How To Introduce a Speaker to the Audience

A public speaker is different from an emcee.

Sure, they are both speaking, but how they are speaking is different.

The public speaker talks about a topic in-depth, while the emcee is the glue guy.

When you’re the emcee, your main goal is to bring the energy.

Think of yourself as the conductor of energy!

One part of your job is to introduce the speakers.

Introductions are highly important.

Let’s talk about what an introduction is, why it’s important, and a few things to keep in mind.

The Intro Before the Intro

The reason that the introduction is important in public speaking is because it’s the “intro before the intro.”

What does this mean?

It’s sort of like networking.

Imagine if you are hyping up James to Tommy a lot.

‘Dude, James fixes TVs better than anyone I know.’

Tommy is now aware of James’s skill level.

• This is an introduction to James’s identity.

One day, Tommy’s TV breaks.

So, you physically introduce him to James.

• This is an introduction to James.

There were 2 introductions:

• The pre & the present.

Likewise, introducing someone isn’t just about bringing someone on stage and that’s it.

It’s about hyping them up BEFORE they get on stage.

When you do that, you have successfully introduced them before you even introduced them.

The Power of a Powerful Intro

Imagine the following scenario.

In scenario 1, the host says:

‘I would now like to call up Ray Jones.’

Ray Jones gets up on stage and gives his talk.

For scenario 2, the host says:

‘Ray Jones is different than most people out there. He’s not just a researcher. He’s a researcher and a doer.  Ray has spent the past 30 years studying how to effectively build homes, his company has built affordable homes for 400+ families, and today, he is going to teach you guys how to create affordable high-quality homes! Without further ado, put your hands together for Ray Jones!’

Ray Jones gets up on stage and gives his talk.

Which talk do you think the audience will be more hyped for?

‘The second one, of course!’

Why?

‘Hm… because there were more words?’

Nope.

It’s because there is insight to who Ray Jones is, plus the host is delivering the introduction with enthusiasm.

If we kept the same lines from scenario 2 and removed the enthusiasm, it’d sound as dreadful as scenario 1.

Heck it would more dreadful because the audience would think:

‘Just bring this guy on stage already so we can get this over with.’

The main point to keep in mind is that the host has the power to influence the speaker’s speech just as much as the speaker.

Ask for an Introduction

In Toastmasters, we are told to write our own introduction that we can give to the host.

I believe this is the best thing to do.

Now the speaker can take some time to bring forth great moments from their life and put them on the card.

The Toastmaster just has to read the card out loud.

If you’re a speaker who has no clue what to write, here’s a tip:

• Avoid being too detailed.

The audience doesn’t need to know when you were born and in what hospital.

Talk about the relevant life experiences that deal with your talk and the event.

So, let’s say you were asked to speak at a seminar where they are trying to inspire entrepreneurs.

Your introduction card could have details on who you helped, whether you were ever an entrepreneur and a gist of what you are going to talk about.

Bring up life experiences that relate to the talk.

Avoid just bringing up random details from your life.

What if The Speaker Didn’t Give an Introduction Card?

If the speaker didn’t give an introduction card, then go online and see if there is content on the speaker.

The more famous the person, the less likely they are going to give you an introduction card.

If Jordan Peterson comes to your event, he’s going to expect you to research him appropriately to give him a proper intro.

Do your research and see how his life experiences deal with the event.

If they are not famous, then you can ask:

‘Hey bud, do you have your introduction card ready? This is the intro I’ll give you before your talk!’

They will make one, so you don’t have to research.

If you don’t want them to make their own card, just ask them some basic questions about who they are and what they plan to talk about.

To Remember or Not to Remember?

It shows a lot of professionalism when a host memorizes the introduction cards.

They don’t have to, but it’s clutch when they do.

What else is the host doing?

They aren’t given a speech or anything.

They are mainly being enthusiastic and being the glue guy.

If they can use their free time to memorize the cards, then it will make the optics look better.

It’s fine to have the physical cards present in case the host forgets something.

When the host memorizes most of the cards, he can now smoothly glance at the cards rather than stare at them.

The cards aren’t that difficult to memorize.

Just keep repeating them over and over for a specific day.

It’s very similar to memorizing someone’s phone number.

When you do it enough, it becomes light work.

Give A Solid Intro

The introduction plays a big role in public speaking.

A proper introduction:

• Hypes up the speaker.
• Hypes up the audience.
• Creates a synergistic relationship between the speaker and the audience.

A good intro is what I call the “intro before the intro.”

Even before the audience meets this speaker, they now understand who the speaker is.

When you set the tone the right way, the event flies by smoothly!

Practice giving the right intro.

All a host needs are enthusiasm and the ability to dictate the pace.

For more public speaking insights, check out the Speaking Wizard eBook: