I’ll never forget watching the president of a mutual company introduce himself.

He actually put his resume on the screen for all to see.

The problem, from my view, is that his accomplishments were few, and the document actually made me doubt his right to speak before the group.

If the purpose of introducing yourself is to establish your credibility and to predispose your audience positively toward your message, then his effort backfired.

You don’t want this to happen. Fortunately, it is rare and avoidable.

There are three things you want to establish in a solid introduction:

(1) There is no one better suited to addressing this topic at this time than you;

(2) You have earned the right to speak, by virtue of the dues you have paid, your experiences; and

(3) You are a likable person.

What have you done, where have you studied, what posts have you been assigned to that have led to this magical moment? These are some of the points you can cover succinctly that will set the stage properly for your talk.

For example, when conducting telephone communication seminars I’ve made a point of saying that I got into the business almost at birth; that my dad was a tremendous telephone communicator and salesperson, and I used to listen aptly to him.

Then, I go on to say that my first white collar job was as a telephone collector at 18, as a top sales rep for Time-Life at 19, and so forth.

But the point is made: NOBODY in the room can claim more experience, more vital awareness of the power of the medium, than yours truly.

But the key to a good introduction is to avoid sounding pompous or arrogant, to sound likeable.

By referring to my dad’s prowess, I’m tapping into the power of family legacy, showing respect for where and from whom I come, and this is especially endearing to older audiences that revere tradition and roots.

Naturally, you’ll want to do a little audience analysis of your own, to determine what will resonate, and then ring those chimes.

I’ve experimented over the years with ultra-short introductions, believing they might sound more modest or less threatening, but they don’t work. To seem credible, you need to be an expert, at least in your arena, so be thorough in staking out this claim.

After you do, your task of informing, persuading, or even entertaining will be a lot easier!