Avoid the Ramp-Up | Your Public Speaking Mentor

The ramp-up is a very common tendency, especially among novice speakers. The ramp-up is best described as the urge to make nervous statements, a mistake many speakers commit when they first take the stage, something they do in order to get themselves into mental position. This is where the opening joke usually comes in, but, unless you?re a comedian, this should be avoided, as previously discussed.

A ramp-up is an opening sequence that has less to do with your presentation, but more to do with trying to get your audience to like you, often by lightening the mood. The reality is that when you ramp-up, you?re really trying to get your audience to like you by lightening up your own mood. It has nothing to do with the audience and everything to do with your own comfort level.

Phrases such as, ?What a great looking audience,? and, ?I?m so happy to be here,? and, ?Today, I?m going to talk about?? are ramp-up lines. They really add no value to the presentation, and shouldn?t be used in your opening statements.

I?m often asked, ?Shouldn?t we express our gratitude for the opportunity, and thank our host?? Yes, you should express gratitude and thanks, but do so either at the end of the

presentation, or in the middle of it, if there?s an appropriate and opportune time. Remember that you have about ten seconds to grab your audience?s attention, and thanking your host and expressing your joy for the opportunity doesn?t accomplish that task.

It?s important to know precisely what you?re going to say when you first open your mouth on the stage. Use an opening line that grabs the audience?s attention. Here are a few good opening lines that I?ve heard:

I recently paid $135,000 for a dog.

Put up your hand if you plan on writing a book this

weekend.

I have to tell you this story?

There will be roughly one-million presentations made today,

and all but one of them will suck!

So, what?s the lesson? Get right to your attention-getter, and grab the audience in the first ten seconds.

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Source: http://lowellworkshops.com/blog/2012/08/avoid-the-ramp-up/

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