Westside Toastmasters is located in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, California

Blow Your Own Horn

There are times, however, when no one is available to introduce you. In that case, you'll have to do it yourself. When this happens, most people come out on stage and say, "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Debbie Massey, and I'm here today to talk to you about...." BORING! And it's what the audience expects you to do. You want to surprise them into paying attention, and let them know that you're not a typical speaker. Start off with your appetizer; give them a little tease before you tell them who you are.

Look at the two openings on page 106. The tease in version number two is only two sentences long, but it's enough to get the listeners hooked. Then you can go on to tell the audience who you are. Usually your name is enough; this is not the time or place to go through your entire resume. You can include one interesting fact about you if it is relevant. An alternative lead-in attention-getter; "I'm Debbie Massey, and I'm known as the Questioning Crusader."