Introduce Yourself Before Giving a Seminar

Congratulations! Giving a seminar is a fantastic opportunity. You are wise to work on your introduction. The typical audience pays the most attention in the beginning and the end of a talk. Therefore spending extra time perfecting the beginning of your talk and your self-introduction can really pay off.

Steps

Getting the Basics Right

1. Pick the correct length of time. Time allocation should conjure up images of Goldilocks. It has to be just right. Too long and you waste the audience's time. Too short and the audience is disoriented. In general your introduction should be under 30 seconds.
   • This is not a time to rattle off your entire resume. Or regale people about your weekend escapades.
   • Always remember your audience is made of busy people. They took time out of their day to come watch you talk. Respect that time by not wasting it.
2. Decide how you want to handle questions. Decide ahead of time and state in your introduction if you will allow interruptions during your talk, or if you would rather questions be held for the end of your seminar. Either way, make sure you budget your time so that there is time for questions. Budget about 10% of your allotted seminar time for questions.
   • This means that for an hour time slot, you should budget 10 minutes for questions and 45-50 minutes for the seminar.
   • For a 15 minute time slot this means that you should budget 1-2 minutes for questions and 13 minutes for your talk.
3. Identify the goal of your seminar. Now before you can formulate the rest of your self-introduction you must identify the goal of your seminar. There are three main categories of seminars, 1) The Job Seminar 2) The Teaching Seminar 3) The Persuasive Seminar. Each of these seminars has very different goals. Identify which category your seminar fits in best:
   • The Job Seminar. Your seminar is a job talk. Where the goal is to look impressive, qualified and professional.
   • Teaching Seminar. Your seminar is primarily for educational purposes. Where the goals are to inspire, inform and educate your audience.
   • The Persuasive Seminar. Your seminar is a "call to action" or "sales pitch." Where your goals are to persuade, motivate and befriend.
   • Your seminar may fall into more than one category but there should be one that fits best. Identify it and the goals. We will discuss how to use these goals to choose material for your self-introduction below.

The Job Seminar

1. Use the introduction in your job seminar to impress by demonstrating you are well trained (emphasis on demonstrating, not telling).
   • Interviews are also a time to assess your personality. And no one wants to work with a conceited braggart. Therefore, your self-introduction is not the time to brag and list every awesome thing you have ever done.
   • Awesome things that are okay to share are those immediately relevant to your seminar. But even with those, many should be subtly worked into the body of your talk.
   • It would, however, be an appropriate time to share your pedigree. You should share your name, you current work/school affiliations, and current training/educational state. If relevant, share about some past training.
2. Quickly transition into introducing your talk after mentioning your background. After all during an interview seminar most of the audience already knows who you are. What your interviewers want to know is what you can do for them, they want to know your skills. So get on with it and to the talk.
3. Read this example:
   
   "Hi my name is Peter Gibbons. I am from Initech. I trained under Bill Lumbergh. Recently I lead a team that designed and implemented new cover sheets at Initech that have increased productivity. Today I am going to talk about my work in this new cover sheet development, my methods for monitoring the adoption of the new cover sheet system and the outcomes of this new workflow method."
4. Note these things that the speaker did right in the example:
   • The speaker briefly stated his pedigree/credentials, "Hi my name is Peter Gibbons. I am from Initech. I trained under Bill Lumbergh."
   • The speaker incorporated some subtle bragging, "Recently I lead a team that designed and implemented".
   • The speaker then subtly shared some skills ensconced in an introduction of the talk. "Today I am going to talk about my work in this new cover sheet development, my methods for monitoring the adoption of the new cover sheet system and the outcomes of this new workflow method." Implied in this sentence is that the speaker knows how to develop and implement new managerial systems and monitor their adoption. Skills presumably his interviewers are interested in.
5. Write it up. Now that you have decided you are giving a Job Seminar and identified your goals, it is time to craft your own introduction. You can use the above example as an outline when writing your own. Of course you will have to customize it for your own unique background, qualifications and goals. Remember that your Job Seminar introduction is a good time to state your credentials and brag a little, just make sure it is subtle.
6. Practice. Once written, rehearse your introduction for friends or colleagues. Enlist their honest feedback before the big day. Rewrite and re-rehearse your introduction as needed based on feedback.

The Teaching Seminar

Your goal here is to inform and entertain. You want to appear approachable and relevant. In this case the very fact you are teaching means you are already verified as an expert. There is no need to impress your audience with your pedigree or training unless it is particular interesting or odd.

Teaching Seminars are often more casual. These talks many times lend themselves well to jokes or the sharing of current events. If you do use jokes or anecdotes, keep them relevant. They should be used to engage your audience not to merely amuse.

For most Teaching Seminars your self-introduction will be short and sweet. You will spend more time introducing your topic and your personality. Do not forget your enthusiasm. After all you want your students to WANT to listen. This is best done if you WANT to talk about it, so pretend that you do.

Example: "My name is Peter Gibbons, I work at Initech as a manager in the IT department. I am very excited to be here today to talk to you about cover sheets. I have discovered during my years as a manager that I am always trying to balance productivity with employee morale, a struggle I am sure you are all familiar with. Today I am going to talk to you about a new system of cover sheets we recently implemented at Initech to improve productivity, and our outcomes on both productivity and morale. I hope you will find this helpful as you implement your own management schemes."

What was done right in the example:

• The speaker spent relatively little time on credentials or bragging. The speaker just said who he is and where he is from. "My name is Peter Gibbons, I work at Initech as a manager in the IT department." Then quickly moved into what he is there to teach.
• The speaker made sure to share some enthusiasm for the subject, "I am very excited".
• The speaker made an effort to engage the audience, "I am sure you are all familiar with".
• The speaker helped orient the audience about the goal of this learning experience, "you will find this helpful as you implement your own management schemes."

1. Write it up. Now that you have decided you are giving a Teaching Seminar and identified your goals, it is time to craft your own introduction. You can use the above example as an outline when writing your own. Of course you will have to customize it for your own unique background, qualifications and goals. Remember in your Teaching Seminar introduction to express your enthusiasm for the subject at hand.
2. Practice. Once written, rehearse your introduction for friends or colleagues. Enlist their honest feedback before the big day. Rewrite and re-rehearse your introduction as needed based on feedback.

The Persuasive Seminar

The goal of this talk is to "persuade" or "sell". However, unlike in the Interview Seminar, you are not selling yourself (unless you are a politician) but rather a product or service. So do not spend a lot of time on your pedigree or credentials. Instead spend your time engaging your audience and telling them what problem you can solve for them with your product/service.

Example: "Hi, my name is Peter Gibbons, I work at Initech as a manager in the IT department. I am very excited to be here today to talk to you about our new cover sheet system. I have discovered during my years as manager that I am always trying to balance productivity with employee morale. A struggle I am sure you are all familiar with. Today I am going to share with you a new cover sheet system that can improve both productivity and morale in your company."

What was done right in the example:

• The speaker spent relatively little time on credentials or bragging. The speaker just said who he is and where he is from. "My name is Peter Gibbons, I work at Initech as a manager in the IT department." Then quickly moved to into telling the audience why they are there. This is similar to the style found in the Teaching Seminar section.
• The speaker made an effort to engage the audience,"I am sure you are all familiar with". This is also similar to the style found in the Teaching Seminar section.
• The speaker told the audience quickly why the seminar is worth listening to. This was done by presenting a shared problem to be solved, "trying to balance productivity with employee morale" and promising a solution with his product, "Today I am going to share with you a new cover sheet system that can improve both productivity and morale." Setting up a problem you promise to solve is a method unique to the Persuasive Seminar style.

1. Write it up. Now that you have decided you are giving a Persuasive Seminar and identified your goals, it is time to craft your own introduction. You can use the above example as an outline when writing your own. Of course you will have to customize it for your own unique background, qualifications and goals. Remember in your Persuasive Seminar self-introduction to emphasize your shared experiences and be sure to tell them early what problems you can solve for them.
2. Practice. Once written, rehearse your introduction for friends or colleagues. Enlist their honest feedback before the big day. Rewrite and re-rehearse your introduction as needed based on feedback.

Tips

• Smile. If you are not happy to be there why would you expect your audience to be happy? So be happy, or at least pretend - smile.
• Have fun. Giving a seminar is a fantastic chance to make a good impression. Enjoy yourself and the opportunity.
• Be professional. Dress appropriately. Keep your jokes and anecdotes clean and non-offensive. If you can't, do not tell any.
• Be yourself. Be as normal as possible. Giving a seminar is just like having a really lopsided conversation. Gesture, move, smile, laugh at yourself if things go awry.
• Always think of as speaking to your best friend and please do not be hesitated

Sources and Citations

See also

• Dress for a Presentation
• Prepare for a Management Presentation
• Perform Well in a Debate
• Write a Debate Speech
• Plan a Presentation
• Mount a Projector
• Do a Presentation in Class
• Give a Presentation
• Improve Your Presentation Skills
• Start a Presentation

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