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Benefits of a hook
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Types of hooks
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How to craft a hook
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Examples of hooks
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Tips for using a hook
A hook is a powerful way to capture your audience's attention and interest in your presentation. It can be a story, a question, a statistic, a quote, or anything else that sparks curiosity and relevance. In this article, you will learn why using a hook is important and how to craft one that suits your topic and purpose.
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- Tony Taylor 🎤 Introvert Obsessed with Public Speaking | Supported 700+ Introverted Senior Leaders | ✍🏾 Award-Winning Speech…
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- Connor Hill 🌍🔁 Circular Strategist, Advisor | IKEA Global Director | Co-Founder of RBRN Circular | CEO of inspire circular |…
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1 Benefits of a hook
A hook can help you achieve a variety of objectives in your presentation, such as establishing rapport with your audience, creating a positive first impression, generating interest in your topic, providing context for your main message, and motivating your audience to listen and learn more. Utilizing a hook can make your presentation more memorable, persuasive, and effective.
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- Tony Taylor 🎤 Introvert Obsessed with Public Speaking | Supported 700+ Introverted Senior Leaders | ✍🏾 Award-Winning Speech Writer | 🎧 Top 3% Global Podcast Host | 🏆 2023 Media Pro of the Year
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A hook is an attention-grabbing technique that can help you achieve multiple objectives in your presentation. By using a hook, you can establish rapport with your audience, create a positive first impression, and generate interest in your topic. It can also provide context for your main message and motivate your audience to listen and learn more.Utilizing a hook in your presentation can make it more memorable, persuasive, and effective. By capturing your audience's attention right from the start, you increase the chances of them staying engaged throughout the presentation. A well-crafted hook can also make your presentation more personal and relatable, as it can connect your topic to your audience's interests and experiences.
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Hooks help people find, engage with, and stay interested in the content you are producing. A good hook or several good hooks in a presentation will heighten engagement and participation.
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2 Types of hooks
When crafting a presentation, you can use a variety of hooks to capture your audience's attention and engage them in your message. For example, you can tell a personal or anecdotal story to illustrate your point or relate to your audience's experience. You can also ask a rhetorical or provocative question to challenge their assumptions or invite them to think or participate. Additionally, you can use a surprising or relevant statistic to demonstrate the importance or urgency of your topic. Quotes from famous people or relevant sources can also be used to support your message or inspire your audience. Finally, you can use a striking or relevant image, video, or demonstration to capture their attention or illustrate your point.
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I have found that stories can be good hooks. A crazy story tied to your topic can help people stay engaged to figure out how you tied the two together.
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3 How to craft a hook
When crafting a hook for your presentation, you must consider your audience, topic, and purpose. Who are they, what do they know, and what do they care about? What is the main idea or message of your presentation, and why is it important or interesting for your audience? What do you want your audience to do, think, or feel after your presentation, and how can you motivate them? Taking these factors into account, you can select a type of hook that is suitable for your presentation and create a script or visual that effectively delivers it.
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You can consider your audience, your topic, and the medium by which you are delivering your content. But you must also consider yourself. You may be bold enough to say something audacious, but then again, you may not. You need to consider what you are comfortable with as well.
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4 Examples of hooks
To give you some inspiration, here are some examples of hooks that different speakers have used in their presentations. Danica McKellar began her presentation, Math Doesn't Suck, with a story about how her seventh-grade math teacher changed her life. David JP Phillips asked the audience, "How many of you have ever felt personally victimized by PowerPoint?" Bill Gates shared a statistic that every 30 seconds, somewhere in the world, a child dies of malaria. Simon Sinek quoted Maya Angelou, saying, "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." Lastly, Sipho Moyo showed a picture of her family, with her holding a placard that said, "I am HIV-positive."
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This is one hook I’ve used at the start of various presentations with brand clients and students on our online courses;Every year earth gives us clean air to breathe, water to drink and nature to enjoy…and all for free. We should really send earth a thank you letter each year 💌🌍Instead, today we cut down our forests and pollute the air, land and water. 🔥🗑️What actions would you or your company need to take to get a thank you letter back from earth 🌍 💌💚🌳?
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Studies show that 86% of Statistics are made up. On another note, 100% of people who consider what I have to say today will make their lives better.
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5 Tips for using a hook
To make your hook more effective, consider keeping it short and simple, making it relevant and meaningful, and making it surprising and engaging. Additionally, practice and refine your hook to ensure it is well-prepared and well-delivered. Your hook should connect to your topic and your audience, arouse curiosity, emotion, or interest, and make them want to hear more. Test and improve your hook based on feedback.
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When considering the audience, the venue or medium by which you present your content, and by considering yourself, you will be able to spend just a few moments and craft several potential hooks. The key is to be intentional and confident.
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- Emily T. HRIS Data Analyst at Veterans United Home Loans (NMLS 1907)
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Overall, I found one hook that I can utilize in nearly every setting and audience, particularly for use as to why they would be interested in what I have to say. It’s a personal yet relative short story of some sort. After that, I use a different type of hook related to the subject and my first hook to end the presentation. For me, it completes the circle and presentation, leaving them with a lasting memory.
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- Gladstone Leslie Samuel Qualified Independent Director | ESG Practitioner | PMP®
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A compelling approach to start your presentation is with a "what if" scenario. For example, asking "What if you were stress- free?"
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