Introducing Another Speaker

00:00 So how do you give a great introduction for someone else who's going to speak? For starters, you have to realize that it's just an introduction, but it doesn't mean it's not an opportunity to make a horrible impression.

00:14 No impression or a great impression.

00:16 You might as well make a great impression.

00:18 It is still a presentation.

00:21 A speech. Make the most of it.

00:23 The worst thing you can do is just read off the person's biography in a straightforward way. So-and-so graduated from the Milton Academy in 19, blah, blah, blah. That's boring.

00:35 Anyone can do that.

00:36 And you're putting the audience to sleep.

00:37 You're doing yourself no favors.

00:38 You're doing no favors to the person speaking.

00:41 What you need to do is look at the person's biography.

00:44 Then think of all this stuff.

00:46 What's most interesting and relevant to the audience.

00:49 It's going to make them want to pay even more attention, and going to make them think This is really a person we have to listen to.

00:56 Now, if you have any personal stories, vignettes, anecdotes with the person, weave that in, but be careful, realize the audience isn't there to hear you speak. They are there to hear the speaker.

01:09 So you really need to do this, ideally in less than a minute.

01:13 If it's an hour-long speech, don't go more than 2 minutes.

01:18 And again, try to keep it under a minute.

01:22 Try to focus on just the ideas that are most credible and interesting to the audience that are going to whet their appetite to hear from the speaker. And don't read with your head down.

01:35 You still want to have good eye contact, and you want to make people feel good about the person that they just made a time investment in coming to see.