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.