Your Speech Opening: "Hello everyone..."

By: Robert F. Abbott

Article Summary: Don't alienate your audience by using a phrase such as "Hello Everyone" in your speech opening. Remember that members of your audience want to be thought of as distinct individuals.

"Hello Everyone!" How often have you heard that phrase in a speech opening? And here's an even more pointed question: How does it affect members of the group being addressed? Briefly, my answers are: it's too commonly used, and it tends to alienate members of the audience, albeit modestly.

Always try to address members of the audience as individuals. When you address a group as a group, it implies that you, the speaker, see a featureless group, rather than a gathering of individuals. "Hello everyone..." and "Thanks everyone..." and their variations depersonalize the audience. This is true both for speech openings and at all other points in a speech.

The same is true, to some extent, of the phrase "Ladies and gentlemen" although its long history implies formalism rather than depersonalization. You'll find this works well for comedians, because the formalization of the address ("Ladies and Gentlemen") contrasts nicely with their subsequent and often disrespectful remarks.

If you speak to a group, whether formally or informally, think of the group as a collection of individuals, each of whom wants to be addressed personally. For illustration of the point, put the shoe on the other foot: Would you prefer that the speaker think of you as an individual, rather than an anonymous, interchangeable member of a faceless group?

If you say simply "Hello..." in your speech opening, rather than "Hello everyone..." you've made it possible for each person in the audience to assume the greeting is meant for them personally. The same applies to "Thank you..." and other usages.

Whether you're making an introduction speech or a feature speech, never greet your audience as a group; always address it as a collection of individuals. Interestingly, audience members will get that sense of personalization, even when they're part of a huge crowd. Consider the way a good speaker or entertainer can get audience responses; that speaker has connected on a personal level with hundreds or thousands in the audience.

Summing up: In your speech opening, greet your audience for what it is, a group of individuals who have the same yearning as you to be recognized as special individuals.

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Speech Opening, Copyright Robert F. Abbott 2009