Welcome script template
A starting script for your class opening. Say it out loud a few times before your first session and then put it away.
This is a template, not a performance. Read it once, adjust it to sound like you, practice it a few times, and then trust yourself. The goal is not to memorize these words. It is to have a map so the first few minutes do not feel blank.
Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Cut anything that does not fit. Add anything that is missing.
As guests arrive (individual greetings)
"Hi, [name from the booking list] — welcome. I'm [your name]. Come find your spot, there's [drink / something on the table] for you."
or, if you do not have a guest list:
"Welcome in. I'm [your name]. Come sit anywhere, and there's [drink / something at each spot] waiting for you."
Calling the room to attention (once everyone has arrived)
Wait for a natural pause in the room's conversation. Step to the front. Make eye contact with a few people before you speak.
"Okay, let me say a quick hello before we get started. Thanks for being here. My name is [name] and I've been [doing this craft] for [honest number] years. [Your shop] has been [in this neighborhood / doing this work] since [year or brief context]."
Your one story
This is the most important part of the opening. It should be one specific memory from inside your craft, told in under two minutes. Not your bio. Not your credentials. One real moment.
"The reason I started running classes was actually [a specific moment: a guest asking to learn, a realization, a memory]. I remember [a specific detail about that moment]. And I thought: this is something I want to share."
Fill this in with something real. A memory that is specific enough to be true. This is what guests will remember at the end of the class.
What today is
"Today we're going to [describe what guests will make or do]. You don't need any experience with [the craft]. You don't need to be good at it yet. You just need your hands and a little patience with yourself."
"The goal isn't to leave as an expert. The goal is to leave having [touched / tasted / made] something real, with your own hands, and to understand a little bit more about what this [craft / material / process] actually is."
Names (keep this brief)
"Before we dive in, let's just know who's in the room. Just first names. I'll start: I'm [name]. If you want to say why you came, great. If you'd rather just say your name, also great."
Go around the room. Use each name at least once in the next twenty minutes.
Into the work (immediately after names)
Do not linger after introductions. Move directly into the first hands-on moment.
"Alright. Let's get into it. In front of you, you'll see [material]. I want you to just pick it up and feel it for a second. Don't worry about what you're going to do with it yet. Just feel the weight of it."
A note on this script
The best version of this script is the one that sounds like you, not like a script. Read it once to get the shape. Then practice it by talking, not reading. The words will become your own. After two or three sessions, you will not need it at all.
What matters is the sequence: welcome, a real story about you and the craft, what today is and is not, names, and then hands on the material. Everything else is optional.