How to introduce a speaker

Question

At my next big event, I want to show respect to the speaker and his attendees. I know there are formal and informal ways to introduce a special guest. I know I cannot say whatever I want to introduce this person, even if I know him. So, what makes a good, memorable introduction for a speaker?

Answer 1

First and foremost, you cannot simply state the person’s name; you have to state the speaker’s mission and his or her intended purpose for the audience. You want to be detailed and concise at the same time. The more detailed the introduction is, the better reaction the audience has toward the speaker. You want the audience to be impressed by the speaker before he steps foot onto stage. Flattery is the best way to win over a speaker who will hopefully win over the audience in return.

At the same time, you want to be concise with your words. Even at the most professional banquets and rallies, people get restless when a speaker gets onstage. You have to remember that another person is making the long speech and you are not.

Include the three main parts of any speech introduction: the speaker’s name, his background or profession and his mission or reason for being in attendance. When you include these three main details, you are guaranteed to write a good introduction that impresses everyone.

Answer 2

Know the right way to introduce a speaker at your major event. Learn as much as you can about the speaker first by doing a few hours of research at least.

Do not rely only on a Wikipedia article to learn about the speaker. Before the speech, you may want to interview the speaker and acquire more information about his cause. The interview could be only five minutes as long as you gather the main facts. You are not writing an essay or training to become a journalist, so there is no need to become strained. As he speaks to you, take notes and then include the most important facts in your speech introduction.

Once you know a lot of important details about your speaker, build your speech from scratch. Then, read the speech out loud to know which parts to include or take out. You want to time yourself as you read because no one wants to listen to an introduction that is too long.

Comments

I've been wondering about this for a long time. Many people really don't know how to introduce a speaker. And I can totally agree that the single most important thing of introducing a speaker is to get as many details about the speaker as possible.