As an event planner it may fall to you to introduce on stage the professional speaker you’ve hired for your event.
The speaker introduction is an important part of any event as it sets the tone for what is to follow. A good introduction will grab the audience’s attention, get them to focus and motivate them to listen. And it’s a pretty big responsibility. In fact, it’s such a big responsibility that many professional speakers don’t feel comfortable having other people write their introductions. Many speakers opt to write their own introductions and provide them to the event planner or person who will be introducing them.
Even if your speaker will be providing his or her own introduction, there are a number of things you should keep in mind about on-stage introductions. Here are seven tips to consider when it’s your duty to introduce a speaker.
Tip No. 1: Explain three things. Coming up with the content of your introduction should be fairly straightforward. Essentially you want to explain three things:
• what the speaker’s topic is;
• why the topic is relevant to the audience; and
• why the speaker is qualified to speak about the topic.
If you cover these three talking points, your introduction will pretty much write itself. Don’t go overboard though. You don’t want to give a complete outline of the presentation or give anything away. A short sentence that summarizes the general topic or theme is enough.
Tip No. 2: Keep it short. Your introduction should be short – as short as possible, really. One minute is probably long enough. Two minutes should be plenty. Your intro should definitely be no more than three minutes.
Tip No. 3: Be enthusiastic. If you’re excited about your speaker, your audience will be too.
Tip No. 4: Practise, practise, practise. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Practise, practise, practise! Draft your introduction – write it down – and practise it often. You may even want to attempt to memorize it. Though, some of the information commonly given in an introduction – the speaker’s education background and relevant work experience, for instance – is not always easy to remember. By writing it down and having a cue card to reference, you’ll be sure to get the facts straight. And on that note…
Tip No. 5: Get things right. Make sure your facts are accurate, and that you know the correct name – and topic – of the speaker’s presentation. Run your introduction by the speaker so he or she can confirm that what you plan on saying is accurate and truthful. And be sure to confirm the correct pronunciation of any tricky names or terminology.
Tip No. 6: Don’t exaggerate. Don’t refer to your speaker as “the best speaker you’ll ever hear.” And don’t claim his presentation will change your audience’s life. Claims like these may create feelings of skepticism or disbelief in your audience. You want them to come into the presentation with an open mind, not pre-conceived notions.
Tip No. 7: End on a high note and with a simple statement. Your introduction should build to a climax and end with a simple statement of introduction. Something along the lines of: “Ladies and gentlemen, give a warm welcome to John Doe!” By inviting the audience to welcome the speaker, you ensure he or she will be received with applause.
Follow these guidelines and your speaker introduction is sure to go smoothly. And hey, you never know, maybe once you get a taste for speaking in public you’ll want to pursue professional speaking yourself!
If you have any tips or tricks on how to craft and give speaker introductions, share them with us here or on the Inspiring Speakers Bureau Facebook page. Have a great weekend!
