Looking forward to see your list of opening lines.

I can share something I did at our last meeting that seemed to work out fairly well, and got some laughs and attention at the start of my last meeting.

Prior to the meeting, I stopped at a store with the intention of buying a couple of gift cards as give-aways. I had done that at my first meeting because I had seen that used at meetings by the leader before me.

While at the store, I decided to instead buy some "gag gifts" though I wasn't sure exactly how I would use them.

The meeting was before Valentine's Day and I ended up buying some items that were like a cross between a pez dispenser and a jack-in-the-box with audio that said "I love you." At the start of the meeting, I asked for a volunteer who would take meeting notes for me. Someone volunteered, and I had an instant use for the "I love you" item. I triggered the "pop-up" and audio and got everyone's attention immediately as I handed the volunteer this prize. It was a good way to get people involved and to let them know there would be more "wonderful" gifts for people who contributed to the meeting.

There was a small toolkit for someone who provided tips that administrators could use in their toolset; some stress balls for those people who shared things that were were struggling with and stressing out about; and various other things that one way or another I worked into the meeting.

Hey Brad,

Something I learned from sales trainor Jeffery Gittomer is to start your presentation by diving into a quick story.

A tip from a great Toast Master's speaker I saw is to start your talk and then pause after the first round of talking to introduce yourself. It draws people in if you just start talking right away rather than going through the usual stuff..