How To Introduce A Speaker Like A Pro
In this video I'm going to show you how to introduce a speaker like a pro. For instance, did you know that most introductions are about three sentences long? Or that the first sentence should be an attention-grabber? We'll also cover things like what to do if your intro is too short or too long, and what exactly "to whom" means in an introduction. It's not just about being professional - it's also about sounding polished!
Transcript:
Neiasha 0:06
And he's back
with mischief in his eyes. It's Ron Chapman, and (dramatic pausing between each word) "Provoke. Your. Audience".
Ron Chapman 0:22
Thanks for that enthusiastic introduction. Okay, everyone, go to your chat box and in one to five words, tell me what would provoke you right here and right now, knock yourselves out. Have some fun with this play with the audience in the chat box. What would provoke you? Drop it in there and let's see what we got four letter words.
All kinds, right, not just those four letter words. What else what would provoke you right now everyone?
Technology issues, provoked? Absolutely. Just had some of those didn't you? What would provoke you?
Another dog barking lies except if they're really good lies. Excellent. Mask not needed. Incompetence, of course. Yeah. Excellent. Y'all are playing this well. Now here's the really fun part that actually didn't overtly have anything to do with my content? Nope. Because I want to talk to you about how we get on the stage. Well, not just the introduction. But the way that a speaker gets to the stage well, because it's done so poorly so often. And there are four points to this that I'm going to cover. The one is title. The second is the intro itself. The third is the hook. And the fourth is working with your introducer, your emcee to make sure they are well prepared to introduce you. So let's start with the first one: Title. Alright, mine was short and hopefully pithy. And yes, those punctuation points, were part of the title Provoke. Your. Audience. It's intended to do one thing, to pique the interest of the audience. It could be witty, it could be humorous, it could be a double entendre, you could actually use a longer form if it really gets people to pay close attention. It doesn't necessarily have to foreshadow your content. The goal is to get your interest in the minds of your audience, that they're beginning to pay attention because it causes them to pay attention. If it's a competition speech, you might have to try 10, 12, 15 variations till you get one that really gets the audience to pay attention. So the first piece is your title. Its purpose is to get the audience's attention. The second piece is the intro. Now, let me demonstrate by giving you a really bad intro using me as the target. Ladies and gentlemen, Ron Chapman, DTM, MSW, Accredited speaker, five times district champ. Yes, he's even been a national radio commentator, awardee, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah for a long period of time, ladies and gentlemen, he's going to speak on 37 points in 60 minutes, that will certainly not bore you.
(Shrugs) Uh,
I actually saw a speaker with a five minute, five minute introduction. I and everybody else was gone by one minute in except for me timing everything she did, because she annoyed me so badly. She lost her audience. She forgot that the purpose of the introduction is not for me to wax philosophic about me. It's to get the audience to lean in, ready to get in the game with you. So if the title is to pique their interest, the intro is to get them leaning in. Let me try this one with our member, Dwayne Smith. Ladies and gentlemen, Dwayne Smith is one of the best and probably the sneakiest speaker I know. Somehow he gets these things and and you don't see him coming. He also happens to be the 2002 World Champion of Public Speaking. Give it up for Dwayne.
Yes, there's credibility in there.
There is wit there is humor. The goal is to get my audience ready to play the game, which sets up the third priests the hook. I use the chat box today to get them in because remember, we pique
their interest, they're leaning in. Now I want to hook them. The chat box works well in a video format, you could actually use humor, an anecdote, something short, not too long, you could actually ask a member of the audience instantly to step into the game, because what happens is the audience then really starts to pay attention. I once did a speech in front of a Toastmasters group, where I got the whole audience on the stage and me and the audience as my first act. And it worked beautifully well. It changes and gets people in the game. Remember, the point of this whole introductory process is to prep the audience for you. Now, the fastest way to undermine that, and this is point number four is to have an introducer who botches, boffs, screws up, even might forget your name. Anybody here ever done that to a speaker? No, you don't have to raise your hands. I know you have because I've been watching. I'm guilty, too. I'm guilty, because I don't prepare. I don't ask the speaker how they want to be introduced. I may not even understand some of the words. And so I botch the grammar. So shame on us as the presenter of others if we don't prepare them well, including working with them to prepare better. And shame on us as speakers for not working with our emcee or our Toastmaster to really get us on the stage right. Because if you can't get them in the first minute, there's a strong likelihood you won't get them. So I want to go back now. And I want the Neiasha to read that intro again, just the scripted pieces Neiasha lay it on us and listen now to what she has to say to get me on the stage. Neiasha, the floor is yours.
Neiasha 6:56
He's back with mischief in his eyes. It's Ron Chapman, and (dramatic pausing between each word) "Provoke. Your. Audience". Ron Chapman,
Ron Chapman 7:10
(happy exclamation) Right like that, Neiasha you are your beautiful, wonderful, thank you for practicing that.
listening, ready, and prepared to receive what it is you brought for them that night. That's the whole point. And that's all. Thank you, Neiasha.