Every time I travel to present my keynote, I bring a folder of everything I’ll need to make my travels and program go as smoothly as possible.
In that folder, I always include a copy of my introduction. Two copies, even, just in case. That way, in the thirty seconds before I take the stage, whoever has the job of introducing me doesn’t sound like this:
“Please give a warm welcome to Curtis Zimmerman. Curtis is, um, well he — Curtis is a speaker, and he’s going to talk to you about some stuff. Thanks.”
If I had to follow an introduction like that every time I spoke, it would make my job a lot harder. That’s why we have carefully scripted an introduction that is used at every event, providing my audiences with a bit of my professional background and a reason to care that they’re about to listen to me speak for an hour and a half.
I don’t do this because I’m a control freak. I do it because if someone is going to decide that I or my message sucks, I want it to be based on what I do and what I say, not what someone else says about me.
In life, you don’t always get to control what people say about you. Sometimes a person already has an opinions formed about you before they even meet you, based on what a third party has said about you.
That’s why you need to consider how your employees or your peers are introducing you, your brand, or your organizations to others. I’m not just talking about your sales people — they get paid to say great things. I’m talking about the assistant in the corner cubicle who goes home and talks about her day with her family. What is she saying about you and the culture you’ve created at your organization?
You can’t force others to say only nice things about you, but you can be authentic, honest, transparent, and real. When you’re those things, it will be hard for them to say anything but nice things about you.
Think about all the people who give your introduction on a daily basis. Make sure they have enough positive material to give your audience an awesome impression of who you are.
Right now, sit down and write your introduction for your product, service, or yourself. To get you started, check out my introduction here.
What would you want included in your introduction? Hit reply or comment below and tell me what you think is important that others share about you!
*Image courtesy www.audio-luci-store.it
As a speaker and author, Curtis Zimmerman has impacted over one million people with his life-changing messages and award-winning programs. Curtis is an expert at transforming organizations by inspiring individuals to live their lives at performance level.
Want to be inspired? Check out his podcast The Next 24 Hours.
