Don't start your work presentations by simply saying 'hello.' Here's how to be more engaging in the conference room.

• I'm a public-speaking expert, and I've trained many executives and senior teams.
• I tell all of them to stop starting work presentations with a salutation or a "hello."
• Instead, you should engage your audience by telling a story or asking a question.

I'm sure you've sat through plenty of presentations where the presenter starts with a polite salutation like, "Hello, thank you for having me here today," or, "I am so glad to be here" — often followed by their name and professional résumé. Sometimes, if it's an internal meeting, you get the same salutations followed by an agenda slide with bullet points and the presenter narrating it.