If you know me, then you know I love concerts. And I love sharing my favorite music and concert experiences with my family. That’s why I was so excited to take my family to see KISS recently on their final, final, we really mean it this time farewell tour. Relax – my boys have loved KISS ever since they watched Scooby-Doo! & KISS: Rock & Roll Mystery.

I’ve seen KISS more times than I can count, so I always have a general idea of the experience. And, while it may differ slightly with each tour, the show always opens with a bang. Don’t believe me? Just watch below.

Wow! If that doesn’t grab your attention and get you excited then you simply have no rock-n-roll in your soul.

Now let’s discuss how they DID NOT open the show.

They didn’t shuffle up onto the stage, tap onto the mic and say,

“Uh is this mic on? Testing. Oh, okay. Uh, hi. Thanks for having us here tonight. We’re so excited to be here. And I really love all the songs the opening band played. My name is Paul Stanley. And this is Gene, Tommy and Eric. And we’re a rock band called KISS. We’ve been playing rock-n-roll for over 40 years. Oh, hey – and thanks so much to the announcer who introduced us – we appreciate your kind words. We’re going to start the show with one of our biggest up-tempo hits, then we’re going to play a mixture of old songs and some not-so-old songs. We’ll have a lot of pyrotechnics and stage effects. Then we’ll take a 5-minute break and then come back for an encore and lots of confetti. We’ve got a lot to cover in a short period of time so try to keep up with us. Can the A/V guys set us up for the first song? Okay, thanks. Here we go.”

How would you feel if KISS (or any act) started their concert like that? I’d be thinking, “Ugh, that’s so boring. What time will they end?”

That sounds silly, right? No musician in their right mind would start with a weak open like that, right? Then why do SO MANY speakers start their presentations that way?

We see them ALL. THE. TIME. And it bores me (and likely everyone else) to tears.

I’m going to be honest here, as soon as I hear a speaker start with a weak open like that, I’m likely pulling out my phone and scrolling through my feeds. The speaker may have a great message, but they’ve already lost me.

If you want to grow your influence as a leader with a strong personal brand, you’re likely going to spend some time giving presentations to your team, your peers, your leadership and your network. And you can’t just get up there and wing it. You’ve got to learn how to hook your audience and keep them captivated. If not, you’ll likely never influence them.

The first minute of your presentation is likely the most critical moment – it’s extremely valuable real estate. You’ve got 30 seconds at best to hook and win your audience over. You don’t want to waste any of that time with a weak opening. It’s not compelling, it’s not interesting, and it’s not a message that will make an audience member perk up and think, “Ooo. I can’t wait to hear more and see what this is about!” When you start with a weak open, the audience will likely sit back, pull out their phone and start scrolling.

If you waste those precious opening moments with an unrelevant joke, an agenda, an apology, housekeeping details, a string of thank-yous, or a rambling, pointless paragraph littered with “um”s and “uh”s, your audience members’ minds are going to drift, and you’ll be lucky if you can ever get them back.

Never start by saying, “Hi. My name is…!” Look, there’s only two people who care what your name is – you and your mom. Your mom isn’t in the audience, and you already know who you are. And unless this is open mic night, the audience already knows your name. Someone will likely introduce you first, your name will be on an agenda, or you may even work or network with most of the audience.

So how should you open a presentation? Here are some of the best ways to start with a strong opening.

1. Ask an open-ended rhetorical question 

When I presented to a recent audience where I was teaching them the value of simple brands I opened with: “Have you ever had someone tell you that you were losing relevance in their life? Have you ever had someone say they wouldn’t miss you if you were gone? Well that’s just what customers are saying about brands that don’t provide a simple experience.” I could see the audience perk up when I asked those questions.

2. Tell a relevant story

People tend to perk up when they hear a story. They want to know how it ends, and they want to know how it ties to your message.

3. Tell your audience to imagine something – usually a different, better world

If you get people to imagine a different, better world then they want to know the steps that they need to take to get their. They’ll stay captivated as long as your message gives them those steps.

A strong open should be an attention-getter. And the job of an attention-getter is to do just that — get the audience’s attention. When you can immediately hook your audience from the start and keep them captivated through your entire message, you’ll be a much more effective speaker. And your influence will grow.