You have practiced your delivery and you know what your audience wants/needs to hear.
All critical for your success on the platform.
BUT – What haven’t you done? What often goes missing?
Your introduction. What the meeting organizer says about YOU just before you jump on stage.
Recently I visited the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santé Fe, NM. One entire wall exhibited picture frames that she liked to use for her art.
This wall, in a small museum, was devoted to frames? Not her art?
Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Sante Fe, NM
Of course. O’Keeffe understood that the picture frame mattered. It could enhance or detract from the art itself.
The same principle applies to your presentations. The way you get introduced frames the way you are perceived. Why leave this to chance?
🎤 Your homework
Write your own introduction and email it to the meeting planner. Bring an extra copy as well, in case the emcee loses it (happens a lot).
🎤 Your payoff
- More predictability.
- More energy.
- Less speaker anxiety.
One client who speaks across the country told me, “Karen, having a great introduction sets the stage in such a better way for me. It calms my nerves, and I start off with more power. It’s one of the best takeaways from working with you.”
Stay tuned for tips on how to write clever and fun introductions.
#speakforyourself #karencortellreisman #speechintroduction #communication
Wonderful advice, as always Karen. Great suggestion for how my dental assistants introduce me as well. Thanks for the tip!
Hi Mary – you have added on a great second tip here: a casual introduction about you, the dentist, from your dental assistant or hygienist, is a fabulous credibility sprinkle for your patients to hear. Thank you for your comment!
Karen
I’ve always struggled with intros. Editing/condensing is so difficult. Thanks for these tips, Karen.
Harry – Use this template and you’ll gain more audience traction … even before you say anything! So glad you find this post helpful.