ban the banalities that bog down most speech openings. defer the customary “nice-to-be-here” platitudes. direct your audience more into fawning than yawning over your speech opening. how?

　　大部分演讲的开头都总是被那些陈词滥调拖入冷场，这是你应该避免的。别急着用那些惯用的“很高兴来到这里”之类的客套话。怎样让你的开场白赢得众人的喝彩而不是让观众昏昏欲睡呢?

　　start your speech better by ping in! instead of gingerly dipping your toes into the proverbial speaking pool, open with a splash! pattern your platform performance after the tease opening which saturday night live has made famous for more than 25 years.

　　开始演讲时，你像跳水一样直奔主题开门见山，而不是小心翼翼地像用你的脚趾探入池塘一般溅起一点点水花!你可以模仿因周六夜现场(美国的一档喜剧节目)而流行了25多年的逗笑式的开场白来开始你的台上表演。

　　first, tease your audience from the second you open your mouth. and open their eyes to something new, different, and even entertaining. pique their interest. immerse your audience into the action from the opening second with a verbal splash of cold water. with a powerful 30- to 60-second opening, your audience will be engaged to stay tuned for more.

　　首先，你开口说的第一句话就应该“逗笑”你的观众。讲一些新奇的，与众不同的甚至是搞笑的话来使你的观众眼前一亮。激起他们的兴趣。从演讲的一开始，你的演讲就应该像冷水里溅起的水花一样让观众沉迷其中。一个强有力的30到60秒的开场白能让你的观众更长久地专注于你讲的内容。

　　then, you can then formally introduce yourself, and give your audience an overview of your speech. it’s important they know up front why your speech is important to them.

　　然后，你可以正式地做自我介绍，并且对你今天所要讲的内容进行概述。你要让你的观众早早地知道为什么你今天的演讲对他们而言非常重要，这是很要紧的一点。

　　let’s examine those first thirty to sixty seconds.

　　下面让我们来看看这些30到60秒的开场白。

　　let’s say you wanted to design, develop, and deliver a speech on the importance of public speaking. here are five tease techniques you might use:

　　假如你现在想要设计、规划并发表一场关于公开演讲的重要性的演讲。这里有5个“逗弄”的技巧或许能供你使用：

　　1. start your speech with… a testimonial

　　1.用一句已久经考验的话来开始你的演讲

　　cite the behavior of a celebrity and/or quote an influential person the audience will know of or respect.

　　引用某个名人做过的事儿，或者引用某个为观众所熟悉或尊敬的有影响力的人物的话。

　　2. start your speech with… evidence

　　2.用证据开始你的演讲

　　present statistics or other data on the importance of public speaking.

　　展示各种数据来表明公开演讲的重要性。

　　3. start your speech with… ananecdote

　　3.用趣闻轶事来开始你的演讲

　　tell a story of someone directly affected by the benefits of public speaking.

　　叙述一个直接受益于公开演讲的人的故事

　　4. start your speech with… a statement

　　4.用一句总结性的陈述开始你的演讲

　　make a bold observation on the importance of public speaking.

　　对公开演讲的重要性做出一句大胆的评论。

　　5. start your speech with… an example

　　5.用一个例子开始你的演讲

　　cite a person whose career really took off because of public speaking.

　　引用一个名人的事例，这个名人正是因为公开演讲才飞黄腾达的。

　　think testimonial, example, anecdote, statement, and evidence for the next speech you write. and pe in!

　　下一次你写演讲稿的时候加上这5个技巧，做到话音刚落，一石激起千层浪!