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HOW TO INTRODUCE A SPEAKER
Eventually, as you participate in your club, you will serve as Toastmaster of the meeting. One of your roles as Toastmaster will be to introduce the speakers. Every speaker deserves a thoughtful and helpful introduction. The best introductions help the speaker and the audience establish a common bond.
An introduction is a small speech -- less than a minute in your Toastmasters club -- which contains all the elements of a full speech. It has an opening, which grabs the audience's attention and makes them aware of the importance of the upcoming subject. It has a body, which explains why the subject was chosen, why the speaker is qualified to address it, why it is appropriate this audience, and why this time is appropriate to discuss it. It has a conclusion, which in this case allows the speaker to begin the presentation.
Your introduction should tell the audience about the speaker's expertise and give relevant background information. You should set the mood of the audience for this particular speech, an especially challenging task if there is a marked change from the mood of the preceding talk.
While covering these points, be careful not to give the speaker's speech. Allusions to the topic will arouse audience interest without taking away from the speaker's impact. Build expectation and end your introduction when interest peaks. Weave the speaker's name into the introduction as much as possible, so the audience will clearly relate this speaker with this topic. Above all, don't overdo it. Say what needs to be said, then sit down.
An introduction requires almost as much preparation as a full speech. You will need to contact the speaker in advance and discuss the relevant information about the speech and speaker. You should then make an outline of your introduction and rehearse it. Good preparation will clearly show, and both the audience and the speaker will appreciate it.
Consider this example of a poorly prepared introduction:
Our speaker, Linh Singh, has been a Toastmaster for two years and is currently our Vice President Membership. Tonight Linh is going to tell us about teenage drivers. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Linh Singh.
Then compare it with this example of a proper introduction:
Two years ago Linh Singh's seventeen-year-old son died in a traffic accident. What Linh learned after the accident stunned him. One in five teenage drivers has a crash in their first year of driving, and motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 15 to 20 year-olds. In the two years since his son's death, Linh has worked with our state's motor vehicle department to develop a program for teenagers about safe driving and advocates stricter laws for teenage drivers. Many of us have children who are learning to drive or who will be driving in the next few years. In his speech entitled "Help Them Arrive Alive," Linh will tell us what we must do as parents to ensure our children drive safely. Please welcome Linh Singh.
For more information, read the Toastmasters International pamphlet "Introducing the Speaker" and the Better Speaker Series program "Creating an Introduction."