Public Speaking Worksheet: Opening Hooks

Public speaking lesson 10: Strong openings · Set 120 · 40 questions

Speaker's tip (Hook them first): Question hook: ask something the audience can answer in their heads, then pause. Story hook: start in the middle of a tiny true moment. Fact hook: one short, surprising, true fact. Avoid weak openings: “sorry”, “um, so”, or just announcing the topic. Keep the opening to a few sentences.

1. 1.True or false: “An octopus has three hearts.” is a story hook. (a) True (b) False
2. 2.🪝 Which is the stronger opening for a talk on trees? (a) “A tree saved my road.” (b) “Trees. Yes. Trees.”
3. 3.🪝 What kind of opening is this? “One morning, Ravi’s grandmother handed him an old wooden box.” (a) a weak opening (b) a fact hook (c) a story hook (d) a question hook
4. 4.⏱️ How long should the opening of a 2-minute speech be? (a) a few sentences (b) half the speech (c) the whole speech (d) ten minutes
5. 5.True or false: “What would you do if the lights went out for a week?” is a question hook. (a) False (b) True
6. 6.🪝 What kind of opening is this? “Our heart beats about one lakh times every day.” (a) a weak opening (b) a question hook (c) a story hook (d) a fact hook
7. 7.True or false: “One morning, Ravi’s grandmother handed him an old wooden box.” is a fact hook. (a) False (b) True
8. 8.🪝 What kind of opening is this? “Okay… so… where do I even start?” (a) a weak opening (b) a question hook (c) a story hook (d) a fact hook
9. 9.🪝 What kind of opening is this? “It was the night before the science fair, and our volcano would not erupt.” (a) a question hook (b) a fact hook (c) a story hook (d) a weak opening
10. 10.True or false: “An octopus has three hearts.” is a question hook. (a) True (b) False
11. 11.True or false: “Light from the Sun takes about eight minutes to reach the Earth.” is a story hook. (a) True (b) False
12. 12.True or false: “Our heart beats about one lakh times every day.” is a fact hook. (a) False (b) True
13. 13.🪝 What kind of opening is this? “An octopus has three hearts.” (a) a story hook (b) a fact hook (c) a weak opening (d) a question hook
14. 14.🪝 What kind of opening is this? “Um, so, I am going to talk about trees, I guess.” (a) a question hook (b) a story hook (c) a fact hook (d) a weak opening
15. 15.True or false: “It was the night before the science fair, and our volcano would not erupt.” is a question hook. (a) False (b) True
16. 16.🪝 What kind of opening is this? “Light from the Sun takes about eight minutes to reach the Earth.” (a) a story hook (b) a fact hook (c) a weak opening (d) a question hook
17. 17.True or false: “Light from the Sun takes about eight minutes to reach the Earth.” is a question hook. (a) False (b) True
18. 18.🪝 Which is the stronger opening for a talk on saving water? (a) “My topic is water.” (b) “Ever seen a dry tap?”
19. 19.🪝 What kind of opening is this? “My topic is water. That is all.” (a) a fact hook (b) a story hook (c) a question hook (d) a weak opening
20. 20.True or false: “Okay… so… where do I even start?” is a question hook. (a) True (b) False
21. 21.🪝 What is the main job of a speech’s opening? (a) to end the speech (b) to thank everyone (c) to fill time (d) to grab attention
22. 22.🚫 Which opening should you avoid? (a) a question (b) starting with “sorry” (c) a short story (d) a surprising fact
23. 23.🪝 What kind of opening is this? “How many of you walked to school today?” (a) a weak opening (b) a question hook (c) a story hook (d) a fact hook
24. 24.True or false: “Okay… so… where do I even start?” is a fact hook. (a) False (b) True
25. 25.True or false: “One morning, Ravi’s grandmother handed him an old wooden box.” is a story hook. (a) True (b) False
26. 26.True or false: “Who here has ever lost a ball in a neighbour’s garden?” is a fact hook. (a) True (b) False
27. 27.True or false: “How many of you walked to school today?” is a weak opening. (a) False (b) True
28. 28.🪝 What kind of opening is this? “Have you ever wondered where your tiffin waste goes?” (a) a question hook (b) a weak opening (c) a story hook (d) a fact hook
29. 29.🪝 What kind of opening is this? “The blue whale is the largest animal on Earth.” (a) a weak opening (b) a question hook (c) a fact hook (d) a story hook
30. 30.True or false: “Our heart beats about one lakh times every day.” is a weak opening. (a) False (b) True
31. 31.True or false: “An octopus has three hearts.” is a question hook. (a) True (b) False
32. 32.🪝 What kind of opening is this? “What would you do if the lights went out for a week?” (a) a question hook (b) a fact hook (c) a weak opening (d) a story hook
33. 33.True or false: “Light from the Sun takes about eight minutes to reach the Earth.” is a fact hook. (a) True (b) False
34. 34.True or false: “The blue whale is the largest animal on Earth.” is a weak opening. (a) False (b) True
35. 35.True or false: “My topic is water. That is all.” is a weak opening. (a) False (b) True
36. 36.True or false: “It was the night before the science fair, and our volcano would not erupt.” is a story hook. (a) True (b) False
37. 37.True or false: “What would you do if the lights went out for a week?” is a fact hook. (a) False (b) True
38. 38.True or false: “My topic is water. That is all.” is a fact hook. (a) False (b) True
39. 39.🪝 What kind of opening is this? “When I was in Class 3, I froze on stage in the middle of a poem.” (a) a fact hook (b) a question hook (c) a weak opening (d) a story hook
40. 40.🪝 Which is the stronger opening for a talk on saving water? (a) “Ever seen a dry tap?” (b) “My topic is water.”

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