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| Introduce your speaker |
The purpose of your introduction is twofold – to set the guest speaker for the audience and the audience for the speaker. This applies whether you are introducing the speaker to an auditorium of 2,000 conference attendees or to your sales team of 6.
Set up the guest speaker for the audience
You want the audience to be interested in the topic and to recognize why this guest speaker is the one best qualified to speak to them at this time. You want to create anticipation and credibility in the minds of the audience.
Set the audience for the speakerYou want the speaker to feel welcomed by the group. That is why the last words of introduction might be, “please welcome our speaker, George Torok”. Most speakers, even professional speakers, feel some speech anxiety as they begin their speech. There is nothing like applause and smiling faces to make your speaker feel welcomed.
Tips to prepare the introduction
Ask the speaker for a written introduction – not a bio.
Do not sabotage the credibility of the introduction by saying, “The speaker asked me to read this.”
Rehearse the introduction before you deliver it.
Ask the speaker to say their name for you – then repeat it back to check pronunciation.
Do not make jokes about the speaker – unless the speaker has instructed you to do so.
How this CEO introduced his expert speakerI heard how one CEO established instant credibility for his professional speaker who was about to speak to his account reps. The CEO first announced that he hired Peter, this expert speaker to work with them for the day to help improve sales. So he asked the group, “How much do you think I am paying this Peter?” The group got out their calculators and expressed several possibilities on how much an hour one person might charge. All of their guesstimates were miserably low. Then the CEO announced, “I’m paying Peter $10,000 to speak to you today so listen up!”
That worked. They eagerly listened.
Look here for more tips on how to introduce the guest speaker
Introduce your guest speaker well. Of course, you can use these same tips when you want someone to introduce you as the guest speaker.
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1 comment:
You are correct about the importance of the Introduction, George.
The Introduction is an integral part of the speech. It is the king's trumpeters announcing the king and should build anticipation.
The Introduction should answer three questions:
WHY this subject?
WHY this speaker?
WHY now?
It's a great place to have a third party tell the audience YOUR credentials and expertise.
Thanks for the Post!
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