How to Introduce a Guest Speaker (with Examples)

May 25, 2023

people sitting on gang chairs

Introducing a guest speaker is an important responsibility that sets the stage for their presentation and creates an atmosphere of anticipation. A well-crafted introduction not only provides essential information about the speaker but also captivates the audience and builds excitement. In this article, we will explore the art of how to introduce a guest speaker and how to craft a brilliant script for introducing a guest speaker.

From the best way to introduce a speaker to example speeches and tips for making a memorable impact, we will equip you with the tools to deliver introductions that engage, entertain, and leave a lasting impression.

What Is the Best Way to Introduce a Speaker?

Introducing a speaker effectively requires careful planning and consideration. Here are some key elements to keep in mind for how to introduce a guest speaker successfully.

1. Research and gather information.

Before introducing the guest speaker, conduct thorough research to gather relevant information about their background, achievements, and expertise. This will help you create an introduction that is both personalized and impactful.

2. Establish credibility.

Highlight the speaker’s credentials and accomplishments to establish their credibility in the eyes of the audience. Share their relevant experience, expertise, and any notable achievements that are relevant to the topic of their presentation.

3. Create a connection.

Find a compelling way to establish a connection between both the speaker and the audience. This can be through shared interests, experiences, or values. For example, if you’re introducing a guest speaker at your university who happens to be an alumnus of your school, make sure you draw attention to that in your introduction. Creating a relatable connection helps the audience connect with the speaker right from the start.

4. Build anticipation.

Engage the audience’s curiosity by giving a glimpse of what the speaker will later cover in their presentation. Tease key points, intriguing anecdotes, or unique perspectives that the audience can look forward to during the talk. This builds anticipation and captures attention for the following presentation.

5. Keep it concise and engaging.

Aim for a concise, but also interesting, introduction. Use short, direct sentences that convey information clearly. In addition, avoid lengthy biographies or unnecessary details that may lose the audience’s interest. Finally, craft your words carefully to maintain a lively and engaging tone.

How to Use AI to Practice Introducing a Guest Speaker

When it comes time to practice your guest speaker introduction speech, Yoodli , an AI-powered communication coach, becomes your invaluable practice partner. With Yoodli’s cutting-edge technology and generative AI , you can rehearse and refine your introduction in a virtual, judgement-free environment. Its personalized feedback helps you fine-tune your tone, pacing, and overall delivery, ensuring that you make a powerful impact when introducing a guest speaker.

A screenshot demonstrating how to use Yoodli to practice how to introduce a guest speaker.

Furthermore, Yoodli automatically generates a transcription of your speech, analyzing it for keywords. This means you can get a sense of how your audience might interpret your speech’s overall message and main points. With Yoodli’s assistance, you can gain confidence, practice your high income skills (like your storytelling skills, for example) and create an introduction that captivates as well as energizes the audience.

Examples of How to Introduce a Guest Speaker

To illustrate the power of a great guest speaker introduction, let’s take a look at an example of how to introduce a guest speaker.

Example of a general introduction for a guest speaker

Good morning, all! Today, we have the privilege of being in the presence of a true visionary and leader in the field of environmental sustainability. Our guest speaker has dedicated her career to finding innovative solutions for a greener and more sustainable future. [Speaker’s name], the CEO of [organization/company name], has successfully spearheaded numerous initiatives that have had a profound impact on our environment. Under her leadership, the company has revolutionized the way we approach sustainability challenges, pushing boundaries and inspiring change. With over two decades of experience in environmental engineering, [Speaker’s name] has been at the forefront of designing groundbreaking technologies and implementing sustainable practices in industries ranging from renewable energy to waste management. Her expertise has earned her international recognition and multiple prestigious awards. But it’s not just her professional achievements that make her special. [Speaker’s name] is a passionate advocate for educating the next generation on the importance of environmental stewardship. Her engaging speaking style and ability to connect with audiences of all backgrounds make her an inspiration to many. Today, [Speaker’s name] will be sharing her insights on how we can create a more sustainable future through innovation and collaboration. Get ready to be inspired, challenged, and empowered to take action. Please join me in giving a warm welcome to the exceptional [Speaker’s name]!

This example highlights the speaker’s credentials, builds a connection, creates anticipation, and sets the stage for an engaging and informative presentation.

Example of a personal anecdote for a guest speaker introduction

“Picture this: It was a sunny afternoon in the heart of our city, and I found myself walking through the bustling streets, surrounded by the sound of honking cars and the hum of conversation. Amidst the chaos, I stumbled upon a small park nestled between towering buildings — a hidden oasis of greenery and serenity.

As I entered the park, I noticed a group of children huddled around a captivating woman who stood in front of a majestic oak tree. It was none other than our esteemed guest speaker, [Speaker’s name]. She was engaging the children in a lively discussion about the wonders of nature and the importance of preserving our environment.

What struck me most was the way [Speaker’s name] effortlessly connected with these young minds, sparking their curiosity and inspiring them to take action. I watched as she shared stories of her own childhood adventures exploring forests, climbing trees, and discovering the beauty of our natural world.

In that moment, I realized the profound impact [Speaker’s name] had on these children: instilling a deep love and respect for the environment. Her passion was contagious, and it reminded me of the power we all possess to make a difference, no matter how small.

From that day forward, I became an avid follower of [Speaker’s name]’s work. Her commitment to environmental stewardship and her ability to connect with people from all walks of life is truly remarkable. Today, we have the incredible honor of welcoming her to this stage to share her insights and inspire us all to join the movement for a greener and more sustainable future.

Please finally join me in giving a warm welcome to the extraordinary [Speaker’s name]!”

What Do You Say First When Introducing a Guest Speaker?

The first few sentences of a guest speaker introduction are crucial in capturing the audience’s attention and setting the tone for the entire introduction. Here are some effective opening lines to consider adding to your script when introducing a guest speaking.

1. Engage listeners with a thought-provoking question.

Start with a thought-provoking question related to the speaker’s topic or expertise. This immediately grabs the audience’s attention and, what’s more, encourages them to actively participate in the introduction. For example: “Have you ever wondered how a single individual can make a significant impact on global environmental issues?”

2. Begin with a captivating anecdote or story.

Introduce the speaker by sharing a captivating anecdote or story that relates to their work or accomplishments. This narrative approach instantly draws the audience in and also builds an emotional connection.

3. Use a powerful quote.

Start with a powerful quote that encapsulates the essence of the speaker’s message or expertise. Quotes are attention-grabbing and can also convey a sense of authority and relevance. For example: “As Albert Einstein once said, ‘We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.'” You can find some powerful quotes from the best motivational speeches , too.

4. Make a bold statement.

Begin your script to introduce your guest speaker with a bold and impactful statement that immediately captures the audience’s attention. This statement should be concise yet intriguing, sparking curiosity as well as setting the stage for the speaker’s presentation. Attention getters are perfect for this. For example: “Today, you’re about to witness a groundbreaking approach to tackling one of the most pressing challenges of our time: climate change.”

Remember, the opening lines of your script to introduce a guest speaker are the gateway to engaging the audience and setting the stage for a memorable presentation. Choose an approach that aligns with the speaker’s personality as well as the event’s atmosphere, and don’t be afraid to be creative and captivating.

The Main Takeaway

Giving an introduction for a guest speaker is an art that requires careful planning, research, and an understanding of the audience’s expectations. By following the principles discussed in this article and using examples as inspiration, you can deliver introductions that engage, entertain, and leave a lasting impression. Remember, the goal is to set the stage for the speaker’s presentation and create a sense of excitement and anticipation.

So, go ahead, embrace the power of a well-crafted introduction, and make every guest speaker’s presence an unforgettable experience for your audience.

Start practicing with Yoodli.

Getting better at speaking is getting easier. Record or upload a speech and let our AI Speech Coach analyze your speaking and give you feedback.

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How to Write and Deliver an Engaging Guest Speaker Introduction

Last Updated: April 3, 2023 Fact Checked

Sample Speeches

Writing the introduction, delivering the speech, expert q&a.

This article was co-authored by Deb DiSandro and by wikiHow staff writer, Ali Garbacz, B.A. . Deb DiSandro is the Owner of Speak Up On Purpose, an organization dedicated to improving and teaching public speaking. Deb has over 30 years of experience as a national speaker and has presented at the Erma Bombeck Writer’s Conference and the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. She was awarded the National Speakers Association Member of the Year 2007 and has been published in Writer's Digest, Daily Herald, Women's Day, and Better Homes & Gardens. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 1,188,187 times.

Introducing a guest speaker is quite an honor. As the introducer, you get the audience excited about the talk they’re about to hear and play a crucial role in connecting the speaker to their audience on a more human level. Writing the perfect introduction speech requires some research and rehearsal on your part, but rest assured that you’ll be left with a speech that’ll leave your audience wanting more. Keep reading for our complete guide to writing the best introduction speech. Also, take a look at the samples we’ve included to get help you get started.

Things You Should Know

  • Establish the guest speaker’s credibility by mentioning notable achievements and experiences that relate to the topic of their speech.
  • Share a quick anecdote or surprising fact about the guest speaker to paint a picture of their personality and character.
  • Get the audience excited for the upcoming presentation with a short sentence stating what the guest speaker will be talking about.
  • Wait until the very end to introduce the guest speaker by their full name and title.

introduction speech to a guest speaker

Researching the Speaker

Step 1 Ask the speaker what they’d like you to say.

  • When the speaker provides an introduction for you, use it. Read it over a few times and don’t hesitate to ask them for any clarification if you need it.

Step 2 Find out the speaker’s topic and who their audience is.

  • For example, if the speech is about encouraging young girls to learn computer programming, don’t spend time explaining how the speaker can teach these skills to adults.
  • Additionally, if the audience is mostly people who work in the education field rather than computer programming, avoid using a lot of jargon specific to computer programming so the audience can follow along better.

Step 3 Gather biographical information about the speaker.

  • Another method is to ask the speaker for their resume. Use this to pick out their most notable achievements to help establish their credibility.
  • A good introduction goes beyond just reciting the speaker’s personal history. However, noting their most relevant and impressive achievements will help establish them as an authoritative figure to the audience.

Step 4 Avoid using sensitive or embarrassing information without approval.

  • Always get the speaker’s permission before using these details. If you need to use this information, have an explanation ready as to why it’s important to your introduction.

Step 5 Find other speeches the speaker has given.

  • Be careful if you’re using pieces from another speech since it is copyrighted material and can’t be used without the speaker’s permission. Talk directly to the speaker about using these portions, or rephrase the section in your own words.

Step 6 Include a surprising detail if it works in your intro.

  • “Many don’t know that John Doe originally went to school for law, but ended up choosing psychology instead. Just like many of you, he didn’t have much of an idea of where his life would take him. Little did he know that his legal studies would actually help him to become one of the most renowned therapists we know today.”

Step 7 Master pronouncing the speaker’s name.

  • Avoid using overly casual language to refer to the speaker, such as “guy,” “girl,” or “kid.” Instead, use “person,” “woman,” or “man.”

Step 1 Keep the introduction under 1 minute.

  • “Jane’s passion for creative writing goes back to her high school days where she began the draft for her very first novel at the age of 15. By the time she was entering her sophomore year of college at 19 years old, she had already published her first book.”
  • “John has received recognition and praise from some of the largest Fortune 500 companies for his dedication to creating curriculums to help strengthen teamwork in the workplace. He’s received multiple awards for his work and has even gone on to write a book sharing his unique insights and perspective.”

Step 3 Tell the audience what they’ll be learning from the speaker.

  • “Jane will tell you exactly how you can manifest every single one of your goals by making just five simple changes in your daily life.”
  • “John is here today to share the secret to maximizing your savings so you can live freely without ever having to worry about finances again.”

Step 4 Include a short personal anecdote if you have one.

  • “John and I met a few years back and immediately bonded over the struggle of maintaining a healthy work-life balance. I’m sure many of us can relate to this.”
  • “Jane’s book on navigating childcare in our current economy struck me at a very deep level. I’ve never read such relatable and honest words, and her work has given me comfort and reassurance during these unpredictable times.”

Step 5 Focus more on the speaker’s credibility rather than humor.

  • For example, you might say, “John Smith’s story working in the lumber industry inspired me to go out and build a cabinet. Unsurprisingly, it fell apart within five minutes of being built. I went back to him, and he was sure to reassure me that it’s a practice that requires much patience.”

Step 6 Introduce the speaker’s name at the end.

  • “Please join me in welcoming Dr. John Smith!”
  • “Here to discuss her newest book, “How to Live a Happier Life,” please give a warm welcome to Jane Doe.”
  • “Here to share his unique perspective on the current political climate, please welcome Professor John Doe.”

Step 7 Read your speech aloud to catch any errors.

  • Also, practice using a friendly and relaxed tone when you give your speech to avoid coming off as super stiff and nervous.
  • To overcome stage fright , recite the introduction while looking in a mirror. Once you feel comfortable, rehearse it in front of family and friends.

Step 2 Rehearse the introduction sparingly before going on stage.

  • For example, “Good evening. My name is Alex Brown, and I’m the organizer of this event.”
  • If everyone in the audience is familiar with you, there’s no need to introduce yourself.

Step 4 Show lots of enthusiasm while speaking.

  • Get the speaker’s approval of the introduction you’ve written. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
  • Forget about cliches such as “This person needs no introduction.” Instead, focus on making your introduction unique and descriptive. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
  • Ask the speaker to revise a provided introduction if you don’t feel that it’s right for the audience they’ll be presenting to. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

introduction speech to a guest speaker

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  • ↑ https://www.dacdb.com/Rotary/Accounts/5110/Downloads/30398/how-to-introduce-a-speaker.pdf
  • ↑ https://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/9780472035090-unit1.pdf
  • ↑ http://canuwrite.com/speech_introduce.php
  • ↑ http://www.write-out-loud.com/introduction-speech.html
  • ↑ https://hbr.org/2016/10/how-to-memorably-introduce-another-speaker
  • ↑ https://westsidetoastmasters.com/resources/talk_your_way/ch15.html
  • ↑ https://publicwords.com/2011/11/26/how-to-introduce-a-speaker-the-art-of-giving-and-receiving-a-great-introduction/
  • ↑ http://www.publicwords.com/2011/11/26/how-to-introduce-a-speaker-the-art-of-giving-and-receiving-a-great-introduction/

About This Article

Deb DiSandro

Before introducing your guest speaker, introduce yourself in case there are people in the audience who don't know you. Then talk about the speaker’s background and qualifications, and give the audience a high-level overview of what they might learn from the presentation. See if you can include a short, personal anecdote about the speaker, like "I read their book and really loved it," for example. Try to keep your introduction to less than 3 minutes, and finish it by welcoming your speaker and telling the audience their name. For more advice on introducing a guest speaker, including how to research them in advance, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Simple Steps to Greatness

Guest Speaker Introduction: How to Prepare, Write and Deliver

Introducing a guest speaker is more than just a routine task. It’s an important step for both the audience and the speaker. For the audience, a good introduction sets the stage, providing context and sparking interest in what the speaker has to say. It helps them understand why they should listen and what they can expect to learn.

For speakers, a thoughtful introduction acts as a warm-up, giving them credibility and a connection with the audience. It’s a way of showing respect and appreciation for their expertise and the effort they’ve put into their presentation.

I’ll be sharing some practical tips on how to introduce a guest speaker effectively. Whether it’s a formal event or a more casual setting, the right introduction can make a big difference in how the speaker’s message is received. So, let’s get started on learning how to make every introduction clear, concise, and engaging.

Introducing a guest speaker.

I once heard a guest speaker’s introduction that was longer than the speech. At first, I was amused because the person assigned to introduce the guest speaker was introduced for about 11 minutes.

He greeted everyone on the stage. He made some comments about the dignitaries who seemed to love the spotlight focused on them. The last time I saw something similar was at a conference of barangay officials.

At first, he read the curriculum vitae word for word. He mentioned every award and degree earned. It was evident that the speaker stayed in school longer than any of us.

Then, he shared stories of how he met the speaker, his first impressions, and the common values they hold. I counted that he mentioned “finally” seven times to signal that he was about to call the speaker.

“Without further ado, let us welcome my idol, the one and only, the honorable…”

It was not the longest introduction I have seen, but nine minutes is a long time to introduce a speaker.

When I was in college, I realized that the more insecure the speaker is, the longer the introduction becomes.

For example, the President of the Philippines is often introduced only with “Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the Republic of the Philippines.” The more dignified the person is, the shorter the introduction is.

I am not suggesting that introducing a speaker is not important. An excellent introduction by the guest speaker establishes rapport and trust, and it helps the audience understand why they must stay and listen.

You can write an excellent introduction to the guest speaker. It is easier than most people imagined. You can learn patterns and ways of delivery.

And I will share with you some tips that you will not find elsewhere as I am going to speak based on experience.

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How to Memorably Introduce Another Speaker

  • Deborah Grayson Riegel

introduction speech to a guest speaker

What to say to get your audience’s attention.

As a professional speaker and facilitator for over 20 years, I’ve been introduced more than a thousand times, by countless meeting planners, conference organizers, and team leaders. Nevertheless, most of the introductions have fallen into one of four categories:

introduction speech to a guest speaker

  • Deborah Grayson Riegel is a professional speaker and facilitator, as well as a communication and presentation skills coach. She teaches leadership communication at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and has taught for Wharton Business School, Columbia Business School’s Women in Leadership Program, and Peking University’s International MBA Program. She is the author of Overcoming Overthinking: 36 Ways to Tame Anxiety for Work, School, and Life and the best-selling Go To Help: 31 Strategies to Offer, Ask for, and Accept Help .

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introduction speech to a guest speaker

Introducing a Speaker Sample Script

introduction speech to a guest speaker

Many people get asked to introduce a speaker at an event and have no idea how to do it. In this quick guide, we give you several different frameworks that you can use, as well as plenty of sample scripts and explain the questions you must ask both your speaker and your client before you start.

Key Points of  a Great Speaker Introduction

A Biography is not an Introduction

  • Grab the audiences attention
  • Establish the importance of the Topic
  • Establish the credibility of the Speaker
  • Outline “What’s in it for Them”
  • Say the Speakers name last

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Why do we introduce a speaker or performer.

There are many reasons why we have someone else introduce a speaker or an act rather than them just coming out on stage and beginning their presentation or performance. Understanding these is an important part of the process of crafting a great introduction. Here are some of the reasons…

  • It shows respect for the speaker
  • It settles the audience down and gets them focussed on the stage.
  • Alternatively, it can hype the audience up and get them excited about what they are going to experience
  • It gives a chance for the Production crew to correct the sound levels, lights and be ready with any audio/visual cues.
  • It lets the audience know who this person is before they start, in case there is no printed program.
  • It can link the content or the message of the speaker to the theme of the event.
  • It can emphasise why this message is important to the group and why they should listen
  • It can show why this person is qualified to speak about the topic and share their insights
  • It can allow the speaker to get straight into the meat of their presentation

So, as you can see there is a lot going on behind even the simplest of introductions!

Before you start writing a Speaker Introduction!

Before you start writing an introduction, find out, does the speaker have a prepared Introduction?

If the person presenting is a professional speaker, e.g this is what they do for a living, they should have a standard introduction already prepared for you or better still, an introduction they have prepared specifically for this event. They will understand the importance of the introduction and how it can help them and their presentation succeed.

In reality however, not all professional speakers will provide you with a prepared introduction and most other non professional speakers will not provide one at all. They may not even be aware that they can do this.

What you will get in most situations is a Biography, which is not an Introduction and shouldn’t be read out “as is!” This is one mistake many people make. We will show you later in the article how to convert a Bio into an Introduction.

If you do get an introduction, either supplied by the booker, the client or the speaker themselves, use it as written. Don’t attempt to improve it. The only time to do this is if you see some glaring error or you really need to cut some time off, but you are going to find most provided introductions are carefully crafted and most will be quite succinct.

If you do add anything, say it before you start the provided introduction and then end on their words.

Speaking of time … if a Speaker does provide you a long winded introduction or insists that a video highlights package is run before they come on stage, make sure this is included in their presentation time!

I normally start timing a speaker after I leave the stage and they have started, but if they insist on a really long one or play a 5 minute video first, that should be part of their allocated time.

There is a bit of a trend for having a video play before they actually come on. It really is part of the presentation..

Notice, I have been referring to provided Introductions. These are not Biographies!

Often you will be provided with a Biography of the Speaker. The Client has probably recieved this from the Speaker or copied it from their website and it was useful to them in selecting the Speaker for the engagement. But these are seldom useful as Speaker Introductions.

A Biography, like a CV that you put together to help you obtain a job,  lists all your Qualifications, Achievements, Career Highlights, Publications, Awards etc.

But your audience doesn’t really need to know all this! They don’t really care. They want to essentially know just three things.

  • Is this Topic important?
  • Is the Speaker qualified to talk about the Topic?
  • What’s in it for them?

Don’t fall into the trap of just reading out a long Biography that you are given.  We will show you later in the article how to quickly craft a strong Speaker Introduction.

It’s always a good idea if you can check directly with the speaker that the topic of their speech is unchanged.

Many speakers get booked many months before their presentations. In the case of large international events this may even be a year or so prior! In some cases a speech Topic or Title may change. The speaker may in fact have a totally different theme or presentation to what’s printed in the Agenda or in the notes provided.

If you craft a wonderful Introduction, touching on the theme or the importance of the speech, it helps if it’s in alignment.

Two strategies

Firstly, you should if at all possible talk to your speakers before you introduce them. There are many reasons for this, that we have discussed here. During this conversation you can check that the title and topic is much the same.

Secondly, if the Speaker has a Powerpoint Presentation to accompanies the speech you can usually see the first slide. This should alert you to the fact of a change early on. You will either see this when they are setting up on stage or you may be able t see it at the Audio Visual Desk if it is being controlled by the AV Team.

If you see there is an obvious change you can then find out more and alter accordingly.

Questions for Your Client

We already have a specific  training that covers all the questions you should ask your client before an event, but here are a few that specifically relate to the introduction.

  • What is the purpose of the whole meeting?
  • What is the purpose of this speech?
  • Why did you choose this speaker?
  • Will I be provided with a Biography or a set Introduction?

The answers to these questions should provide you with a fairly solid base to work from, especially if you are going to follow the Introducing a Speaker Sample Script outlined below.

Speaker Introduction Framework 1

Here is a very solid framework to start with that I have used for many years.

I was taught this by Ron Tachhi who was a very successful speaker and then ran a large Speaker Bureau in Australia. His was based on a framework taught in the Toastmasters Training. (I should point out, I have modified the order of the 4 points as I feel it has much more impact done this way.)

The Speaker Introduction has 4 parts that address a different question in turn.

1/ Why this Subject?

Why is this subject important?  This allows you to start with a bang – to pose a question, state an alarming fact, interesting insight or staggering statistic.

What you are trying to do here is to grab the audiences attention, stop them thinking about the previous presentation or even just to look up from their phone where they have been checking their email.

It can be as short as just a sentence or perhaps two or three to frame the topic.

“Did you know that there are more Shopping Malls in America than there are High Schools?”

“What do you think is the most common cause of death of children under 5 years worldwide?”

“A quick show of hands … Who here believes that  (XXXXXX)  is the biggest issue facing our industry at the moment?”

2/ Why this Speaker?

Next you need to establish the credibility of the speaker. This is where you mention some of the highlights taken from their Biography. Choose the most significant ones and importantly, the ones that relate most to the topic and theme.

You are positioning the speaker as the best person give insights and solutions to the subject.

3/ Why this Audience?

You now build a link between the Subject and the Audience. How does this subject effect them directly.

“You guys are leaders in our community … “

“These changes to the legislation and going to impact you more than most …”

“If you expect to earn more next year …”

4/ Why Now?

Why is it great to be learning this now?

What is the benefit to them?

What are they going to get out of it?

Why should they pay attention right now?

In Sales terms.. you heard about the pain, now here is the solution!

What’s in it for them!

You are picking up the momentum and building a little excitement.

“In the next 30 minutes you will learn …”

“Let’s get some inside secrets from someone who …”

Combining these 4 Parts together has a nice flow to it and it builds up to a strong finish.

Speaker Name Last

It’s usually better to end with the persons Name as the last thing you say.

If you were introducing me for instance you could say ….

“Would you please welcome to the stage, Timothy Hyde , the founder of ExpertMC.com.”

It’s far better to say …

“Would you please welcome to the stage, the founder of ExpertMC.com,  Timothy Hyde ”

Length of Introduction

Depending on the circumstances you should really try and keep a Speakers introduction short and tight.

You can pack a lot into just 2 minutes!

Speaker Introduction Framework 2

There’s another element that you can add into any introduction and that is a more personal touch. This requires that you can contact the speaker before the event or at least have a few words with them on the day.

What you try and find out is some personal anecdote or connection that you weave into the speaker introduction.

It might be a connection to the group, the venue or the cause. It could be where they live, where they were born or where they are travelling to next. Hobbies and Sports Teams they follow are great ones, and I quite often ask … “what’s the essential album you like to listen to on a long car trip?”

As you can see these questions go beyond the normal level of formal introductions and add something a bit special. It also allows a bit of humour.

If you are introducing a number of speakers at one event you can use this technique with each one. After the first couple of introductions the audience will be expecting to hear it each time and it becomes a great “running gag.”

Should I stay or Should I go?

The other question I get asked a lot is “Should I give the speaker introduction and then leave the stage or should I give the introduction and then wait for the speaker to get to the lectern / centre stage and then leave?

My feeling on this is you should wait at the lectern and there are a number of reasons for this.

I like to control the audience focus!

If I walk off before the speaker comes on, the audience don’t know where to look.

I like to give the Speaker Introduction and gesture towards where they are coming from. Once they are onstage and moving to the centre, everyone will be looking at them. I then move slightly to the side but wait for them. Once they nearly get to the speaking position I extend my hand in welcome, shake hands and then leave the stage.

However, I don’t completely leave. Speakers sometimes are nervous, they might drop their notes, fumble with the control button for the slides etc. I’m close enough that I can respond if needed. Once they start I can then proceed completely offstage.

Final Thought on Introducing a Speaker

One of the joys of being an MC is that you get to meet and work with some amazing speakers.

Over the years I’ve introduced – famous Sportsmen, Entrepreneurs, Explorers, Prime Ministers, Astronauts, Inventors, life changing Surgeons and many more.

And every time you witness a great speech, that you introduced well, you can think to yourself … “I helped make that a success!”

introduction speech to a guest speaker

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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Introduction speech for a guest speaker 

How to write a good introduction speech step by step

By:  Susan Dugdale  | Last modified: 09-18-2022

If you've been asked to give the introduction speech for a guest speaker you're in the right place.

Everything you need to prepare it is here. Follow the steps and you'll have an introductory speech you'll be proud to deliver.

What you'll find on this page:

  • an overview of the purpose of an introduction speech for a guest speaker
  • the content you're expected to cover
  • an organizational pattern or template to follow  
  • an example introduction speech
  • 6 important tips to use to ensure your speech is a success

Graphic: a crowd of people and a label saying, "A primer on the gentle art of giving an introduction speech to a guest speaker."

The function of an introduction speech

Let's start with the purpose of the speech. When you understand what the speech is supposed to achieve you'll find it much easier to write.

Image background - audience with overlay of multiple speech bubbles eg. "I can't see from here". Title Text: One of the important roles of an introduction speech is to unite the audience.

The job of an introduction speech is to:

  • introduce your guest speaker,
  • give them a warm welcome, 
  • and create ready-and-motivated-to-listen anticipation in the audience.

Essentially you are the warm-up act. Your task is to focus and unite the audience members, to get them ready for what is to come.

Return to Top

To prepare your introduction speech you'll need:

  • the guest speaker's name and, if they have one, their title. For example; Judge, Sir, The Right Honorable... Do make sure you can say their name properly and easily! If you're in doubt get the correct pronunciation from your guest speaker and practice. Also ask if they have personal pronoun preferences. Eg: they/them, she/her, he/him... 
  • the guest speaker's biography or the credentials of the speaker Sometimes you'll be given what the guest speaker wants said about themselves. If that isn't provided select events, achievements and qualifications to support establishing him/her as an authority within the context of the occasion. And do check that your guest is happy with what you are preparing to say about them.
  • attention getters or a surprise to delight the audience, something that is not commonly known, and something revealing the personality or humanity of the person. 

How to organize your material

  • Build excitement or interest by adding one piece of information after another.
  • Make the speaker's name and their speech title, the climax and end of your speech.

To show you how it's done I've put together an...  

Introduction speech example

Let's put the speech in context to help you make sense of it.

The setting for this fictitious introduction speech is a conference for an organization called " Women in Leadership" . The audience are primarily women drawn together through an interest in leadership roles. 

Image background: crowd of people. Text overlay: Women in leadership - featuring key note speaker Rose Stephenson.

At the end of the speech, the speaker will lead the clapping as Rose Stephenson, the keynote speaker being introduced, takes center stage.

Now here's the introduction speech text.

Now here's the introduction speech text

" She's been a stalwart member of "Women in Leadership" for the last ten years. Over that time she's served in every office: secretary, treasurer, chairperson, chief fundraiser, education officer... to name just a few, and in some roles several times over.

Her passionate dedication to promoting public speaking as an important component of empowerment is inspiring. We estimate that she has personally mentored at least 100 new speakers and has set an extraordinary "yes, you can" example for many more. We see her as capable, confident and fluent: never at a loss for words. But what you probably don't know is that this women once stuttered, stammered and blushed.

Yes, she was often temporarily paralyzed, struck dumb by the mere thought of standing in front of an audience to speak.

How she got from awkward tongue tied silence to becoming an eloquent front line spokesperson is the story she will share with us tonight.

Ladies, without further ado, it's with great pleasure, I give you... Rose Stephenson on "Speaking To Lead!"

Say the speech out loud! Use it as a template!

Try saying it out loud to get the flow of it.

If you like it, use it as a model for the introduction speech you need to write.

6 tips to make your introduction speech successful

1. consider tone and language use.

Is what you've prepared appropriate for the occasion, audience and your guest speaker? Have you avoided using a string of clichés?

2. Check the length of your speech

Image background - crowd of people. Text: Keep it short and sweet.

Pertinent and pithy: a short speech is what you want. One to two minutes should be enough.

Test it out loud with a timer and trim if necessary.

My example speech is 171 words long. That will take approximately 1 minute 30 seconds to say depending on the speaker's rate of speech.

For more on: the number of words per minute in a speech . (This page has estimations for the number of words per minute spoken at a slow, medium and fast rate for speeches from 1 - 10 minutes long.)

3. Resist exaggerating or "puffing up" the speaker's achievements

First impressions count. You don't want to talk about your guest in a way that may embarrass and cause the audience to question their right to be there.

4. Always check your facts 

Beware the horror of getting your facts muddled and, if you wish to mention something that may be sensitive, ask permission before you announce it in front of an audience.

5. Remember you are not the main speaker, or the star of the show

Image background - crowd of people. Text: The speaker who introduces a guest or key note speaker must remember they are the support or warm up act.

You've done a good job when you cover just enough to make the coming speech eagerly anticipated. 

Please do not stray into telling the audience what the guest speaker's speech will cover in detail. That's terribly unfair on the speaker!

6. Rehearse your speech

Practice out loud until you are confidently fluent and able to convey the pleasure or enthusiasm the audience needs to get them in the right frame of mind.

For more: how to rehearse a speech well

For more: how to use your voice expressively

introduction speech to a guest speaker

Other related pages you may find useful:

  • How to give a self-introduction speech  (with an example of a brief speech to introduce yourself to fellow workshop participants)
  • How to write a welcome speech (with an example of a short welcome speech to open an event)

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introduction speech to a guest speaker

Adam Christing

How To Introduce a Guest Speaker In 4 Foolproof Steps

The audience is ready for a good evening, lights illuminate the podium, and you are introducing the next guest speaker to take the stage.

Seems simple, but there is an art to making a great introduction – and I have four tips to guide you. Join me!

See Related:  What is a Guest Speaker – And How Can They Take Your Event to the Next Level?

Quick reminder: what is a guest speaker?

To put it plainly, guest speakers are people who are invited to speak at all sorts of events . They are formally introduced by the master of ceremonies and deliver ideas that are relevant to the interests of the people in attendance.

Let’s get started!

Tip #1: You Are the Opening Act

What was the last concert or live comedy show you attended? Was there an opening act ? In many ways, your introduction serves the same purpose:

Ease the audience

Whether you are the first person onstage or are introducing the closing speaker, guests need time to adjust to a new presence.

Give a word of praise to the presentation that preceded your introduction and share the importance of the speaker to come.

Set the tone

Audiences look to the person onstage for communication on what to expect. Make your speaker’s life easier by warming guests up with an authentic and approachable onstage presence .

Join guests with confidence and deliver your introduction like you are exchanging words with a good friend. The audience will relax and look forward to the speaker’s presentation .

Cue the audience

As the person onstage, all eyes will be on you. Therefore, the audience will look to you to guide their behavior.

If it’s time to begin clapping for the guest speaker or motivational speaker so they know to come onstage, then start the clapping. If ongoing laughter is causing your introduction to run too long, then you are a success for making a fantastic joke, but respectfully request that folks quiet down.

A good introduction is like a roadmap

Think of it this way: you are like the cue cards at a   live sitcom taping … except you probably won’t want to instruct the audience to “boo” at any point!

Accomplished professional makes welcoming address

Tip #2: Inspire Confidence in Your Audience

Remember, this introduction is not a speech of your own . The focus must remain on the professional speaker and what they are about to contribute to the event.

Guest speakers bring varying levels of name recognition, so your audience may or may not be aware of their qualifications.

Your task as a corporate emcee ? Help the audience understand the guest speaker’s connection to the event and why they are worth listening to .

Touch on the speaker’s credibility

Why was this speaker invited to talk? Chances are, they have expertise in your industry. Let the audience know that!

A speaker’s credibility and knowledge can take many forms: an advanced degree in your field, a volunteer background, or personal experience with the topic at hand.

Personal connections pique the audience’s interest

Even if a speaker’s qualifications shine on paper, I recommend mentioning their personal connections to the subject matter during your communication with the crowd.

Why did the doctor you are introducing want to work in breast cancer research ? What inspired the wildlife photographer to switch career paths after spending ten years as a pharmacist?

This context will pique the audience’s interest and create a good introduction.

Tip #3: Preparation is Power

I know, you are very familiar with the guest speaker. But please, do not stand at that podium without notes.

Check your run time

Your own introduction should not be more than a few minutes. An important skill to practice is rehearsing your speech and timing it beforehand .

It can be difficult to gauge the actual length of an introduction simply by looking at it on paper. Factor in laughs and applause, and you’ll be onstage longer than anticipated.

Write notes that serve your needs

As I mentioned earlier, be sure to have a written introduction in front of you . But remember – your notes need to actually help you!

  • Choose a font large enough for you to read onstage . You don’t want to lift up the paper and squint to make out what you wrote.
  • If you are unsure of proper pronunciation , look up the answer and make a note. When you introduce a speaker , it is extremely disrespectful to mispronounce their name. Writing phonetic spellings down beforehand can help prevent this during your speeches.

Before you start speaking, take five minutes to do vocal warmups . You can find examples on YouTube and you’d be surprised at how much they help!

Lots of people feel nervous before giving presentations or introductions. Warming up your voice before your intro is a great way to release tension and make sure you speak with resonance and clarity – what every event emcee must do well!

Tip #4: It’s All in the Details

Your introductory speech is just the right length, spotlights the speaker’s accomplishments and credentials, and gets the audience excited for the speech ahead. Nice job!

Now is the time to cross the t’s and dot the i’s:

The best events have a seemingly effortless flow between speakers. As the person making introductions, you have the opportunity to get the audience into that flow. How?

Make eye contact with the audience

For many speakers, making eye contact is their worst nightmare! But your guests will feel comfortable and enthusiastic about the speech to come if you make eye contact while you talk to them.

Making eye contact is a critical skill because it creates moments of connection with your guests and tells them you are prepared for and interested in the speech to come.

Start the applause

After you introduce a speaker, be the person to begin applauding . Most guests don’t want to be the first to clap, so they will listen until they hear someone else start.

A handshake marks the transition

Remain onstage until the speaker has entered and shook your hand.

This moment marks the end of your intro and the beginning of their speech . Clear buttons like this help the audience know exactly where to place their attention.

Colleague shakes hands with speaker who is presenting at organization

Adam Christing  has been called “The Tom Brady of emcees.” He has hosted more than 1,000  company meetings ,  special events ,  gala celebrations , and more. He is the  author of several books  and founder of  CleanComedians.com .   For more event tips, follow Adam Christing on  Instagram ,  Facebook ,  Pinterest ,  LinkedIn , and  YouTube .

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How to Introduce a Speaker: 8 Steps to a Perfect Introduction

how-to-introduce-a-speaker

Have you ever noticed the energy in the room after a powerful introduction of the speaker?  

Knowing how to introduce a speaker can establish a great starting point for the presenter and boost the audience's enthusiasm for the speaker and the topic.

An introduction that lacks passion and is full of cliche biographical details and exaggerations fails to create momentum.

Hence, a presenter must introduce their speaker in the best way possible. It is your responsibility as the host, MC (master of ceremonies) , or presenter to establish the speaker's credibility through a carefully written and skillfully executed introduction.

Fortunately, crafting a well-thought-out introduction isn't difficult.

 Furthermore, it gets progressively easier as you flex your presenter skills , and soon, you might be able to roll a smooth introduction off the tip of your tongue. But first, here are some steps to guide you.

8 Essential Steps of Introducing a Speaker 

These tips will help you to understand how to give an engaging speaker introduction that will captivate your audience. 

1. Make the Introduction Engaging 

The speaker is important, but the audience is equally important and is an even higher priority. The audience needs to have a reason to listen to the speaker.

They need to understand why the speaker is the authority and why their words are worth their time. The presenter's introductory approach significantly impacts the audience's decision to look up and pay attention or zone out.

Why should your audience be excited if you, the host, are not excited to introduce your guest speaker?

The MC is primarily responsible for drawing in the audience and piquing their interest in the speaker. Therefore, the use of clichéd sentences is one thing you, as an MC, should entirely avoid doing.

"Good day" and "My guest speaker needs no introduction" are all uninteresting and outdated sentences.

humorous-guy

Also, you should actively introduce and personalize the speaker instead of just reading their biography.

Try to bring them closer to the audience and topic. Remember that for most audience members, that speaker is just a name in the event program. Making the speaker more relatable may help pique their interest.

Ideally, the introduction shouldn't be more than three minutes. Try to grab the audience's attention in the first 30 seconds . Even if the presenter is a well-known figure like Elon Musk or Bill Gates, the audience will begin to droop if the MC fails to keep them engaged.

Furthermore, you need to make the introduction of the guest speaker as simple as possible and in easy-to-understand language , even if the presentation is technical. Let the guest speaker handle the technical part.

2. Do Your Research About the Speaker

This is crucial when preparing to introduce a speaker or host an event. If you haven't researched the speaker(s), you'll be left with woefully little to speak on.

You may be stuck repeating the short bio or a few achievements you've gleaned from the program. Not only would this irritate the audience, but it may also affect the speaker's confidence.

If you are an MC and you are going to introduce a guest speaker, you should know why the speaker is speaking, be aware of the event's purpose, the organizers' goals, and the guest speaker's qualifications.

Most significantly, you should know how the audience will benefit from the presentation. When you can respond to most general inquiries about the speaker, you have already completed the first step in creating a good introduction.

Usually, you can find enough information on your speaker online.

However, if you require additional information not offered online, you could contact the speaker and find out what they want to be highlighted. The guest speaker may even give you a prepared introduction.

3. Practice the Introduction

It may seem like introducing a speaker is something you can muddle through if you have a good memory, but that's not enough. There are fine details that require practice and polishing to deliver an excellent introduction.

Here's an example. Some speakers may have unique names that might be difficult to pronounce for those unfamiliar with the pronunciation .

Saying it wrong can be disrespectful at least and offensive at most. Practicing your introduction will allow you to rehearse the pronunciation till you can say it easily.

You owe it to the person you are introducing and your audience to make your brief introduction engaging. Make it seem like a great honor to present this speaker. You'll need to practice consistently to do all this while sounding natural.

4. Maintain Confidence and Positive Body Language

As one of the oldest forms of communication, body language still serves us today. Your body language is half of your introduction.

If your body language while introducing a guest speaker is not confident and engaging enough, you'll come across as nervous and jittery and distract the audience from your words.

Speak informally , as you would to friends. A smile might also be an inviting sign of warmth to the audience. 

How-to-Become-a-Motivational-Speaker

While you don't necessarily need to tell jokes when presenting a speaker, you must feel at ease on the podium and come across as confident. You should captivate the listener with your tone , language, and speaking style.

A general rule is that the first 30 seconds of a talk or presentation is when an audience's opinion of the speaker is mainly formed. You can start those thirty seconds off right by having a solid introduction and the correct body language. 

5. Establish the Speaker's Qualifications

Consider why the audience would want to attend the seminar or presentation. Did the audience come for the guest speaker? Or did they come to the event because of the topic of the presentation? 

Most of the time, the topic of the presentation draws the audience to the seminar. However, there are instances where the whole event is focused on one speaker.

In such a case, many audience members may be more interested in the speaker than in the event. You need to ensure you're aware of the audience's goals.

No matter the situation, you need to be able to assure the audience that the speaker has the qualifications to provide input on the topic.

You can do that by expanding on the experience and achievements of the speaker. Also, add details of what the audience can expect to learn or discover to increase their interest.

explain-with-chart

Let's use an illustration to clarify further. Imagine a symposium on artificial intelligence, and Andrew G, a computer scientist and businessman specializing in machine learning and AI, is the main speaker.

You need to share Andrew's qualifications and experience to assure the audience that he has the knowledge to teach them.

To satisfy your audience, a great way to introduce Andrew G would be to mention his books on AI and his research.

 What unique perspective does he have to share, and how does that align with the event's purpose or the organization? You can even share a quote from his writings if you so choose.

All these will help the audience understand that the guest speaker is an authority on the subject. They may also realize that the guest speaker has different and unconventional ideas to share about the topic. 

6. Keep It Brief

Your introduction shouldn't include a lengthy rundown of the speaker's successes, honors, and experiences. The audience can find a list of some of these in the program handouts . Additionally, it shouldn't be a presentation synopsis. 

Don't pile on flattery. Overly effusive compliments about the speaker can give rise to unreasonable expectations. So keep it simple and realistic.

The host should reveal nothing that might embarrass or distract the audience from the speaker's presentation. Always keep in mind that the guest speaker—not the MC—is what the audience is there to hear. 

7. Get to Know the Speaker

If you aren't enthusiastic about introducing the guest speaker, you won't be able to hold the audience's attention. 

You may get to know the guest speaker better by introducing yourself and interacting with them before the event. There are differences between learning about someone online and meeting them in person.

Some of the details you learn by interacting with the speaker can make them more personable to you and, therefore, easier to introduce.

Not only that, it will impress the speaker if they're so welcome. The speaker would be confident that the audience and the event planners were genuinely interested in his speech and viewpoint.

You can first find out more about the speaker online to discuss things you may have in common. Also, you can chat about the topic of the presentation with them.

Not only can this help you better introduce the speaker, but you might even make an acquaintance, if not a friend.

8. TIS Formula

A good introduction should excite the audience about listening to the guest speaker. Interestingly, successful introducers apply a formula while introducing the guest speaker. It's called the TIS formula.

What is TIS? Let's have a look! 

T: stands for Topic

I: stands for Important

S: stands for Speaker

To apply this formula, you must include these three crucial inquiries in your introduction:

What's the topic?

Why is this topic significant to the audience?

What qualifies the speaker to give this speech?

By considering these three questions and making them a structure of your introduction, you can increase the speaker's credibility and give the audience a reason to listen . 

We are confident that if you follow the above guidelines and consistently practice, you won't ever need to inquire how to introduce a presenter again.

Now, let's now address what you should steer clear of when introducing a speaker.

9. POETTS Formula for Toastmasters

If you're introducing someone in a Toastmasters meeting , then use the POETTS formula.

P  – Project Title of the speech

O  – Objectives of the speech (you may call upon the evaluator to read this out)

E – evaluator : who is the evaluator of this speech

T  – Time allocated for the speech

T – Title of the speech to be given

S – Speaker’s introduction

Using this formula helps the Toastmaster of the Day to be consistent when introducing every speaker.

Things to Avoid While Introducing a Speaker

Here are some things you should always try to avoid when introducing a speaker. 

Never joke around. There are no situations that permit comedy in an introduction speech. Plus, it can draw attention from the speaker to yourself, which is never the goal. Especially never mention anything that can cause embarrassment to the speaker.

The introduction shouldn't appear as though you are reading the speaker's resume or biography. It shouldn't be an overstatement of his accomplishments, either.

Don't use a cliché. Statements like "This woman needs no introduction," or other clichés sound wordy or awkward. If the speaker needed no introduction, you wouldn't have a role in that event.

If you have personal or professional links with the speaker, keep them to yourself because the audience will interpret them as the introducer's prejudiced viewpoint.

Keep the introduction to no more than three minutes . Make it as brief as you can. Lengthy introductions sound like speeches and can reduce the audience's enthusiasm for the speaker.

During the introduction, keep your eyes on the audience rather than the speaker. Additionally, avoid seeming like you are reciting the introduction off a paper. Observe the crowd and make eye contact . Just before the introduction is through, turn to face the speaker.

Do not—absolutely do not—mispronounce the speaker's name. Not only is it disrespectful, but it could hurt your credibility and reputation as an introducer or host. 

Give the audience a sneak peek of what they will learn and why they should pay attention without giving away too much about the guest speaker.

The introducer shouldn't try to overshadow the speaker by drawing attention to themselves. Remember, you are an introducer, not a celebrity or a star.

Conclusion: How to Introduce a Speaker

Knowing how to introduce a keynote speaker isn't rocket science. The role of an introducer is to simultaneously engage the guest speaker and audience while conveying to both parties that they are welcome at the event.

Just keep it straightforward and sincere, and be confident. Keep in mind that dull introductions are lengthy. Nobody shows up to an event to hear the introducer ramble. Follow the steps above, and you'll become a master of introductions in no time.

You might also like: How to Introduce Yourself in a Presentation with 6 Terrific Tips

Frantically Speaking

How to Introduce a Speaker in Any Setting (And Amaze Your Audience)

Hrideep barot.

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your icebreaker speech on the big day

Importance of a Good Introduction

If you’re reading this, kudos to you as you are one of the few people who actually take out the time and effort to craft a great speech introduction.

Many times we feel that if we ourselves aren’t the main speaker, why take out any time to work on a great introduction?

But here’s the thing, as the introductory speaker, if you want your audience to be excited for the speaker who is about to come on the stage, a strong introduction is important.

As an audience member, if I have never heard of the speaker (or even if I do know a little bit about her) I won’t be very open to their speech simply because I don’t know how credible the speaker is .

Sure the speaker could herself say those credentials when she comes on the stage. But true credibility is added when the praise comes from a third person (that being you in this case). 

Take Tom Bilyeu for example. Tom is the founder and host of the company and popular Youtube channel – Impact Theory where he calls on highly acclaimed speakers, entrepreneurs, writers, athletes, etc. to interview them.

While the interviews are in themselves amazing, it’s the way Tom introduces each of his guests that blows my mind!

Take this clip for example:

The introduction shows that Tom has taken time and put a genuine effort into his research. It’s what makes his introductions so powerful.

And that’s why an introduction is important:

  • It makes your audience excited for who they are about to see
  • It makes the speaker feel genuinely acknowledged for being invited to that event

Without a good introduction, the audience will not have a strong enough reason to be open to the speaker’s ideas because they might not know the credibility of the speaker.

An introduction is also like a short speech . So it’s important you take your time out to craft and deliver one that does justice to both – the speaker as well as yourself!

Note: Want to take your communications skills to the next level? Book a complimentary consultation with one of our expert communication coaches. We’ll look under the hood of your hurdles and pick two to three growth opportunities so you can speak with impact!

Alright! Let’s jump into the tips of creating a splendid introduction. Whether it’s a seminar, conference, interview, church or just a small gathering, these tips are applicable in almost all scenarios.

research the speaker you are about to introduce

Your work starts even before the introductory speech. The person who is invited to speak would be having certain credentials.

The way those credentials are communicated with high effectiveness is your job as the introductory speaker.

This is important as it’s what will get the audience excited and give them a reason to be engaged in a speech because of the credibility of the speaker.

Research can be of two types:

  • You can actually meet or contact the speaker directly and ask her all the questions you would need to create a great introduction.
  • The internet

If you have access to the speaker, then great! If not, use sources like LinkedIn to understand the work they have done in the past, or try and see if you can connect to someone close to them and get a bite from them for the introduction as well.

Once you know what all the speaker has done in her life and why she is an expert in the subject she is going to speak on, you have set yourself up for crafting a lovely introduction.

Keep it short!

One thing to remember when giving an introduction is to not get carried away! While your introduction is as good as a short speech , we must not forget the keyword here – short !

The main spotlight is for the speaker. So keep your intro short. Below 2 and a half minutes is usually a good space to be in. Exceeding 4 minutes is a little too much so make sure to not overstep your speaking time.

I remember seeing this one introductory speaker who just went on and on with his introduction. He spoke about things that weren’t even relevant to the subject of the talk. It was just a waste of time.

When you prepare your introduction, practice it and time yourself to ensure you aren’t taking up too much of the stage time.

We’ve made a short video on how you can make your speech more concise and clear so you communicate what’s relevant without taking up too much of your audience’s time:

Save the name for the end

The last word is the cue for applause in any introduction. And it’s best to save the applause for the speaker’s name.

Here’s an example of how NOT to do it:

“Our motto is ‘Communication is key’. So I’m very pleased to welcome John Brown for our special event today. John is one of the best speakers in the country and has been invited by several prestigious universities to share his ideas…(some more credentials)…So please join me in welcoming John Brown!”

The problem with this is that it gives out the applause factor in the second sentence of the introduction itself.

Instead, you should build up the speaker with her credentials and only reveal the name at the end of the speech (see ‘Introduction Speech Template’).

Again, look at Tom Bilyeu’s introduction. He never reveals the guest’s name until the end of the introduction. That’s what makes the applause so loud!

Lead the applause

As soon as you end your introduction, don’t simply wait for the audience to clap. Lead the applause!

In all likelihood, when done correctly, your audience will applaud as soon as you end your talk. But you should still assume the lead and begin the applause and let the audience follow just in case.

Receive the speaker with a handshake

Receive the speaker with a handshake

When you introduce the speaker and call them out on the stage, don’t just walk off the stage .

Receive the speaker with a handshake. Usually, the audience will still be applauding when this happens.

We do this so as to properly acknowledge to the audience that our time on stage has come to an end and we will now be handing the spotlight over to the next speaker.

This is something that the international organization Toastmasters also harps on. Every time a speaker or role bearer gets on stage, she should shake the hand of the person from whom she is taking the stage from and shake the hand of the person when she is handing the stage over.

Like with most things in life, your introductory speech will be amazing if you put in the time to practice ! We wrote an article on simple but effective ways you should practice for a speech – even if it’s just an introduction speech! Check it out to get some ideas.

While our content and the speaker’s credentials might be amazing, it is our delivery and manner of speaking that will sell the audience on those credentials.

So research, practice, time yourself, video record yourself to see how you can improve.

While the spotlight is on the main speaker for that particular day, the stage is yours for those couple of minutes. And I believe any time you go on stage you should try and communicate with maximum impact regardless of the duration of the speech.

That’s when people notice you.

Here’s a checklist of things you must have in your introductory speech when it comes to content and delivery:

Introduce yourself

While you are here to introduce the main speaker, don’t forget to introduce yourself! If you’re in a familiar setting where you’re certain everyone (or at least 90%) of the audience already knows you, you can skip this part.

Otherwise, take a few seconds to point out what your role is in putting this event together and how you are related to the speaker (if in any way).

Pronunciation

There’s nothing worse than an introductory speaker who butchers the name of the speaker he is about to call on.

Take the time out to learn how exactly should you pronounce the speaker’s name especially if it’s an unconventional name.

Learn it, repeat it, master it.

Check if your speaker has any title such as Doctor, Sir, Captain, etc. and say the title along with the speaker’s name when you introduce her. It helps add more credibility to the speaker.

Qualifications

Your speaker would have certain qualifications that make her an expert in the field she is about to speak on. It doesn’t necessarily need to be only educational in nature.

Maybe she has written a book on the subject and gains her expertise from real-life experience as opposed to an academic degree.

Mention those qualifications.

Quick tip, don’t just list out the credentials in a mundane manner. Read the speech template below and see how the speaker crafts the introduction where the qualifications and credentials of the speaker are seamlessly woven together to craft a great introduction.

Subject of the talk

In your introduction of the speaker, don’t miss out on talking a little on the subject of the talk and why it is relevant to the audience.

Creative Ways to Introduce a Speaker

Instead of just stating out the speaker’s credentials and bio, make your introduction engaging by adding a short anecdote of the speaker.

Talk about a time you met the speaker or an interesting story you read about her in a publication.

You can even reach out to a close family member or friend of the speaker and ask them for a story that defines the speaker’s personality or establishes their expertise in the subject matter.

For some more information on how you can create a compelling narrative, we made a short but information-packed video on the topic of mystery, characterisation and takeaways which we HIGHLY recommend you check out, here:

Some speakers don’t necessarily have an honorific such as ‘Dr.’ or ‘Sir’, but that doesn’t mean that you cant give them a creative title of your own!

Tom Bilyeu does this often where he will add a title to the speaker right before saying the name. Here are some examples:

  • Please help me welcoming…the ‘ human guinea pig ’ himself, Tim Ferris .
  • Please help me welcoming…the ‘ master of motivation ’ herself, Mel Robbins .
  • Please help me welcoming…the ‘ man who has been called the ultimate entrepreneur for the information age ’, Seth Godin.

I remember this one time, we were at a conference where the speaker was a gold medal cyclist.

The introductory speaker entered the stage on a cycle himself! As he came to the mike, he said, “Boy that was fun! But if you think I was awesome, you will be completely blown away by our next speaker!”

The introductory speaker was obviously being sarcastic about himself being an ‘awesome cyclist’. But it was different, fun, made the audience giggle and set the stage for the speaker .  

If the speaker you are about to introduce is an author, for instance, you can also start off your introduction by holding up the book and then move on to talk about the speaker’s credentials.

Think about what your speaker is famous for and see if you can include that profession as a prop in your introduction.

Instead of just talking in your introduction, maybe you can show a video that highlights what the speaker does and shows off their credibility.

I was introducing an entrepreneur of a HUGE advertising agency. Instead of talking about his credentials, I thought I’d just show it to the audience by playing a video of the agency’s culture , clients and some of the extraordinary work they have done.

It was a great visual way to showcase the speaker’s credibility and set the tone for the subject of the speech.

Introduction Speech Template

Here’s a template of how Tom Bilyeu introduces one of his guests :

“Hey everyone!  Welcome to Impact Theory. You are here, my friends, because you believe that the human potential is nearly limitless but you know that having potential is not the same as doing something with it. So our goal with this show and company is to introduce you to the people and ideas that’ll help you actually execute on your dream. Alright. To paraphrase Steven Pressfield, today’s guest is one of the greatest thinkers of our generation. He’s a multiple-time best selling author who’s written a seemingly impossible six books in the last five years! His mediation on stoic philosophy ‘The Obstacle is the Way’ is not only a true perennial seller, it’s been translated into more than 20 languages and has a devoted following of some of the most driven and successful people on the planet including NFL coaches, world-class athletes, entrepreneurs, TV personalities and even political leaders. By my estimation, it is one of the 10 most important books you must read if you want to develop a mindset for success. And even if this were his only book I’d sit at his feet to learn, but every book he has written delivers a similar level of impact. This guy is without question my intellectual man-crush Monday! The Systematic and practical nature of his thinking is so powerful it’s nuts, especially considering that he dropped out of college at 19 so he could apprentice with the master author, Robert Greene, and by all accounts, my friends, he learned his lessons very well as he went on from there not only to become an amazing author in his own right, but in his early 20s became the Director of Marketing for the billion-dollar public company American Apparel helping it achieve its astronomical level of success, and in the process, becoming one of the most sought-after voices in the field of media strategy. His incredible marketing tactics detailed in the book ‘Trust Me, I’m Lying’ not only became a best-seller, it helped him launch his own media-consulting company, Brass Check, which has advised companies like Google, Taser and Complex as well as world-renowned authors such as Neil Strauss, Tim Ferris and Tony Robbins. So please, help me in welcoming the best selling author of ‘Ego is the Enemy’ and most recently, ‘Perennial Seller’, the modern-day, philosopher king – Ryan Holiday.

Let’s break that introduction down:

We can clearly see that Tom has done his research by pointing out almost every accomplishment Ryan Holiday is known for. This is what gets the audience excited about the speaker and looks forward to the ideas that will be shared in the subsequent talk or interview.

Keeping it short

The introduction is in the appropriate time-span of 2-3 minutes. Considering the amount of information that had to be said, the timing is bang on!

Saving the name for the end

By saving the name for the end, Tom reserves the maximum applause when he finally reveals who the person is.

Leading the applause

Tom did not lead the applause here maybe because it’s a studio audience who are sure to clap for the guest. Additionally, the way Tom introduces the guest is good enough to stimulate applause without him having to lead it.

Receiving the speaker with a handshake

Tom goes a small step further and bro-hugs the guest to showcase his bond with him.

introduction speech to a guest speaker

Without any notes and his amazing delivery, it’s obvious Tom has taken the time out to not only research but also practice and rehearse the introduction.

Notice how Tom uses voice modulation to make the audience feel how important Ryan’s accomplishments really are. A handy thing to keep in mind for any speech. You can read this article we wrote to learn all about voice modulation and tonality for effective speaking.

As I stated earlier with multiple examples, Tom adds in a nickname to the speaker here as well – ‘ the modern-day, philosopher king ’ – right before saying the name. It just adds so much weight to the introduction!

There’s a lot we can learn from this introduction whether it be a speaker you are introducing or an interview guest which is why I thought I’d break it down.

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Final Words…

I believe that a strong introduction should also be treated as a speech. It’s tempting to do a basic Google Search and little “rehearsal” right before going on stage.

But it’s only when you take the time out to research, rehearse and deliver with the intention to excite the audience about the speaker you are introducing, is when you will do justice to the introduction and set the stage for the speaker to create maximum impact!

You should also consider upskilling your public speaking at an overall level. If you’re serious about it, check out this online course called Acumen Presents: Chris Anderson on Public Speaking (hosted on Udemy). It’s helped me gain a lot of insight into delivering speeches (even if they are just introductory speeches) that people will remember. Being the founder of TED, Chris Anderson provides numerous examples of the best TED speakers to give us a very practical way of overcoming stage fear and delivering a speech that people will remember.

Hrideep Barot

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Examples logo

Examples of Writing an Introductory Speech

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It would be considered rude if the speaker of the seminar was not introduced properly to the audience. How else would the crowd know on who this gentleman or lady really is and what his or her background is on that particular subject. By giving an introductory speech of the guest speaker tonight, you are allowing the audience know who he or she is as a person and what he or she has accomplished or achieved in his or her life. You may also see speech examples in pdf

  • Commencement Speech Examples (PDF)
  • Dedication Speech Examples (PDF)

These kinds of speeches are like PRs, they only tell the good parts about you and never the negative or bad parts about you. As the person assigned to give the introductory speech about the person, your only job is to provide basic background information about that person, the speaker will take care of the rest. But giving an introductory speech would be useless if you are afraid of public speaking. It is important that you learn to conquer your fears and rise above the challenge at hand. You may also check out introduction speech examples  to provide you with a better idea on how to write these kinds of speeches.

The job of an introduction speech is to:

  • introduce your guest speaker
  • create a welcoming, attentive ready-and-motivated-to-listen anticipation in the audience

Just like the appetizer, your job is to entice the crowd and keep them happy before feasting on the main course. Try your best to wow the audience in order for them to get hyped when the main speaker arrives. Although you have your speech laid out for you, try to add some humor and wit and maybe some jokes as an impromptu as a way to break the ice. You may also like presentation speech examples & samples

To prepare your introduction speech you’ll need:

1. the guest speaker’s name.

When you get the full name of the guest speaker, try to make sure that it is correct cause there are times that the spelling might be wrong. After getting their name, ask for the correct pronunciation of the name. Who would like to hear their mispronounced name, right? You may also check out motivational speech examples & samples

2. The guest speaker’s biography

Aside from knowing just the guest speaker’s name, you got to introduce who he really is as a person and why he or she is the right person to talk about this certain topic. State his or her credentials and what he or she has achieved. Let the audience know who they are listening to and why he or she matter. You may also see informative speech examples & samples

3. A surprise

As mentioned before, it is best to keep things in a very light manner. Nothing too serious should even be said when it is just an introductory speech. Add some jokes, laugh a bit, add humor and wit. Whatever you think that will manage to get the audience’s attention, go for it. You may also like speech examples in doc

How to organize your material

  • Build excitement or interest by piling one piece of information after another.
  • Make the name of the speech and the speaker, the climax and end of your speech.

Let’s pretend, for the sake of showing you how it’s done, that we’ve already gathered up all the material we need to introduce a guest speaker. You may also check out appreciation speech examples & samples

Introduction Speech Example

1. let’s put this speech in context to help you make sense of it.

The setting for this introduction speech is a conference for an organization called “ Women in Leadership” . The audience are primarily women drawn together through an interest in leadership roles. At the end of the speech, the speaker will lead the clapping as the guest takes center stage. You may also see award speech examples

2. Now here’s the speech text

She’s been a stalwart member of “Women in Leadership” for the last fifteen years. Over that time she’s served in every office: secretary, treasurer, chairperson, chief fundraiser, education officer, chief executive officer to name a few and in some roles several times over. You may also like welcome speech examples & samples

Her passionate dedication and commitment to promoting public speaking as an important component of empowerment is simply amazing and inspiring. We estimate that she has personally mentored at least 200 new speakers and has set an extraordinary “yes, you can” philosophy for many more. You may also check out valedictorian speech examples & samples

We see her as capable, confident and fluent – never at a loss for words. But what you probably don’t know is that this woman was once weak, shy, stuttered, broken and damaged. 

How she got from awkward tongue tied silence to an eloquent front line spokesperson is the story she will share with us tonight. Ladies, I give you … Katherine Watson!” You may also see persuasive speech examples & samples

3. Say the speech out loud! Use it as a template!

Try saying it out loud to get the flow of it. If you like it, use it as a model for the introduction speech you need to write.

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Tips to make your introduction speech successful

1. consider tone and language use.

How are you going to build up audience interest if you do not seem motivated and interested to talk about him or her in the first place? While drafting your speech, try to consider the use of language. Is it going to be the same as every introductory speech or are you going to try and spice it up a bit? Remember that in this case, the audience matters as well. Learn on who you are talking to and how you make use of language to gauge your audience is up to you. You may also like  speech outline examples & samples

2. Check the length of your speech

Pertinent and pithy – short and sweet is what you want. One to two minutes should be enough. Try it out loud with a timer. Remember that you are simply the appetizer and not the main course. This is not your time, but the time for the guest speaker. You may also check out orientation speech examples & samples

3. Resist exaggerating or “puffing up” the speaker’s achievements

Try not to exaggerate the guest speaker’s achievements. Try no to sugarcoat the truth just to make him or her look good. It should simply be enough so that the audience can get a quick background of the speaker.

4. Always check your facts

Avoid stating on anything that the speaker is not. It will end very badly for you if you do so. If there are some sensitive issues that you know about the speaker, make sure that you ask him or her permission first before stating it out loud for the whole world to hear. You may also see inspirational speech examples

5. Remember you are the support act!

Cover only enough in your introduction to make the coming speech eagerly anticipated. Do not stray into telling the audience what the guest speaker’s speech will cover in detail.

6. Rehearse

Practice makes perfect. Try practicing in front of a mirror or in front of your family and friends so that they can judge you as to see how you are doing. Sometimes, just winging it is not enough. You have to work on it to develop the confidence you need to improve on your delivery and tone more. You can also see self-introductory speech examples to analyze on how this whole different speech is being framed and written.

international conference 1597531

Usain Bolt Introductory Speech Example

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning.

Today, it is both my honor and privilege to be able to introduce you to a role model of the athletic world, a man of distinction – Usain Bolt.

Born on August 21, 1986 in Jamaica, he has distinguished himself as a world class sprinter and he currently holds the Olympic and World Records for the 100 meters in 9.69 seconds and the 200 meters in 19. 30 seconds . Wow. Amazing. I wish I could run that fast. You may also like student council speech examples

What makes his achievements all the more remarkable is the fact that they were all set at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He eventually became the first man to win all three events in one of the categories in the Olympics since Carl Lewis in 1984 and the first man in history to set world records in all three events at a single Olympics. His name and his achievements in sprinting have earned him the media nickname “Lightning Bolt”. You may also check out commencement speech examples

I am sure that you all know a great deal about his public sprinting life, but there is more to him than just running.

What you don’t know about the “Lightning Bolt” is that he enjoys dancing and is often characterized as a laid-back and relaxed character . Did you know that before sprinting, his first interested sport was cricket? He said and I quote: “that if he was not a sprinter, he would be a fast bowler instead.” But then, he wouldn’t be known as the “Lightning Bolt”, but something else. You may also see special occasion speech examples & samples

Please give a warm welcome to none other than Usain “Lightning” Bolt to share with you some words of wisdom on not giving up.

Even if you are simply the person assigned to give the introductory speech, you are still required to give it your all and be the best at what you do so that it will leave a good impression to the audience that you have respect for the work that you do and that you take it seriously. You may also like examples of writing a short speech

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Introduction Speech Examples That Increase Speaker Credibility

Introduction speeches examples - Main speaker

You may be called upon to introduce yourself in a speech or introduce a speaker, a guest, an employee, a product, or a concept. Your job is to grab the audience’s attention so that they are ready to receive the main message. Here are some introduction speech examples to help you.

Table of Contents

What Is A Speech Of Introduction?

In public speaking,  a speech of introduction introduces someone to the audience members.  It can also be a  self-introduction speech  wherein the speaker does the introduction. 

Whether the speaker will deliver an informative speech, persuasive speech, or any type of speech, the speech of introduction aims to help establish the speaker’s background. Who are they? What do they do? What makes them credible to talk about the topic they will discuss?

How Do I Start A Speech To Introduce Someone?

If your job is to introduce someone before their speech or presentation, the first fundamental thing to remember is to keep things short and sweet.  Your goal is to set the tone and entice the crowd to listen to the rest of the speech the speaker will deliver.

When writing such a speech, you must bear in mind the following:

  • You must grab the audience’s attention.  Though it depends on the setting and theme of the occasion, the general rule is to have an upbeat opening that will help you grab the audience’s attention. You can begin with a simple “Good morning/Good evening, ladies and gentlemen”; then state the purpose of your speech — introducing the topic, the purpose of the speech, and the guest speaker.
  •   You must effectively establish the speaker’s qualifications.  Introduction speeches are considered commemorative speeches in the sense that they celebrate the achievements and milestones of someone. In your speech, you must concisely provide an overview of the qualifications, expertise, and relevant accomplishments of the individual you’re introducing. This is a way to establish credibility and entice the audience to listen attentively.
  •   You must make the speaker welcome.  As someone tasked to introduce the speaker, you serve as the bridge that helps connect them with the audience. However, your goal isn’t just to prepare the audience for the speech. You must make the speaker also feel welcome with an enthusiastic tone and body language. If you have personal anecdotes or connections to share, you can do so — briefly and with the utmost authenticity. 

Introduction speeches examples - introducing the speaker

What Is A Welcome Speech, And Can It Be Used to Introduce Someone?

A welcome speech or address is a type of speech that sets the mood for a specific event. 

While it can serve as an excellent introduction to the guest speaker, it’s also an opportune time to emphasize what the event is all about and acknowledge the organization or individual behind the occasion.  An excellent welcome speech can also preview what the attendees can expect — apart from the remarks by the speaker. 

How Do You Introduce Yourself In Speech Examples?

In speech writing and public speaking, knowing how to introduce the speaker properly is essential. In some instances, speakers briefly introduce themselves before their speech proper. They can also incorporate it into their speech opening. 

In any self-introduction speech example (check out this  TED Talks compilation  of intros), you will observe that there are common ingredients behind an effective self-introduction speech. 

This speech must help the audience get to know you, showcase your qualification (without sounding boastful), establish connections with and create value for your listeners, and introduce your speech topics and main points.  This portion aims to give your audience a reason to stick with you and hear the rest of your speech. Also, note that first impressions last, so you must ensure your intro is impactful and engaging. 

Introduce slef for speech

See the examples below to give you an idea of how to introduce yourself while still having effective attention-getters (e.g., a rhetorical question, an anecdote, a statistic, or a bold statement). 

  • “Good morning/afternoon/evening. I’m X, and I’m here to talk about Y. To begin, I’d like to share a story…”
  •  “Have you heard about X? I’m Y, and today, I’ll share with you my thoughts about…”
  •  “What if overcoming your biggest fear doesn’t have to be as hard as you thought it would be? My name is X. And I’m a testament to how….”
  •  “Hi, I’m X, and I wanted to know: How many of you have experienced Y?”
  •  “Did you know that X? My name is Y, and I was asked to discuss…”

What Are Introduction Speech Examples For?

When you look for speech examples for a short introduction of speech or a self-introductory speech, you’ll find that  this type of speech has a great variety. 

You can use it to introduce a public speaker and a guest. In a business setting, you can also use an introduction speech to introduce an employee or present a product. Even in academe or civilian environments (e.g., you’re a high school public teacher or a personal development coach), you can count on an introduction speech to introduce a concept. 

Here’s a template you can follow.

A public speaker or a guest

  •  Attention-getter
  •  State your role
  •  Introduce the speaker/guest
  •  Note the speaker/guest’s credibility and contributions
  •  State the topic
  •  A personal connection, story, or experience
  •  What can the audience expect/ how can the speaker provide value
  •  Transition to the speaker

Introuduction speech examples

An employee

  •  Introduce the employee
  •  Highlight their tenure/experience, achievements, skills, and qualities
  •  State what the employee will be discussing
  •  State the significance of the employee’s work/impact on the audience
  •  Transition to the employee

A product or a concept

  • Attention-getter
  • State the purpose of your speech
  •  Introduce the product or concept
  •  Share its significance
  •  Share its benefits
  •  Showcase the key features
  •  Do a demonstration
  •  Explain the potential impact
  •  Cite supporting facts
  •  Deliver a strong call to action
  •  Transition to the next phase or proportion of the event

Introduce product via podcast

No matter who or what you’re introducing in your speech, the key is to create a concise yet comprehensive one. Your speech must prepare the audience and make the speaker feel welcome. While remaining factual and genuine,  you must write and deliver this piece in a way that generates interest and sets an excellent tone for the speech proper — and the rest of the event.

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15 Ways to Start a Speech + Bonus Tips

You have heard the saying “First impressions are lasting; you never get a second chance to create a good first impression.”

The same is true when talking about how to start a speech…

The truth is, when you start your speech, you must focus everything on making a positive first impression on your audience members (especially if you are doing the presentation virtually ). The introduction is basically the formal greetings for speeches, so let’s be sure to get this right to really hook the audience.

Here are 15 different ways to start a speech as well as 2 extra BONUS tips at the end.

1) Thank the Organizers and Audience

You can start by thanking the audience for coming and thanking the organization for inviting you to speak.

Refer to the person who introduced you or to one or more of the senior people in the organization in the audience.

This compliments them, makes them feel proud and happy about your presence, and connects you to the audience like an electrical plug in a socket.

2) Start With a Positive Statement

A presentation tip at the start is to tell the audience members how much they will like and enjoy what you have to say.

For example, you might say:

“You’re really going to enjoy the time we spend together this evening. I’m going to share with you some of the most important ideas that have ever been discovered in this area.”

Remember that  speaking is an art,  so be an artist and take complete control of your performance,

3) Compliment the Audience

You can begin by complimenting the audience members sincerely and with great respect.

Smile as if you are really glad to see them as if they are all old friends of yours that you have not seen for quite a while.

You can tell them that it is a great honor for you to be here, that they are some of the most important people in this business or industry, and that you are looking forward to sharing some key ideas with them.

You could say something like:

“It is an honor to be here with you today. You are the elite, the top 10 percent of people in this industry. Only the very best people in any field will take the time and make the sacrifice to come so far for a conference like this.”

4) Start Your Speech By Referring to Current Events

Use a current event front-page news story to transition into your subject and to illustrate or prove your point. You can bring a copy of the newspaper and hold it up as you refer to it in your introduction.

This visual image of you holding the paper and reciting or reading a key point rivets the audience’s attention and causes people to lean forward to hear what you have to say.

5) Refer to a Historical Event

For many years, I studied military history…

Especially the lives and campaigns of the great generals and the decisive battles they won. One of my favorites was Alexander the Great.

One day, I was asked to give a talk on leadership principles to a roomful of managers for a Fortune 500 company.

I decided that the campaign of Alexander the Great against Darius of Persia would make an excellent story that would illustrate the leadership qualities of one of the great commanders in history.

I opened my talk with these words:

“Once upon a time there was a young man named Alex who grew up in a poor country. But Alex was a little bit ambitious. From an early age, he decided that he wanted to conquer the entire known world. But there was a small problem. Most of the known world was under the control of a huge multinational called the Persian Empire, headed by King Darius II. To fulfill his ambition, Alex was going to have to take the market share away from the market leader, who was very determined to hold on to it.

This is the same situation that exists between you and your major competitors in the market today. You are going to have to use all your leadership skills to win the great marketing battles of the future.”

6) Refer to a Well Known Person

You can start by quoting a well-known person or publication that recently made an important statement.

One of the subjects I touch upon regularly is the importance of continual personal development.

I will say something like:

“In the twenty-first century, knowledge and know-how are the keys to success. As basketball coach Pat Riley said, ‘If you are not getting better, you are getting worse.’”

7) Refer to a Recent Conversation

Start by telling a story about a recent conversation with someone in attendance.

For instance, I might say:

“A few minutes ago, I was talking with Tom Robinson in the lobby. He told me that this is one of the very best times to be working in this industry, and I agree.”

8) Make a Shocking Statement

You can start your talk by making a shocking statement of some kind.

For example, you might say something like:

“According to a recent study, there will be more change, more competition, and more opportunities in this industry in the next year than ever before. And 72 percent of the people in this room will be doing something different within two years if they do not rapidly adapt top these changes.”

Click here If you want to learn more techniques to wow your audience.

9) Quote From Recent Research

You can start by quoting a recent research report.

One example is:

“According to a story in a recent issue of Businessweek, there were almost 11 million millionaires in America in 2018, most of them self-made.”

10) Start Your Speech By Giving Them Hope

The French philosopher Gustav Le Bon once wrote, “The only religion of mankind is, and always has been hope.”

When you speak effectively, you give people hope of some kind.

Remember, the ultimate purpose of speaking is to inspire people to do things that they would not have done in the absence of your comments.

Everything you say should relate to the actions you want people to take and the reasons that they should take those actions.

11) Be Entertaining

Bill Gove used to walk onto the stage after his introduction if he had just finished talking to someone on the side and was breaking off to give his talk to the group.

The audience got the feeling that his entire talk was one continuous conversation, devoid of meaningless filler words .

Bill would often go to the edge of the stage and then drop his voice in a conspiratorial way, open his arms, and beckon the audience members to come a little closer.

He would say, “Come here, let me tell you something,” and then he would wave them forward as though he was about to tell a secret to the entire room.

The amazing thing was that everyone in the room would lean forward to hear this “secret” that he was about to share. People would all suddenly realize what they were doing and break out in laughter. It was a wonderful device to get the audience into the palm of his hands.

12) Ask a Question

You can open by making a positive statement and then ask a question requiring a show of hands.

Try something like this:

“This is a great time to be alive and in business in America. By the way how many people here are self-employed?”

Raise your hand to indicate what you want people to do. I have used this line, and after a number of hands go up, I then say to someone who raised their hand in the front, “How many people here are really self-employed?”

Invariably, someone will say, “We all are!”

I then compliment and affirm the answer:  “You’re right! We are all self-employed, from the time we take our first jobs to the day that we retire; we all work for ourselves, no matter who signs our paychecks.”

13) Open With a Problem

You can start with a problem that must be solved. If it is a problem that almost everyone has in common, you will immediately have the audience’s complete and undivided attention.

For example, you could say:

“Fully 63 percent of baby boomers are moving toward retirement without enough money put aside to provide for themselves for as long as they are going to live. We must address this problem and take action immediately to ensure that each person who retires will be able to live comfortably for the rest of his or her natural life.”

14) Make a Strong Statement, Then Ask a Question

You can start by making a strong statement and then ask a question. You then follow with an answer and ask another question. This gets people immediately involved and listening to your every word.

Here’s an example:

“Twenty percent of the people in our society make 80 percent of the money. Are you a member of the top 20 percent? If not, would you like to join the top 20 percent or even the top 10 percent? Well, in the next few minutes, I am going to give you some ideas to help you become some of the highest-paid people in our society. Would that be a good goal for our time together today?”

15) Tell a Story

You can start your talk with a story. Some of the most powerful words grab the complete attention of the audience are, “Once upon a time…”

From infancy and early childhood, people love stories of any kind. When you start off with the words, “Once upon a time…” you tell the audience that a story is coming. People immediately settle down, become quiet, and lean forward like kids around a campfire.

When I conduct full-day seminars and I want to bring people back to their seats after a break, I will say loudly, “Once upon a time there was a man, right here in this city…”

As soon as I say these words, people hurry back to their seats and begin to listen attentively to the rest of the story.

The story technique is very effective.

In fact, its probably one of the best public speaking tips I’ve learned to this day.

Bonus Tip: Tell Them About Yourself

Very often, I will start a speech to a business, sales, or entrepreneurial group by saying:

“I started off without graduating from high school. My family had no money. Everything I accomplished in life I had to do on my own with very little help from anyone else.”

It is amazing how many people come up to me after a talk that began with those words and tells me that was their experience as well.

They tell me that they could immediately identify with me because they too had started with poor grades and limited funds, as most people do. As a result, they were open to the rest of my talk, even a full-day seminar, and felt that everything I said was more valid and authentic than if I had been a person who started off with a successful background.

Building a bridge like this is very helpful in bringing the audience onto your side.

Bonus Tip: Get Them Talking to One Another

You can ask people to turn to the person next to them to discuss a particular point.

For instance, you could say:

“Tell the person next to you what you would like to learn from this seminar.”

Whatever you ask your audience members to do, within reason, they will do it for you. Your commands and your thought leadership will easily influence them, as long as you ask them with confidence.

By following any one of these tips for starting your speech, you are sure to grab your audience’s attention every time. How do you start a speech? Let me know in the comments.

« Previous Post 9 Tips to End a Speech With a Bang Next Post » 15 Ways to Overcome Your Fears of Writing a Book

About Brian Tracy — Brian is recognized as the top sales training and personal success authority in the world today. He has authored more than 60 books and has produced more than 500 audio and video learning programs on sales, management, business success and personal development, including worldwide bestseller The Psychology of Achievement. Brian's goal is to help you achieve your personal and business goals faster and easier than you ever imagined. You can follow him on Twitter , Facebook , Pinterest , Linkedin and Youtube .

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introduction speech to a guest speaker

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How to introduce a speaker — the art of giving (and receiving) a great introduction.

microphone stage convention

A good introduction is essential to get a speaker off to a good start. The tendency for event hosts to go casual and say a few non-substantive words — or worse, to try to make a joke at the speaker’s expense — hurts both the speaker and the meeting. Here’s why, and how to give a good intro that will help the speaker — and the event — succeed.

Audiences want several things from a speaker, and some of them right away. First, audiences begin by asking why — why should I pay attention? Why should I care? Why is this going to be important to me? If a speaker is successful, the audience will start asking how — how do I get started? How do I make this my own? That’s success for a speaker — moving the audience from why to how.

Second, audiences test speakers for a few things: trust, credibility, likability. On these items, they’ll give a speaker a little time, but they make unconscious decisions very quickly, and those unconscious decisions are hard to turn around. So it’s better to get it right from the start.

That’s where the introduction comes in. An introduction can help answer the why question. And an introduction can help establish credibility, especially, but also trust and likability. The result of a good introduction is to greatly increase the likelihood that the speaker will do well. At least, she’s off to a good start.

A good introduction should answer 3 questions

A good introduction should answer 3 questions: why this speaker, on this subject, to this audience? A little humor is permitted, but an introduction should never denigrate the speaker, even in fun. The idea is to build the speaker up in the audience’s mind.

As an example, here’s a short introduction I provide for my own speaking engagements

Here at XXXXXXX, we live and die by our communications successes and failures. So it is with special excitement that I’m pleased to welcome Dr. Nick Morgan to our annual gathering. Nick is one of America’s top communication theorists and coaches. He has coached people to give Congressional testimony, to appear on the Today Show, and to take on the investment community. His latest book, Trust Me: Four Steps to Authenticity and Charisma , was published by Jossey-Bass last year. And he has one of the best blogs on communications.

Have you ever wondered why you can’t take your eyes off some charismatic public figures, while others put you immediately to sleep? Nick is going to demystify charisma and storytelling for us today, giving us lots of practical ideas we can immediately put to work when we’re back in the office on Monday…

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Nick Morgan!

I’ve often noted that a celebrity speaker can be mediocre and yet the audience can report that it had a good time. The reason is that the celebrity has already been ‘introduced’ to the audience — the audience knows the celebrity by advance reputation. The work of a good introduction is to raise the speaker to celebrity status for the purposes of that occasion.

Always end with an applause line for the speaker — “so please join me in welcoming Jane Doe!” — to allow her time to get up on the stage and ready to go. And it’s a very good idea to shake the speaker’s hand as he or she goes by on the way to the lectern. Shaking another person’s hand is grounding and comforting, and will help the speaker get off to a good start.

In terms of body language, the handshake gives the audience the sense that it has met the speaker close up, because a good introducer is the representative of the audience. So when the speaker and introducer shake hands, a bond is formed with everyone.

So don’t neglect the introduction.

It’s up to the speaker to prepare a good introduction

And speakers, prepare a good one. Don’t assume that the folks in charge will have a credible intro ready to go. Make it easy for them and write it yourself. You need the boost so that you can show up in front of that audience with credibility, trust, and likability.

Without a carefully prepared script, here’s what can go wrong. At best, the person introducing you, blandly reads your your bio that she’s printed from your web site. At worst, you get introduced by an enthusiastic ad-libber, and he starts by saying, “I’m not going to read the intro they sent me.” He adds some irrelevant comments about how he met you the evening before over the Spilled Bloody Mary Incident (his fault, not yours). What’s supposed to be charming self-deprecating humor is awkward and goes on too long. The rest of the introduction gets lost in the verbal shuffle, and the host gets key facts wrong, stumbling over the sentence structure and some unfamiliar words. He leaves out mention of your book, and ends with another half-hearted attempt at humor. You walk on stage to the sound of a lot of single hands clapping.

If you want to avoid this sort of disastrous incident and be guaranteed to get your speech off to the best possible start every time, create a DVD intro that showcases you and your history with some drama and excitement. The video will put you in the best possible light and get the audience keyed up to see you. You can do this in a carefully scripted 3-minute video, and the cost can be quite reasonable. In any case you should mentally amortize the cost over all the introductions that won’t be botched from here on.

What should go into those 3 minutes? Answer the question why? Why are you cool, why is your speech important, why should the audience care. Give a few salient details about your accomplishments, and end with the music amped up and the cheers already rolling in. Have the last words of the voice over be, “Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome (You)!” and the applause will follow naturally. The great thing about video (with a compelling soundtrack) is that it can touch the emotions in a way that’s much harder for your host to do, statistically speaking.

It’s all about quality control. Create your own intro video and you’ll never have to suffer a botched intro again. Get the intro right, and the speech is half done.

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Things I’ve Learned This Year

56 Comments

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I am presenting a workshop to our employee self-help group at the Social Security Administration next week. The topic will be: “How to be a better meeting participant & take better notes”. They asked me for my bio. It is usually is read or paraphrased as an introduction. I have never been happy with the “Read the Bio” approach, but couldn’t elaborate a better method. I will share your posting with our core group so that the speaker introductions are more effective for the participants.

Your information eloquently states exactly what I want to hear from a speaker introduction and makes my job of writing up my own much easier!

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Nancy, thanks for the comment and good luck with the event!

[…] Helpful Resources How to introduce a speaker — the art of giving (and receiving) a … […]

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Nick……3 years later and your writing is still helping others. this is a fab piece, thank you!!!

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I agree 3 minutes tops to introduce a speaker or anyone, a band, etc. and the introduction should not be read the audience came to see the band, speaker, etc. not the introducer

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Love this! Doing my first speech and wanted to really nail and introduction knowing it could put me on good footing to start. I appreciate you writing and sharing this Nick.

Good luck, Thomas, and thanks for the comment!

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I was asked to be an MC recently on a graduation ceremony for the first time in my life and truly speaking, this article comes to my rescue. Thanks so much Nick.

Great to hear — good luck, Joram!

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I am going to be the master of ceremony on a graduation party for the 1st time today. Hopping these tips will help me a lot…I thank u so much.

From Duds wait

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How can we write a good introduction for for a TED event speaker but is still in High School? (meaning s/he did not achieve much professionally or does not have much experience)

Talk about her enthusiasm, energy, vision — the things that great high school students have in abundance. An intro doesn’t have to be a resume — in fact it shouldn’t be.

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thanks nick for all that information.. i think im ready to go and nail it this Friday!!!!

Break a leg!

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Thank you! This was helpful to me in introducing a major artist at an upcoming event.

Thanks, Clara, for the comment. Glad it was helpful.

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Thanks a lot for the useful tips, I am going to introduce my book in church.

You’re welcome — good luck with the introduction!

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I am going to be MC at a graduation.. need help on how to introduce speakers

Search MC on our site and you’ll find some posts on how to do that well.

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Thank you! This is very helpful for a first-time intro writer!

Thanks, Gretchen, and good luck!

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Do you need to introduce a person in by their profession? Like this is Engineer Sam or this is Architect Sam? How about the teachers, do we need to introduce them as Teacher Sam? I just want to know because some people I know introduce them by their profession. And when do we need to use their profession.

Hi, Dennis —

An introduction answers several questions for the audience: why this person, why this topic, why this audience, why now. The speaker’s profession is almost always included in that answer. Not always (imagine someone talking about being a recovering alcoholic, for instance), but almost always.

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Hello Sir Nick, I am invited to speak on a graduation day.. can i ask for a nice idea on how the they will introduce me on that day ..i want a very short introduction.. How i am going to start?

Yes, ask yourself, what is the one thing in my work that I am most passionate about? Then, get the introducer to tell a brief story that illustrates that passionate expertise. When you go on stage, then, be ready to talk about a related subject, since you will now appear to be expert in that area, thanks to the intro.

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Woman’s Club meeting. Program within meeting. Who introduces program? Vp in charge of programs or chairman of the program?

Either one can; depends on VIP status of speakers. If more important, Chairman. If less important, VP is fine.

What exactly are you waiting for? And who does the thank you

The same person who does the intro should do the thanks.

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Hi mike, Can i ask for a basic script to intoduce a physicians and profisors in a ceremony , i have asked to be MC for the first time on my life, my event will be held on the next sunday Oct 15-2017

Thank you in advance. Aisha.

Hi, Aisha – each introduction is different — that’s the whole point of them. For a basic outline, answer the following questions: (1) Who is the person (what have they accomplished that’s relevant to this audience?); (2) What is their area of expertise (that is relevant to the audience?); (3) why is the topic (and the speaker) important right now?. Always end with the speaker’s name.

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Hi Dr. Nick,

I have been told to introduce a few couple of Physicians at a Conference. It is a medical conference and the audience are also physicians. I have been given the CV of speakers and I need to highlight their expertise, experience and accomplishments.

Any Tips, Please?

1. Don’t read the CV. Just give highlights in the form of a story relevant to the audience. 2. Ask the speakers for a human detail or story or two. 3. Tell the audience why this speaker is important to this audience today.

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As I am a TMOD of the meeting. How do I introduce a word and a thought master? Please help as this is my first time and I don’t want to screw this.

Start with why this person is so impressive — what wows you about him or her. Say a few words about what the topic is and why it’s relevant to the audience. And then explain why now is a particularly good time to hear from this speaker. End with the speaker’s name, and start the applause.

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Hello Sir Morgan,

Today I learnt that speech of introduction is equally important to the actual speech by the speaker. Thank you for the wonderful tips. It’s useful for my Speech course at my university.

Thanks, Inba.

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Good morning Mr. Morgan; Can this introduction be used for a sermon introduction as well? How can I include their character and love to teach and share ministry into this introduction ? I am new at this and really want to do a good job. The topic is on family Reunion and this person is a minister in the family.

Hi, Trina — yes, you certainly can use the general structure here for a sermon introduction. You would include the details you mention under the heading of “why this person,” because the character, love to teach, and share ministry are presumably all good reasons for this person to speak. Hope that helps.

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I’M ASKED TO INTRODUCE A PARAMOUNT CHIEF TO CHAIR AN OCCASION. THIS WILL HELP ME.

[…] were reviewing the stats on this blog recently, and one of the surprising numbers is that the blog post that consistently gets the most views is one I did over a half-dozen years ago on how to introduce a speaker.  I suppose that’s where […]

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Nick, This is a great resource for students in public speaking courses. You inadvertently have help hundreds of students get good reviews and great grades.

Shawn, that’s a good thing, right?

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Hey nick, I have to welcome series of speakers and I really dont want to end with “Lets welcome him/her with huge round of applause”. ao, can you put out the alternatives for “to present his/her speech”. Thanks much for the article, btw.

Hi, Prithak — If I understand your question, it’s how to end each introduction? You should always end with the person’s name, as a trigger for the applause: “Please welcome James Blunt!” Don’t vary that formula. The variation comes in what you say about the person before the ending of each introduction.

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Thanks for mentioning how they need to provide a good introduction. Having someone that is prepared can be nice. Choosing a good master of the ceremony could help a lot.

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This is really amazing. It’s a very grateful blog for me. Thanks for sharing it.

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This is an amazing article that I found through Brian Dodd. This will help me to help the speaker when we have special ministries come to our church.

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Thank you, Sis, for the article, it was very helpful and I got new insight. I really appreciate it, I hope you are given health so that you can continue to write useful articles like this.

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Thanks for sharing it, its really amazing

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Youth conference speaker significantly impacts the youth listening and attending the conference, so it has to be motivational and inspirational. In this connection, the speaker should be reliable and trustworthy. Audiences expect various things from a speaker, some of which they wish for immediately if a speaker succeeds.

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I’m introducing my daughter as Mother’s Day speak at my church on Sunday. Please give me some tips on how to introduce her She’s a great mother for over 20 years 30 years. She has to find boys Christian boys and she’s a great speaker.

Good introductions are short, and answer 3 questions: Who, what, why. Who is this speaker (very brief relevant bio); what is her subject mater that she is going to talk about; and why is she uniquely qualified to talk to this audience?

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Great job, this blog is very informative. Thank you

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Why the Race to Replace George Santos Is So Close

The special house election in new york pits mazi pilip, who is running as a republican, against tom suozzi, a democrat..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

From “The New York Times,” I’m Sabrina Tavernise, and this is “The Daily.”

Today, voters in New York will choose the successor to George Santos, the disgraced Republican who was expelled from Congress in December. Democrats would seem to have the advantage. Instead, it’s a dead heat.

My colleague, Nick Fandos, explains why and tells me how the results of the race will hold important clues for both parties come November.

It’s Tuesday, February 13.

So Nick, you’ve been following the race for the seat formerly occupied by George Santos. And setting aside Santos’s brief and kind of riveting congressional tenure, I’d like to start with the most basic question, which is, Why does this race over this one House seat on Long Island matter?

It’s a great question. Now, I’d start by saying, let’s not just so quickly race over George Santos. This was a guy whose yearlong embarrassment put this district on the map and, I think, left a lot of voters there really exacerbated.

I mean, it is probably the reason why you and I are talking right now.

That’s very true. But we’re also talking because this is a really special district. We’re talking about a slice of Queens and Long Island that is racially diverse, ethnically diverse, got people of all kinds of socioeconomic statuses. And as such, it’s the type of place that we see all over the country, where elections are probably going to be decided later this year for president and for control of the House of Representatives.

This area has swung back and forth a lot. So President Biden won this district by eight points in 2020, and then two years later, in 2022, George Santos was one of a handful of Republicans who flipped seats right here in New York that helped the Republican Party take the majority in the House.

I remember that. That was a big election that Republicans just had a wipeout in New York.

Yeah, so when Santos was expelled in December, this race becomes a really big deal for both parties. And there’s a couple of reasons for that. If the Democrats can win and flip this seat, they could narrow Republicans’ majority right now in the present at a time when they’re trying to impeach the Homeland Security Secretary or fund the government and make their life a lot more difficult.

But it also is a race that’s going to set the tone for the rest of 2024 and give the parties kind of an early preview of where the elections are headed. For all of those reasons, Democrats feel like this is a really good pickup opportunity for us.

And also, they’re coming out of DeSantis’ train crash, so it’s logical they would think that.

Right, exactly. But instead, as we head into election day today, we’re looking at a statistical dead heat.

And Nick, what’s your understanding of why the race is so close?

I think that there’s really two issues that have come to dominate this race above anything else. One of them is a big international issue that has a kind of particular local resonance, and that’s the war unfolding right now in Gaza. So this is one of the most Jewish districts in the country, and a lot of voters are looking very closely at both candidates and how they’re approaching this.

The other one is an issue that’s in headlines and conversations in Washington and all over the country right now. And that is the situation at the Southern border, where we’ve seen a historic influx of migrants trying to cross, and the Biden administration is struggling to figure out what to do about it.

OK, so let’s talk about the candidates and how they’re dealing with those issues. So introduce me to the Republican.

Right. So the Republican in this race is a woman named Mazi Pilip.

The future of our nation is at stake in this race for the third congressional district on February 13.

She’s a local part-time legislator in Nassau County with relatively little political experience. And this is shown on the campaign trail. She’s really not doing a lot of public events.

She doesn’t speak in an unscripted way. A lot of her positions, frankly, have been hard for us to hash out. But in this particular moment, she has a really remarkable personal story that I think she’s been able to kind of definitely use in the campaign.

I grew up in Israel. Israel, for me, a special place.

So she was actually born in Ethiopia and, as a young child, was airlifted to Israel, where she grew up —

I got my education. I served in the Israeli army, very proud.

— and served as a member of the Israeli Defense Forces.

Wow, so she served in the military.

She did, yeah, and has family members who still live over there.

My family, my entire family, live in Israel. My nephews, as we speak, fighting the terrorists.

She married a Ukrainian-American doctor, moved to New York, and settled on Long Island. Yeah, and she said very explicitly that October 7 changed her in a very significant way.

For me, this is so personal, so painful. It propelled her to want to run in this race —

This is attack on the world. So we have to remember, we have to be strong, and Am Yisrael Chai. Thank you.

— to confront both what she sees as anti-Israel sentiment and anti-Semitism creeping up all around the world and in American politics, particularly, she says, on the left of the Democratic Party.

And how does she present what she would do on Israel? I mean, who is she in terms of the policy stuff with Israel?

Yeah, so she is a very staunch defender of Israel. You wouldn’t be surprised. She doesn’t want to put any condition on American aid to Israel. She thinks a ceasefire is a deeply unjust solution.

She, in fact, has gone so far since October 7, that she now says a two-state solution — a Palestinian and Israeli state — is no longer even possible.

It should just all be Israel.

So that’s very different than President Biden’s position, for example.

That’s right. And it’s one of the few things that separates her from her Democratic opponent on this issue.

So tell me about her Democratic opponent. Who is he?

All right, everybody. Well, my name is Tom Suozzi, and I’m running for the United States Congress. [CROWD CHEERING]

So the Democrat in this race is Tom Suozzi. He’s a really well known Democrat locally. He’s been around for 30 years. He was the Nassau County Executive. And he was, in fact, a three-term member of Congress representing this very seat.

In my case, you’ve got somebody that you know, somebody who’s been around, somebody who’s got a proven record of getting things done.

Before he decided to run for governor, it didn’t go so well, and Santos got elected. And on this issue, he’s presented himself as as staunchly pro-Israel as Pilip is. He doesn’t want to condition aid. He’s against a ceasefire.

OK, I got to Israel about seven hours ago to show solidarity with our friends here in Israel and with our Jewish friends throughout the world.

And even in this incredibly short campaign, he took time out to fly over to Israel to prove his bona fides.

It reminds us that evil exists in the world. And we have to stand strong and defeat this terrorist operation.

OK, so clear why they’re both doing that, because it’s a very Jewish district. But why is this an issue in this district at all then? They’re both pretty similar.

I think there’s two parts to understanding this. One is the unique appeal of Pilip’s story. So remember how I said she was in the IDF? She’s also an Orthodox Jew. She has seven kids, who she says she worries about facing anti-Semitism in the United States. She has family in Israel.

Our brothers and sisters got attacked by a terrorist organization.

She has made concerns about this issue visceral in her campaign, a centerpiece of her campaign in a way that, frankly, I haven’t really seen another candidate do out on the trail.

I promise you the Jewish people, the state of Israel, the American people, will make you pay the price you deserve!

[CROWD CHEERING]

And so she’s basically giving Jewish voters who are uncomfortable or nervous in this moment, feel historically unsettled, an opportunity to vote for someone like them and somebody who is really going to go to Congress and be a voice. Like, nobody doubts that this is going to be a centerpiece of her identity in Congress. And at the same time, Suozzi is dealing with this other problem, which is not so much about him but about his party.

There’s a concern right now, I think, among a lot of American Jews and a lot of voters that I’ve talked to in this race and rabbis that the Democratic Party’s left flank has become increasingly skeptical or even hostile to Israel. And so they may be fine with Tom Suozzi, but they’re just really worried about voting for Democrats at all right now. They either want to make a protest or punish the party. Because they don’t like the direction that it’s going.

And what’s his message to them?

Yeah, so Suozzi is directly addressing this and saying, actually, I agree with you. But that’s the reason you’ve got to elect me.

Another Republican that supports Israel is not adding much to the equation.

You don’t need another super strong, pro-Israel Republican. We’ve got plenty of those. You need somebody that is going to stand up and get in the trenches and fight with his own party. That’s how we put up a bulwark against this. It’s within the Democratic Party.

What we need are strong, outspoken, pro-Israel Democrats that will stand up for Israel and will stand up to the extreme left.

And I’m the guy to do that.

I am uniquely set up to fight exactly the force that you are most afraid of, which is progressives on the left side of the Democratic Party.

Exactly. And in my reporting, I’ve seen all kinds of signs that voters are really kind of torn over this. So in one part of the district — and this is where Pilip is actually from — you have a really large population of Orthodox Jews and Iranian Jews, who have become very politically conservative in recent years.

And her campaign is banking on the fact that they are going to be super motivated and come out with huge numbers. And that matters in a low-turnout election. There’s also a group of voters that are just die-hard Democrats.

They are Jews. They might be concerned about Israel. But they can’t support her, because of her ties to the Republican Party and Trump or whatever the reason.

But there seems to be a kind of contingent in the middle of moderate-to-liberal American Jews who maybe would have sided with Democrats, who have been an important part of their coalition for a long time, that are now looking a lot more closely at this choice. I’ve talked to rabbis who are describing congregations that are pretty split down the middle, Jewish voters who say they don’t know which way to go.

They like Suozzi personally, but they’ve never seen a candidate quite so outwardly Jewish as Pilip is. And so frankly, I don’t think we’re going to the answer until later today as to how all of this broke down. But in a race that’s really, really close, this group actually has the potential to swing it one way or the other.

It’s pretty interesting. I mean, the people in the middle, had it not been for October 7, perhaps they would have just voted for the Democrat, because that’s kind of maybe how they tended to vote. But now, October 7 has kind of made this chemical reaction, and it’s a little bit of a wild card. We don’t know what’s going to happen.

Right. And this is one of these issues that I think is being watched by political strategists all over the country who are wondering, OK, what could this mean, potentially, in other districts? Have the foundations of American politics been shaken so hard that Republicans can drive a wedge between Jewish voters and Democrats? And that could potentially have a real impact across the country.

And as if that wasn’t enough, remember, this district is going to offer us a second test case on something that is arguably even a bigger issue right now. And that’s immigration.

We’ll be right back.

So Nick, tell me about how immigration is shaping this race.

So let me start by just zooming out for a second. Since the pandemic, there has been an incredible buildup of people from Venezuela, Latin America, other countries, trying to cross the Southern border. And it’s become a big issue in Washington right now. Last week, we saw President Biden and Congress really tangling over a potential border deal, and it’s become one of the biggest issues for the 2024 campaign as well.

Former President Trump has made clear that this is the issue that he wants to run on, one of the ones that he really thinks he can beat President Biden up on. And so on a national level, this issue is kind of everywhere at the moment. But there’s an unusual resonance, I think, here in New York and in this district in particular as well.

Now, I’ve been on the show before, talking about the migrant crisis here in New York. And all those people streaming over the Southern border, 170,000 of them and counting, have come here to New York City. And it’s been a huge quandary for the city and for the state and the Democrats who run New York.

It’s been expensive. The mayor has talked about having to the budget. And all of that is kind of playing out in this district. There’s actually a migrant shelter that the city has erected that sits squarely in the Congressional district, and a lot of voters in it are commuting into the city all the time and maybe are seeing people lined up outside of hotels.

And if nothing else, they’re reading all kinds of daily headlines. Just last week, the Police Commissioner of New York was talking about a migrant crime wave in New York City, all of which is kind of suggesting chaos, and chaos under Democrats’ watch, both in Washington and in New York.

OK, so where do we see this play out on the campaign?

So this issue starts to show up in polls very early in this race as a top priority of voters. But I think the moment that it really crystallized on the campaign trail that this thing, that immigration is going to be the center of this campaign, was a couple of weeks ago, when Mazi Pilip, the Republican candidate, decided to have her first major press conference of the campaign outside that migrant shelter in Queens.

My name is Mazi Pilip. I’m a legal immigrant and a candidate for Congress.

She shows up. She introduces herself as a legal immigrant before she even says she’s the Republican candidate for Congress —

The third congressional district residents worry about our border crisis.

— and talked about, basically, how bad things have gotten on Democrats’ watch. She says —

He created this problem.

He’s been for sanctuary cities in the past. Like, the crisis that we have here right now, it’s their fault, and I’m the one that will make it better.

So she’s saying, I came here the right way, legally, these people didn’t, and all of this is happening under Democrats.

Exactly. So this looks like a typical kind of Republican issue, right? It’s the things that Republicans are doing all over the country right now. But the really kind of wild thing that happens is, Suozzi finds out that this is going to happen. And he gets in his car and drives to the migrant shelter himself —

— and sets up a press conference right next to her —

Oh, my gosh.

— so that when she wraps up, he steps up to the microphones and says —

As we saw in the press conference that my opponent just did a few minutes ago, she didn’t give any solutions. She recounted why it’s a problem. We all know it’s a problem. Some of us have been talking about it for decades.

Hi. I’m the Democrat in this race. And I agree this is a total problem for this district.

Key to solving problems, complicated problems, is compromise. You’ve got to get both sides to cut a deal. That’s the only way you can solve these problems.

But here’s how I would deal with it. I want to find a bipartisan solution, and my opponent isn’t going to do that.

So he basically wants to show everybody he’s no less tough on the issue than she is. He’s like, OK, I see your press conference. I’ll raise you mine. But like, what’s he really doing here?

Yeah, it’s a striking moment. Because I think that we are used to, in the kind of political world, thinking of immigration as an issue that Republicans attack on and Democrats either stay quiet or try to ignore it. And here, you have the Democratic candidate really diving headfirst into an issue that polls show voters are blaming his party for.

In some ways, this is really kind of typical for somebody like Tom Suozzi, who’s a centrist who likes to buck his party. But I think it also reflects that he learned an important lesson from 2022, when Republicans performed much better here in New York than they did in the rest of the country. And they did it in part by really speaking to and kind of channeling fears about rising crime in New York.

And Democrats, by their own admission, didn’t take it seriously enough. And they ceded it to Republicans. Suozzi saw that, and his takeaway was, this can’t be a Republican issue or a Democratic issue. This is an issue that voters care about and that they’re talking about.

And if I don’t dive into it and show them that I’m taking it seriously and trying to solve it, well, then yeah, I am going to be politically washed out with President Biden and other Democrats who are getting the blame. So he’s really trying to both kind of separate himself from his party here in an important way and dive into an issue that we’ve seen Democrats pretty uncomfortable grappling with.

Which, in a way, is a pretty bad sign for national-level Democrats, right? Including Biden, heading into November. Like, that a Democrat in a swing district of a blue state is running away from his own party’s position on immigration. But that’s also a pretty tricky needle for him to thread.

Yeah, no doubt, especially in a special election, where, by the way, candidates usually win and lose based on their ability to turn out their most loyal voters. Normally, you’re not reaching across the aisle. But I think that Suozzi is finding himself having to do this is emblematic of just how bad this issue is for Democrats, and how bad their brand has become in a place like the suburbs of New York City.

Remember, Biden won this district pretty easily four years ago. But now, in the latest polling in this race — and I’m talking to voters out in the field — it’s quite clear that Biden’s numbers have dropped precipitously. In fact, he’s trailing Donald Trump in head-to-heads here in the suburbs, and a large part of that has to do with immigration.

Voters seem to be very exorcized about the sense of this issue being out of control and Democrats, the ones that they put in power, not doing enough about it. And so if Pilip is trying to make this race into, basically, a referendum on President Biden and the Democratic Party vis-a-vis immigration, what Suozzi is trying to do is make it a battle between Tom Suozzi, the Democrat, and Mazi Pilip, the Republican, over who’s got the better idea to help solve this problem. He’s saying, yeah, I agree with you that we have a problem. But let’s argue about the way to fix it and get voters to really focus in on that. And in that area, he may have gotten some help last week.

You’re referring to the deal that the Republicans actually wanted, and then bailed on at the last minute — this deal in the Senate on immigration.

That’s right. So Suozzi is able to go out and say, look, here’s a bipartisan solution that Democrats agreed to give Republicans almost everything that they wanted. There’s some money for the wall. There’s money to speed up and change the asylum process. We can increase deportations.

This is the kind of thing that’s going to help us solve the problem in the country. This is the kind of thing that I support. So when his Republican opponent comes out and trashes it and says, this is a legalization of the invasion that we’re seeing in the border, Suozzi moves really quickly to say, OK, remember, my Republican was telling you, this was a really big problem. Now, she seems to be putting politics over solving that policy problem, because President Trump and her party would rather not give President Biden the victory.

Basically saying, look, this is a pretty cynical political move. They’re using it for their own political gain instead of actually trying to fix the problem.

And how does Pilip respond to that?

Pilip responds by basically doubling down and saying, Why should we trust you on the solution when you arguably helped create this problem in the first place? And this is where Suozzi runs into some trouble with that long record of his.

It turns out, when you’ve been in politics for 30 years, you accumulate a record that’s pretty easy to go in and pluck things out of to support an argument like this. So national Republicans and the Pilip campaign have been airing millions of dollars of ads that showed he voted with Biden 100 percent of the time when he was still in Congress. So it really connects him to the president on all kinds of issues. And then, there’s this one ad in particular that has been running over and over and over again —

Illegal immigrants arriving by the busload. Why? Because Tom Suozzi repeatedly weakened America’s borders.

— that includes a clip of Suozzi during his ill-fated run for governor a couple of years ago —

When I was county executive of Nassau County, I kicked ICE out of Nassau County.

— bragging on a debate stage about how he kicked ICE — that is Immigration and Customs Enforcement — out of Nassau County when he was county executive.

Essentially, a pro-immigration stance.

Right. That’s how it looks.

In Congress, he’ll make it worse. Congressional Leadership Fund is responsible for the content of this advertising.

Now, Suozzi has explained he had good reason. The ICE officers pulled guns on Nassau County Police officers. But when you really get under the data and talk to strategists that are working on this race, that ad has taken a real bite out of Suozzi’s image and seems to be helping Pilip undermine voters’ trust in his ability to solve the problem. So we’ve also seen in polls that voters who care the most about the border — and that’s a plurality of voters, as we’ve said — trust Pilip more than they trust Suozzi.

OK. So given all of this — of course, we’re not going to know the answer until tonight, when we get the election results. But Nick, just casting a little bit ahead here, say the Republican wins. Say Pilip wins. What should Republicans take away from that? What’s the lesson there?

Republicans took a big hit last week for pulling out of that bipartisan immigration deal that they themselves demanded and helped negotiate.

But they did it for a reason, arguably. They did it because it is a very good political issue for them, and they want to run their 2024 campaigns on it. And if they end up being successful in this race, which is really kind of the very first test of that strategy, I think it may tell them that was worth it, at least politically, and that this is the path that they ought to continue going down, both as they run against President Biden, but also in Senate and House races all over the country, where things are close, and voters may be similarly disposed to blame the Democrats for it.

And on the other hand, if Mazi Pilip loses and Suozzi wins, while I don’t think that we’ll see Republicans completely abandon immigration as an issue by any means, I think they’re going to have to take a hard look at the kind of suite of issues that they’re running on and whether that alone is enough to get candidates across the finish line in these tough districts.

And Nick, what about the Democrat? I mean, what if Suozzi wins? What would that tell Democrats?

So Suozzi, if he can win, would essentially be writing a playbook for Democrats across the country. And I think it would go something like this. Keep pounding your Republican opponent on abortion and Trump and issues like that. Right?

But you can’t ignore the issues that Republicans really like either. You got to dive in the mud and start wrestling with them. And if you can separate yourself from President Biden a little bit along the way, or you can otherwise show you’re willing to push against party orthodoxy, then voters might just reward you for that. They might look at you and say, OK, this is the kind of politician who might be able to help solve problems for us. Let’s give them a shot.

And on the other hand, if having done all of that, a candidate like Tom Suozzi who entered this race well known and well liked — he had a Democratic registration advantage and a lot more money than his Republican opponent — can’t pull this out, I think that’s going to be a very potent warning sign for President Biden and his party that this fall is going to be one heck of a fight.

Nick, thank you.

My pleasure, Sabrina.

In a troubling sign for turnout in Tuesday’s special election, there is heavy snow in the New York metro area. A significant storm could create even greater uncertainty in a contest whose outcome is likely to be decided by a small margin.

Here’s what else you should know today. On Monday, Israel’s military said it had conducted a wave of attacks on the southern Gazan city of Rafah to provide cover for soldiers undertaking a hostage rescue mission there. Israeli special forces raided a building there before dawn, freeing two hostages held by Hamas.

The Gazan Health Ministry said at least 67 Palestinians had been killed. The ministry’s figures do not distinguish between combatants and civilians. The operation was met with elation in Israel and was a major boost for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

But for Palestinians, it carried a sense of foreboding that a broader Israeli operation to capture the city was beginning. Netanyahu has ordered the military to draw up plans to evacuate civilians from Rafah, but aid groups say there is no place left for them to go.

And a judge in Atlanta said that he would move ahead with the hearing later this week delving into a romantic relationship between the two prosecutors who are leading an election interference case against Donald Trump and his allies. The revelations about the relationship have created turmoil around the case, one of several against Trump involving the 2020 election and his alleged efforts to subvert it.

The defense is trying to get the two prosecutors, Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, and Nathan Wade, whom she hired to run the case, disqualified, arguing that the relationship gives the appearance of impropriety and would lead to an unfair prosecution.

Today’s episode was produced by Mooj Zadie, Eric Krupke, Summer Thomad, and Stella Tan. It was edited by Marc Georges with help from Rachel Quester, contains original music by Marion Lozano and Rowan Niemisto, and was engineered by Chris Wood. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly.

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Sabrina Tavernise. See you tomorrow.

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Voters in New York are choosing the successor to George Santos, the disgraced Republican who was expelled from Congress in December.

Nicholas Fandos, who covers New York politics and government for The Times, explains how the results of the race will hold important clues for both parties in November.

On today’s episode

introduction speech to a guest speaker

Nicholas Fandos , a reporter covering New York politics and government for The New York Times.

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What to Know About the Race to Replace George Santos

Days before a special House election in New York, Tom Suozzi and Mazi Pilip traded blows in the race’s lone debate .

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Nicholas Fandos is a Times reporter covering New York politics and government. More about Nicholas Fandos

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Senate passes aid package for Ukraine and Israel, but its future is uncertain in the House

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats and Republicans joined together Tuesday morning to pass a $95 billion national security package that includes critical aid for three key U.S. allies — Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

The vote was 70-29. Twenty-two Senate Republicans voted for the package, as did 46 Democrats and two independents who caucus with Democrats.

Twenty-six Republicans and two Democrats — Peter Welch of Vermont and Jeff Merkley of Oregon — voted no. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, also voted against it.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., lauded passage of the bill in remarks on the Senate floor after the vote. He later told reporters he hopes to speak directly with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and urge him "to step up to the moment and do the right thing."

“If we want the world to remain a safe place for freedom, for democratic principles, and for our future prosperity, then America must lead the way,” Schumer said on the floor. “And with this bill, the Senate declares that American leadership will not waver, not falter, not fail.”

The Senate’s action would make Russian President Vladimir Putin “regret the day he questioned America’s resolve," Schumer said. "And we send a clear bipartisan message of resolve to our allies in NATO."

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said U.S. "adversaries want America to decide that reinforcing allies and partners is not in our interest and that investing in strategic competition is not worth it. They want us to take hard-earned credibility and light it on fire."

“But today, the Senate responded by reaffirming a commitment to rebuild and modernize our military, restore our credibility, and give the current commander in chief, as well as the next, more tools to secure our interests," he continued.

The Senate's vote to pass the foreign aid bill is a significant step forward after months of delays centered on whether tough border security measures would be part of the package. Although Republicans demanded that any bill to authorize aid to Ukraine also address the crisis at the border, they ultimately killed a bi p artisan p ackage that married those issues .

The emergency aid bill now faces an uncertain fate in the GOP-controlled House, where conservatives are pressuring Johnson to block funds for war-torn Ukraine until America’s southern border is secure. Hours before the vote, Johnson made clear he would not bring the Senate security package to the House floor.

The Senate "should have gone back to the drawing board to amend the current bill to include real border security provisions that would actually help end the ongoing catastrophe. Instead, the Senate’s foreign aid bill is silent on the most pressing issue facing our country," Johnson said in a statement .

"Now, in the absence of having received any single border policy change from the Senate, the House will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters," he added.

In an emotional floor speech and in an interview with reporters, Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., pushed back against GOP colleagues who opposed the bill and have argued that Washington needs to focus on protecting America's borders before those of foreign allies.

"This is not about taking care of others. I certainly care about the people in Ukraine and their freedom or the people in Israel and what they suffered. ... But this is, first and foremost, an issue about protecting Americans," Moran told reporters Monday evening.

"My point is that when we focus on the world, we're also focusing on America," he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the senators for their support in a message on Telegram, saying the U.S. aid "helps to save human lives from Russian terror. It means that life will continue in our cities and will triumph over war."

"American assistance brings just peace in Ukraine closer and restores global stability, resulting in increased security and prosperity for all Americans and all the free world," Zelenskyy said.

The Senate-passed package calls for $95.34 billion in aid, including $60.06 billion to help protect Ukraine against the Russian invasion; $14.1 billion in security assistance for Israel; $9.15 billion in humanitarian assistance to provide things such as food, water and medical care to affected civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, Ukraine and other hot spots; and $4.83 billion to support allies in the Indo-Pacific and deter aggression by the Chinese government.

Initially, Senate leaders had hoped to move forward with a foreign aid package that included stricter asylum and border security provisions that was negotiated by Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., James Lankford, R-Okla., and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz.

But GOP leaders ditched that strategy after former President Donald Trump and top House GOP leaders objected to the bipartisan border deal, saying it would not go far enough to stop the influx in illegal crossings at the southern border. Last week, Senate Republicans blocked the combined border and foreign aid package, forcing the leadership to fall back to Plan B: abandon the border deal and try to push through the stand-alone aid package.

But then, Senate conservatives objected to moving forward with the aid package without attaching border security provisions. Among them was Rand Paul, R-Ky., who tried to slow the new bill’s progress at every step.

“I think we should tackle our problems here first," Paul told reporters over the weekend as he delayed the passage. "A sizable chunk of the Republican caucus said we should have border security on this bill, and our leadership gave in, and our leadership said, basically, the Ukrainian border is more important than our southern border, and I disagree with that.”

McConnell, Kentucky's other senator and a longtime defense hawk, was on the other side of that argument. Speaking on the floor in a rare Senate session Sunday, McConnell criticized those in his conference who have objected to sending additional aid to Ukraine, saying they have “the dimmest and most shortsighted views of our obligations.” 

“I know it’s become quite fashionable in some circles to disregard the global interests we have as a global power. To bemoan the responsibilities of global leadership. To lament the commitment that has underpinned the longest drought of great power conflict in human history,” McConnell said.

“This is the idle work for idle minds — and it has no place in the United States Senate,” he said.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., one of the 22 Republicans who voted yes, told reporters that failing to pass the foreign aid would send “a bad message” to allies. Tillis said he has had discussions with House members that, in case Johnson does not call a House vote on the package, Democratic and GOP supporters could bypass leadership and sign a discharge petition to pass it.

“The speaker is going to have to decide where he wants to be in this chapter of history,” Tillis told reporters Tuesday morning. “If Putin wins, Republicans will lose. ... If it goes down that path and bad things happen in Ukraine, I’ll remind them every day that I’m in the U.S. Senate.”

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Scott Wong is a senior congressional reporter for NBC News.

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Frank Thorp V is a producer and off-air reporter covering Congress for NBC News, managing coverage of the Senate.

Kate Santaliz is an associate producer for NBC News’ Capitol Hill team.

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  1. How to Introduce a Guest Speaker (with Examples)

    Here are some key elements to keep in mind for how to introduce a guest speaker successfully. 1. Research and gather information. Before introducing the guest speaker, conduct thorough research to gather relevant information about their background, achievements, and expertise. This will help you create an introduction that is both personalized ...

  2. How to Introduce a Guest Speaker: Writing Tips and Examples

    1. Keep the introduction under 1 minute. Remember that you are there to introduce the guest speaker and that your introduction is just the precursor to the main talk. Keep your piece to about 30 to 40 seconds, a minute at most. A few short paragraphs are usually enough to set the stage.

  3. Guest Speaker Introduction: How to Prepare, Write and Deliver

    A guest speaker introduction is a short speech delivered to pique the audience's interest, establish the credibility of the speaker, provide a preview of the topic as a promise, and say whatever the speaker cannot say. A good guest speaker intro is best delivered in less than two minutes. And though some speakers may not need an introduction ...

  4. How to Memorably Introduce Another Speaker

    Deborah Grayson Riegel. October 18, 2016. As a professional speaker and facilitator for over 20 years, I've been introduced more than a thousand times, by countless meeting planners, conference ...

  5. Introduce a guest speaker speech sample

    Tips for introducing a guest speaker. 1. Don't talk too long. Keep your introduction to between 45 seconds to 3 minutes. 2. Bios are a great place to get information. Almost all speakers will have a bio online or the event planner may have a copy of their bio. You can also search their name online for other interesting tidbits about them, but ...

  6. Introducing a Speaker Sample Script

    Speaker Introduction Framework 1. Here is a very solid framework to start with that I have used for many years. I was taught this by Ron Tachhi who was a very successful speaker and then ran a large Speaker Bureau in Australia. His was based on a framework taught in the Toastmasters Training.

  7. Introduction Speech: a 'how to', with an example speech

    The job of an introduction speech is to: introduce your guest speaker, give them a warm welcome, and create ready-and-motivated-to-listen anticipation in the audience. Essentially you are the warm-up act. Your task is to focus and unite the audience members, to get them ready for what is to come. Return to Top.

  8. How To Introduce a Guest Speaker In 4 Foolproof Steps

    Tip #2: Inspire Confidence in Your Audience. Remember, this introduction is not a speech of your own. The focus must remain on the professional speaker and what they are about to contribute to the event. Guest speakers bring varying levels of name recognition, so your audience may or may not be aware of their qualifications.

  9. How to Introduce a Guest Speaker

    7. Show your excitement for the speaker How you introduce a speaker can set the tone not only for the speech but for your entire event. Too many introductions are lukewarm, merely going through the motions. If you're excited about what comes next, you need to let people know, through your voice, your body language, and your facial expressions.

  10. How to Introduce a Speaker: 8 Steps to a Perfect Introduction

    1. Make the Introduction Engaging. The speaker is important, but the audience is equally important and is an even higher priority. The audience needs to have a reason to listen to the speaker. They need to understand why the speaker is the authority and why their words are worth their time.

  11. Welcome Speech for Guest

    10+ Welcome Speech for Guest Examples [ Seminar, Lecture, Speaker ] ... If both, that's okay. This article is here to help you to write a good welcome speech for a seminar, a lecture and to introduce the speaker. 10+ Welcome Speech for Guest Examples 1. Opening Ceremony Welcome Speech for Guest. unstats.un.org. Details. File Format. PDF; Size ...

  12. How to Introduce a Speaker in Any Setting (And Amaze Your Audience)

    While your introduction is as good as a short speech, we must not forget the keyword here - short! The main spotlight is for the speaker. So keep your intro short. Below 2 and a half minutes is usually a good space to be in. Exceeding 4 minutes is a little too much so make sure to not overstep your speaking time.

  13. How to Introduce a Speaker: Best Practices and Examples

    1 Know your speaker. Before you introduce a speaker, you need to do some research and preparation. Find out the speaker's name, title, background, achievements, and purpose for speaking. Ask the ...

  14. Writing an Introductory Speech

    The job of an introduction speech is to: introduce your guest speaker; create a welcoming, attentive ready-and-motivated-to-listen anticipation in the audience; Just like the appetizer, your job is to entice the crowd and keep them happy before feasting on the main course. Try your best to wow the audience in order for them to get hyped when ...

  15. Introduce a guest speaker with this sample script (in 3 steps)

    Learn how to introduce a speaker correctly with my sample script. Whether you're introducing a guest speaker or a keynote speaker, these 3 steps are key. 🗒️...

  16. Introducing a Guest Speaker to the Audience

    Introducing a Guest Speaker to the Audience (5 SIMPLE STEPS) // Want to introduce a guest speaker at your next public speaking gig? Did you know your guest s...

  17. Introduction Speech Examples That Increase Speaker Credibility

    You can begin with a simple "Good morning/Good evening, ladies and gentlemen"; then state the purpose of your speech — introducing the topic, the purpose of the speech, and the guest speaker. You must effectively establish the speaker's qualifications. Introduction speeches are considered commemorative speeches in the sense that they ...

  18. Example of Introducing a Guest Speaker

    \\ Example of Introducing a Guest Speaker //If you're looking for public speaking tips and public speaking for dummies isn't cutting it, this video will show...

  19. 15 Ways to Start a Speech + Bonus Tips

    1) Thank the Organizers and Audience. You can start by thanking the audience for coming and thanking the organization for inviting you to speak. Refer to the person who introduced you or to one or more of the senior people in the organization in the audience. This compliments them, makes them feel proud and happy about your presence, and ...

  20. How to introduce a speaker

    The work of a good introduction is to raise the speaker to celebrity status for the purposes of that occasion. Always end with an applause line for the speaker — "so please join me in welcoming Jane Doe!" — to allow her time to get up on the stage and ready to go. And it's a very good idea to shake the speaker's hand as he or she ...

  21. Tips for Introducing a Guest Speaker

    Never try to give a speech of introduction strictly from memory, always make notes. 1. Remind the audience why the topic is important to them. 2. Establish the speaker's qualifications to speak on the topic. 3. Get the presentation off on a high note by establishing an up-beat tone. 4.

  22. How to Write a Commencement Speech as a Guest Speaker (Ideas, Tips

    It's a simple technique, and it makes a powerful difference. So when you review a draft of your speech, look for how to use "you" as often as possible. Be yourself: Don't try to be someone you're not. Speak from the heart, stay true to your values, and let your personality shine through. Remember, you're the guest speaker for a reason!

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  24. Why the Race to Replace George Santos Is So Close

    The special House election in New York pits Mazi Pilip, who is running as a Republican, against Tom Suozzi, a Democrat.

  25. INTRODUCING A GUEST SPEAKER

    Sharing with you an example of an Introduction of a Guest Speaker in a Webinar. Hope it helps!#GuestSpeakerIntroduction #IntrocucingaGuestSpeaker #GuestSpea...

  26. 'More and more work needs to be done'; SACS Community reacts to guest

    In her speech, Harris addressed her personal story focusing mostly on issues of class, leaving many audience members feeling left unheard. ... SACS Community reacts to guest speaker by: Marin ...

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    In an emotional floor speech and in an interview with reporters, Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., pushed back against GOP colleagues who opposed the bill and have argued that Washington needs to focus on ...