You have been asked to introduce the guest speaker at a Rotary meeting...
These notes were presented to the Rotary Club of West Ottawa by club member Keith Fraser
You have been given their C.V., you have read it over carefully, you have planned your introduction, you have practiced your intro several times and it should take
NO LONGER THAN TWO MINUTES MAXIMUM
There is a simple formula to help you in preparing your intro.
Why this subject? Why for this audience?
Why at this time? Why this speaker?
These are also useful guidelines for the program chairman.
From the C.V., choose only those things that explain why the speaker is here today. Remember that the speaker is the hero of the hour, but don’t read their backgrounds in exhaustive detail. A list of dates, honours, degrees, job experience becomes boring, so emphasize only those that are relevant. Personal life, family, ages of children, generally add very little unless the topic is child care or education.
Don’t lay the welcome on too thick. Avoid stock phrases such as,
“It is indeed my pleasure", "a distinct privilege",
"The great treat that awaits us”, (you might be wrong).
My brother said to avoid mentioning the speaker’s name until the end. But it seems clumsy to me to have to repeat HE or SHE or OUR SPEAKER, and then triumphantly announce the name at the end like pulling a rabbit out of a hat. But make sure you know how to pronounce the speaker’s name.
And to conclude, here again, avoid phrases like, “without further ado” or the dreadful “Fellas, how do me greet our speaker?” … I much prefer simply turning to the speaker and saying, “Dr. Jones.” Or even better, if you have a good rapport during the mean, “Bill. Or Martha.”
This speech took two minutes.
These notes have been culled from a talk, several times repeated, by my brother whose career was in advertising and public relations and included lecturing on public speaking at Carleton University. I have timed this presentation to give you an idea of how long one or two minutes takes to talk.