Your guest speaker is an important element of your event, and the introduction to a speaker can have a huge effect on how that speaker is, at least initially, perceived by your audience. A good introduction makes it easier for your speaker to make immediate impact, and a bad introduction can handicap your speaker, in terms of having to recover from initial lost focus and/or low audience energy levels.
Having been introduced many times myself, and also after reading what popped up on Google when I typed in “introducing a speaker,” I thought I would share a few brief thoughts on the subject from a speaker’s point of view. This is of course highly subjective, but for what’s it’s worth, here goes:
To start with the negative end, there are two types of introductions that should be avoided. The first one is:
Just too long.
I have received introductions that were lengthy speeches all in themselves, going on for five minutes or more. These would recount details of individual phone calls I had with this person, the entire process of the committee deciding to hire me, and a listing of every book or play I’ve ever written and every city I’ve ever visited.
Now I am the first to admit that being up in front of a crowd with a microphone is delicious. So I can see how for some people, the opportunity to speak to a crowd is just too good to pass up. You may also feel like you need to help the speaker by telling the audience (at length) how much you like them. But this is redundant. If the speaker is good, they should be able to achieve that rapport with the audience on their own, without your help.
The second type of difficult introduction is:
Way too glowing.
When you have spent a lot of your organization’s money on a speaker, it’s understandable that you would be eager to justify the massive expense by telling everyone in the audience just how fabulously wonderful the speaker is.
However, while I enjoy recognition as much as anyone else, in this context it is inappropriate, at least in my humble opinion. When an “introducer” focuses too much on my biggest successes, and never says anything about my failures or shortcomings, there is a subtle implication that I am somehow better than everyone else, and right from the get-go that creates a divide between me and the audience.
I realize that an event owner can’t just stand up in front of a thousand people and say, “this guy was walking past on the sidewalk and we asked him to come in and give a talk. Will you please welcome Justin Locke.” But bear in mind, overly glowing introductions have the danger of belittling your audience, so it’s always good to keep the praise and listing of achievements in check. I would much prefer that the audience thought of me as a “regular guy” who is here to share some slightly different perspectives. Given a choice, I would much prefer that people discover I’m a good speaker than be told I’m a good speaker.
Audience belittlement aside, the other disadvantage of an overly praising introduction is, it sets the bar of expectations very high. This is not good audience management. If you tell everyone that the next speaker is just sort of okay, and that speaker comes out and is actually pretty good, everyone will be thrilled because the speaker exceeded their expectations.
On the other hand, if you introduce your speaker as the second coming of Christ, and that speaker is merely fantastic, you have inadvertently created disappointment.
Part of being a professional speaker is being able to set the mood and establish rapport with the audience. Obviously, if your speaker is not a professional, that’s a different situation. But if you have a professional speaker, you may as well let them earn their money. Don’t feel compelled to set the mood. If your speaker is good, they can, and will prefer to, do that on their own.
Now there is never a one-size-fits-all to apply here. Some speakers aren’t speakers per se, they are known for doing something else, and their mere celebrity presence is the draw and “product” of the event. In those cases, perhaps a longer intro by an MC is appropriate. But for me, a recounting of what I have done in the past in other fields is not my product. My product is the experience you are about to have, and a smoothly delivered introduction is the overture; it’s part of the show. Work with your speaker to get a good “handoff.”
There is an old axiom in show business, which is “get to the [expletive deleted] point.” One of the best examples of a speaker introduction is how late-night talk show hosts introduce guests or stand-up comedians. There are usually no more than three or four brief elements to such introductions:
1) (if not famous:) our next guest is (name),
2) he/she has appeared at (one or two brief references to their achievements),
3) he/she is here to tell us about (today’s topic, their book, issue that they will help you with),
4) (applause cue:) will you please welcome (name again).
© Justin Locke
Justin Locke is an entertaining speaker. Call him at 781 330-8143 to discuss having him appear at your next event.
