Party Training: The Opening Talk

The opening talk is one of the most significant and important parts of having a successful party. It’s where you create first impressions and you have the guests’ full and undivided attention.

Your opening shouldn’t take very long — only a few minutes. You are giving the guests an overview of the evening and telling them what to expect and what’s in it for them.

Your opening should really pack a punch, though. You need to know exactly what you’re going to say. If there is one part of your script that you want 
to memorize, it is this portion. Of course, you want to want to be comfortable with your entire party presentation, but you really want to be sure of the opening.

Eventually when you start showing the products, you want your guests to engage, laugh, and make comments — but now is when you want them to pay attention and say to themselves, “Wow, I’m glad I’m here. This is going to be a lot of fun!”

Here are some tips for creating a powerful opening:

Practice your name. This might sound silly but practice saying your name before the party. You want to sound confident when you are introducing yourself.

Give positive affirmation. Always give your guests positive affirmations. You may say things like, “You’re in for 
a real treat,” or, “You’re going to be so glad you came,” or, “We’re going to have so much fun tonight.” This sets the tone for how your guests are going to enjoy the rest of the night.

Share what you’re going to do for them. Punch it with at least three things they’re going to learn:

“I’m going to show you how to increase your party totals and per person customer order.”

“I’m going to show you how you can book additional parties and keep your calendar filled every month.”

“I’m going to help you earn the income you desire by building a team.”

And so on. You can also mention how the party will run — that you’ll be doing a short presentation, passing out catalogs, and then assisting them one‐on‐one during the checkout process.

Plant booking seeds. Bookings are among the most valuable things you can get from your parties. You’ll give your booking talk a little later, but in your intro you can start planting seeds.

“Having a party is so much fun, and I hope you will think about how much fun your friends will have in your own home.”

You don’t need to go into too much detail here, just plant a seed and create the desire. Be sure to plant seeds five times throughout your entire presentation.

Plant recruiting seeds. The three most important services you can offer are shopping as a customer, saving as a host, and earning as a representative. You want to make sure that you plant these seeds at the beginning of the party, as well, so they can consider it throughout the rest of the night. Again, don’t go into too much detail here, just paint a picture of what additional income could look like for them and their family.

Thank the host. You always want to acknowledge the host and thank her for having you in her home, as well as thank the guests for coming.

Example opening talk

Your opening talk might sound something like this:

“Hi, my name is Mary, and I am going to be doing the party this evening. Quick show of hands, how many of you have been to a Step Into Success party before?

“Great! You’re in for a real treat because I have a wide range of amazing products to share with you this evening. I have a little something for everyone depending on your skills, team size and title. You’re going to fall in love with so many of our products that your biggest challenge this evening is going to be what to choose. If you find you’re unable to get everything you want tonight, the best way to take care of this is simply by hosting your own party like Sarah is doing here this evening.

We really appreciate our hosts and we like to treat them to a very generous shopping spree of free and discounted items, as well as a fun night out with their friends.

As you watch me do the party this evening, you’ll see that it is fun and pretty simple. If any one of you is looking for a way to add an extra stream of income to your household budget, you’ll be happy to know that on average we make about $150 to $200 in an evening. If you would like some information, I’d be more than happy to send it home with you.

With that, I would like to thank Sarah for having me in her home and I would like to thank each and every one of you for coming. Now I would like to introduce you to the wonderful world of Step Into Success.”

As you can see, the opening talk is very short and simple. If you can perfect this part of the party, you will breeze through the rest.