During my preparation for speech at toastmasters, I was struggling to make the opening of the speech. Since the objective of the speech was to Organize, I worked on the transitions and a good opening, body and conclusions.
I stumbled on this article of Kathy Sierra on Better Beginnings. Though she is well known for the Head first Java Series, in her blog she gives very useful tips which we often overlook in our life. In her Better Beginnings post she has wonderfully explained on opening of speeches or articles. The post really helped me in organizing my speech.