Sometimes, the best way to appear smart is to be humble and let your work do the talking for you. You don’t have to use dictionary words to sound smart.

And even though she’s a best-selling author, you’ll notice that she uses very simple and clear wording throughout her speech. Watch how Elizabeth Gilbert, author of the best-selling novel Eat, Pray, Love, talk about her struggles as a writer while being authentic and genuine. When you try too hard to appear smart, it shows. It doesn’t matter if you’re talking to a crowd of billionaire investors or high-school students. And he does it in a way without interfering with the overall experience of the audience. Even encourage them to write things down. He always asks the audience to react and engage with him. Tony Robbins is famous for doing this in his presentations. This is why it’s the perfect time to incorporate your key points into this story. When you tell a story, the audience basically turns into children listening to a bedtime story. Telling an interesting story is the best way to do this. The more difficult part is keeping them engaged and interested throughout the rest of the presentation. Grabbing the attention of your audience is the easy part. Like telling a great story, which we’ll talk about next.

If not, there are many other ways to deliver a great opener to grab the attention of the audience from the very beginning. If you can open with a joke and it’s relevant and appropriate for your audience, go for it. If you tell a random joke that’s not relevant, shifting to your speech will be much more difficult. Seth also connects this joke quite well to the topic he’s talking about. And third, he encourages the audience to engage by clapping. Second, he makes that joke relevant to the audience by referencing Finland. Watch how Seth Godin, renowned author and entrepreneur, delivers a killer opener for this presentation at Nordic Business Forum in Finland.

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