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Expert MC Tip – A Bio is not an Intro

mic sure

A big mistake many MCs make and I’ve done it many times in the past myself  before I learnt better is using the Bio of a speaker as their Introduction.

Now I’m still amazed how many Speakers, even Professionals  who should know better, don’t bother providing a good Introduction before every presentation. So often  it’s up to you as the MC to craft one and  you often have to do it quite quickly.

A good Introduction can really set up a speakers own session. It can frame what the audience will learn and should serve to establish the credibility of the speaker to address the topic. It also allows the speaker to get straight into the meat of the presentation.

So, here are two approaches.

The first was taught to me by two legends in the MC  business here in Australia, Winston Marsh and Ron Tachhi. They both had slightly different wording but essentially it was the same frame work.

In your brief Introduction you must cover these 4 Points

  • Why this Speaker?
  • Why this Subject?
  • Why this Audience?
  • Why Now?

Now,  if you answer these 4 points, it gives a nice flow to the introduction, you establish the credibility of the Speaker, the importance of the subject, the link between the topic and the audience and you finish with excitement.

So,   jot that down in your MC Resource  book  and you’ll have a quick and easy  Framework to use at a moments notice

Now the second approach requires you to have at least a quick chat to your Speaker before they go on, but it introduces a slightly personal  element to the Introduction. This is taught in the Toastmasters Training I believe.

Get a small anecdote from the Speaker  or find out what their interests are and add that in. This gives a more personal touch and really helps connect the speaker to the audience.

Here are some Ideas.

  • Find out what sports team they support?
  • What hobby they are involved with?
  • Where did they grow up?
  • What music they would take on a long trip?

In fact if you are introducing a few speakers  over the course of an event you can use this as a running theme or joke, including it in every introduction, tying it all together.

Timothy Hyde

Widely acknowledged as one of Australia's busiest & best MC's and a global authority on the MC Industry, Timothy Hyde shares his expertise and insights into this fascinating Professional Speaking niche via this site and a dynamic YouTube channel. His best selling book The ExpertMC Toolkit and Resource Manual has helped thousands of people worldwide improve their Emcee skills and in many cases, start earning a living by taking on the role.

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