Written by: Dr. Robert A. Portnoy, Ph.D., SLP, SPHR, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
How you’re Introduced matters. You’ve spent hours preparing and practicing your presentation. You walk into the room and an eager audience is all set to listen to your every word. You’re ready.
The host steps to center stage and introduces you with these words:
I’m pleased to introduce our speaker. We’re glad he’s with us today. I haven’t met him before today, but I’m sure he’ll give us a fine presentation. So here he is.
Whoops! That’s not what you were hoping to hear. Suddenly you realize that you missed a precious opportunity – the chance to shape how you would be introduced.
The Perils of Surrendering Control
Ready or not, the impact that your presentation will potentially have on your audience is in no small part determined by the person who will be introducing you. If you passively sit back and wait for that introduction, you are surrendering control over what your listeners will hear about you and your topic.
By taking a more active role, you can shape the introduction and in so doing, you will have more control over the first impression your listeners form about you.
How to Shape Your Own Introduction
Speaker introductions, if done effectively, get the audience in a listening frame of mind. Just like your own presentation, the person who introduces you needs to pique interest by informing your listeners why they should listen to you.
Effective introductions should answer the four questions going through every listener’s mind before a presentation begins. If not done, it could dilute the impact of your presentation and potentially be disastrous to your credibility. Here are some guidelines that can help.
Listeners want to know answers to these four questions:
Why should I listen to you in the first place?
Why should I care?
What do you want me to remember?
What do you want me to do?
The Four-Step Plan in Action
Offer this Four-Step-Plan to the person who will introduce you:
Here’s why people in the audience should listen to me in the first place . . .
Here's why they should care ...
Here's what I want them to remember ...
Here's what I want them to do ...
Now an example of a speaker’s introduction as guided by The Four-Step Plan:
We’re all here today because computer hacking is warfare, and the war is being waged in the privacy of our own homes.
If we don't learn how to protect ourselves from these vicious attacks, the financial future of everyone we love could be ruined – our privacy, our life savings, our identities instantly stolen from us with the click of a mouse.
Our speaker today is an expert on how to protect against the devastation of cyber warfare. If you remember nothing else, remember this – what he's about to tell you can save the very essence of who you are and everything you hold dear.
Join me in welcoming the person who can give us back our peace of mind and help us defeat the silent and hidden digital enemies who threaten our future.
Should you write your own introduction? Maybe so. Talk it over with the person who will introduce you for their preferences.
Whether or not you provide an actual script is less important than providing The Four-Step Plan along with the key point to be covered in each step.
By doing so, you have taken the crucial steps to:
Set up your listeners to pay attention
Stay in control of what they hear
Ultimately protect your own credibility as a presenter
Offer to Help Your Host
Offering to provide some ideas for how to introduce you will be welcomed, if done graciously.
Don’t Say This...
I know you’re busy, so I prepared my introduction for you.
I’ve been burned before when someone introduced me, so here’s what I want you to say. This introduction puts me in the best light, so please read it word for word.
Instead, Graciously Offer Ideas...
Thanks for introducing me, I have a few ideas for what you might say. Would you like to see them?
I’m so honored that you will be introducing me. If you’re looking for some key points to highlight what I’ll be covering, I’m happy to share them with you.
I just came up with an idea that you might use when you introduce me. I’m excited about sharing it with you because it links what I’ll be talking about to your company’s mission. Would you like to see it?
Take Charge to Shine in the Spotlight
Your words matter. Your ideas can change minds. Your impact can produce results. Presentation skills mean business. Your presentation skills set you up for success.
If the person who introduces you falters, you’re off to a shaky start at best. Your credibility could suffer and your professional brand could be tarnished.
Now, YOU have guidelines to shine in the spotlight. AND, now you can help others help you shine.
Written by Dr. Robert Portnoy, Ph.D., Executive Speech Coach and Master Trainer at the Learn to Present Academy, offering professional certification as a master presenter.
For more great tips to improve your effectiveness as a presenter, grab our “Ultimate Presentation Skills Toolkit” here. It’s a quick read and handy reference to design and deliver your next presentation.
Dr. Robert A. Portnoy, Ph.D., SLP, SPHR, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Dr. Robert A. Portnoy is the President and Master Trainer at the Learn to Present Academy. Clinically and professionally trained Dr. Portnoy helps businesses increase their productivity through effective communication. Whether coaching executives deliver compelling presentations, enabling managers to boost employee performance by aligning daily work to company goals, or preparing job seekers to stand out with stellar interviewing skills, effective communication drives results. Dr. Portnoy's proprietary methods are time-tested, research based, and produce visible and measurable results.
