🍷 Recently I was at a local wine club for a “lesser known wines of Spain” tasting session.
We were all curious to find out more. Maybe there would be gems that tasted wonderful and were less expensive.
🎤 So picture this, the host turns on his microphone, the audience quietens down, we’re poised ready to find out more.
“Welcome” he says.
Good start.
“In case of emergency, the fire exits are located…blah blah blah”
💥 Boom
Intrigue disappears. Excitement evaporates.
I wonder if others on my table would like some of the cheese straws I’d brought with me.
Like any get-together, those first few minutes are where you get your audience hooked. You create a world of curiosity and intrigue. Everything outside the get-together is left behind.
Guests are absorbed, they share thoughts, opinions and ideas. They enjoy being transported into this different space.
Starting any get-together (including meetings and workshops) with practicalities kills the vibe. You lose the audience.
That doesn’t mean that practicalities must be avoided. Just don’t start with them. Once you’ve got the audience hooked, a brief mention of logistics causes little distraction.
In this wine tasting, the range of wines had very different flavours. We found out how climate change was affecting wine production in Spain.
We warmed up to the evening under the care of a skilled presenter who gradually reeled us in as the wine flowed.