How many times have you watched an actress give an edge-of-your-seat, awe-inspiring performance in a film only to watch her give one of the most sleep inducing Academy Award acceptance speeches in history?

Usually, she begins with a listing of the people shed like to thank. Id like to thank my producer, my director, my cinematographer, my makeup gal, the key grip, my caterer, my limo driver, my hair stylist, my phone dialer.

Perhaps celebrities get away with it because just the clothing and jewelry theyre wearing on Oscar night alone is worth more than many South Pacific nations.

But try it during your next presentation, and youll put your audience to sleep. You are not Nicole Kidman. Stop it.

The only time you are virtually guaranteed to have the entire audiences attention is at the beginning of your speech. Why would you waste it with a litany of thank yous?

Instead of thanking the person who introduced you, the university thats hosting you or the audience thats applauding you, demonstrate your respect for the occasion by starting off with a bang.

For example, when I give a speech about media training, the first words out of my mouth are usually, How many of you have ever given a media interview? My hand goes up as I say these words to encourage people to do so if theyve given a media interview.

The second sentence out of my mouth is usually, Keep your hand up if youve ever been misquoted, taken out of context, or for some other reason been unhappy with the story when it comes out the next day. Almost all of the hands remain up, the audience giggles and most of the crowd immediately knows Im there to help fix an acute problem.

By starting in such a manner, Ive spared them the platitudes theyve heard dozens of times. What if I had prefaced the above example with the following few sentences instead: Good morning. Its a pleasure to be here. Id like to thank Donald Jackson for inviting me and the University of Toledo for hosting me. What were going to do this morning is to help you improve your media interviewing skills.

Would it have added anything to the speech? Worse, might it have taken away from the power of the above example?

For your next presentation or speech, start strong. Here are three strong openings you might consider:

1. Reveal a Startling Statistic Are you speaking about adult illiteracy in Washington DC? You might begin your speech this way: Next time you ride the Metro here in Washington, take a good look at the adults around you. One in three of them cant fill out a job application. One in three of them cant read a book to their children at night. And one of three of them cant understand the instructions on their medicine bottles. You might think that adult illiteracy is a hidden crisis but it stands right next to us each and every day.

2. Jump Backwards Lets say Ive been commissioned to give an historical speech on the presidency of Lyndon Johnson. I could use a time machine effect and begin my speech by saying, Our president is feeling the devastating effects of an increasingly unpopular war. Oil prices are still higher than average, interest rates are on the rise, and his popularity rating is at the lowest mark of his presidency. Although there are parallels to today, these words were actually published in the New York Times in 1967 about President Lyndon B. Johnson.

3. Refer to Something The options are almost infinite. You can refer to something in that days newspaper, something you saw in the hotel lobby or something you overheard the company CEO say last week about how proud he was of the long-time receptionist for going to night school and earning her college degree.

One extra note here. Sometimes, you may feel that proper etiquette requires that thank yous are necessary. Fine. Just dont waste the first few minutes on them. Start big. Get the audience behind you. Then, take a brief detour, do your quick thank yous, and get right back to business.

The bottom line here is that you should view a speech as an opportunity to thoroughly fascinate your audience. Why squander that with an Academy Awards opening that no one will be interested in?