Speak Up: Develop Your Executive Presence & Leadership Communication Style

474: 3 Ways To Start Off Any Presentation To Instantly Captivate Your Audience & Boost Your Leadership Reputation

Oct 17, 2025

Discover how to captivate your audience in the crucial first 15 seconds of any presentation. Learn why poor openings can shatter your credibility and the neuroscience behind quick judgments. Laura shares powerful storytelling techniques that boost your perceived competence. You'll hear real-world examples that engage stakeholders and methods to start with impactful facts. Plus, find out how relatable questions can break audience autopilot and enhance retention. Say goodbye to dull openings and embrace your commanding presence!

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INSIGHT

First 15 Seconds Decide Credibility

Audiences form opinions of your credibility within 7–15 seconds of your opening.
If you don't start well, attention plummets and recovery is very difficult.

ADVICE

Never Start With 'Thank You For Being Here'

Avoid opening with phrases like "thank you for being here" because they devalue your message.
Save thanks for the end and start with something that asserts value and authority.

ADVICE

Open With A Short, Relevant Story

Start presentations with a short, relevant story to boost confidence and hook listeners.
Use business stories that connect personally and convey the message memorably.

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Are you unknowingly sabotaging your executive presence in the first 15 seconds of your presentation?

To see if Laura’s Executive Presence Mastery System 90-day coaching intensive is right for you, set up a strategy call here.

Even the most data-driven, high-performing introverts often lose the room before they’ve made their point. This episode uncovers how those first few moments can make or break your credibility—and reveals the exact openers that A-list communicators use to captivate any room, fast.

By the end of today’s episode, you’ll know:

✅The presentation opening you will never ever use again

🔥How fast (according to the neuroscience) people judge your executive leadership potential

🧲3 high-impact opening techniques that build trust, grab attention, and show authority

Press play now to master your first 30 seconds and transform every presentation into a powerful moment of influence.

If you’ve ever caught yourself starting a presentation with “thank you for being here,” and instantly felt like you were fading into the background…

And then spent the rest of your talk trying to recover — second-guessing your words, your tone, and wondering if you even made an impact…

That’s why we built the Executive Presence Scorecard — to help high-performing introverts like you stop undervaluing your message and start opening with confidence, clarity, and commanding presence.

Get access to the Executive Presence Scorecard by emailing me at hello@speakupwithlaura.com and put “score” in the subject line. I will get you that access pronto.

For more information visit www.speakupwithlaura.com. Our Speak Up podcast episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday early in the morning.

In Speak Up communication and executive presence coaching, high performing leaders and executives learn to enhance their influence and confidence, refining their communication style to increase visibility and effectiveness in promotion opportunities.

By honing communication skills and fostering a trusted advisor mindset, aspiring executives cultivate mastery in public speaking and beat imposter syndrome. Your leadership becomes more strategic and inspiring.