about how to bake a cake to kids or teens, you might describe a situation in which a child made a cake for a parent or loved one for a special occasion. Include details about how the recipient appreciated the gesture.

• Try to choose a quote from a well-known source, since more people will likely respond to it if they recognize who spoke it.
• Inspirational quotes are a popular way to open a graduation speech. Usually, the speaker would choose a quote that talks about dreams, education, looking toward the future, or building character.
• Quotations are not often used to start demonstrative speeches.

• If you are trying to persuade an audience about the importance of forming healthy eating and exercising habits, you might start with a statement made by a well-known expert on the matter to engage the audience.

• For a speech about how to lose weight, you could begin by showing before and after pictures of people who used the method you are about to describe.

• If you are trying to persuade an audience to buy a specific language learning program, you could give an example of someone who used that program and who now lives in a country that speaks the language learned.

Engaging Audience Participation

• For a speech about how to winterize your car, you could ask the audience something like, “How many of you have ever felt your car slipping on an icy street? Or who here has had their car stall on the side of the road during freezing temperatures?”

• If you are giving a speech about holiday traditions, you could ask, “What was your favorite holiday tradition growing up?”

• For example, if you’re giving a speech about booking a dream vacation, you might start with: “Imagine you are on a tropical beach. Feel the sand under your feet and the sun beating down on your shoulders. You can hear the ocean waves and wind swishing through the palm trees.”

• If you’re giving a speech about teaching online classes versus in-person classes, you might ask, “What’s your biggest concern about teaching an online class?” Call on a few people to hear their concerns. Chances are, you’ll be addressing their concerns in your speech already.

• You might say to the audience, “Turn to your neighbor and tell them your favorite kind of exercise.”

• If you are trying to explain why the audience should buy a certain kitchen utensil, open by describing a common scenario that might happen in the kitchen for which that utensil could be used.

Improving Your Ethos

• This is most often seen at eulogies and weddings. The speaker introduces himself or herself and begins to explain who they are in connection to the subject being addressed. If you are delivering a wedding toast, you might begin by talking about your connection to the bride, groom, or couple getting married.
• It can also be used at an event being held by an organization. In that case, the speaker might explain her position within the organization.

• For example, if your speech is about the lack of women working in technology, you might find a recent story about how girls are being discouraged from pursuing science in high school.

• If you were giving a speech at a Christmas party or fundraiser, you could talk about your Christmas memories or something you love about the season.

Understanding Types of Speeches

• The tone of an informative speech is usually fairly flexible and often dependent on the topic of the speech. For instance, a speech about cancer would demand a serious start and serious tone, while one about the history of the yo-yo would be very lighthearted.

• Demonstrative speeches are often on the lighthearted and non-academic side, so the openings of such speeches tend to be more relaxed. That said, if you do end up dealing with a serious topic, such as how to stay safe in a hurricane or tornado, make your introduction and overall speech fairly serious.

• These types of speeches can be the most difficult to deliver because, as the speaker, you have to be engaging enough to "sell" your opinion to those listening in.
• Persuasive speeches are often serious and may use a serious opening, especially if the speaker is trying to persuade an audience to take a certain beneficial action or to adopt a new perspective about a topic. The only time that a persuasive speech might take on a more casual, lighthearted tone is when the speaker is trying to sell an actual product.

• A serious or sorrowful occasion will usually call for a somber or nostalgic tone, but a celebratory occasion demands an opening and a speech that is entertaining or uplifting. For instance, a speech delivered at someone's wedding should be a lot more lighthearted than one delivered as a eulogy, and both will be very personal. A graduation speech must be general enough to relate to a wide audience.

Delivering the Speech

• This will ensure that you’re comfortable with the speech and you’ll be able to relax a bit.
• Memorize the first sentence of your speech. This will help you overcome anxiety of starting out the speech strongly. Bring a hard copy of your speech with you as well.

• If you are giving a brief speech, you likely won’t need to drink any water in the middle of your speech. If your speech is longer, then you might want to find a good moment to pause and take a small sip. Don’t gulp the water down; you will risk spilling it on your shirt or making yourself cough.

Expert Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/attention-getters-for-speeches
• ↑ http://www.amanet.org/training/articles/Start-Your-Speech-Out-Right.aspx
• ↑ https://open.lib.umn.edu/publicspeaking/chapter/9-2-the-attention-getter-the-first-step-of-an-introduction/
• ↑ http://libguides.lamar.edu/content.php?pid=23277&sid=2818461
• ↑ Lynn Kirkham. Public Speaking Coach. Expert Interview. 20 November 2019.
• ↑ https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-publicspeakingprinciples/chapter/using-testimony/
• ↑ https://www.hamilton.edu/academics/centers/oralcommunication/guides/how-to-engage-your-audience-and-keep-them-with-you
• ↑ https://open.lib.umn.edu/publicspeaking/chapter/18-2-special-occasion-speeches/
• ↑ https://open.lib.umn.edu/communication/chapter/11-1-informative-speeches/
• ↑ http://www.comm.pitt.edu/persuasive-speaking
• ↑ http://www.comm.pitt.edu/commemorative-speaking
• ↑ https://www.asme.org/topics-resources/content/public-speaking-know-your-audience
• ↑ https://hbr.org/2019/09/how-to-rehearse-for-an-important-presentation
• ↑ < https://opentextbc.ca/studentsuccess/chapter/presentation-aids/
• ↑ https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/eye_contact_tips_to_make_your_presentations_stronger
• ↑ https://www.student.unsw.edu.au/speaking-audience

About This Article

How you start a speech will depend a lot on what it’s about, but you should always aim to grab your audience’s attention. You should start by introducing yourself and explaining your connection to the topic. For example, if you’re giving a wedding toast, talk about how you know the married couple. Speak in a clear, loud voice, which will encourage your audience to pay attention. Telling a joke can be a good way to break the ice and focus your audience on what you’re saying, but make sure humor is appropriate for the occasion first. Alternatively, make a startling statement about your topic. For instance, you could begin a speech about self-defense by saying, “If you’re out alone and get assaulted, the way you respond in the first few seconds can make the difference between life and death.” As you speak, look out at the audience and maintain eye contact, which will make your speech more engaging. For tips on how to prepare to deliver your speech, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

• Send fan mail to authors

Reader Success Stories

Gracie Chen

May 30, 2018

Did this article help you?

Pooja Sivaramalingam

Oct 9, 2019

Jan 8, 2017

Shailendra Singh

Oct 12, 2016

Mar 9, 2017

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Watch Articles

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell or Share My Info
• Not Selling Info

Get all the best how-tos!

Sign up for wikiHow's weekly email newsletter

• Games, topic printables & more
• The 4 main speech types
• Example speeches
• Commemorative
• Declamation
• Demonstration
• Informative
• Introduction
• Student Council
• Speech topics
• Poems to read aloud
• How to write a speech
• Using props/visual aids
• Acute anxiety help
• Breathing exercises
• Letting go - free e-course
• Using self-hypnosis
• Delivery overview
• 4 modes of delivery
• How to make cue cards
• How to read a speech
• 9 vocal aspects
• Vocal variety
• Diction/articulation
• Pronunciation
• Speaking rate
• How to use pauses
• Eye contact
• Body language
• Voice image
• Voice health
• Public speaking activities and games
• Blogging Aloud
• About me/contact

How to write a good speech in 7 steps

By:  Susan Dugdale  

- an easily followed format for writing a great speech

Did you know writing a speech doesn't have be an anxious, nail biting experience?

Unsure? Don't be.

You may have lived with the idea you were never good with words for a long time. Or perhaps giving speeches at school brought you out in cold sweats.

However learning how to write a speech is relatively straight forward when you learn to write out loud.

And that's the journey I am offering to take you on: step by step.

To learn quickly, go slow

Take all the time you need. This speech format has 7 steps, each building on the next.

Walk, rather than run, your way through all of them. Don't be tempted to rush. Familiarize yourself with the ideas. Try them out.

I know there are well-advertised short cuts and promises of 'write a speech in 5 minutes'. However in reality they only truly work for somebody who already has the basic foundations of speech writing in place.

The foundation of good speech writing 

These steps are the backbone of sound speech preparation. Learn and follow them well at the outset and yes, given more experience and practice you could probably flick something together quickly. Like any skill, the more it's used, the easier it gets.

In the meantime...

Step 1: Begin with a speech overview or outline

Are you in a hurry? Without time to read a whole page? Grab ... The Quick How to Write a Speech Checklist And come back to get the details later.

• WHO you are writing your speech for (your target audience)
• WHY you are preparing this speech. What's the main purpose of your speech? Is it to inform or tell your audience about something? To teach them a new skill or demonstrate something? To persuade or to entertain? (See 4 types of speeches: informative, demonstrative, persuasive and special occasion or entertaining for more.) What do you want them to think, feel or do as a result of listening the speech?
• WHAT your speech is going to be about (its topic) - You'll want to have thought through your main points and have ranked them in order of importance. And have sorted the supporting research you need to make those points effectively.
• HOW much time you have for your speech eg. 3 minutes, 5 minutes... The amount of time you've been allocated dictates how much content you need. If you're unsure check this page: how many words per minute in a speech: a quick reference guide . You'll find estimates of the number of words required for 1 - 10 minute speeches by slow, medium and fast talkers.

Use an outline

The best way to make sure you deliver a perfect speech is to start by carefully completing a speech outline covering the essentials: WHO, WHY, WHAT and HOW.

Beginning to write without thinking your speech through is a bit like heading off on a journey not knowing why you're traveling or where you're going to end up. You can find yourself lost in a deep, dark, murky muddle of ideas very quickly!

Pulling together a speech overview or outline is a much safer option. It's the map you'll follow to get where you want to go.

Get a blank speech outline template to complete

Click the link to find out a whole lot more about preparing a speech outline . ☺ You'll also find a free printable blank speech outline template.  I recommend using it!

Understanding speech construction

Before you begin to write, using your completed outline as a guide, let's briefly look at what you're aiming to prepare.

• an opening or introduction
• the body where the bulk of the information is given
• and an ending (or summary).

Imagine your speech as a sandwich

If you think of a speech as a sandwich you'll get the idea.

The opening and ending are the slices of bread holding the filling (the major points or the body of your speech) together.

You can build yourself a simple sandwich with one filling (one big idea) or you could go gourmet and add up to three or, even five. The choice is yours.

But whatever you choose to serve, as a good cook, you need to consider who is going to eat it! And that's your audience.

So let's find out who they are before we do anything else. 

Step 2: Know who you are talking to

Understanding your audience.

Did you know a  good speech is never written from the speaker's point of view?  ( If you need to know more about why check out this page on  building rapport .)

Begin with the most important idea/point on your outline.

Consider HOW you can explain (show, tell) that to your audience in the most effective way for them to easily understand it.   

Writing from the audience's point of view

To help you write from an audience point of view, it's a good idea to identify either a real person or the type of person who is most likely to be listening to you.

Make sure you select someone who represents the "majority" of the people who will be in your audience. That is they are neither struggling to comprehend you at the bottom of your scale or light-years ahead at the top.

Now imagine they are sitting next to you eagerly waiting to hear what you're going to say. Give them a name, for example, Joe, to help make them real.

Ask yourself

• How do I need to tailor my information to meet Joe's needs? For example, do you tell personal stories to illustrate your main points? Absolutely! Yes. This is a very powerful technique. (Click storytelling in speeches to find out more.)
• What type or level of language is right for Joe as well as my topic? For example if I use jargon (activity, industry or profession specific vocabulary) will it be understood?

Step 3: Writing as you speak

Writing oral language.

Write down what you want to say about your first main point as if you were talking directly to Joe.

If it helps, say it all out loud before you write it down and/or record it.

Use the information below as a guide

(Click to download The Characteristics of Spoken Language  as a pdf.) 

You do not have to write absolutely everything you're going to say down * but you do need to write down, or outline, the sequence of ideas to ensure they are logical and easily followed.

Remember too, to explain or illustrate your point with examples from your research. 

( * Tip: If this is your first speech the safety net of having everything written down could be just what you need. It's easier to recover from a patch of jitters when you have a word by word manuscript than if you have either none, or a bare outline. Your call!)

Step 4: Checking tone and language

The focus of this step is re-working what you've done in Step 2 and 3.

You identified who you were talking to (Step 2) and in Step 3, wrote up your first main point.  Is it right? Have you made yourself clear?  Check it.

How well you complete this step depends on how well you understand the needs of the people who are going to listen to your speech.

Please do not assume because you know what you're talking about the person (Joe) you've chosen to represent your audience will too. Joe is not a mind-reader!

How to check what you've prepared

• Check the "tone" of your language . Is it right for the occasion, subject matter and your audience?
• Check the length of your sentences. You need short sentences. If they're too long or complicated you risk losing your listeners.

Check for jargon too. These are industry, activity or group exclusive words.

For instance take the phrase: authentic learning . This comes from teaching and refers to connecting lessons to the daily life of students. Authentic learning is learning that is relevant and meaningful for students. If you're not a teacher you may not understand the phrase.

The use of any vocabulary requiring insider knowledge needs to be thought through from the audience perspective. Jargon can close people out.

• Read what you've written out loud. If it flows naturally, in a logical manner, continue the process with your next main idea. If it doesn't, rework.

We use whole sentences and part ones, and we mix them up with asides or appeals e.g. "Did you get that? Of course you did. Right...Let's move it along. I was saying ..."

Click for more about the differences between spoken and written language .

And now repeat the process

Repeat this process for the remainder of your main ideas.

Because you've done the first one carefully, the rest should follow fairly easily.

Step 5: Use transitions

Providing links or transitions between main ideas.

Between each of your main ideas you need to provide a bridge or pathway for your audience. The clearer the pathway or bridge, the easier it is for them to make the transition from one idea to the next.

If your speech contains more than three main ideas and each is building on the last, then consider using a "catch-up" or summary as part of your transitions.

Is your speech being evaluated? Find out exactly what aspects you're being assessed on using this standard speech evaluation form

Link/transition examples

A link can be as simple as:

"We've explored one scenario for the ending of Block Buster 111, but let's consider another. This time..."

What follows this transition is the introduction of Main Idea Two.

Here's a summarizing link/transition example:

"We've ended Blockbuster 111 four ways so far. In the first, everybody died. In the second, everybody died BUT their ghosts remained to haunt the area. In the third, one villain died. His partner reformed and after a fight-out with the hero, they both strode off into the sunset, friends forever. In the fourth, the hero dies in a major battle but is reborn sometime in the future.

And now what about one more? What if nobody died? The fifth possibility..."

Go back through your main ideas checking the links. Remember Joe as you go. Try each transition or link out loud and really listen to yourself. Is it obvious? Easily followed?

Keep them if they are clear and concise.

For more about transitions (with examples) see Andrew Dlugan's excellent article, Speech Transitions: Magical words and Phrases .

Step 6: The end of your speech

The ideal ending is highly memorable . You want it to live on in the minds of your listeners long after your speech is finished. Often it combines a call to action with a summary of major points.

Example speech endings

Example 1: The desired outcome of a speech persuading people to vote for you in an upcoming election is that they get out there on voting day and do so. You can help that outcome along by calling them to register their support by signing a prepared pledge statement as they leave.

"We're agreed we want change. You can help us give it to you by signing this pledge statement as you leave. Be part of the change you want to see!

Example 2: The desired outcome is increased sales figures. The call to action is made urgent with the introduction of time specific incentives.

"You have three weeks from the time you leave this hall to make that dream family holiday in New Zealand yours. Can you do it? Will you do it? The kids will love it. Your wife will love it. Do it now!"

How to figure out the right call to action

A clue for working out what the most appropriate call to action might be, is to go back to your original purpose for giving the speech.

• Was it to motivate or inspire?
• Was it to persuade to a particular point of view?
• Was it to share specialist information?
• Was it to celebrate a person, a place, time or event?

Ask yourself what you want people to do as a result of having listened to your speech.

For more about ending speeches

Visit this page for more about how to end a speech effectively . You'll find two additional types of speech endings with examples.

Write and test

Write your ending and test it out loud. Try it out on a friend, or two. Is it good? Does it work?

Step 7: The introduction

Once you've got the filling (main ideas) the linking and the ending in place, it's time to focus on the introduction.

The introduction comes last as it's the most important part of your speech. This is the bit that either has people sitting up alert or slumped and waiting for you to end. It's the tone setter!

What makes a great speech opening?

Ideally you want an opening that makes listening to you the only thing the 'Joes' in the audience want to do.

You want them to forget they're hungry or that their chair is hard or that their bills need paying.

The way to do that is to capture their interest straight away. You do this with a "hook".

Hooks to catch your audience's attention

Hooks come in as many forms as there are speeches and audiences. Your task is work out what specific hook is needed to catch your audience.

Go back to the purpose. Why are you giving this speech?

Once you have your answer, consider your call to action. What do you want the audience to do, and, or take away, as a result of listening to you?

Next think about the imaginary or real person you wrote for when you were focusing on your main ideas.

Choosing the best hook

• Is it humor?
• Would shock tactics work?
• Is it a rhetorical question?
• Is it formality or informality?
• Is it an outline or overview of what you're going to cover, including the call to action?
• Or is it a mix of all these elements?

A hook example

Here's an example from a fictional political speech. The speaker is lobbying for votes. His audience are predominately workers whose future's are not secure.

"How's your imagination this morning? Good? (Pause for response from audience) Great, I'm glad. Because we're going to put it to work starting right now.

I want you to see your future. What does it look like? Are you happy? Is everything as you want it to be? No? Let's change that. We could do it. And we could do it today.

At the end of this speech you're going to be given the opportunity to change your world, for a better one ...

No, I'm not a magician. Or a simpleton with big ideas and precious little commonsense. I'm an ordinary man, just like you. And I have a plan to share!"

And then our speaker is off into his main points supported by examples. The end, which he has already foreshadowed in his opening, is the call to vote for him.

Prepare several hooks

Experiment with several openings until you've found the one that serves your audience, your subject matter and your purpose best.

For many more examples of speech openings go to: how to write a speech introduction . You'll find 12 of the very best ways to start a speech.

That completes the initial seven steps towards writing your speech. If you've followed them all the way through, congratulations, you now have the text of your speech!

Although you might have the words, you're still a couple of steps away from being ready to deliver them. Both of them are essential if you want the very best outcome possible. They are below. Please take them.

Step 8: Checking content and timing

This step pulls everything together.

Check once, check twice, check three times & then once more!

Go through your speech really carefully.

On the first read through check you've got your main points in their correct order with supporting material, plus an effective introduction and ending.

On the second read through check the linking passages or transitions making sure they are clear and easily followed.

On the third reading check your sentence structure, language use and tone.

Double, triple check the timing

Now go though once more.

This time read it aloud slowly and time yourself.

If it's too long for the time allowance you've been given make the necessary cuts.

Start by looking at your examples rather than the main ideas themselves. If you've used several examples to illustrate one principal idea, cut the least important out.

Also look to see if you've repeated yourself unnecessarily or, gone off track. If it's not relevant, cut it.

Repeat the process, condensing until your speech fits the required length, preferably coming in just under your time limit.

You can also find out how approximately long it will take you to say the words you have by using this very handy words to minutes converter . It's an excellent tool, one I frequently use. While it can't give you a precise time, it does provide a reasonable estimate.

Step 9: Rehearsing your speech

And NOW you are finished with writing the speech, and are ready for REHEARSAL .

Please don't be tempted to skip this step. It is not an extra thrown in for good measure. It's essential.

The "not-so-secret" secret of successful speeches combines good writing with practice, practice and then, practicing some more.

Go to how to practice public speaking and you'll find rehearsal techniques and suggestions to boost your speech delivery from ordinary to extraordinary.

The Quick How to Write a Speech Checklist

Before you begin writing you need:.

• Your speech OUTLINE with your main ideas ranked in the order you're going to present them. (If you haven't done one complete this 4 step sample speech outline . It will make the writing process much easier.)
• Your RESEARCH
• You also need to know WHO you're speaking to, the PURPOSE of the speech and HOW long you're speaking for

The basic format

• the body where you present your main ideas

Split your time allowance so that you spend approximately 70% on the body and 15% each on the introduction and ending.

How to write the speech

• Write your main ideas out incorporating your examples and research
• Link them together making sure each flows in a smooth, logical progression
• Write your ending, summarizing your main ideas briefly and end with a call for action
• Write your introduction considering the 'hook' you're going to use to get your audience listening
• An often quoted saying to explain the process is: Tell them what you're going to tell them (Introduction) Tell them (Body of your speech - the main ideas plus examples) Tell them what you told them (The ending)

TEST before presenting. Read aloud several times to check the flow of material, the suitability of language and the timing.

• Return to top

speaking out loud 

Subscribe for  FREE weekly alerts about what's new For more see  speaking out loud  

Top 10 popular pages

• Welcome speech
• Demonstration speech topics
• Impromptu speech topic cards
• Thank you quotes
• Impromptu public speaking topics
• Farewell speeches
• Phrases for welcome speeches
• Student council speeches
• Free sample eulogies

From fear to fun in 28 ways

A complete one stop resource to scuttle fear in the best of all possible ways - with laughter.

Useful pages

• Search this site
• About me & Contact
• Free e-course
• Privacy policy

©Copyright 2006-24 www.write-out-loud.com

Designed and built by Clickstream Designs

• Theater-Based Techniques
• Dr. Gary Genard
• What Our Clients Say
• Client List
• Dr. Genard in the Media
• Leadership Communication
• Fearless Speaking
• Voice and Speech Improvement
• Presentation Coaching
• Speaking Virtually
• Presentation Skills
• Executive Speech Coaching
• The Benefits of Deep Breathing
• How to Calm Your Nerves Before Speaking
• Leadership Skills: The 5 Essential Speaking Techniques
• 5 Ways to Captivate an Audience
• The Body Language Rules: 12 Ways to be a More Powerful Speaker
• 4 Characteristics of an Influential Speaker
• 6 Skills Building Exercises for Effective Body Language
• 7 Tips for Overcoming Audience Resistance
• 5 Rules for Succeeding with PowerPoint
• Great Speaking? – It's About Performance Over Content!
• 5 Key Tools of Vocal Dynamics
• 5 Secrets of Powerful Body Language
• 10 Ways to Stay Fully Focused when Speaking
• 25 Words or Phrases to Avoid in Speeches and Presentations
• 6 Rules of Effective Public Speaking
• 7 Key Components of Successful Presentations
• 12 Easy Ways to Achieve Presence and Charisma
• 6 Skills Building Exercises Video

Gary Genard's

Speak for success.

"Be a voice not an echo." - Albert Einstein

How to Start a Speech — 12 Foolproof Ways to Grab Your Audience!

Want to move audiences? Develop a powerful opening! Here is how to start a speech, including 12 foolproof ways to grab audiences in public speaking.

Let's talk about how to start a speech. When it comes to persuading, inspiring, or influencing an audience, your opening is by far the most important moment in your performance.

So how do you begin a presentation in ways that  will get an audience on your side and start you on the road to speaking memorably?

Learn this skill and 101 tips and tricks for more successful speaking in my Public Speaking Handbook, How to Give a Speech . Also available as an Amazon bestseller!

Let's imagine that you're finally pitching to that audience of decision makers. It's the high-stakes opportunity you've been waiting for, and you've put together a killer presentation. There's just one problem: how do you start the thing off with a bang? Remember, anyone can give an ordinary presentation. It's your job to stand out from the crowd for career success.

Your Opening Sets the Tone of Your Presentation

You probably already know you need to begin with power and purpose. You're just not sure  how  . . . or for that matter, exactly why.

The answer is that, when it comes to influencing listeners in speeches and presentations, two concepts explain why your beginning and ending need to be particularly strong. I'll discuss both concepts here, then provide some powerful tools for your opening gambit: your speech Introduction .

Ready to set your audience on fire?

This article is available as a free PDF .  Click here to download "How to Start a Speech - 12 Foolproof Ways to Grab Your Audience!" Learn and practice starting out powerfully!

Your Introduction and Conclusion Need to Be Strong

The two concepts concerning why you need to start and end strongly, are  primacy  and  recency . Primacy states that people remember most vividly what they hear at the beginning of a speech. Recency  says those same people will strongly recall what you say at the end. In terms of public speaking, this translates into your introduction and conclusion. And you really do need to start early.   Here's  how to create an opening your audience will remember .

In more practical terms, there are three specific reasons why your introduction needs to be engaging and interesting immediately :

(1) Audiences make judgments about you and your message in the first minute. After that point, you'll be able to change those opinions about as easily as you can change a hamster into a ham sandwich. So here's  how to be strong in the first 60 seconds of your speech .

(2) Your opening sets the entire tone of your presentation (including whether you'll be interesting or not).

(3) This is when you introduce your message and tell the audience why they should listen.

Sound like a tall order? It isn't, if you use the seven key components of successful presentations . Your audience needs to be both fully engaged and predisposed favorably toward you and your message. Neither will happen unless you can  grab   their  attention,  so they're onboard when you spin your verbal magic. Keep reading to learn how that's done. 

Ready to boost your influence with stakeholders? Grab your copy of my book, Speak for Leadership . Learn an executive speech coach's secrets! Get it today here or on Amazon .

Using Creativity in Business Presentations

Achieving the objective of a 'grabbing' opening takes thought, a bit of imagination, and yes, a little creativity. The good news is that since you know your topic well and you're psyched up for the big game (it's an audience of decision-makers, remember?), you should be well positioned to succeed.

Primacy won't have much of a chance to operate, though, if you use what I call the 'Today, I'm going to talk about . . .' opening. This is boring! Be on the lookout instead for something that will pique the interest of your listeners, and perhaps surprise them. And here's something else you absolutely need to know: 20 ways to connect with an audience for lasting influence .

A few minutes of focused thinking should be all you need to know how to come up with an effective opening. And remember to avoid that I call introducing your introduction. That sounds like this: 'Let me start out with a story . . .', or, 'I heard a very funny joke the other day . . . ' Or even the inexplicable 'Before I begin . . . ' since you've already begun!

Just  tell  us the story, the joke, or the in-the-know reference that will delight your listeners. But if you signal your effect beforehand, you water down its potency and its power to surprise.

So how can you be completely focused and on your game?

12 Powerful Ways to Start a Speech or Presentation

As a springboard to launching your presentation with verve and originality, here are a dozen rhetorical devices you can use. Each of them is an effective 'speech hook that you can use to start any speech or presentation:

• Startling statement
• Personal anecdote or experience
• Expert opinion
• Sound effect
• Physical object or demonstration
• Testimony or success story

You could literally think of dozens more from your own experience or that of your audience. Remember, the best grabbers engage an audience immediately, both intellectually and emotionally. Interestingly, these same devices can be used to conclude in a way that keeps your audience thinking about what you said. It's all part of my six rules for effective public speaking .

Coming up with an exciting grabber and clincher involves some work on your part. But the rewards if you're successful more than justify the effort.

Famous Speech Openings  

How about a few examples? Here are four great openings that illustrate some of the grabbers listed above:

Jesus , Sermon on the Mount: "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." — Startling statement.

Bill Clinton , 1993 speech in Memphis to ministers (after having heard himself introduced as "Bishop Clinton"): "You know, in the last ten months, I've been called a lot of things, but nobody's called me a bishop yet. When I was about nine years old, my beloved and now departed grandmother, who was a very wise woman, looked at me and she said, 'You know, I believe you could be a preacher if you were just a little better boy.'" — Humor

Jane Fonda in her TED Talk "Life's Third Act":  "There have been many revolutions over the last century, but perhaps none as significant as the longevity revolution. We are living on average today 34 years longer than our great-grandparents did. Think about that: that's an entire second adult lifetime that's been added to our lifespan." — Statistic.

Steve Jobs , 2005 Commencement Address at Stanford University: "Truth be told, I never graduated from college, and this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today, I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it, no big deal—just three stories. The first story is about connecting the dots. I dropped out of Reed College after the first six months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another eighteen months or so before I really quit. So why'd I drop out? It started before I was born." — Story, with a seamless transition into his speech. 

Like historical mysteries? — Discover my Dr. William Scarlet Mystery Series!

A haunted young artist. A trail of bodies. What is terrorizing London? Scotland Yard surgeon and psychic Dr. William Scarlet pursues a serial killer in Red Season ! Also on  Amazon .

You should follow me on Twitter  here .

Gary Genard   is an actor, author, and expert in public speaking and overcoming speaking fear. His company, The Genard Method offers  live 1:1 Zoom executive coaching   and corporate group training worldwide. He was named for nine consecutive years as  One of the World’s Top 30 Communication Professionals , and also named as  One of America's Top 5 Speech Coaches .  He is the author of the Amazon Best-Sellers  How to Give a Speech  and  Speak for Leadership: An Executive Speech Coach's Secrets for Developing Leadership Presence . His book,  Fearless Speaking ,  was named in 2019 as  "One of the 100 Best Confidence Books of All Time."   He is also the author of the  Dr. William Scarlet Mysteries .   Contact Gary here.  

Tags: leadership skills , public speaking training , public speaking , business presentations , public speaking tips , Speaking for Leadership , Public Speaking Techniques , how to start a speech , how to give a speech , speech introduction , how to persuade an audience , how to open a speech , speech coach , speech coaching , public speaking for leadership , presentations , The Genard Method , Dr. Gary Genard , CEO , speak for leadership , public speaking training company , executive coaching , keynote speaker training , how to start a presentation , motivational speaker training , TEDx speaker training , public speaking coaching , speech hooks , speech training , speech expert , online public speaking training , executive coach , public speaking books , leadership books , books on leadership , leadership expert , leadership authors , executive speech coaching , speech for leadership , public speaking for doctors , public speaking for lawyers , public speaking for engineers , public speaking for IT professionals , public speaking for data scientists , public speaking for scientists , public speaking for business , how to win friends and influence people , public speaking for business executives , talk like TED , Red Season , Dr. William Scarlet Mysteries

Subscribe to Email Updates

Subscribe to the blog, follow gary genard.

• Training Techniques

Main Office - Boston

[email protected] 617-993-3410

• Executive Presentation Skills
• Rehearsal & Preparation
• Group Presentation Skills

SpeakUp resources

Starting a presentation in english: methods and examples.

• By Jake Pool

If you’re going to make it in the professional world, most likely you’ll have to give a presentation in English at some point. No reason to get nervous!

Most of the work involved lies in the introduction. You may or may not need an English presentation PPT file, your topic, audience, or time limit may vary, but a strong opening is a must no matter what! Everything that follows can build from the opening outline you present to your audience.

Let’s look at some guidelines for starting a presentation in English. If you can master this part, you’ll never have to worry about the rest!

Opening in a Presentation in English

While it’s important to have your entire presentation organized and outlined, planning and organization are especially important in the introduction. This is what will guide you through a clear and concise beginning. Let’s look at how to start a presentation with well-organized thoughts .

Introduction Outline

• Introduce yourself and welcome everyone.
• State the purpose of your presentation
• Give a short overview of the presentation

As we say, it’s as easy as 1-2-3. (No need for a more detailed English presentation script!) Let’s examine the first step.

1. Introduce Yourself & Welcome Everyone

The self-introduction is your opportunity to make a good first impression. Be sure to open with a warm welcome and use language that is familiar and natural. Based on your audience, there are a few different expressions you can use to start your presentation.

If you’re presenting to coworkers who may already know you:

• Hello, [name] here. I would like to thank you all for your time. As you may know, I [describe what you do/your job title] I look forward to discussing [topic] today.
• Good morning/afternoon/evening everyone. Thank you for being here. For those who don’t know me, my name is [name], and for those who know me, hello again.

If you’re presenting to people you’ve never met:

• Hello everyone, it’s nice to meet you all. My name is [name] and I am the [job/title].
• Hello. Welcome to [event]. My name is [name] and I am the [job/title]. I’m glad you’re all here.

There are certainly more ways to make an introduction. However, it’s generally best to follow this format:

• Start with a polite welcome and state your name.
• Follow with your job title and/or the reason you’re qualified to speak on the topic being discussed.

2. State the Purpose of Your Presentation

Now that your audience knows who you are and your qualifications, you can state the purpose of your presentation. This is where you clarify to your audience what you’ll be talking about.

So, ask yourself, “ What do I want my audience to get from this presentation? ”

• Do you want your audience to be informed?
• Do you need something from your audience?
• Do you want them to purchase a product?
• Do you want them to do something for the community or your company?

With your goal in mind, you can create the next couple of lines of your presentation. Below are some examples of how to start.

• Let me share with you…
• I’d like to introduce you to [product or service]
• Today I want to discuss…
• I want to breakdown for you [topic]
• Let’s discuss…
• Today I will present the results of my research on [topic]
• By the end of this presentation, you’ll understand [topic]
• My goal is to explain…
• As you know, we’ll be talking about…

When talking about the purpose of your presentation, stick to your goals. You purpose statement should be only one to three sentences. That way, you can give your audience a clear sense of purpose that sets them up for the rest of the presentation.

3. A Short Overview of the Presentation

The final step in starting your presentation is to give a short outline of what you’ll be presenting. People like a map of what to expect from a presentation.

It helps them organize their thoughts and gives a sense of order. Also, it lets the audience know why they’re listening to you. This is what you’ll use to grab their attention, and help them stay focused throughout the presentation.

Here are some examples of how you can outline your presentation:

• Today, I’m going to cover… Then we’ll talk about… Lastly, I’ll close on…
• We’re going to be covering some key information you need to know, including…
• My aim with this presentation is to get you to… To do that we’ll be talking about…
• I’ve divided my presentation into [number] sections… [List the sections]
• Over the next [length of your presentation] I’m going to discuss…

That’s it! It’s as simple as 1-2-3. If you have a fear of public speaking or are not confident about presenting to a group of people, follow these three steps. It’s a simple structure that can get you off to a good start. With that in mind, there are other ways to bring your introduction to the next level too! Read on for bonus tips on how to really engage your audience, beyond the basics.

For a Strong Presentation in English, Engage your Audience

Presentations aren’t everyone’s strongest ability, and that’s OK. If you’re newer to presenting in English, the steps above are the basics to getting started. Once you’re more comfortable with presenting, though, you can go a step further with some extra tricks that can really wow your audience.

Mastering the skill of engaging an audience will take experience. Fortunately, there are many famous speakers out there you can model for capturing attention. Also, there are some common techniques that English-speakers use to gain an audience’s attention.

*How and when you use these techniques in your introduction is at your discretion, as long as you cover the 3 steps of the introduction outline that we discussed earlier.*

Do or say something shocking.

The purpose of shocking your audience is to immediately engage them. You can make a loud noise and somehow relate the noise to your presentation. Or, you can say, “ Did you know that… ” and follow with a shocking story or statistic. Either way, the objective is to create surprise to draw their attention.

Tell a story

Telling a story related to your presentation is a great way to get the audience listening to you.

You can start by saying, “ On my way to [location] the other day… ” or “ On my way here, I was reminded of… ” and then follow with a story. A good story can make your presentation memorable.

Ask your audience to take part

Sometimes a good introduction that captures attention will involve asking for help from the audience. You can ask the audience to play a quick game or solve a puzzle that’s related to your presentation. Also, you could engage the audience with a group exercise. This is a great way to get people involved in your presentation.

There are many more ways to engage the audience, so get creative and see what you can think up! Here are some resources that will help you get started.

Also, if you want to get better at public speaking (and help your English speaking too!), a great organization to know about is the Toastmasters . The organization is dedicated to helping you be a better speaker, and there are many local groups in America. They offer free lessons and events to help you master your English speaking, and also offer additional help to paying members.

The Takeaway

A presentation in English? No problem, as long as your introduction sets you up for success . Admittedly, this can be easier said than done. Native speakers and non-native speakers alike sometimes struggle with getting a good start on their English presentation. But the advice above can help you get the confidence you need to lay a good foundation for your next speech !

Free practice (Facebook group)

Phone: +1 (510) 560-7571

Terms of Use

Privacy Policy

Company Home

Talk to our experts

1800-120-456-456

• Easy Steps to Write an Effective Speech

A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing an Effective Speech: Tips and Examples

A speech is a way to share your thoughts or stand up for a cause. To make an effective speech, it's important to not only speak clearly, but also to carefully plan what you'll say. By preparing your speech well, you can ensure your message is delivered effectively. At Vedantu, students can learn how to create strong speeches with a clear structure and engaging content.

The platform offers resources to help students practise speech writing, improve their presentation skills, and gain confidence in public speaking. This preparation helps students communicate their ideas better and make a strong impact on their audience.

How to Write a Speech?

Writing a speech involves thorough research and careful planning to effectively convey your message. Great speeches often include compelling details and inspiring content that resonates with the audience. Learning to write impactful speeches can be achieved with a bit of guidance. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you craft a speech:

Self Introduction Start your speech by introducing yourself. If there's a host or master of ceremonies, they might introduce you first. Regardless, you should clearly state who you are and briefly explain what your speech will cover. The introduction can be formal or informal, depending on your audience. For example, a formal introduction might include your professional title, while an informal one might simply mention your name and a fun fact.

Introduction to the Topic Next, introduce the topic of your speech. Provide a brief overview of what you will discuss. Make sure to grab the audience's attention with a hook, like a surprising fact or a question. This helps in engaging the audience right from the start.

Main Points Outline the key points you want to address in your speech. Make sure each point is clear and relevant to the topic. Use examples, anecdotes, or data to support your points. This helps in making your speech more relatable and persuasive.

Conclusion End your speech with a strong conclusion. Summarise your main points and restate the purpose of your speech. Aim to leave a lasting impression by delivering a memorable closing statement or call to action.

Practice and Delivery Finally, practice your speech several times. Focus on your tone , pace, and body language. Practising helps you deliver your speech confidently and effectively, ensuring that your message is communicated clearly to your audience.

Addressing Friends/Classmates/Peers

Hello everyone! My name is ________, and today, I’d like to discuss _________ with you all.

Good morning, friends. I am ________, and I am excited to speak with you about _________.

Addressing Teachers/Higher Authorities

Good morning/afternoon/evening. I would like to begin by thanking _______ for the opportunity to share my thoughts on _________ today.

Good day to everyone. I am ________, and I am honoured to speak about _________ with you.

The Opening Statement

The first seven seconds of a speech are crucial, as they determine whether the audience will stay engaged. Therefore, starting with a compelling opening statement is essential to capture their attention. Crafting a speech involves thorough research and structuring it in an engaging, informative, and coherent way is crucial.

When assigned a topic, begin by brainstorming ideas and jotting down everything that comes to mind. This process helps identify which aspect of the topic to focus on, guiding the drafting of your speech.

An effective opening statement should be relevant to your topic. Use clever wording to make a strong impression and capture the audience's interest . Here are some strategies for framing an engaging opening statement:

Asking an Engaging Question Starting with a question can immediately grab the audience's attention. It sparks curiosity and encourages them to think, thus preparing them to listen more attentively.

Fact or a Surprising Statement Presenting an intriguing fact or statement can captivate the audience. This could include a joke, as long as it's relevant and appropriate. A well-timed laugh can refresh their interest and make them eager to hear more.

Adding a Quote Select a quote that aligns with your topic and resonates with your audience. Whether it’s from a famous person or a story, a relevant quote can add depth and set the tone for your speech. Choose a quote that is memorable or thought-provoking to make a significant impact.

Choice of Words

When delivering or writing a speech, it's crucial to choose your words with care. Selecting the right language is essential, whether you're expressing support for or opposition to a topic. Be sure to provide sufficient evidence to back up your points. Use short, clear sentences to enhance the impact of your speech. Your choice of words and what you emphasize will shape how your audience perceives your message.

When writing a speech, ensure that you:

Avoid long, confusing sentences.

Check for spelling, grammar, and sentence structure errors.

Refrain from using contradictory statements that might confuse the audience.

Authenticity

Authenticity in a speech engages the audience more effectively. Incorporate personal anecdotes, experiences, and genuine thoughts to build rapport. However, stay focused on the topic and avoid getting sidetracked with unrelated details.

Writing in 1st Person

Using the first-person perspective in a speech can be more effective than a third-person approach. However, make sure it does not become too subjective or divert from the main topic.

Tips for Writing a Speech

Before you start writing, know what your speech is about and what you want to achieve. Decide if you want to inspire, entertain, or inform your audience.

Think about who will be listening to your speech. Tailor your content to fit their interests and needs so they stay engaged.

Make sure your speech is clear and to the point. Avoid making it too long or it might become boring. Stick to the important details.

After writing your speech, check it for mistakes and make changes if needed. Practice saying it out loud so you feel confident and don’t stumble.

Finish your speech by summarising the main ideas. Leave your audience with something to think about, so they remember your message.

Format on How to Write a Speech

Here’s a structured format of How to write a speech:

Start with a clear and engaging title that reflects the main topic of your speech.

2. Introduction

Greet the audience and introduce yourself.

State the purpose of your speech.

Give a brief overview of what you will talk about to grab the audience's attention.

Main Points : Organise your speech into several main points. Each point should be clear and supported with examples, evidence, or anecdotes.

Sub-points : Include supporting details under each main point to add depth and clarity.

4. Transitions

Use smooth transitions between different points to help your speech flow naturally.

5. Conclusion

Summarise the key points of your speech.

Restate the purpose or main message.

End with a strong closing statement or call to action to leave a lasting impression.

6. Q&A (if applicable)

Prepare to answer any questions from the audience if your speech includes a question-and-answer session.

7. Practice

Rehearse your speech multiple times to ensure you are familiar with the content and delivery.

How to Write a Speech: Examples

Example 1: Speech on Environmental Conservation

Good morning everyone!

My name is John Smith, and today I’m here to talk about the importance of environmental conservation. Our planet is facing severe challenges due to pollution, deforestation , and climate change. We must take action to protect our environment .

Firstly, we need to reduce our waste by recycling and composting. Secondly, conserving energy by using renewable sources is essential. Lastly, planting more trees will help restore balance in our ecosystems.

Each one of us can make a difference by adopting these simple practices in our daily lives. Together, we can ensure a healthier planet for future generations. Thank you for your attention!

Example 2: Speech on the Importance of Education

Good afternoon everyone!

I’m Sarah Johnson, and I’m excited to discuss the value of education in our lives. Education is not just about gaining knowledge, but also about preparing ourselves for the future. It opens doors to new opportunities and helps us grow personally and professionally.

To begin with, education empowers individuals to make informed decisions. It also enhances critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Finally, it helps us understand and appreciate diverse cultures and perspectives.

Investing in education is investing in a better future for ourselves and our communities. Let’s value and support educational opportunities for everyone. Thank you!

To Test Your Knowledge of How to Write a Speech, try these Tasks:

Task 1 - Write a Short Speech: Pick a topic you are passionate about, such as your favourite hobby or a cause you care about. Write a 3-minute speech on this topic. Make sure to include a clear introduction, main points, and a conclusion. Practise delivering your speech in front of a mirror or a friend.

Task 2 - Analyse a Famous Speech: Watch a famous speech online, like Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” or a speech from a recent event. Take notes on how the speaker introduces themselves, the key points they make, and how they conclude. Try to identify any special techniques they use to keep the audience engaged and use these techniques in your speech writing.

Now check out if you got them all right from the answers below:

Task 1 - Write a Short Speech:

Good morning everyone,

Today, I want to talk about something that has a huge impact on our lives – reading. Reading is not just a way to pass the time; it is a gateway to knowledge and imagination. Through books, we explore different worlds, understand diverse cultures, and learn new ideas. Reading also helps improve our language skills and concentration. Whether it's a novel, a biography, or a magazine, each piece of reading material offers something valuable. I encourage all of you to make reading a part of your daily routine. It’s a small habit that brings great rewards. Thank you.

Taks 2 -Review and Improve a Sample Letter:

To analyse a famous speech like Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream,” start by noting how he introduces himself and sets the tone. King begins with a reference to the Emancipation Proclamation, connecting his message to historical struggles for freedom. He introduces his main points by addressing the ongoing racial injustice and articulating his dream of equality, creating a vivid picture of a hopeful future. His conclusion uses a powerful repetition of the phrase “I have a dream” to reinforce his vision and leave a lasting impression. The speech employs imagery, metaphors, and emotional appeals to engage the audience. To apply these techniques, focus on a strong introduction, clear key points, and a memorable conclusion in your speech, using repetition and vivid descriptions to make it impactful.

Takeaways from this Page

Writing a speech involves careful planning and practice. Begin with a clear introduction to capture attention and state your main points clearly. Use simple and engaging language to keep your audience interested. Rehearse your speech to ensure smooth delivery and correct any mistakes. Finally, end with a strong conclusion that reinforces your main message and leaves a lasting impression.

FAQs on Easy Steps to Write an Effective Speech

1. How to write a speech format? 

To understand how to write a speech format, start by organising your speech into three main parts: introduction, body, and conclusion. Clearly outline your main points and supporting details. This format helps in delivering a structured and effective speech.

2. How to write a welcome speech? 

When learning how to write a welcome speech, begin with a warm greeting and introduce yourself. Mention the purpose of the event and the key individuals present. Keep it brief and engaging to set a positive tone for the event.

3. How to write a speech on teacher's day? 

To write a speech on Teacher's Day, start by expressing appreciation for teachers. Highlight their contributions and impact on students' lives. Use personal anecdotes or quotes to make the speech heartfelt and memorable.

4. How to write a welcome speech for chief guest? 

When writing a welcome speech for a chief guest, ensure you acknowledge their presence respectfully. Mention their achievements and the significance of their visit. Craft your speech to reflect the honour of having them as a guest.

5. How to write a speech for students? 

For writing a speech for students, choose a topic relevant to their interests and needs. Use simple language and relatable examples. Structure your speech to be engaging and motivational to keep students attentive.

6. What is the best way to structure how to write a speech format? 

The best way to structure how to write a speech format is to divide your speech into three main parts: introduction, body, and conclusion. This format helps in organizing your thoughts and ensures a clear flow of ideas.

7. How to write a welcome speech effectively? 

To write a welcome speech effectively, start with a friendly greeting and introduce yourself. Outline the purpose of the event and acknowledge key guests or participants. Make sure to keep it concise and engaging.

8. How to write a speech on teacher's day to make it impactful? 

To make a speech on Teacher's Day impactful, focus on the role of teachers in shaping students' futures. Share personal stories or experiences that highlight their dedication. Conclude with a heartfelt thank you.

9. How to write a welcome speech for chief guest in a formal setting? 

Writing a welcome speech for a chief guest in a formal setting involves greeting them warmly, mentioning their achievements, and explaining the importance of their presence. Keep the tone respectful and appreciative.

10. How to write a speech for students to ensure it is engaging? 

To ensure a speech for students is engaging, choose a topic that resonates with their interests. Use simple language and interactive elements. Structure your speech to include relatable examples and a motivational conclusion.

11. What are the key points in how to write a speech format? 

Key points in how to write a speech format include having a clear introduction, a well-organized body with main points, and a strong conclusion. This format helps in delivering a coherent and effective speech.

12. How to write a welcome speech for various events? 

How to write a welcome speech for various events involves greeting the audience, introducing the event’s purpose, and acknowledging any special guests. Tailor the speech to fit the nature of the event and keep it engaging.

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience.

The Complete Guide to Spanish Grammar

Looking to learn Spanish grammar but don’t know where to start?

Don’t worry—if you take it bit by bit, you too will be able to navigate the intricacies of Spanish grammar!

In this post, we’ll go over all the essential elements of Spanish grammar, and provide resources where you can learn them in depth. It’s like our very own Spanish grammar Wiki.

Ready to get started?

Prefixes and Suffixes 

Personal pronouns, subject pronouns, object pronouns, possessive pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, reflexive pronouns, relative pronouns, indefinite pronouns, interrogative pronouns, definite articles, indefinite articles, infinitive verbs, verb groups, verb conjugation, regular and irregular verbs, essential verbs, ser and estar, verbs like gustar, stem-changing verbs, pronominal verbs, reflexive verbs, phrasal verbs, modal verbs, active and passive voice, present tense, present participle, past imperfect, past participle, future tense, conditional tense, perfect tense, present perfect , future perfect, pluperfect tense, progressive tense, present progressive , past progressive, indicative mood, subjunctive mood, imperative mood, negative commands, adjective endings, adjective placement, adjective clauses, possessive adjectives, comparative and superlative adjectives, demonstrative adjectives, adjectives as nouns, relative adjectives, types of adverbs, adverb placement, adverb endings, prepositions, prepositions of place, the personal a, por and para, verbs and prepositions, conjunctions, contractions, sentence structure, transition words, comparisons, reported speech , question words, por qué v porque, question marks, exclamations and interjections, writing mechanics, punctuation, capitalization.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Nouns are essentially the name for any person, animal, place, thing, quality, idea or action.

As with English, Spanish nouns have several classifications. There are nine different types of nouns in total, and understanding them is complicated by the simple fact that you probably aren’t familiar with noun classifications in English, either (guilty). 

Knowing nouns in Spanish is essential to building sentences. Click here to learn 80+ commonly used nouns, and the nine types of Spanish nouns (with examples!). Plus,…

If you only speak English, it may take some time to get your head around the concept of gender in Spanish grammar. But just go with it! 

Put simply, every noun in Spanish is classified as either masculine or feminine. 

And, while there are some rules regarding gender , whether a word is masculine or feminine is not always obvious. That’s why it’s important to learn the gender of a noun at the same time you learn its translation. 

Read this guide to learn about masculine and feminine Spanish words. Learn how to use and determine Spanish gender, the best tips for studying gender rules, resources to…

Plural nouns—as opposed to singular nouns—are relatively easy to form in Spanish. More often than not it’s as straightforward as adding “s” or “es” to the end of a word (just like in English!).

However, there are situations where the spelling of a word may change or the word is kept the same and only the article changes, and you’ve got to take into account the gender of the word. 

The Spanish plural isn’t as tricky as it looks. In fact, some Spanish pluralization rules are pretty similar to English ones! There are only eight rules you need to…

The subject of a sentence (the word for whatever is performing an action, usually a noun) is typically placed first in a sentence, followed by a verb and then an object (if the verb actually has an object).

This structure often changes, though: the noun can be placed differently in order to emphasize different parts of the sentence, and you’ll often find that adjectives come before a lot of nouns. 

Prefixes and suffixes are additions to the beginning and end of a word (respectively) which modify its meaning.

For example, adding the suffix -ito / -ita  to the end of a word conveys smallness or endearment. If you take the word  gato (cat) and add -ito  it becomes gatito, which means “little kitten/cat.”

Knowing prefixes and suffixes will help you understand the meaning of a word even if it’s unfamiliar to you!

Master 20 common prefixes to unlock word meanings. Learn prefixes like mal-, ben- and sobre- and you’ll start noticing them everywhere. Knowing these will let you see at a…

Read this blog post to learn 30 essential Spanish suffixes that native speakers use all the time. Learn to recognize common suffixes like -ario/a, -ada, -mente and many…

Pronouns are words which are used in the place of a noun (e.g. using “he,” “she” or “they” in place of using someone’s actual name). 

Spanish however has a few more pronouns than we’re used to in English. There are five ways of saying “you” , and to use them we must consider things like the formality of the situation and even what area of the world you’re in .

Spanish pronouns are incredibly important to using the language correctly. But with so many different kinds, how do you know how to use them? Lucky for you, this guide…

Personal pronouns are short words which replace the names of people, things or places in order to make a sentence shorter and more concise—for example, instead of repeating a person’s name over and over in a conversation, we could substitute it with the word “they.” 

They are split into “subject pronouns” and “object pronouns,” depending on the role the word takes in a sentence.  

The subject pronouns replace the name of the subject in a sentence: whoever is performing the action. Spanish has 12 subject pronouns, which are:

• Tú  — you (singular, informal)
• Usted — you (singular, formal)
• Ustedes — you (plural, formal or informal depending on the country)
• Ellos /  ellas — they
• Vosotros / vosotras — you (plural, informal used in Spain)
• Nosotros / nosotras — we

Spanish subject pronouns are a foundational concept you need to understand in order to learn the language. Check out this guide so you can learn the Spanish personal…

Next we have object pronouns, which replace the “object” of the sentence: the person or thing that receives the action of a verb. We split these into “direct object” and “indirect object.”

Direct object pronouns in Spanish are little words that replace nouns so you don’t sound repetitive and unnatural. Click here to learn all 8 of the direct object pronouns…

Direct object pronouns

Direct object pronouns receive the action of the verb directly. For example, in the phrase  su papá la quiere (her dad loves her), the direct object is “her,” because she is receiving the action of the verb “love”.

Spanish direct object pronouns are:

• Lo , la — him, her, it, you (formal)
• Los , las — them, you all (formal in Spain)
• Os  — you all (informal in Spain)

Indirect object pronouns

Indirect object pronouns are indirectly affected by the action of the verb.

For example, consider the phrase le escribo una carta.  (I write him a letter). In this case,  le  (him or her) is the indirect object, as the verb is not directly affecting them.

They’re almost the same as direct object pronouns — just with  lo and la becoming  le, and  los  and  las  becoming  les:

• Le  — him, her, it, you (formal)
• Les — them, you all (formal in Spain)

Like the rest of the pronouns we’ve seen, possessive pronouns are also words which replace nouns — but also indicate ownership.

They’re often confused with possessive adjectives, which are different because possessive adjectives merely describe nouns and do not actually replace them.  

Here are the possessive pronouns in Spanish:

• Mío , mía , míos , mías — mine
• Tuyo , tuya , tuyos , tuyas — yours (informal singular)
• Suyo , suya , suyos , suyas — his, hers, theirs, yours (formal singular and plural)
• Vuestro , vuestra , vuestros , vuestras — yours (informal plural in Spain)
• Nuestro , nuestra , nuestros , nuestras — ours

Master Spanish possessive pronouns with this simple guide to usage rules, example sentences and more. Plus, learn where to find helpful resources, like exercises and…

Demonstrative pronouns are used to point out specific people or things . They change depending on the distance of the speaker, and of course the gender of whatever is being referred to.

Sometimes, though, you’ll find yourself in situations where you don’t actually know the gender of the object you’re referring to: in these cases, you’ll want to use neuter demonstrative pronouns.

• Este  (m),  esta (f),  esto (n) — this
• Estos  (m),  estas (f) — these
• Ese  (m),  esa (f),  eso (n) — that
• Esos  (m),  esas (f) — those
• Aquel (m),  aquella (f),  aquello (n) — that (over there)
• Aquellos (m),  aquellas (f) — those (over there)

Spanish demonstratives are essential to know—they’re needed to sound less repetitive and more like a native, and you’ll hear them 24/7. Click here to learn to say…

When the object of a verb refers to the same noun as the subject of that verb, we use reflexive pronouns. 

Here are the reflexive pronouns alongside their English translations:

• Me  —  myself
• Te   — yourself
• Se   — himself, herself, themselves 
• Se — yourself (formal), yourselves (formal in Spain)
• Os   — yourselves (informal in Spain)
• Nos   — ourselves

Relative pronouns are words or phrases which refer back to a noun that was used earlier in communication. In English, they’re often words like “who,” “whose,” “that” and “which.” 

For example, in the phrase “the food that I bought,” the relative pronoun is “that.”

The following words and phrases are used as relative pronouns in Spanish:

• Quien , quienes 
• El que , la que , los que , las que
• El cual , la cual , los cuales , las cuales
• Lo que , lo cual
• Cuando ,  donde

Spanish relative pronouns are vital to make your speech sound more natural and fluid. But how do these pronouns (like “que,” “quien” and “lo cual”) actually function? Read…

Indefinite pronouns are words which don’t actually refer to anything in particular—that is, they aren’t specific to any person, amount, or thing. In English we would use words like “anything,” “everybody,” “none,” “several” and “some.”

Here are a few of common indefinite pronouns you’ll come across in Spanish:

• Alguien — s omebody, someone
• Alguno / alguna / algunos / algunas — one, some, any
• Cualquiera — any, any one, anyone
• Nada  — nothing, not anything
• Nadie   — no one, not anyone
• Ninguno / ninguna — none, no one
• Otro / otra — other one, another one
• Poco / poca — little, few

Indefinite pronouns are extremely handy words. So learn to talk about anything (literally) with 13 indefinite pronouns in Spanish. From something to nothing, these words…

Finally, we have interrogative pronouns: these are pronouns which are used to ask questions (hence the name “interrogative”). 

Here are some of the most common interrogative pronouns in Spanish:

• D ónde  — where
• Q ué — what
• Por qué  — why
• Cómo  — how
• Cuándo  — when
• Quién — who

Spanish interrogative words are crucial to any level of conversation. Here’s everything you need to know about how to ask questions in Spanish, including the essential…

An article is a word which identifies a part of a speech as a noun, without actually describing it.

It sounds complicated but it all makes sense when you see what the English equivalent would be: in this case, articles in English are “the,” “a” and “an.” For example:

“ The baby started to cry, so I gave him a bottle”

Articles can also be classified as “definite” and “indefinite” articles, which are explained below. 

Definite and indefinite articles in Spanish are words like “the,” “a” and “an.” And they’re incredibly useful little words! Read on to learn everything you need to know…

The definite article is used when the noun being referred to is already known to the speaker or reader. It refers to a specific, defined object.

In Spanish it has four forms, depending on the gender and number of the noun in question:

• El , la , los ,  las — the

In contrast, definite articles are used when the noun being referred to is general, or is not known to the speaker or reader. 

Like definite articles, indefinite articles in Spanish also reflect the gender and number of the noun. These are:

• Un , una — a, an
• Unos ,  unas — some

Verbs are words used to describe an action, state, or occurrence.

Using verbs in Spanish is a bit more complex than in English—the following section has a run down of the most important things you should know. 

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/spanish/spanish-verbs-flashcards/

An infinitive is the form of a verb which states nothing but an action—that is, they tell us nothing about who is actually performing the action, and when it’s being (or was) performed.

The English equivalent would be when we use verbs with “to” in front, such as: “to go,” “to sleep” or “to think.”

While in English our infinitive verbs begin with the word “to” in Spanish we identify them by their endings: -ar, -er and -ir . 

Spanish infinitives are an important part of the language. Read this guide to discover five common uses for Spanish verbs in their infinitive forms. You’ll also learn how…

Spanish verbs are split into three groups based on whether they end in -ar , -er , or -ir .

Each group is conjugated differently, so it’s important to know where the verb belongs so that you can conjugate them accordingly.

Verb conjugation is what we call it when a verb is changed to reflect a person, tense, number and mood.

In Spanish, we start with the infinitive verb and modify its ending according to who we’re talking about and how.

Let’s say that I want to say “I speak.” Here are the basic steps:

• Identify the verb you want to conjugate. In this case it would be  hablar  (“to speak”)
• Decide who is performing the action (aka the subject). In this case, I am the subject
• Find the appropriate ending. Use a verb conjugation table to find the ending that corresponds with “I” in the present tense. This will be -o
• Conjugate the verb. Remove  -ar  from  hablar  and add -o.  This gives us  hablo (“I speak.”).

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/spanish/how-to-conjugate-spanish-verbs/

Vosotros is the informal way to say “you all” in Spain, and it’s important to learn if you want to travel there or speak Castilian Spanish! This guide covers what vosotros…

While most verbs in Spanish are regular and so follow the usual conjugation pattern, a large portion of them—42%, to be exact—are actually irregular verbs .

This means that they (unhelpfully) don’t always follow standard conjugation patterns, so you’ll have to learn their conjugations individually!

Irregular verbs in Spanish are extremely common, so they’re essential to know. Click here to learn 20 of the most useful irregular Spanish verbs, such as “ser,” “estar,”…

To learn Spanish you need to work smarter, not harder.

So instead of learning everything you possibly can when you first start out, stick to what will get you the most results—you need to learn the essential , most common verbs before you get into the more complex ones. 

These 150+ most common Spanish verbs are must-knows for Spanish learners because they appear so often! Click here for a lesson on the most important verbs in the Spanish…

Hard Spanish verbs got you down? Many of the most common Spanish verbs have some tricky conjugations in certain tenses. Here are 33 difficult Spanish verbs, along with…

Learning when to use tener vs haber can be a tricky part of learning Spanish. If they both mean “to have,” how do you know which one to use? Read this to learn when to use…

The word hay in Spanish is used by native speakers everywhere, from news reports to daily conversations. But many learners struggle to understand what hay means and…

Whether to use ser or estar (which both mean “to be”) is probably one of the most Googled questions by us Spanish learners. 

In general, I like to remember that ser  is for more permanent states, whereas  estar  is used for more transient states. 

Of course, it would be no fun if the rules were that simple, so check out our post for a full run down!

Ser vs. estar: which one should you use? Both verbs mean “to be” but how do you know which one is used in which situation? This guide will show you the differences between…

The verb “haber” pops up in Spanish conversations, literature and entertainment all the time, but it can be tricky to get the hang of as a learner. Click here to learn…

While verbs like  gustar (to like) appear complicated at first, the good news is that if you take a bit of time to understand them they really do make sense. 

With these verbs the object of the sentence becomes the subject, and the subject becomes the indirect object.

For example, to say “I like you” in Spanish is me gustas— directly translated this would be something like “to me, you are pleasing.”

With the verb gustar “you” becomes subject (where it would normally be the object), and is therefore conjugated from gustar into gustas. “I” then becomes the indirect object (instead of the subject), which necessitates the indirect object pronoun me.

Don’t let Spanish verbs like “gustar” catch you off guard! Find out how to use and conjugate the tricky “gustar” (to like, to be pleasing). Then, get to know 100+ other…

Stem-changing verbs are verbs which do not only change their endings while being conjugated, their “stem”, or the beginning of the verb, also changes. 

There are three main types of stem changing verbs:

• E to ie stem-changing verbs
• E to i stem-changing verbs
• O to ue stem-changing verbs

Spanish stem-changing verbs don’t follow normal conjugation rules and are a vital step in your learning journey. Read this blog post to learn how to identify, conjugate…

Tener and venir are two of the most common Spanish irregular verbs. You’ll hear them all the time, so it’s important to learn how to conjugate them! In this post, you’ll…

This is a type of verb which requires a reflexive pronoun (the me, te, se etc. pronouns that I mentioned earlier in the post). They’re easy to identify as they end in -se instead of the regular  -ar, -er  or  -ir infinitive ending. 

There are several types of pronominal verbs, but purely pronominal verbs cannot exist without a reflexive pronoun. 

Pronominal verbs Spanish language learners study can pose a major challenge due to their purely reflexive and chameleon-like properties. Luckily, they can easily be boiled…

Reflexive verbs are a type of pronominal verb. They too end in -se , and refer to an action that a subject performs on itself—in contrast to a regular verb, where the subject performs the action on someone or something else. 

For example:

• Lavar  —  to wash
• Lavarse  —  to wash yourself

Knowing how to use reflexive verbs in Spanish is essential! In this post, you’ll find a step-by-step guide to using Spanish reflexive verbs, covering everything from…

Next on the list of grammar terms you never knew existed we have phrasal verbs! These are verbs which actually change their meaning when you add an adverb or preposition to them. 

They’re on the advanced side, but learning them will help you to express yourself better—and also make your Spanish sound pretty flash. 

Spanish phrasal verbs are super common—you’ll hear them all the time in Spanish conversation. Check out these 32 commonly used phrasal verbs and learn how to use them…

The Spanish verb “acabar” is a useful little word to know! Learn how to conjugate “acabar” as well as its four main uses in the Spanish language. Find out when the word…

These verbs indicate meanings such as likelihood, ability, suggestion, or advice. 

In English, these verbs include words like “can,” “would,” “should” or “might.” Here are a few common ones in Spanish:

• Poder  — can, to be able to
• Saber  — to know how to
• Querer  — to want
• Deber  — must, should

What are Spanish modal verbs? How do you use them? Become a modal master with this playful, slightly messy guide.

Saber and conocer are two words that mean “to know” in Spanish. But how do you know which one to use: Saber vs conocer? These verbs have different meanings and it’s…

The active voice is what we use to communicate the vast majority of the time. It’s a form of a verb in which the subject is performing the action, while the passive voice is where the subject undergoes the action of the verb.

By contrasting these examples, you should get a better idea of what they are:

• Active: You broke the glass
• Passive: The glass was broken by you

In Spanish, the passive voice is formed with the formula subject + ser + past participle.

The Spanish passive voice highlights who receives a verb’s action instead of who is doing it. Click here to learn how to use the passive voice in Spanish, how to form it,…

You’re probably aware what a tense is, but just for those of us who appreciate more formal explanations: tense indicates the time of an action in relation to the time of utterance.

There are 14 tenses to explore in Spanish, each with different conjugations depending on the subject — so buckle up!

Spanish tenses are something you have to know to become fluent in Spanish. Many are used every day (like the simple present, preterite and imperfect tenses), while others…

The present tense in Spanish is the most basic tense, and what you’ll start off learning. It’s used to express actions which:

• Are happening now
• Are habitually performed
• Generally exist

Learn the present tense in Spanish with this in-depth guide for beginners. From regular -ar, -er and -ir Spanish present tense verb conjugations to irregular stem-changing…

The present participle comes after another verb and expresses a continuous action. Think of them as the “-ing” words in English. 

To form the present participle in Spanish, remove the  -ar, -er   and  -ir from the infinitive verb and simply add -ando (for an -ar verb) and -iendo (for -er and -ir verbs). 

The gerund in Spanish is a great construction for talking about things that are currently happening. In this post, you’ll learn all about what a gerund is, how to form it…

At first glance, the past tense seems just as straightforward as the present tense — except that it’s actually not. 

There are several types of past tenses in Spanish, and we’ll explain the main ones below. 

Knowing how to use the Spanish past tense is a vital skill to have. Read this if you’re ready to master it! This guide breaks down each of the five Spanish past tenses:…

This verb tense expresses an action which took place at a specific point in the past. Specifically actions or events which:

• Are completed
• Occurred on specific times/dates or during a specific time period
• Have specific beginnings or endings
• Took place in a sequence

In contrast, the past imperfect expresses an action in the past which was ongoing or didn’t have a defined beginning/end. Here are some of its uses in Spanish:

• Repeated or habitual actions in the past 
• Something that was in progress in the past
• Descriptions of people/things in the past
• People’s ages in the past
• Times and dates in the past 

The imperfect tense in Spanish is used to talk about past habitual actions, describe the past, give times and dates and more! This post will take you through how to form…

The past participle is a form of a verb used as a noun, an adjective, or to make “perfect tenses.”

For example, consider the sentence:  I have eaten.  “Eaten” is the past participle of “to eat.”

To form the past participle in Spanish, we just remove the infinitive ending ( -ar, -er  and  -ir ) and add -ado (for -ar verbs) or -ido  (for  -er  and  -ir verbs).

The past participle in Spanish isn’t just for the perfect tense. It can be used in many forms to express yourself in various ways. As a noun, adjective, adverb…even to…

To talk about the future in Spanish, we have a few options—which thankfully have some pretty close equivalents in English. Note that the first two options are most commonly used.

• Simple future.   Hablaré con ella. (I’ll talk to her). This tense is formed by conjugating a verb with a specific ending.
• Ir + a + infinitive .  Voy a hablar con ella. (I’m going to talk to her). This is formed by using the present simple conjugation of the verb  ir  (in this case  voy ) plus a (meaning “to”) plus  hablar  (the infinitive form of the verb “to talk)
• Future perfect.  Habré hablado con ella.  (I will have talked to her). To form this, we conjugate haber in the simple future tense ( h abré ) and add the past participle of the main verb ( hablado)

Knowing the future tense in Spanish opens up a million new conversational possibilities, like discussing future plans, reported speech and making “if” statements. This…

The conditional tense is incredibly useful for conversation and for forming advanced phrases, and once I discovered it it opened up a whole new world of expressing myself. 

In layman’s terms, the conditional indicates degrees of possibility in the present, future and past—like when we’re talking about something that might happen in the future, something that didn’t happen in the past or something that will probably never happen.

The Spanish conditional indicates possibilities and hypotheticals by changing the endings of verbs to -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais or -ían. This post will take you…

This tense is used to talk about actions or events that have occurred in the recent past, started in the past and continues to the present day, or when something has happened a certain number of times. For example: 

“They have been waiting for you”

In Spanish it’s formed by using the verb haber (to have) and the past participle.

Present perfect is formed by conjugating  haber  (to have) in the present tense, and pairing it with the past participle. 

He querido  verte. (I have wanted to see you)

The present perfect in Spanish is used to talk about things that happened in the past—but still affect the present. Click here to learn everything you need to know about…

Future perfect is formed by conjugating haber  (to have) in the—you guessed it—future tense, and pairing it with the past participle. 

¿ Habrás terminado mañana? (Will you have finished tomorrow?)

The Spanish future perfect tense is used to talk about things that will have happened in the future. Click here for the complete rundown—you’ll learn how to form it with…

The pluperfect tense has several uses, the main one being to indicate that an action took place before another action in the past. 

We form it by conjugating haber  (to have) in the past imperfect tense, and again, pairing it with the past participle. 

Habías dicho que sí. (You had said yes)

The pluscuamperfecto or pluperfect Spanish tense might seem scary, but it’s really not! Study this Spanish tense and learn its conjugations to talk about actions that…

Progressive is a type of tense that expresses an incomplete action at a specific time. 

In order to form the progressive tense in Spanish, we use the formula estar (to be) + present participle (finally, we’re moving away from the past participle!). 

Estoy saliendo. (I’m leaving)

We use the progressive tense in Spanish to describe what’s happening, what was happening or what will be happening. In this post, you’ll learn when to use the Spanish…

The present progressive tense is pretty self explanatory: it’s a progressive tense, used in the present.

Following the same formula as above, we conjugate  estar  in the present tense and add the present participle. 

Estamos intentando . (We’re trying)

The present progressive in Spanish is used to describe what you’re doing right now. Follow the three steps in this guide to master the present progressive (which is…

Again, past progressive is a progressive tense which is used in the past. 

Following the same formula estar + present participle, we conjugate estar  in the past imperfect tense and add the present participle. 

Estábamos intentando . (We were trying)

The past progressive in Spanish can help make your sentences sound a whole lot more interesting. So what is the Spanish past progressive, how do you form it, when do you…

Mood in Spanish grammar isn’t what it first appears—it doesn’t have to do with your state of mind. 

In the context of grammar, it’s a category of verb form which expresses whether something is:

• A fact (indicative mood)
• A condition (subjunctive mood) 
• A command (imperative mood)

Verb conjugations change depending on which mood you’re speaking in, so it’s important to understand when and how to use each one.

The indicative mood is the mood we use most often to communicate. Simply put, it’s used to express anything that we consider to be fact.

Being able to differentiate and choose between the subjunctive vs. indicative Spanish moods is essential to becoming fluent. Read this guide to know everything you need…

The subjunctive mood can be trickier to understand and use. This is due in part to the fact that the subjunctive in English is pretty vague, so we aren’t very familiar with it. 

Where the indicative mood is objective, the subjunctive is  subjective —it’s used to express something that is wished, imagined or possible.

Struggling with the Spanish subjunctive? Click here to learn exactly how to conjugate the subjunctive, the difference between the subjunctive and other moods, plus when to…

Spanish subjunctive practice might be just what you need to master this tricky mood. Click here to practice the Spanish subjunctive with quizzes containing 25+ questions.…

The Spanish imperfect subjunctive helps you express opinions, hopes, denials, doubts and hypothetical situations—something you’ll hear and use a lot in Spanish. Click…

The imperative mood is used to form commands or requests. 

While ordering someone around may sound impolite, you’d be surprised how often this mood comes up in our day to day lives: e.g. “come here” or “take the next right turn.” 

Spanish commands are super useful in everyday speech—and they’re not too difficult to learn! Click here for the complete rundown of how to make commands in Spanish,…

Vosotros commands are used in Spain to ask “you all” to do (or not to do) something. From asking people to come to your party to telling others not to make too much noise,…

In contrast to affirmative commands (where you tell someone/something to do something), negative commands are where you tell someone/something  not to do something. 

In addition to the  no (no) that you’ll add to the start of the verb, the verb itself is also conjugated differently—so it pays to learn the conjugations for both affirmative and negative commands. 

This complete guide covers everything you’ll need to know about forming negative commands in Spanish. See how and when to use negative Spanish commands, learn the…

You may remember from your elementary school days that adjectives are “ describing words .” While this is true, more formally they’re defined as “a word which names an attribute of a noun.” 

Like many things in Spanish, adjectives usually have to reflect the number and gender of the noun (or pronoun) it’s describing. Let’s have a deeper look at them.

Spanish adjectives are essential for every Spanish learner. Describe almost anything with ease using these 50 common adjectives in Spanish. Read on to learn how to…

Trying to describe someone? Use these 100 common Spanish adjectives to describe a person. Find the perfect word to describe a person’s personality, emotions and physical…

In need of some advanced Spanish adjectives? Check out this list of 32 Spanish adjectives that are guaranteed to add some lovely color to your spoken language. Each word…

Learning opposites in Spanish will help you remember new vocabulary faster and more effectively. From Spanish antonyms such as viejo and joven to rápido and lento, this…

• -o —  masculine singular
• -os — masculine plural
• -a — feminine singular
• -as — feminine plural
• -e —  masculine/feminine singular
• -es —  masculine/feminine plural
• -ista —  masculine/feminine singular
• – istas —  masculine/feminine plural
• Adjectives that end in a consonant also do not change for gender, only for number. To change these adjectives from singular to plural we usually just add  -es  to the end, however there are several exceptions to this rule

You may already be aware that adjectives are placed differently in Spanish than in English: the majority of the time, the adjective is placed after the noun it modifies. 

But there are a couple of exceptions, so be aware of these cases where the adjective actually goes in front:

• Proper nouns
• Nouns/relations that we only have one of
• Inherent qualities that are always associated with that noun
• When you already know the noun that the adjective is referencing

Spanish adjective placement is the opposite of English…except on a few occasions. Click here to learn everything you need to know about adjective placement in Spanish,…

You know we’re getting deep when we start talking about clauses. 

A clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb. In the case of an adjective clause, it’s essentially a group of words—including a subject and a verb—which functions much the same as a regular adjective. 

Spanish adjective clauses work the same as regular adjectives, but use more words to get the point across. Click here to learn everything you need to know about Spanish…

Possessive adjectives are adjectives which indicate a relationship of possession—whether it be strict ownership or other types of ownership to a lesser degree. 

They’re words like “my,” “mine,” “ours” and “theirs.”

Want to brush up on your Spanish possessive adjectives? These useful little words are used all the time in Spanish, and this complete guide will help you master them! It…

These two sorts of adjectives help describe relationships between two (or more) objects.

Comparative adjectives compare the quality of two things (“she is taller than him”), while a superlative expresses the highest degree of the quality (“she is the  tallest “).

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/spanish/spanish-comparative-and-superlative/

Demonstrative adjectives identify the relative position of someone or something in time or space. 

Demonstrative adjectives in Spanish express three types of distance:

• Este — this
• Aquel — that (over there)

And because they’re adjectives—don’t forget that they’ll change to reflect number and gender!

By now we know what an adjective is, and what a noun is. But what about using an adjective as a noun?

There are a couple of ways that adjectives can be altered to function as a noun:

1. Adding an article

2. Modifying an adjective with a demonstrative adjective

3. Using the article  lo

4. Using the personal  a

Did you know you can use adjectives as nouns in Spanish with five easy techniques? Just by adding a single extra word, such as a definite article or demonstrative…

These are adjectives which show relation in a sentence—hence the nomenclature. They introduce new information about something or someone that has been previously mentioned in the form of a relative clause. 

For example, in English we use the word “whose.” In Spanish, we would use cuyo, cuya, cuyos and cuyas (depending on the gender and number of whatever you’re referring to).

The relative adjective “cuyo” in Spanish is a useful word for learners to know. In this post, you’ll learn all about the word “cuyo,” including its forms and uses, shown…

Adverbs are a word or phrase which modifies other words in a sentence (usually an adjective, verb or another adverb) to further describe details such as place, time, manner or degree. 

Because they don’t modify nouns, adverbs don’t change according to gender or number like other classes of words do—that’s one less thing to worry about, at least!

Spanish adverbs are used everywhere the language, but luckily they’re not hard to learn. We’ll show you 100 examples of common Spanish adverbs and how they’re used in…

Adverbs can be placed into several categories depending on the sort of information they provide. Let’s have a look at the main ones and some examples:

• Adverbs of place give information about a place or location that something is happening, answering the question “where?”. For example aquí (here) and cerca  (close)
• Adverbs of frequency  describe how often an action is performed. For example a veces ( sometimes) and siempre (always)
• Adverbs of manner  express the way in which an action is performed by answering “how?” or “in what way?”. For example juntos  (together) and bien  (well)
• Adverbs of degree modify adjectives, and answer the question “how much/many?”. For example mucho  (much), peor  (worse)
• Adverbs of time  as the name suggests, these adverbs describe the time and duration of something. They answer questions like “when?” and “how long?”. For example ya  (already) and pronto  (soon)

Spanish adverbs of frequency are incredibly useful words that allow you to say how often something happens. Check out these 30 common Spanish frequency words plus some…

Adverbs in Spanish are usually placed either right before or right after the word they are modifying, and the type of word determines this placement. As a general rule, we can assume that they are usually:

• Placed a fter verbs
• Placed before adjectives
• Flexible if modifying the meaning of a sentence

Many adverbs in Spanish end in  -mente , which is like the equivalent of words ending in “-ly” in English (like “slowly,” “quickly,” or “regularly”).

We can form an adverb by using almost any singular feminine adjective and adding  -mente. 

Rápida (quick, fem. sing.) + – mente = rápidamente  (quickly)

Prepositions play a huge role in the meaning of sentences, but are often overlooked by those studying Spanish. 

Prepositions are words—or a group of words—used before nouns, pronouns or noun phrases to link them to other words in a sentence.

They communicate things like direction, time, location, spatial relationship, or introduce an object. 

Spanish prepositions are an essential part of the language! Read up on the 40 most common prepositions in Spanish, together with their usage and example sentences. This…

“Volver a” seems like a simple Spanish phrase but there’s more to it than meets the eye! Master the phrase with this complete guide to using the verb. You’ll learn its…

These prepositions describe the position of something (or someone) in relation to something else. There are a few to learn, but here are some of the most common ones to get you started:

• A  —  to, by, at
• Cerca de   — near to
• Debajo de   — under
• Encima de  — on top of
• En frente de  — in front of

Prepositions of place in Spanish can take your learning above and beyond! All puns aside, these prepositions are crucial for language learners. In this post, you’ll find…

Even after many years of learning Spanish, the “personal a” still trips me up a bit—probably because there is no equivalent in English.

It’s a preposition that is placed between the verb and the direct object of a sentence when the direct object is a person or a pet.  It doesn’t translate to anything, but we need to use it nonetheless!

Llamo a mi novio — I call my boyfriend

The personal a in Spanish can be a tricky grammar point for many learners since there’s no English equivalent. Click here to learn everything you need to know about the…

Like  ser  and  estar , whether you should use por  or  para  is another great conundrum of the Spanish learner.

They both loosely translate to “for”—however they’re pretty versatile in their meanings—so it can be pretty challenging figuring out when to use one over the other .

Here are some basic points to remember:

Por is used to mean “by” someone , while para is “for” someone

• Por is used for reason, while para is for purpose

Por is for traveling around or through somewhere, para is for the destination

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/spanish/por-and-para/

There are a whole lot of Spanish verbs which either must be used with a preposition, or change their meanings when paired with a preposition.

Unfortunately there isn’t a specific rule to help you learn them—you’ll have to pick them up as you use them!

Here are a couple of common examples:

• Soñar con  — to dream about
• Cuidar a  — to take care of
• Preocuparse por — to be worried about

Learning Spanish verbs with prepositions can help you learn about Spanish sentence structure and memorize key phrases. Here, you’ll find 30 of the most common Spanish…

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/spanish/spanish-verbs-prepositions/

Conjunctions are words used to connect other words and sentences, and they’ll help you bridge from beginner to intermediate and advanced by allowing you to make more complex sentences. 

Let’s take a look at some of the most common Spanish conjunctions:

• Pero — but, yet
• Aunque — though, even though, but
• Para que — so that, so, in order to/for
• Porque — because
• Así que — so

They seem basic, but don’t underestimate them—you’d be surprised what knowing them will do for your Spanish!

Spanish conjunctions help you clearly express your thoughts and ideas with more complex sentences that flow naturally. Check out these 45 essential conjunctions and learn…

A contraction is a shortened version of a word or phrase, created by the omission of letters and sounds. 

In English you’ll see contractions with an apostrophe: “I’m” (from I am), “couldn’t” (from could not), “you’ll” (from you will). 

I’m happy to tell you that in Spanish, there are only two contractions to remember:

1.  A + el = al

2.  De + el = del

Don’t worry: This guide to Spanish contractions won’t let you down! Find out when to form contractions… and when not to. Learn all about “al” and “del” and how to use…

So you’ve learned a bunch of Spanish words, now you need to string them together to make a coherent sentence—luckily, it’s not super complicated! 

Let’s have a look at some of the main components of sentences in Spanish.

Not sure how to form sentences in Spanish? Spanish sentences follow a different structure from English ones, after all. Luckily, as long as you remember a few general…

The sentence structure in Spanish usually follows the same formula we use for English:

Subject + verb + object

It would be great if we could just say it’s the same as in English and leave it there, but there a couple of other important points regarding sentence structure:

• It’s not always necessary to add a subject (like we must do in English)
• Pronouns are placed directly before the verb, not after it
• The verb can sometimes be placed in front of the subject

Spanish sentence structure is one of those essential language concepts you need to understand to communicate clearly. Check out our guide to learn proper word order and…

Negation is where we insert a word or phrase to express the opposite meaning of a word or sentence.

In Spanish, it’s usually as straightforward as adding no before the verb in a sentence.

No quiero irme. (I don’t want to go).

It gets a little trickier when it comes to the “double negative,” which is considered incorrect (or non-standard) in English but is used often in correct Spanish.

We do this by using “negative words”—such as nada (nothing) or nunca  (never)—either on their own or in conjunction with  no. 

1. Negative word used alone before the verb Nunca  veo películas.  (I never watch movies).

2.  No  before the verb and negative word after the verb No  veo películas  nunca.  (I never watch movies).

Spanish negation is an important topic to understand, as you’ll undoubtedly find yourself needing to say no. Click here for the complete guide to negation, including the…

Transition words are easy to confuse with conjunctions. The difference is that transition words indicate the relationship between sentences or paragraphs, and removing them won’t actually affect grammatical correctness. 

There are a ton of different types for various situations—such as for explanations, results, emphasis and summaries—and knowing them will really help your Spanish flow. 

Trust me, take some time to learn them and you’ll thank me later!

Spanish transition words are a must-know to make your language flow and sound fluent! Click here to learn what the transition words in Spanish are, the different…

We use a specific type of language to compare and contrast things, whether you realize it or not. Here are some formulas for making simple comparisons in Spanish:

• To compare two things: más/menos + adjective + que
• To compare nouns: más/menos  + noun +  que
• To compare numbers: más/menos + de + number
• To describe a difference in how something is done: más/menos + adverb + que 

Check out the post below to find out how to use superlatives and make comparisons of equality!

Knowing how to make comparisons in Spanish is an unavoidable skill you’ll need when talking with native speakers. Click here to learn the nine Spanish comparison phrases,…

Confused by tan vs. tanto in Spanish? You’re not alone! In this post you’ll learn all the main uses of tan and tanto with simple formulas and plenty of examples in various…

You might actually live your whole life as a Spanish learner and never come across this term, but since we’re here we may as well get the run-down. 

Reported speech is a type of speech that tells you what someone said, but doesn’t actually use the person’s words. 

Mi hermana dice que está cansada. (My sister says she is tired).

To use this type of speech you’ll need to learn “reporting” or “communication” verbs, such as decir (to say, to tell), querer saber (to want to know) and pedir (to ask)

The reported speech Spanish speakers use is similar to its English counterpart—with a few key differences. Read this post for a thorough breakdown of how Spanish…

Learning to ask questions in Spanish is super important—in fact, you could argue that it’s one of the most important things to learn! 

Fortunately it’s relatively simple, especially because in Spanish we don’t need to use auxiliary verbs (like “do” or “does”). Often a question mark and a rising intonation will do just fine, but we can also utilize “question words” to better elicit information.

While they aren’t always essential, we do often need “question words” to form questions. 

We actually covered many of these words earlier under “Interrogative Pronouns,” but these words are so important that it won’t hurt to give this list another read! 

• ¿Quién?  — who?
• ¿ Qué?   ¿Cuál? — what ?
• ¿Cuándo?  — when?
• ¿Dónde?   — where?
• ¿Para qué?  — what for?
• ¿Por qué?  — why?
• ¿Cómo? — how?
• ¿ Cuánto / cuanta / cuantos / cuantas? — how many/how much?

If you used to think it was enough to know the difference between por qué and porque,  you’re not alone (and, unfortunately, you’re also incorrect).  

Spanish is already bursting with por s and  que s, but we’re going to add some variations to the list in the form of por qué, por que, porqué and porque. 

Don’t get too worried, though—here are their basic meanings in a nutshell:

• Por qué —  why
• Por que —  for which, so that (least commonly used)
• Porqué —  reason (noun)
• Porque —  because

Did you know that there are 4 different variations of “por que” in Spanish? The differences are in spaces and accent marks that create different meanings. Read this guide…

No doubt you’ve seen the curious upside down question mark that’s unique to the Spanish language. 

There’s no secret to it—this inverted question mark is used along with a regular question mark to indicate a question, just like in English. If a sentence is long, just use the question marks immediately before the question:

No he probado jamón serrano, ¿ cómo es ?  (I haven’t tried  jamón,  what’s it like?)

It’s used mostly in formal settings these days, so you definitely don’t worry about it if you’re chatting with your Spanish-speaking friends on WhatsApp!

You’ve likely seen an upside down question mark or an upside down exclamation point. But why does Spanish have inverted punctuation? And how should you use it? Learn why…

Exclamations and interjections are both used to express strong feelings and emotions.

An exclamation is usually a phrase or clause used with exclamation marks, whereas interjections are usually single words and are used with commas and question marks in addition to exclamation marks.

Interjections can also be sounds, and are grammatically unrelated to the sentence. 

These not only let you express emotion in just a word or two, they show that you understand what’s going on and they’ll make you sound really fluent!

Check out the posts below to learn some really useful ones. 

Check out 47 Spanish exclamations and other Spanish interjections to add some drama to your interactions with natives! Each entry comes with audio pronunciation and at…

It might feel like you’re going back to elementary school by learning numbers from scratch again, but it’s well worth your while! You’ll need to learn numbers in Spanish for everything from telling the time to making transactions. 

Let’s have a look at numbers one to ten:

• Tres — three
• Cuatro — four
• Cinco — five
• Siete — seven
• Ocho — eight
• Nueve — nine

And then some ordinal numbers:

• Primero / primera — first
• Segundo / segunda — second
• Tercero / tercera — third
• Cuarto / cuarta — fourth
• Quinto / quinta — fifth
• Sexto / sexta — sixth
• Séptimo / septima — seventh
• Octavo / octava — eighth
• Noveno / novena — ninth
• Décimo / decima — tenth

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/spanish/spanish-numbers/

Time expressions with “hacer” are used all the time to talk about when something happened or for how long something has/had been happening. Check out these common Spanish…

Writing mechanics are just rules of a written language—things like punctuation, capitalization, spelling and abbreviations. 

You may have already picked up on a couple (such as the quirky “upside down” question mark), but we’re going to go over a few differences between Spanish and English that are important to know. 

For the most part punctuation is pretty straightforward in Spanish. If you’re unsure about something can usually assume that it’s the same as in English, but here are the main things to look out for:

• Question marks.  As mentioned earlier, in more formal writing you need to add an inverted question mark at the  beginning  of the question as well as the end.
• Exclamation marks.  Similarly, inverted exclamation points are also used at the beginning and end of the exclaimed word or phrase in Spanish. 

If there are more than four numerals in a number, a space is supposed to be used to separate the groups of numerals—instead of the comma which we would use in English. For example, in English we would write “1,500,00,” in Spanish the same number would be written as “1 500 000.” In saying this, you may well see numbers of this size written as “1.500.000” in many places.

The last point to remember is that in many Spanish-speaking countries it’s common to see a comma used as a decimal separator, instead of a period like in English. For example the number “20.50” in English is often written in Spanish as “20,50.” 

—¡Hola! —dijo la señora. (“Hello!” said the lady). —Hola, ¿cómo está? —contestó el niño. (“Hello, how are you?” answered the boy).  

Read our Spanish punctuation lesson to learn about how to use periods, commas, semicolons, exclamation marks, question marks and two unique options for quotation marks.…

Spanish doesn’t capitalize words as often as we do in English, so unfortunately we can’t apply the same rules!

The following types of words are not capitalized in Spanish unless it’s the first word in a sentence:

• Months and days of the week
• Book and movie titles (only the first word is capitalized)
• Places (excluding countries and cities)
• Nationalities
• The personal pronoun  yo  (I)

Spanish capitalization can be tricky to get used to because its rules differ greatly from English. To help you out, we’ve broken down all of the rules for when to…

Related posts:

Enter your e-mail address to get your free pdf.

We hate SPAM and promise to keep your email address safe

Sandro Tonali shows class on return as Newcastle beat Nottingham Forest on penalties in League Cup

Nottingham Forest 1 Newcastle United 1 (3-4 on penalties)

These are the moments Sandro Tonali must have been dreaming about during those 10 lonely months, with the added drama of a nerve-shredding penalty shootout at the end.

That long wait to pull on the black and white jersey will have felt like an eternity but here, at the City Ground, the £53 million signing sometimes looked as if he had never been away.

Tonali produced a classy, often effortless, performance in midfield and was Newcastle’s stand-out player as his team later emerged winners after spot-kicks.

Nottingham Forest missed twice from the penalty spot and it was Tonali’s replacement, Sean Longstaff, who scored from 12 yards to ensure progress for Eddie Howe.

Newcastle will face a trip to League Two club AFC Wimbledon in the third round.

In Tonali’s first appearance since October, after serving a lengthy ban for breaking gambling rules, his return was always going to be a lively experience.

With a wide range of passes, and an admirable work ethic, Tonali provided Howe with immense encouragement for the season ahead.

He was involved for the opening goal early into the contest and then almost put Newcastle further ahead from close range. 

Substituted after 62 minutes, and clearly tired, he walked off to jeers from the home supporters. It will have been music to his ears.

“I’m sure Sandro would have been emotional before the game, it was a great day for him and a positive result,” said Howe.

“He was so good fitness-wise considering the lack of games he’s had and he can be really pleased with the reaction of the crowd at the end.

“Sandro is a top quality player and has had a real lack of big football work. I think he will be a little short of his best levels but hopefully we can get him back to it as soon as possible. He’s a vital player for us.

“It’s been a difficult time for him but he’s had family and team-mates to rally round him. He’s been training without purpose but this is hopefully the start of something good for him.

“To see him back doing the thing he loves is the most important thing.”

The only negative of a satisfactory evening for Newcastle was the withdrawal of Joe Willock after a quarter of an hour with a suspected thigh injury. Howe admitted after the match that it was a concern.

“It’s a huge blow for him and us; he was the scorer of the goal and he looked good,” he said. 

“His absence meant he had to reshuffle the midfield. We hope it isn’t serious but it doesn’t look good.”

Newcastle will be now turning their attention towards the last knockings of the transfer window.

Guehi deal not dead

Their bid to sign Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi remains alive, with Newcastle still hopeful of persuading the London club to do business.

At the last count, Newcastle have made four bids with the latest up to £65 million which is understood to be short of Palace’s strict valuation. Thursday is expected to be a pivotal day in whether the deal will happen or not.

Forest are also expected to be late prowlers in the window as they look to end their pursuit of a new centre-forward.

Nuno is keen to bring in a younger, more versatile option to provide competition for Taiwo Awoniyi and Chris Wood, with the process proving a frustration so far.

Moves for Feyenoord’s Santiago Gimenez and Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah have both hit the skids. 

Eintracht Frankfurt’s Egyptian international Omar Marmousha has also been discussed but, with time running out, the chances of a deal are becoming increasingly more difficult.

‘It will be busy to the end’

Evangelos Marinakis, the Forest owner, was in attendance at the City Ground and is understood to have assumed control of negotiations on the striker hunt.

Nuno said: “It will be busy to the end, we’re going to be alert and if it is possible I still think we need a couple of options.

“Now the transfer window is crazy and there’s still two days to go, and hopefully we can do something.”

Absorbing encounter

This was a frenetic, sometimes absorbing, encounter and only 18 seconds had elapsed when Newcastle took the lead.

Alexander Isak pounced on a mistake from debutant Zach Abbott to advance on goal and though his shot was pushed aside by Carlos Miguel, Willock could not miss and rolled the ball into the unguarded net.

Tonali could have increased Newcastle’s lead two minutes later, after further hesitation from Forest’s defence, but Miguel reacted quickly with a fine save. What a moment that would have been.

Miguel, a £3.4m summer signing from Corinthians, stands at six foot eight inches in the Forest goal and made an impressive debut in English football.

Forest did have chances to make Newcastle nervous and the equaliser, five minutes into the second half, had a whiff of inevitability about it.

A long throw from Alex Moreno was not adequately cleared and Jota Silva was quick to hammer the ball home off the crossbar. 

Newcastle finished the game strongly and Miguel produced an excellent save with a minute to go, diving to his left to prevent Newcastle left-back Lewis Hall from finding the top corner.

On to penalties, and Miguel gave Forest hope with a fine save from Joelinton but the home team’s Ibraham Sangare and Awoniyi fluffed their chances.

Match details

Forest (3-4-3) Miguel 7; Boly 6, Omobamidele 6, Abbott 6 (Milenkovic 60); Da Silva Moreira 7 (Williams 68), Dominguez 6, Anderson 6 (Elanga 79), Moreno 6; Jota 7 (Sangare 61), Awoniyi 6, Sosa 6 (Hudson-Odoi 68).  Substitutes Turner (g), Wood, Toffolo, Perry.  Booked Abbott, Moreno, Jota, Dominguez, Sangare.

Newcastle (4-3-3) Pope 6; Trippier 6 (Livramento 62), Krafth 6, Burn 7, Hall 6; Tonali 8 (Longstaff 62), Willock 7 (Guimaraes 15), Joelinton 6; Almiron 5 (Gordon 61), Isak 7, Barnes 6.  Substitutes Ruddy (g), Targett, Osula, Murphy, Kelly.  Booked Guimaraes, Joelinton, Hall.

Referee Sam Allison (Wiltshire)

Newcastle beat Forest on penalties and third-round draw: As it happened

Live reporting, related stories, carabao cup third round draw in full.

Liverpool v West Ham Manchester City v Watford Arsenal v Bolton Wanderers Manchester United v Barnsley Wycombe Wanderers v Aston Villa Coventry City v Tottenham Hotspur Walsall v Leicester City Brentford v Leyton Orient Blackpool v Sheffield Wednesday Preston North End v Fulham Everton v Southampton Queens Park Rangers v Crystal Palace Stoke City v Fleetwood Town Brighton v Wolverhampton Wanderers AFC Wimbledon v Newcastle United Chelsea v Barrow

That’s all, folks! Thanks for following.  

Nuno still keen on more transfers

In their post-match interviews Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said his side struggled to show the “right intensity” in the first half before getting going in the second half and regarded the shootout as a “lottery”. He added that it is too early to know how serious Joe Willock’s injury is.

Nuno Espirito Santo said his side had practiced penalties “a lot” but that unfortunately it made no difference on the night.

When probed on transfer targets he said Forest are working hard to make more deals happen.

At first glance Liverpool v West Ham, Wycombe v Aston Villa, Coventry v Tottenham Hotspur, AFC Wimbledon v Newcastle and Chelsea v Barrow look like the plum ties of the third round.

Coventry fans will have fond memories of a famous FA Cup final win over Spurs in 1987, while AFC Wimbledon and Barrow will be delighted at the prospect of taking on Premier League opposition.

Carabao Cup third-round draw

Chelsea v Barrow

AFC Wimbledon v Newcastle United

Brighton & Hove Albion v Wolverhampton Wanderers

Stoke City v Fleetwood Town

Queens Park Rangers v Crystal Palace

Everton v Southampton

Preston North End v Fulham

Blackpool v Sheffield Wednesday

Brentford v Leyton Orient

Walsall v Leicester City

Coventry City v Tottenham Hotspur

Wycombe Wanderers v Aston Villa

Manchester United v Barnsley

Arsenal v Bolton Wanderers

Manchester City v Watford

So here is the draw for the Carabao Cup third round, which will include AFC Wimbledon and Wycombe Wanderers.

Liverpool v West Ham United

Longstaff: ‘I wasn’t nervous’

Speaking to Sky Sports, Sean Longstaff says he didn’t actually feel to nervous ahead of his winning penalty.

“When they missed the last two it made it a little bit easier knowing that I could afford to miss,” he said. “But it was a massive win for us and hopefully we can kick on now this season.”

“It’s a massive win. We’ve got no European football this year so cup competitions are going to be extra important for us. Hopefully, the draw will be kind to us and we can go deep in the cups this year.”  

Third-round draw coming up

And the drama’s not yet done. We’ve got the entertainment of the Carabao Cup third-round draw to follow shortly.

The seven English clubs involved in European competition will be involved from hereon, with ties taking place on the weeks commencing 16 and 23 September.

Those six clubs involved in the Champions League and Europa League will be kept apart to ensure they can play in the Carabao Cup tie in midweeks when they are not in European action.

So Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Tottenham and Manchester United will not be drawn against each other tonight.

Huge moment for Newcastle

And they win. Potentially a huge moment in this season. A massive result. Unbeaten in three games, into the next round of the Carabao Cup. Relief but let's not forget they were by far the better team in the second half and guess who are in the draw for the next round… Leyton… https://t.co/ofYTGcO3HM — Luke Edwards (@LukeEdwardsTele) August 28, 2024

Newcastle win 4-3 on penalties

That’s a cruel blow for Forest, who battled gamely throughout to hold out for penalties, but they lose 4-3 in the shootout after a 1-1 draw in normal time.

A night to forget for Sangare and especially Awoniyi, who will be utterly crestfallen after missing chances to score in normal time.

Forest’s search for a striker is unlikely to relent now.

Pens: Forest 3-4 Newcastle

Longstaff wins it for Newcastle, sending a cool, low penalty past Miguel to the delight of the travelling faithful.

Pens: Forest 3-3 Newcastle

Awoniyi missed two glorious chances in normal time - and he’s done it again! His strike avoids the goal by a country mile — I think he’s blazed the ball into the River Trent.

Anthony Gordon sends Miguel the wrong way with a confident penalty. It’s effectively sudden death.

Pens: Forest 3-2 Newcastle

Sangare crashes his penalty against the bar and now Newcastle can draw level.

Bruno Guimaraes curls a fantastic penalty beyond Miguel to keep Newcastle in touching distance.

Pens: Forest 3-1 Newcastle

Neco Williams places a wonderfully assured penalty into the corner of the net

Pens: Forest 2-1 Newcastle

Joelinton’s penalty is saved by Miguel, who dives to his right to pull off a wonderful stop.

Nikola Milenkovic rolls in a nonchalant penalty. Nerves of steel.

Pens: Forest 1-1 Newcastle

Alexander Isak sends his penalty down the middle.

Pens: Forest 1-0 Newcastle

Hudson-Odoi takes the first penalty in front of the home fans. And it’s an assured finish into the right-hand side of the net.

FT: Forest 1-1 Newcastle

And so the match goes to penalties. Newcastle improved following the introduction of Gordon, Livramento and Longstaff and the departure of the influential Jota for Forest, but Eddie Howe’s side was unable to discover a cutting edge and now it’s anyone’s guess who goes through.

It’s popcorn time for the neutrals.

Miguel denies Hall

That’s a superb save from Miguel, who uses all of his six feet and eight inches to reach a curling effort from Hall, after fine approach play from the lively Gordon.

There will be five minutes of time added on, but Newcastle will need to display better finishing if they are to avoid a shootout. 

Joelinton works some space for a shot but it’s straight down the throat of Miguel who has impressed on debut tonight.

And with a minute to go Miguel is once again Newcastle’s equal as this time he gets down to save from Gordon’s effort from 20 yards out.

Last knockings

Can either side find a winner in the three minutes plus time added on that remain?

Hudson-Odoi sends an inviting cross into the area but no one has gambled to get on the end of it.

Burn and Barnes fire wide

That’s unfortunate for Dan Burn, who rises highest to meet Gordon’s corner and sends a thumping header a yard wide.

Newcastle are looking the likelier winners now, as Barnes fires wide from 12 yards following smart footwork by Livramento to get to the byline

Penalties looming?

Hall drags a lame shot wide as Newcastle begin to turn the screw with 15 minutes to go.

A goal now for either side and they will be looking good for a place in tonight’s third-round draw, which follows on this blog. The match will go straight to penalties if the scores are level after normal time. Exra-time is only applied from the semi-final stage onwards.

Awoniyi shot saved

That was a chance for Awoniyi who didn’t really connect well enough as the ball fell to him 10 yards out.

Pope was equal to his effort, but that’s two chances the striker will rue having missed, especially with his side so obviously looking to sign a new striker before Friday’s transfer deadline.

Substitutions all round

Tonali is replaced by Sean Longtsaff after a decent hour’s contribution, while Trippier and Almiron also make way for Tino Livramento and Anthony Gordon.

Moments earlier Jota was also brought off, much to the disappointment of the home faithful. He was replaced by Ibrahim Sangare, while Nikola Milenkovic has come on for Abbott.

The match is also becoming increasingly feisty with Lewis Hall booked for a clumsy challenge on Da Silva Moreira. Hall joins Jota and Abbott in the referee’s book.

And in another reshuffle Callum Hudson-Odoi and Neco Williams are on for Moreira and Ramon Sosa.

Anderson threatens

Forest have their tails up now and Elliot Anderson comes close against the side he left this summer.

After feinting to shoot and finding himself with a tight angle on the right of the area the midfielder attempts a deft lob that feathers narrowly wide of the far post.

Jota levels in style

What a strike that is from Jota Silva!

Newcastle fail to clear their lines after a long throw and the ball falls to Jota, who connects with a thumping volley from 12 yards out that finds the top corner. Unstoppable from Forest’s best player on the night so far.

More Newcastle injury woe?

With the second half barely two minutes old Alexander Isak is now receiving treatment after coming off second best in a challenge with Elliot Anderson. Miguel Almiron is also limping with a possible ankle problem.

Half-time: Nott’m Forest 0-1 Newcastle

After weathering the early storm Forest steadied the ship and can consider themselves unlucky not to have gone in at half-time on level terms.

Newcastle created the greater clear-cut chances and are indebted to their goalkeeper Miguel for keeping them in the cup tie early on, but this young Forest side have shown great character to stay in the match. If they can just improve their final ball they could yet upset Eddie Howe’s side.

Awoniyi heads over

Nottingham Forest almost equalised there and Awoniyi will be kicking himself for that miss.

A wickedly whipped free-kick by Nicolas Dominguez eludes Newcastle’s defence, Pope decides not to come for it and Awoniyi can only head over from close range.

Such a shame for Willock

I really hope that isn't another injury for Joe Willock. Newcastle missed him so much last season and he's had some terrible luck. Newcastle have started well here but Forest are coming back into it and the visiting defence has looked a little shaky dealing with balls into the… — Luke Edwards (@LukeEdwardsTele) August 28, 2024

Tonali watch

Sandro Tonali has made an impressive return. It’s as though he’s never been away.

Winning possession and distributing the ball with care, his touch, vision and incisive passing will be a welcome addition to Newcastle this season. 

The Italian appears to have taken a blow and is taking a breather on the sidelines. It doesn’t look to be too serious, though, and he has rejoined the fray.

Joelinton curls one wide

Although Newcastle are dominating the match, Forest are showing signs of life and have launched the occasional sporadic counter-attack. So far, however, they have struggled with the final pass. Elliot Anderson takes matters into his own hands but blazes a shot harmlessly over from range.

At the other end, meanwhile, Newcastle launch a swift attack and Joelinton curls a rasping shot just wide of Miguel’s goal.

Almiron denied by Miguel

Newcastle are making light of the loss of Willock as Almiron almost doubles the visitors’ lead. Cutting inside from the right after being played in by Harvey Barnes, Almiron’s left-footed effort is well saved by the ever-busier Miguel.

Willock off injured

Newcastle’s goalscorer left the field to receive treatment after going down with what looked like a muscle injury.

The former Arsenal midfielder returned briefly to the action but is now having to come off and is replaced by Bruno Guimaraes.

Tonali goes close

And it was almost a dream return for Tonali.

Having orchestrated the first goal, the Italian was played in by Joelinton, only to be denied by a fine stop from Miguel.

That would have been 2-0 after three minutes.

This could be a long night for Forest.

Early goal for Newcastle

No sooner had both sets of players and supporters remembered Sven-Goran Eriksson, the former England manager who passed away on Monday, with a minute’s applause, than Newcastle took the lead.

Alexander Isak was played clean through by Miguel Almiron in a move started brilliantly by Sandro Tonali, and after the Swede’s shot was parried by Carlos Miguel, Joe Willock swept home the rebound after just 18 seconds. What a start!

Sink or swim for Forest youngsters

It will be interesting to see how Forest fare with such a young side having been selected. 

Defenders Zach Abbott and Eric da Silva Moreira are both only 18 years old, which surely puts added pressure on debutant goalkeeper Carlos Miguel, 25.

Having made 10 changes to the side that played at the weekend, Nuno has clearly decided that this competition is as good a time as any to blood his young guns.

Newcastle now up for the cup

Strong team. Remember when Newcastle didn't take the cup competitions seriously as they were pointless and were a distraction in a relegation battle? #NUFC https://t.co/XE7Kqe3yZW — Luke Edwards (@LukeEdwardsTele) August 28, 2024

Goals incoming?

This is a fixture that tends to produce goals and usually favours Newcastle. The last time these two sides met Howe’s side clinched a 3-2 win with the help of a Bruno Guimaraes double — and the Magpies have had the upper hand in three of their last four encounters with Forest. 

However, Chris Wood will have fond memories of his hat-trick at St James’ Park last Boxing Day — and another positive omen for Nuno’s men is the last time these two sides met in this competition, six years ago almost to the day, Forest ran out 3-1 victors.

Strong Magpies line-up

At first glance it looks like Newcastle have opted for a strong starting XI. Eddie Howe clearly wants Alexander Isak to rediscover his shooting boots, and he has opted for Nick Pope in goal and regulars such as Kieran Trippier and Joe Willock in the starting XI. Harvey Barnes also gets the nod but Anthony Gordon and Bruno Guimaraes are on the bench.

Four debutants for Forest

The hosts have opted to start with Jota and Awoniyi up front.

Meanwhile, four players make their Forest debuts with Brazilian goalkeeper Carlos Miguel, German right-back Eric da Silva Moreira, Alex Moreno, on loan from Aston Villa, and Paraguay forward Ramon Sosa given their chances.

Ready for their first Forest outings 👊 pic.twitter.com/YITh4325t1 — Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) August 28, 2024

✍️ Four debutants. ©️ Boly wears the armband. 🇳🇬 Taiwo leads the line. Our starting XI to face @NUFC 📋 pic.twitter.com/GGxCqn5lrK — Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) August 28, 2024

Tonali starts

Newcastle have got tongues wagging with a post of Tonali looking like he’s ready for business.

And so he is.

Team-news 🔜 pic.twitter.com/BYQBsissOM — Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) August 28, 2024

And here’s how Newcastle line up.

Let's go, lads! 💪🏆 pic.twitter.com/X9CGABVuC0 — Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) August 28, 2024

Preview: Tonali to start?

Good evening. Tonight we bring you live action from the City Ground where Nottingham Forest are hosting Newcastle United in the second round of the Carabao Cup.

Both sides are unbeaten so far in the Premier League this season having posted four points apiece from their two matches played — but both could have probably done with a kinder cup draw at this early stage of the season.

Forest have been mostly preoccuped with trying to sign a striker before Friday’s transfer deadline, with Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah and Feyenoord’s Santiago Giménez having spurned their advances. 

They are hopeful of getting Eintracht Frankfurt’s Omar Marmoush over the line , but in the meantime Nuno Espirito Santo must decide whether to turn to the dependable Chris Wood up top or instead give Jota Silva or Taiwo Awoniyi a fair crack of the whip.

Newcastle are also attempting to bolster their ranks, with a centre-back top of their wish list . Crystal Palace are refusing to budge on their valuation of Marc Guehi as the clock ticks down.

One player who will feel like a new signing for Toon fans is Sandro Tonali, whose 10-month worldwide ban from football for illegal betting activity has finally come to an end. The former AC Milan midfielder has only made five appearances for Eddie Howe’s side since his £55 million move last summer and will be eager to finally experience the cut and thrust of English football again after an arduously long hiatus .

Will he start or will he be on the bench? The teams will be out soon.  

• I never felt alone, says Sandro Tonali as he reveals how he coped with betting ban
• Sandro Tonali hid his illness from everyone – this is how Newcastle helped him to recover
• Newcastle cult hero Nobby Solano sacked as Blyth Spartans manager after six games
• Nottingham Forest consider £20m Eintracht Frankfurt striker Omar Marmoush ahead of deadline day
• Nottingham Forest's new signings make impact in win – and more could arrive
• Nottingham Forest FC,
• Newcastle United FC,
• Facebook Icon
• WhatsApp Icon