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But I can’t start my speech with one of those five patterns. I have to welcome the dignitaries and authorities and thank the organizers first.

I hear this all the time. Yes, some events and occasions require a welcome, and thanking certain people and institutions. But my question is:

Have you ever tried to do it differently?

Only dead fish swim with the flow. I don’t want to be a dead fish. I want to capture the full attention of every last seat in my audience in the first 1.3 to 1.7 seconds.

Imagine these opening words:

Dear Mr. President, dear Madam President, honored Dean and Professors, honored guests and friends of this institution....

Would words like these ever capture an audience’s full attention? Ever?

Instead, by this time the last three rows have already fallen asleep.

You can do better. You can change the order of things. You can welcome the dignitaries and thank the organizers after your opening lines.

Example: a “Commencement address”

It was a rainy November evening 18 years ago. A new chapter of my life was about to begin. 1,000 anxious eyes gathered in this very same room; mine were among them. Doubt and anticipation met and mingled. What would my future bring? What would it look like? Would I become the CEO of Siemens? Would I start my own venture? My future was draped in fog, but now my present is clearly in my sight. What made the fog disappear?

Dear Mr. President, dear Madam President, honored Dean and Professors, honored guests and friends of this institution.

There are no rules in public speaking. You make the rules. You can change the expected order of things to increase the impact of your speech. No one is going to come up to you at the cocktail party later and say,

You didn’t follow protocol!

(And if someone does, just smile, chuckle indulgently, and turn away.)

Boost your content even more by grabbing the audience’s attention straightaway, and then doing the welcoming and thanking.