TJWalker.com

Don’t just use a generic on-page bio from your web site or the resume you got to land your last job. What looks like a quick read on paper can seem interminably long and boring to an audience listening to someone introduce you.
You should come up with a uniquely tailored intro for each audience you talk to. If you are giving a one-on-one sales presentation to a single prospective customer, you will be doing an intro of yourself—better to keep it to a single sentence or two. If you are speaking in front of a larger group and someone else is introducing you, you can go up to a minute—but that’s still brief.
When coming up with you introduction, start by asking yourself, “What does this person in front of me or group of people in front of me have to know about me in order to generate interest in what I am about to say and to find me as credible on this topic?” Really focus on that.
This probably means that your audience doesn’t have to know that you were president of the honor society in 11th grade or that your cat’s name is Spooky. Really give your audience the most relevant information and the most interesting information about your background and accomplishments to whet their appetitives to listen to you. If they want your full bio, they can go to your website or wait for your life story to appear on A&E.
First impressions count. And the first impression of you as a presenter is not of you presenting; it’s actually how you are being introduced (and most audience members are savvy enough to know that you had a hand in how you were introduced).
A separate, but related question is how do you actually get your introducer to use the intro you wrote? Try the following:
1.    Type out your intro in gigantic 20 point type so that it fills an entire sheet of paper, but no more than a single sheet of paper and email that in advance to the introducer. (This makes it easy for your introducer to read it without having to bend close to the paper.)
2.    When you get to the venue where you are speaking, hand the introducer a second copy of your introduction. (Don’t ever assume the introducer will bring what was sent.)
3.    Keep a third copy of your introduction handy in your pocket so that when the introducer tells you 20 seconds before he is about to introduce you that he has lost the script, you can give him another one. (By now, you know how to handle assumptions, don’t you?)
These are minor details that add up to make a big impact on your audience. Take the time to do it right.