When we begin a business presentation with “We’re excited to announce…” or “I’m excited about,” our intentions are good. We want to send a positive message. The downside is that opening a presentation with “excited” is like serving empty calories for breakfast. “We’re excited” is an overused phrase that fails to provide value or stick with your audience. All sugar, no substance. Like sugary breakfast cereal, “We’re excited” is fine to use occasionally, but not as a standard opening.
I recommend that you begin with more substance. Focus on the value that you provide to the audience. For example, “Our customers asked for shorter turnaround times, so we’re launching X to get products to customers faster.” Or “We’re seeing a shift in consumer demand for Y." Changing our habits takes intentional effort.
I try to be aware of how often I say “excited” and “great.” When I hear these words repeatedly in my own presentations, I ask myself “WHY is this ‘great’?” or “What's a specific example to support ‘excited’?” I replace fillers with meaningful content.
Opening a presentation with a meaningful phrase is like a good breakfast. It sticks with our audience, so they can remember and repeat what we said.
