Introducing and thanking other speakers

Introducing a speaker

You may be called upon to introduce another speaker to an audience. Unfortunately this is not usually done well, but it is easy to do it well if you follow a few short steps. Essentially, we’re going to tell the audience 4 things that any audience will want to know: 

What they’re going to hear; why it’s important to them; who the speaker is and why they’re qualified to give the talk. 

Here are the steps: 

1. Topic – a simple statement of the title (Tonight our topic is………) 

2. Importance of the topic to this audience (This is important to us because…) 

3. Why the speaker is Qualified to give this talk (For the last 4 years our speaker has been working with……..) 

4 The Speaker’s name (So please let’s welcome…….. ) 

And then you lead the applause, looking at the speaker. 

Sometimes well-prepared speakers will bring their own introduction for you to give. This will make it very easy, but that is unusual. Normally you need to find out about the speaker before the meeting starts. I suggest that you use one or two 3 x 5 index cards to take a note of what you’re going to say. Don’t be shy of reading from your notes, because you will want to get it right.

Follow these 4 simple steps and you’ll successfully introduce your speaker.  

Thanking a speaker

Sometimes you may be asked to thank an outside speaker. Again, here is a form of words which will guide you: 

1. Say thanks (“Thank you, …….speaker’s name”)
2. What you gained or found of interest from the talk (“Personally I gained……. “)
3. What you believe the group gained (“And I believe for the group we have gained…….”)
4. Say thank you, again (“So please help me to thank (speaker’s name)” and lead the applause.

This will be brief – all done in about a minute or so. This is not your chance to contradict the speaker or to add to the discussion. It is your chance to give heartfelt thanks for their efforts and the wisdom they have imparted.