By Benjamin Rutten                                                                                                                

Did you know that it only takes 1/10 of a second for a judge to form a first impression of you? Your intro needs to be more than "generally engaging;" your intro ought to be instantly persuasive. 

To truly stand out in a room of tough competitors, you need to grab the judge's attention with the very first words you say. 

Wouldn't it be nice if there was a simple combination of words that were guaranteed to hook your judge every single time?

Thankfully, this combination of words exists. What could it possibly be? It is actually rather obvious. When talking to young children we use these words all the time. The second we say them, the child leans forward, desperate to hear more. Inside each judge lives this same childlike instinct to want to hear more at the sound of these words. What could these obvious, everyday, critically impactful words be?

Once Upon A Time is the most powerful phrase you can use to start a limited preparation speech.

I said these four simple words countless times during competition, from preliminary Extemp rounds at season tournaments to Apologetics and Mars Hill finals at NITOC. And they worked. They worked time and again like a charm. Use these words in your next limited preparation speech and watch your judges ever so slightly lean forward with that childlike curiosity to hear the rest of the story. After all, stories are the pinnacle of memorability and persuasion.

Picture this: you finish prep time for your Apologetics speech and ask, "Are we ready to begin?" The judge nods and begins the timer. At this point you could easily say, "I would like to share with you the story of a man named ..." or, "One of my favorite stories is of...." Boring. So boring. So generic. Bad first impression. By the time you say anything of value, the judge has already mentally ranked you in the middle of the room as a good but fairly average competitor. How about we rewind and try things again? The judge nods and begins the timer. You look that judge square in the eye as you slowly and intentionally say, "Once upon a time" (slight pause for effect) "there was man who gave everything for his beliefs. This man's name was Jim. Jim Elliot. Jim had a belief...." That is impactful. That is unique. That is intriguing. Which of the two intros that I just gave would make you want to hear more? 

The best part about using this phrase is that it is not only powerful, it is also versatile. You can use it to begin a personal anecdote, a historical tale, or a biblical story, and it can be used in virtually any event. You could easily start at least 70% of your limited preparation speeches with this phrase and about 95% of the judges that hear it will find themselves hooked by it. 

It is hard to think of a single other phrase that can have such an immediate, effective, and consistent impact on your judges.

When it comes to giving a "hook," this is as good as it gets.

Try this phrase in your next competition and let us know how it goes! If you would like to dive deeper into Kairos' teachings, you can explore the rest of our resources here.