Now that's a Great Opening!

A strong opening is critical to ensuring your audience is engaged in your presentation or speech.  In my Speakers Training Camp™, we call this the GRABM (pronounced "grab'em").  The GRABM is your opportunity to grab the audience's attention by asking a question, stating an unusual fact, telling a story or beginning with a quote, for example. 

I  heard a great GRABM at a 3 day training session I attended recently.   The trainer began by saying "I see a lot of familiar faces today."  He proceeded to mention select people in the room and how they knew each other.  For example, "Joe and I worked together on a customer team 10 years ago.  MJ and I attended the same university many years ago" and so on.  This was a great way to enroll the audience and create a sense of camaraderie at the beginning of the training.

What other great GRABMs have you heard?