Being Sensational
Write Your Own Introduction
How you’re introduced to an
audience is the first step to being sensational on the
stage. The introduction is a critical point in your
presentation, because it’s your audience’s first
exposure to you. You want it to be perfect! Don’t waste
this precious opportunity, an opportunity that lets you
paint a picture in your audience’s mind about who you
are. Leaving your introduction to the discretion of the
Master of Ceremonies isn’t going to give you the
powerful opening you need. Unfortunately, many speakers
omit this important step.
To write an effective
introduction, spare the audience from having to endure a
long and painful list of your accomplishments. They
don’t really care about what you’ve done that much. It’s
always best to keep your introduction short, sweet, and
powerful. Include only the information that’s really
important to your audience, and use your introduction as
a mood-setter.
At one of my recent events, I had
the privilege of introducing Peggy McColl, a New York
Times Best-Selling Author. You’ve already read about her
in this book.
Peggy has a list of
accomplishments that could go on forever, and I could
probably spend an entire twenty-minute presentation just
rattling off her past work. At our session, however, the
topic she was to present her advice about was how to
write a book in a single weekend. Peggy didn’t send me
an introduction, so I formulated my own. (I bet she
won’t do that again, after she reads this book!)
Even though I could have gone on
and on about how amazing she is, I restricted her
introduction to three relevant points:
1.
She’s a ‘New York Times’ best-selling author, and
this establishes respect for her work.
2.
She’s written eight books, and this establishes
her vast wisdom and experience.
3.
Her most recent book was written in a single
weekend, and this proves she’s just done what she’s
going to teach us to do.
Her introduction went something
like this, “Our next speaker is a New York Times Best
Selling Author. She recently completed her eighth book,
which she wrote in a single weekend, and she’s here
today to show you how she did it, so you can do
it too. Please help me welcome Peggy McColl.”
This is a simple, but effective
introduction. When you prepare your introduction,
include only the credentials that are relevant to the
situation. Make it short, make it sweet, and set
yourself up so that your audience awaits your first word
with baited breath.
So, what’s the lesson? Take
control of how you’re looked upon, as you step onto the
stage. Write your own introduction. |