The opening remarks open the speech or event and may also be part of the speech at the presentation of an award at an awards ceremony. Use your public speaking skills to engage or motivate your audience. In general speaking courses, you will be offered the following introductory speech scheme:
- Greet the audience (give a short welcome speech or limit yourself to a few words).
- Announce the name of the event or the title of the speech.
- The importance of the event or topic.
- Brief announcement.
- What is the uniqueness of the event or speech? Which experts are invited, the results of which studies will be announced.
- Start speaking or pass the floor to the next speaker.
Below are several options for introductory words for different occasions.
Opening remarks at the meeting
“Good morning, dear colleagues.
Today, as agreed, we will discuss implementing a new development strategy for our company. It is necessary to approve all the details by December 1 fully, since from January of the coming year we plan to use a new strategy – all employees must be informed about their upcoming tasks.
Today it was necessary to complete the preparation of preliminary documentation for each department, as well as to present their arguments in defense or opposition to the proposed development strategy.
As the director of the company, I, in turn, have prepared extensive documentation that will help you understand the concept of the future strategy better and navigate its details. It was previously sent to each of you, so I hope everyone has read it and prepared for the meeting …”
Opening remarks at the conference
“Good evening, dear participants! I am glad to welcome you to the conference “Integration of artificial intelligence in the production processes of medical equipment.”
Artificial intelligence is a hot technology that is already being implemented almost everywhere. As a company that manufactures medical equipment, we are interested in increasing production accuracy. Therefore, we consider it necessary to integrate artificial intelligence into production processes more actively.
The conference will be devoted to an overview of artificial intelligence technologies for complex production. The first half of the meeting is reserved for expert reports, and the second – is for a round table, where all participants will actively discuss the problem. The final stage of the conference will make it possible to form a conclusion on the issue under review, and to distribute tasks related to the integration of artificial intelligence among managers of all levels.
Our colleagues, as well as invited experts, will speak for us today. They prepared reports and will also demonstrate the practical use of artificial intelligence equipment in production.
I am also happy to report that we have collected almost three times more statistics this year than last. This means you’ll hear even more accurate predictions from top conference speakers.
And now I am happy to give the floor to our colleague, Director of Production Capacity Development – he will become the moderator of the meeting….”
Some advice for a beginner speaker
To give a keynote speech, you need considerable rhetorical skills. So how do you ensure that your address becomes the brightest part of the event?
- Don’t overuse introductions.
- Stick to the roadmap by presenting tips or ways to do something to the audience.
- Spark interest with hooks and intriguing transitions.
- Use humor, analogy, and interactivity to increase the productivity of the meeting.
- Engage listeners in the discussion.
Don’t end your presentation with a question-and-answer session.