How to Give a GREAT Speaker Introduction

Category: Influence Savvy

The introduction of the speaker is the first hurdle in the success of your speech. You need to establish credibility before the audience will accept what you say.

Write your own introduction!

1. Write the introduction you want read.
2. As you are arranging the event, ask specifically that your intro be read, and ask for the name and phone number of the person introducing you.
3. Always take a copy of the intro with you, in case someone forgets it.

Live and Learn: Why is this important? One time, I traveled 3 hours to give a speech to a group. At that time I was the first woman president of a 30,000 member national organization, and I spoke on the road to success. The introducer, said ONLY, “Here is Marsha Egan.” At least two thirds of the audience had no idea who I was or why I was there, much less why I was qualified to address them. I had a hard time connecting with that audience, and it wasn’t until I got feedback at the end, that someone pointed out the fact that the audience didn’t know my qualifications to speak on the subject…

How the introduction should be written:

1. Your name should be mentioned only as the last two words of the intro.
2. The introduction should take 20 seconds or less (if you want to provide more background, you can put it in the program or on handouts given to the audience)
3. The order of info in the introduction must be:
   • Description of the topic
   • Why it is important to this audience; what they will get out of it
   • Why you are qualified to address the audience on the subject
   • The speaker’s full name, followed by addressing the speaker by his or her first name

Resist the temptation to write it in the reverse order; (speaker name, qualifications, and subject) Most people have a tendency to do it that way, but the order we prescribe works much better in building up an expectation for your talk. Honest!

Here is a quick example:

“The world’s whale population is diminishing at a rapid pace. Tonight we are going to learn about what we can do to stem this tide.

By stopping the decline in the whale population, the entire food chain is impacted positively; this means a great deal to our personal health, and the quality of fish we eat.

Our speaker has been President of the Save the Whale International Society for the past two years. He has personally been responsible for blah blah blah.

Please join me in a warm welcome for Paul Pilot. Paul?”