The Rhetorical Question- This is not an effective attention-getting step. Find a more engaging way to get your audience's attention. The best way so far has been a story, an anecdote the draws your audience into your topic and introduces the topic of your speech.
You Guys - Be careful with formality, or informality as the case may be. Referring to your audience as "you guys" eliminates an entire gender and is sexist, regardless of how you feel about political correctness.
Transitions 1.0 - Ease in to and out of your frames by dissolving. There's a grace and inherent preparation to this transition that something's coming up, and then it's going away.
Transitions 2.0 - Looking for more fluid verbal transitions that progress your speech from one point to the next.
Bifurcate - Take your time, listen to yourself, breathe, read your audience, maybe even enjoy this.
Be Nice and Pay Attention - I was aghast last week at the amount of apathy in regards to your peers giving their presentations. From entering and leaving the room to being on your iPads, laptops and cell phones during presentations. I promise if this persists tonight, I will have very little objectivity left in assessing your presentation. This goes for the beginning of anyone's speech - the most nerve-wracking time of their presentation. Granted, while it's their job to grab your attention, they shouldn't have to wait for you to shut up to start their speech.
