Let’s Be Brief

In all probability your maiden public appearance will be brief-perhaps no more than stating your name and occupation-yet there are a few cardinal fundamentals to bear in mind. Courtesy demands that as the speaker, you first face the Chairman and acknowledge the introduction you received. Then, as you stand to start speaking, if you must do something with your hands how about knitting them behind your back? Just please don’t stand up there twiddling your thumbs, wringing your hands, or biting your nails to the quick.

Don’t fret about the audience knowing that you’re a novice; you may make a hit by acknowledging that fact. Just don’t use that worn out cliche about, “unaccustomed as I am to public speaking”! Say something along the line that, “This is my maiden appearance before an audience and frankly I’m scared stiff. My name is , my business
is , and some day I hope to tell you more about myself.”

Then sit down. A clever original addition to your introduction could pay off, though; John Copeland of Salinas, California, after stating his name and the location of his Exchange at a convention in Santa Monica, added: “My purpose is to make you remember my Exchange and me. If you want to make me feel that I have accomplished my purpose, any time in the next three days that you see me, you might say, ‘John Copeland from the Salinas Valley Exchange; let me buy you a drink.’”

His originality made the most of the opportunity, and no doubt became a liquid asset.

Tags: public speaking

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