How to Introduce Your Speakers
In Shin-Osaka Leaders, we tend to prioritize efficiency and be very brief in introducing speakers. We normally allocate nine minutes for a 5- to 7-minute speech. (We have a 30-second grace time, meaning the speaker is allowed to speak for up to seven minutes and 30 seconds. As we secure one minute for attendees to write their comments for the speaker, we have 30 seconds to introduce the speakers.)
The Toastmaster of the Day (the master of ceremonies) this time, Hideo, took a different approach. He asked the Vice President Education for permission to allocate two more minutes for the entire Prepared Speech session to allow for extra time to introduce the speakers in more detail.
The first speaker, Ayako, spoke about her experience being a mentee under the title "The Present." Hideo introduced her, touching on the purpose of her speech project, "Introduction to Toastmasters Mentoring" and attracting the audience's attention to a unique "mentor" Ayako picked up to talk about.
The second Speaker, Poh Luan, delivered her "Ice Breaker" speech, the speech to introduce herself to the club. Though she joined Toastmasters over a decade ago, she was away from Toastmasters for an extended period of time. She recently joined Shin-Osaka Leaders and made her "Restart," which was her speech title. Hideo introduced her, mentioning that she not only made a restart as a Toastmaster but also in other aspects of her life.
The third speaker, Lijani, spoke with the title, "Purpose." Hideo's introduction was to draw the audience's attention to what story she had to tell regarding "Purpose," the title that can make the speech very predictable. Her story of completing a Specialization in Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School Online, meeting HBS Professor Linda Hill, and delivering a collegiate commencement speech at her school back in the Philippines in front of a crowd of around 3,000 people eloquently spoke about the importance of sticking to the purpose.
In Toastmasters, we can try new things and learn new skills. Hideo must have learned something he had missed by trying to give the speakers more decent introductions, which is definitely one of the things we can learn through Toastmasters meetings.
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