Last modified on July 12, 2015 by Brad Phillips

Announcing My New Book: "101 Ways to Open a Speech"

My new book, 101 Ways to Open a Speech, is now available in soft cover and for Kindle worldwide from Amazon.

101 Ways to Open a Speech introduces you to a broad range of speech starters, using dozens of real-life examples and original suggestions. You will find opens intended to surprise, persuade, motivate, engage, and amuse your audiences. Some tell a story, others help frame your topic, and a few rely on modern technology.

I wrote the book with the hope that it would become an indispensable desktop reference for everyone who ever presents to any audience. It is the first and only book that focuses to this level of detail solely on the open itself (at least to my knowledge).

101 Ways to Open a Speech Promo One
Although 101 Ways to Open a Speech focuses on speech starters, you’ll inevitably find that many of them also can be used as closes or supporting material. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were able to integrate 20 of the book’s opens (or more) into a single presentation. Your presentations would almost surely be more engaging if you did.

In 101 Ways to Open a Speech, you will learn:

  • How to captivate your audience from your first words
  • Why there are actually three opens for every speech
  • How to select the right open for every occasion
  • How to connect your open to your speech topic
  • How not to begin a presentation

Like writing a letter, sometimes all you need is the first line to get started. People who are stuck on what to say during their presentations often figure out exactly what to say the moment they land on the opening they want to use — it’s as if the perfect open causes the rest of their speech to unravel before their eyes. Therefore, I hope the speech starters in this book will help you brainstorm not only your opens, but your entire presentations.

Free Excerpts

You can sample several of the book’s 101 opens using these links:

Open 20: The Multiple Vignettes Open

Open 51: The Incorrect Quote Open

Open 53: The Small Detail Open

Open 59: The Information Gap Open

Open 91: The PowerPoint Open

101 Ways to Open a Speech Back Book Cover
Availability

The book, 101 Ways to Open a Speech (SpeakGood Press, 2015, 138 pages), is available for purchase in soft cover and for the Kindle.

International readers can find the book in their country’s Kindle store in: India, the U.K, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Japan, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and Australia.

Quantity discounts are available for groups interested in purchasing 20 copies or more. To inquire about a quantity discount, please email books@speakgoodpress.com.

I hope you enjoy 101 Ways to Open a Speech. If you do, please spread the word and let your friends, colleagues, and clients know that it can help improve their future presentations, too!