Let me set the scene for you:
You’ve been asked to speak at a particular function. Before you speak, you are approached by a willing participant who has been tasked with introducing you. This person seems eager to do a great job, and tells you, “I’ve got it covered. I looked at your bio online and I’m ready to go!”
Sound familiar? Now let me tell you what happens next…
The person tasked with introducing you doesn’t have quite the energy you have, and begins to read your bio, that same bio that looks good on a website, but is a little bit long for an introduction.
Wait, let me do that again…
After mispronouncing your name, the person tasked with introducing you reads a bio from your website that was never meant as an introduction, and drones on and on, making sure not to miss a single word. In a slow, methodical, dreary tone, your lifetime of accomplishments seems to take forever to recite. The audience finds themselves either annoyed at the pompous bragging in the speaker’s intro, or they’ve all checked out and are looking at their smartphones. I’ve had introductions that were so poor that I’ve thought to myself, “I don’t even like me!”
It sounds ridiculously simple, but when you have a presentation to deliver, one sure way to stumble out of the gate, is to be introduced poorly. The solution is a simple one, but it will require a little bit of work. My suggestion is to create a different bio, meant for speaking occasions that consists of two things.
- You will need to write two of the best, short sentences you’ve ever written about yourself that the audience might not know about you. For instance, most people know I’m a speaker, but they might not know how long I’ve been at it. They also probably don’t know that I’ve been all over the world doing it. Most people know I’ve written some books, but they might not know the level of success of these books. My best two, short sentences sound like this: A sought-after speaker and bestselling author, Rob Jolles been teaching, entertaining, and inspiring audiences for close to four decades. His books have been translated into over a dozen languages, and his program deliveries have taken him around the world.
- You handle the rest of the introduction. The truth is, most speakers can do a far better job telling his or her story to the audience than someone who barely knows them. My secret weapon has always been this: I let whoever has been saddled with the job of introducing me that I’ll be happy to handle the rest of the introduction myself. I can assure you; they will be grateful! I tell them to say something like this: I’m going to let our speaker, Rob Jolles, jump right in. I’m sure he’ll do a better job introducing himself than I can, so let’s bring him up, and let him do his thing!
This brings me to the final step of being introduced properly. Always carry a short introduction with you so you can tell whoever is working with you exactly what to say. If you do this for a living, have a version of this that can be downloaded from your website. For the record, I’ve never met anyone whose job it was to introduce me who wasn’t grateful to be handed a clear, simple, introduction in a large font, and given permission to let the speaker do most of the introduction him or herself.
The next time you are tasked to speak, show up with a well thought-out, short introduction, along with a gameplan for showing the person who is introducing you how to pass the reins back to you. You will not only be doing a favor to the person who is introducing you, you’ll be doing yourself a favor by being in position to hit the ground running when you take to that stage!
You don’t have to be a professional speaker to…
Speak Like A Pro!
– Maybe you’re a corporate trainer who wants to sharpen your skills.
– Maybe you’re a corporate officer who wants to inspire those around you.
– Maybe you just want to get over your fear of speaking, and add, “Dominate a speaking opportunity” to your bucket list!
Our previous program sold-out, but we’re going to be putting another one up on the calendar soon. In it, I will be delivering a series of three, virtual workshops designed to help you Speak Like A Pro! In this program, I will be covering the following:
- Workshop 1: The Nuts & Bolts of Delivery. There are a lot of people who speak, but professional speakers are in a class by themselves. When a professional speaker gives presentations, the expectations of the audience are sky-high. The presentation can’t just be good; it has to be amazing. Where, exactly, do we learn how to be amazing? In this half-day workshop, we’ll learn a variety of techniques applicable to both keynote deliveries and workshop deliveries to make your presentations great!
- Workshop 2: Applying “Sauce” to your Deliveries. Giving a professional presentation is like cooking a meal. No matter how well you cook any dish, the sauce is what ultimately provides the flavor and enhances the experience. In fact, it’s the sauce that elevates the dish from a meal to a memory. In this half-day workshop, we’ll put away the cooking aprons, and look at ways to spice up the presentations you deliver!
- Workshop 3: Presentation Delivery, Feedback, & Coaching. This personal coaching session will be designed by the participants. Topics can include, but are not limited to:
- Film study breaking down existing delivery footage.
- Workshop adjustment, creation & brainstorming.
- Keynote adjustment, creation & brainstorming.
- Book marketing on a budget.
- Flushing out business ideas.
- Business consulting.
Seasoned veteran? I don’t need to tell you there’s always more to learn. Novice? I’m ready for you too!
For program dates, a full agenda of each session, and pricing options, reach out to training@jolles.com
If you follow me on LinkedIn, and I sure hope you do, https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-jolles-8a459b12/ I recently started a newsletter! It’s called, “When Every Word Matters,” a biweekly dose of tips, tactics, and techniques to boost your communication game!
What do you get when combine energy, enthusiasm… and great content? You get a “Pocket Sized Pep Talk,” and there are now over 275 of them! Tune in and you’ll hear a collection of conversations, interviews, and even some BLArticles® that are sure to teach, motivate, inspire, and oh yes; entertain! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pocket-sized-pep-talks/id1497772972