EVENTS

How to introduce a speaker

A speaker introduction gets the room ready to listen to someone else. Say why the talk matters to these people and why this speaker is the one to give it. Then say their name, start the applause and sit down.

A chatbot can turn a speaker's bio into an introduction in seconds. It doesn't know how your speaker pronounces their last name, and it won't be at the lectern if you get it wrong. The introductions below are made up, so keep their shape and fill in your speaker. First comes a five-part script. Then come seven examples: a conference keynote, a guest speaker at work, a fundraiser, a guest speaker at church, a Toastmasters meeting, a conference session and a short one. Last: how long to talk, what to ask the speaker first, what to leave out and how to give it.

A speaker introduction script

Examples 1, 3 and 4 below use all five parts, and the others drop what they don't need. Fill in the blanks, then read it out loud and cut any line that sounds like a press release.

Welcome the room in one line, unless someone already has: "Good morning, and thank you for coming to ___."
Say what the talk is about and why it matters to this room, in a sentence or two: "Every one of us has ___. Our next speaker has spent ___ years on that problem."
Give two or three facts that make this person the one to hear on this topic, like their job, what they're known for or one result: "She runs ___ at ___, where she ___."
If you have one, add a personal line: how you or the room know them, why you asked them, or something they told you about the talk. "I first heard her at ___, and I asked her here the next day."
Hand over with the name last: "Please join me in welcoming ___." Start the applause, and wait at the lectern until they get there.

Saving the name for last is the favorite advice of Alec Jacobson, a computer science professor at the University of Toronto who introduces speakers at conferences. Until then, call them "our speaker" or use their pronouns, and say the name only at the very end. The room claps when it hears the name, and the speaker knows it's their turn. His post has a full example.

7 speaker introduction examples

The names and details are made up. The first four take about 30 to 50 seconds to say, and the last three are shorter.

1. A keynote speaker at a conference

A keynote can run a little longer than the others, because the room came for this talk.

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to day two.

Most of us manage people who never meet a customer. They answer tickets or pack orders, and the person on the other end is a name in a queue. Our keynote speaker has spent twelve years closing that gap.

She started on a support desk, answering phones on the night shift. Today she runs customer experience for a delivery company with four thousand employees, where every new hire spends their first week on the phones. Last year her team cut repeat complaints by a third.

I asked her what she wants you to leave with today. She said one word: listen. She's going to show us how.

Please join me in welcoming Dana Ruiz.

2. A guest speaker at a work meeting

It fits a team meeting or a lunch-and-learn, when the speaker comes from another team.

Thanks for joining, everyone. We have a guest today, so I'll keep this short.

Last quarter, one in three of our support tickets came from customers stuck in setup. Our speaker today has spent three years on that problem. She leads onboarding design on the product team, and she built the setup checklist we send every new customer.

She'll walk us through what customers actually do in their first ten minutes, and she's left time for questions.

Please welcome Priya Shah.

3. A speaker at a fundraiser or community event

Good evening, and thank you for being here.

Tonight is about the food bank's delivery program, which brings groceries to people who can't get to us. The person who started it is our next speaker.

Two years ago he drove the first route himself, in his own car. It had six stops. Today the program has forty volunteer drivers and more than three hundred stops a week. When I asked him how it grew so fast, he said the drivers deserve the credit. He's going to tell you about a few of them.

Please give a warm welcome to Marcus Bell.

4. A guest speaker at church

It works for a guest preacher, a visiting missionary or a speaker at a church event. Ask your pastor what your church usually says, since traditions differ.

Good morning, everyone.

This morning's message is about young people with nowhere to sleep tonight, and what a church can do for them. Our guest spent six years running a youth shelter in Cincinnati. For the last eleven, he has pastored a church in Dayton. Some of you met him at the men's breakfast last spring, and you've been asking when he'd be back.

Please join me in welcoming Pastor James Okafor.

5. A speaker at a Toastmasters meeting

At a club meeting, the introduction gives the speech topic or title, the project, its objectives and the speaking time: Toastmasters lists those for the Toastmaster of the day. Speakers usually write their own, and its magazine says to practice reading it so it sounds natural. This one is for the Ice Breaker, the first project a new member completes. Its evaluation form gives it four to six minutes.

Our next speaker joined the club in September, and tonight she gives her Ice Breaker. She'll introduce herself to the club and work on the basic structure of a speech. She has four to six minutes. Her speech is called "Three Kitchens."

Please welcome Ana Lopez.

6. A speaker in a conference session

Chairing a session of short talks? Jacobson keeps each introduction to the title, the authors, their university or company and who's presenting.

Our next talk is "Faster Routes for Small Fleets," by Laura Brandt and Wei Chen of the city's transit planning office. Presenting it today is Wei Chen.

7. A short introduction

Use it when you have ten seconds, or when the room already knows the speaker.

Our next speaker has run this event for six years, and today she's telling us what changes next year. Please welcome Carol Diaz.

How long should a speaker introduction be?

Toastmasters says 30 to 45 seconds, which is roughly 75 to 110 words at a normal pace. Its magazine also gives a rule of thumb: about 15 percent of the speech, or 45 seconds for a five-minute speech. Agnes Scott College's speaking center suggests about a minute. A keynote or an invited lecture can take a couple of minutes, Jacobson writes. If you can't decide, aim for 45 seconds.

What to ask the speaker first

How to say their name. Write it the way it sounds and practice it out loud. When Jacobson won't get to meet a speaker beforehand, he asks by email, and some send back a recording of their name.
Which pronouns to use, since you'll say "she," "he" or "they" several times.
The title of the talk and what it covers. Toastmasters' advice is to plan the introduction around the topic.
Whether they've written an introduction they want read. Toastmasters' magazine tells speakers to ask to write their own, then send it well before the event. If you get one, practice it as written. Check with the speaker before you cut anything.
Which two or three facts they'd most like the room to hear. Then check each one.

What to leave out

"Someone who needs no introduction." Lumen Learning's public speaking textbook calls it so overused that it doesn't mean anything, and Jacobson says it patronizes the audience.
Their whole bio. Pick the facts that fit this talk. If the room already knows the speaker, the highlights are enough.
A talk of your own on the topic. As Toastmasters puts it: "Don't make a preliminary talk of your own."
Jokes. The same textbook says they almost never belong in an introduction, because being funny can upstage the person you're introducing.
Big promises, like "the funniest person you'll ever hear." Now the speaker has to prove it.
The speaker's best story. If you know it, leave it for them.

How to give it

Bring notes. Lumen's textbook says never to introduce a speaker from memory.
Practice it out loud a few times, even if the speaker wrote it. Slow down on the name every time.
Talk to the audience, and turn to the speaker only at the end.
Say the name last, then start the applause.
Wait at the lectern until the speaker gets there. Greet them, usually with a handshake, then go sit down.

If your voice tends to shake, see how to stop your voice from shaking. For more ways to open, see how to start a speech.

Rehearse your introduction with an AI coach in Charisma Lab

Charisma Lab is a speaking coach on your iPhone. In Speak, tap the center and tell the coach you're practicing a speaker introduction. Say it out loud one part at a time, like the topic, the facts or the handoff. A pause of about two seconds ends a take, so end each part where you'd look up from your notes. You hear the take played back, then the coach tells you what to fix and sends you back in.

To time the whole introduction, open Voice Cam on the home screen and record it, with the camera or audio only. A clock runs while you record, and each recording stops at one minute. As you talk, it shows your volume, pitch and pauses, plus an estimate of your pace in words per minute. Setup is free and includes a short live session with the coach. After that, the app needs Pro, which is $14.99 a month in the US. See pricing.

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FAQ

How do you introduce a speaker at an event?

Welcome the room, then say what the talk is about and why it matters to these people. Give two or three facts about the speaker and end with "Please join me in welcoming" and their name. Examples 1 and 3 do it at a conference and a fundraiser.

How do you introduce a guest speaker?

The same way. If you invited them, add a line on why, or on how the room knows them. Example 2 is for a guest at a work meeting, and example 4 is for a guest at church.

How do you introduce a keynote speaker?

Start with why the topic matters to this room, then give the speaker's job and the work they're known for. A keynote introduction can run a minute or two. Example 1 is one.

How do you end a speaker introduction?

With their name. "Please join me in welcoming ___" and "I'm very pleased to introduce ___" both work. Start the applause as soon as you've said it.

How do you introduce a speaker in Toastmasters?

Give the speech topic or title, the project, its objectives and the speaking time, usually from an introduction the speaker wrote. Example 5 introduces an Ice Breaker.

Can a speaker introduction be funny?

It can be warm, and Toastmasters wants introductions "graceful, witty, and fun." Leave the jokes to the speaker, though. A big laugh can upstage the person you're there to set up.

What if the speaker sends their own introduction?

Use it. Practice it out loud as written, and ask before you cut anything.

How do you thank a speaker after the talk?

Lead the applause, then thank them by name and mention one thing from the talk you'll remember. Then tell the room what comes next.

More practice guides

Updated November 3, 2026.