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Introducing yourself is one of the hardest things to do in a presentation or a networking setting.
I know It’s awkward…
You want others to know, like, and respect you without sounding mushy, cheesy or braggy.
You see other presenters talk about themselves so elegantly and you wonder: how the heck do they do that? Below is the simple formula I use to answer that question.
When you follow the steps below, you will be able to introduce yourself in a way that creates a deep bond between you and your audience.
1- State your name and current job function.
Example: My name is Peter and I am the founder of Magnetic Speaking, a public speaking training company in San Francisco.
2- Recall a memory from your past that will answer the following question: Why do you care?
Luckily I have many of those. If you dig deep you will find many reasons too.
Example: 10 years ago, I used to be an engineer. I was introverted, shy and terrified of public speaking. I did not like my job so I decided to take up the challenge of a lifetime: To become a great professional public speaker. This took a lot of trial and error, hard work and practice.
3- Tie back to current position with (some brag if you want).
Example: I overcame my public speaking fear and I now teach others how to do the same in a faster and easier way; because this helps them compress decades of trial and error into days.. I am now a national speaker, a published author on leadership, and I run one of the fastest growing public speaking training companies in the bay area.
You may find that you are shy at first, in which case you do not have to brag. Eventually you will want to because you’ll realize that your audience is inspired by your accomplishments.
Conclusion
This is one of the ways I introduce myself when I am in a jam. When I have time, I create my story based on the hero’s journey formula. That’s a complete approach to telling your story in a way that has a spellbinding effect on your audience. You can read about the hero’s journey (infographic) or learn it and build your own story in the storytelling bootcamp.
