You've been introduced; you've taken your place; it's time to speak and you say, “Hi, everybody, it's me, I have something to say that's important for me and may be for you. Let's get started”... NOT.

The audience is in place physically, but they have been elsewhere consciously... on their phone... chatting with a neighbor... thinking about something … you need and deserve their attention. The solution is for your first words to capture their attention:

“If you believe in the hereafter I am here to reveal something you may be here after.”

“I found this one hundred dollar bill in the hall. If you know its serial number I'll return it to you.”

 
“I hope you who have been watching the Olympics as much as I have have psychological counseling in your healthcare.”

“When we married at nineteen many said it wouldn't last. It may not. We just celebrated our sixtieth wedding anniversary.”

  “By show of hands... how many of you were told in your youth you'd never amount to much? (wait) Me, too... and here we are. Great!”

“When (name the person who asked you to speak) scheduled this program I asked what he/she wanted me to accomplish. It was (state the program's goal). I'll do my best. You are the judges.”

It doesn't take long; however, some audiences are more challenging than others. I often have a second line to deliver if the first one has not achieved its goal. Consider other program set ups:

Lincoln's “Four score and seven years ago...” may get attention more than “Eighty seven years ago.”, but he didn't have to worry about getting their attention. Celebrities get attention by showing up.

Reminder: A program set up has a single purpose: Get the audience to pay attention. With that accomplished it's time for the opening. To those who say this is a part of the opening, I agree. Still, it is an event too often missed by speakers. If we don't have their attention, why speak?