There are days that you might be having trouble grabbing your audience’s attention during a speech, especially if your speech is too lengthy for the average attention span of an individual.
It’s essential to be prepared when planning a speech, as you will have to draw your audience’s attention instantly.
The first minute of your speech will leave the most impression. Good attention getters for speeches can immediately catch an audience’s attention, while a poor one will turn an audience against the speaker.
People don’t usually tune into speeches in the middle, so you have to catch their attention right from the beginning and have a list of attention getters for speeches to use.
In this article, you can get good attention getters for speeches that will be your ticket to being a speaker that people would find interesting. There are also different types of attention getters for speeches you can choose from to suit your speech topic.
What are Attention Getters For
An attention-getter is intended to intrigue the audience members and inspire them to listen attentively for several minutes. There are countless options for attention getters for speeches.
Most importantly, in your audiences’ mind, an attention-getter can generate excitement and persuade them that the speech would be informative and useful.
Your attention-getter wording should be refined and practiced. Be sure to understand your speech’s mood/tone; assess the suitability of humor, emotion, aggressiveness, etc.
Not only should the words draw attention from the audience, but to let the audience know that you are a competent speaker who is prepared for this address, the delivery should be smooth and confident.
Watch how to write attention getters for speeches:
Why It’s Important to Include Attention Getters in Your Speech
The primary role of attention getters for speeches is to gain your audience’s attention and make them interested in what you have to say.
One of the most significant errors made by inexperienced speakers is to presume that people listen automatically.
While many audiences can be respectful and not talk while speaking, it is an entirely different challenge to listen to what you say.
If you do not have the audience’s attention at the beginning, as you continue talking, it will only become more challenging to do so.
The first few lines of a speech are intended to attract and hold the attention of the audience.
Attention getters for speeches are for the audience to listen to the rest of your whole speech. Your attention getter should help the audience understand and reflect on your subject.
It might be helpful to ask yourself these questions when choosing attention getters for speeches:
- What is the best one for the occasion?
- Who’s going to be my audience?
- What’s my speech’s topic?
- What is the speech’s purpose?
- What am I comfortable to say?
There are three ways to maximize your potential on grabbing your audience’s attention:
- Spend time strategizing
- Design your attention getter
- Practice delivering your attention getter
Different Types of Attention Getters for Speeches
Before getting in front of people to deliver your speech, you should know how to leave an impression on the audience. There are different types of attention getters for speeches to choose from that can help you poke your listeners’ interest.
Here are the four key points that you should consider in choosing a type of attention getters for speeches:
| Key Points | Examples |
| Appropriateness or relevance to the audience | Talk about a recent trend that is appropriate for your type of speech. |
| Purpose of speech | Telling a joke if your purpose is to entertain. |
| Topic | Ask your audience questions related to your topic. |
| Occasion | Your tone and manner of speaking should match the speech occasion. |
Watch this tutorial on attention getters for speeches:
Humor
The fact that listeners like funny speeches are reasonably obvious. However, the secret to a successful attention grabber is to use humor important to the subject.
Humor is another successful way of attracting the attention of an audience. When used correctly, humor is an excellent weapon for attention getters for speeches.
However, without the proper practice and knowledge of using attention grabbers, you can turn the audience against you very quickly if you do not wield the sword carefully.
You just need to know the audience by using satire and consider what they would find funny. Using any sort of humor that the audience either does not find amusing or finds offensive is one of the biggest mistakes a speaker can make.
Here are funny attention getters for speeches examples that you can choose from:
- Jokes (e.g., inside jokes)
- Funny True Stories
- Delivery (e.g., imitating a voice from a famous character)
References
Using references as attention getters for speeches can make your audience feel more inclined to connect a specific reference to your speech.
References allow the audience to freely think about facts and statements related to your speech topic. Targeting a connection to your audience would also make them feel involved in your speech.
Here is what you can do with the different types of references for attention getters for speeches:
| Type of Reference | What to do |
| Subject | Talk about the importance of understanding your topic. |
| Personal | Talk about your personal experiences that are related to your topic. |
| Current Events | Talk about relevant news that can grab your audience’s attention. |
| Historical | You can make a historical comparison or the aftermath of a historical event. |
| Audience | Make your audience feel included in your speech. Talk about something unique about your audience. |
Bold Statements
When you start with a bold statement, the energy and enthusiasm you use will trigger your listeners to be immediately lured to your speech. They will pay careful attention to how you back up the assertion in your statement.
This type of attention getters for speeches often comes in the form of figures and unusual facts. The purpose of good attention getters for speeches is to use a statistic that shocks the audience and engages them in your subject.
A lot of people push the thought of using statistics away as attention getters for speeches. Most of them would think that it’s not very interesting and will overwhelm or underwhelm the audience. However, they can really shake things up when used correctly.
Questions
Starting with a question usually ensures that the audience is engaged by presenting a response either literally or rhetorically.
Make sure you pause before using a question to allow the audience a chance to let it sink in. Give your audience a break to let them think about the problem that you have just posed.
You will typically use a rhetorical question when raising a question to open a speech, the kind you don’t expect a response to. Your listeners, however, will probably try to react to this mentally.
It is not enough to use only one or two questions, though. If used alone, it is better to use a set of questions. Questions are usually paired with another presentation strategy.
Analogy
Analogies can be associated with something fresh and distinct that the audience knows and understands.
It would be best if you used an analogy to demonstrate a connection between your speech’s subject – something new and different for the audience and something your audience knows.
Analogies can be efficient because they use the audience’s thoughts, knowledge, and values to establish a link to your speech topic and you as a speaker. Analogies generate connections between you and the audience.
List of Attention Getters for Speeches
Quotations are the simplest, but if not done well, they can come off as cliche. Short stories may be more intimate and appear to increase trust. A humorous attention-getter can also loosen up the right crowd.
The attention getter should not be eclipsed for a minute, so do your best to keep it short and sweet.
The following must be present for good attention getters for speeches:
- Win the attention of the viewer.
- Set up some reputation or relatability.
- Outline the speech’s thesis.
- Give a justification for the viewer to listen.
- Clear transition into the speech’s body
Top 10 Good Attention Getters
There are a lot of good attention getters, but we narrowed it to the top 10 attention getters for speeches that will surely make your audience lend you their ears:
1. Jokes
A lot of people enjoy a good laugh. Jokes are on the top of the good attention getters for speeches list.
You not only create a bond with the audience by telling a good joke early in the speech, but you also inspire them to listen with the promise of more laughter.
Always make sure the joke isn’t insulting and that the rest of the expression suits you well. It can really hamper your stage’s morale and ruin the rest of your speech if you make a terrible joke.
Make sure you write jokes that are perfect for the crowd you’re trying to discuss. In this case, there is no one-joke-fits-all.
Inside jokes are the best way to make the audience feel like they have a customized speech, depending on the setting.
2. Usage of Common Ground
The good attention getter for speeches is a direct reference to the audience. In this case, something special about the audience uses the common ground to make them interested in the speech’s substance.
3. Intriguing Facts
Another one from the list of attention getters for speeches is quickly catching an audience’s attention and revealing a fascinating fact or astonishing statistic first.
Try to pick a fact relevant to the subject you’re addressing, which can solve your audience’s dilemma.
4. Rhetorical Question
Asking a rhetorical question is more of a test for the audience. It’s like a test to make your listener’s mind answer, even if it’s just a rhetorical question.
It would help your audience feel involved and tune in to your topic if you asked an excellent rhetorical question.
5. Response Question
A response question is a question that is supposed to be answered by the audience in some way. For example, if they’ve done anything in the past, you could ask your audience to lift their hands.
It will create more of a voluntary response from the audience. Additionally, it can also be considered as more interactive in the list of attention getters for speeches.
6. Visualization
Visualization is another crucial thing to consider for good attention getters for speeches. You can try and introduce a scene with your words to your audience.
You can send your audience a visual picture instead of making them decode graphs and figures or associate a relatable emotion with your abstract concept.
Using instructions accompanied by descriptive terms such as “imagine” or “picture this” practically works with any speech subject using imagination.
7. Startling Statement
You can create a position for yourself to stress the importance of your message until you surprise your listeners with this type of attention getters for speeches.
Starting with this type of attention getter for speeches can help pique your audience’s interest. Make sure to create the right balance between your statement and your message after.
8. Captivating Story
Your audience would want to know what happened next and how things turned out just by starting with an engaging story.
Direct them through a captivating story so that they are on the edge of their seats always, excited to learn what happens next.
You can create a story or a true story like something unique that happened to you or someone else.
9. Quote from Someone Famous
Another impressive good attention getter for speeches is to quote anyone famous in the opening of your speech.
When you know that it’s someone the audience loves, your audience will immediately be drawn to listen.
You must carefully choose the source of the quote and make sure it relates to your speech.
10. Personal Experience
Attention getters for speeches about yourself create a connection with you and your audience by sharing a piece of your experience with them. It would help them get to know you more as a speaker.
Likewise, it is also vital to consider building a bridge that can make your audience want to know more about what you can share with them.
Watch this video to learn about good attention getters for speeches:
How to Practice Good Attention Getters for Speeches
Many people think that their core content is adequate to get the attention of the listener.
However, the chances are that the listener would already be distracted by getting to the main message without a strong introduction.
Public speaking is an art form of persuasion, and along with writing good material, you will need to be aware of the technical aspects that make a great speech.
It would help if you learned how to deliver it after planning your speech and selecting from your list of attention-getters for speeches.
The way you introduce yourself and your voice makes your presentation or breaks it. Watch how you can improve your speech content and delivery:
Two features you want to represent are excitement and trust. Talk properly and highlight the points that you want the crowd to take with them.
Even if you are anxious, respectfully introduce yourself, understand your subject, and create an optimistic and energetic atmosphere.
Here are ways on how you can improve your speech delivery:
- Smile: Smile at your audience, and they’ll smile back!
- Enthusiasm: The audience will return the energy that you will give.
- Create a connection: Find common ground with the audience and use it.
- Compliment and acknowledge your audience: Make your audience feel appreciated.
- Honesty: Avoid any fake news or baseless information.
Watch this video on affordable ways to rehearse your speech the right way:
Conclusion
It is crucial to be prepared when you have to give a speech in front of an audience, no matter how big or small. Who would want an audience not to tune in when you still have something to say, right?
Attention getters for speeches will help you pique your audience’s interest through their different types and examples. Of course, you must match your attention getter with your speech, so it doesn’t sound out of the blue for your listeners.
Ask yourself some questions and create a speech that will surely lure your audience to properly listen to your speech. You can also download the Orai App to help you practice that perfect speech that catches your audience’s attention. Start your free trial today, available on the app store.
