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Put the Pitch on Pause!
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Gary - That's a great question, and I think many speakers underestimate just how important the introduction is. Because your intro will likely be your first impression on the audience, I think of it like the on-ramp to the freeway (if your presentation is the freeway). If you come down the on-ramp sputtering, then the first part of your presentation is going to be spent getting up to speed, or hitting your groove, with the audience. If, though, you can get up to full speed on the on-ramp, then momentum is on your side when you take the stage. So what makes for a great speaker intro? There are two big factors, in my opinion. #1 - Brevity. This isn't a time to stroke your own ego with your accomplishments. Try to highlight just the items that have direct relevance to your presentation content. Your goal with your intro should be to share just enough to establish credibility, and if possible, something that would help you connect with the audience you're about to address. As program chair for the IASB Convention recently, I had to review all of our speaker intros and many of them were far too long. Definitely don't submit your bio as your intro. For one thing, your bio is way too long to serve as an intro. And if someone does try to shorten it, they probably won't do so optimally. #2 - Your introducer. The person introducing you is rarely as skilled behind the mic as you are, and that's one reason for keeping your intro short. There's nothing that sucks the energy out of a room like having to sit through a 5-minute monotone intro! I suggest meeting with your introducer for a few moments before your presentation. Have a casual conversation and try to get to know one another on some level. Then maybe the person can weave some "personal" remarks into the intro -- like "I was just speaking with Gary and..." The other thing to do during this chat is offer some on-the-fly speech training. Explain what an important role this person is playing in your speech today and how grateful you are to have them introducing you. Then share some tips on what they can do to ease their nerves and hit their own home run with the audience (another opportunity to take the "How can I help you?" approach!). Does that help? Thanks for your question! -- Shawn E. Have a question? Just ask!
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Who
is
Shawn Ellis? Shawn is the founder and president of The
Speakers Group, a firm that serves to optimize connections between
professional speakers and meeting and event planners. He has been
working with top speakers since 1999 and is known as a trusted partner
to speakers and planners alike, having booked speakers for hundreds of
events over the past decade. With the Succeed Speaking newsletter,
Shawn aims to combine his knowledge of the speaking profession and the
meetings industry with a passion for entrepreneurship and small
business optimization to help professional and aspiring speakers build
successful, sustainable speaking enterprises. |
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