Trainer Introduction: What You Should NOT Do When You Introduce Yourself To Your Training Attendees By Robert Bacal

We have covered the goals and purposes of your introduction to the group, and how to do it effectively, so now let's look specifically at what NOT to do.

Don't Oversell Your Expertise: Yes, you need to provide some indication that you know the topic of the seminar. On the other hand, learners relate better to people that are at least, somewhat similar. Do not present your expertise as something that makes you special. Heck, you may be, but if you have to tell people you are special, well, people aren't going to believe you.

Don't Call Yourself An Expert: Never ever refer to yourself as an expert. That term should be given by others, and never conferred upon oneself, but there's a very practical reason not to use it. If you present yourself a "above others", there will always be people who will try to bring you down a peg, and argue, dispute, and so on. Don't set yourself up for that. You will demonstrate your expertise throughout the whole session, and that's what counts, not that you say: "Look at me, I'm an expert".

Don't Read Your Introduction, Don't Memorize It: Your intro should sound like it's brand new to you, and it should be conversational, and convey warmth. Written introductions that you read out don't do that, not to mention that if you are reading, you aren't making eye contact with the group members.

Don't memorize it either. Same problem. And one more thing. Consciously change your introduction for each group. That will make it fresh sounding, because you won't get bored saying the same things about yourself over and over.

Have Fun But Not Too Much: Your introduction isn't a dramatic performance and neither is it stand up comedy. Yes, it's important to establish a comfortable climate, and portray yourself as witty, but remember that this is about establishing the tone for the entire session. If you get into doing stand up comedy, you will probably entice others into also doing so during the entire time together, and that can waste time and become annoying to others.

Conclusion On Introducing Yourself As A Seminar Leader

So that's it. Focus on the purposes of the intro. Don't get caught up in the "expert syndrome", or in performing.

For more on starting seminars and training sessions successfully, click here to go to the main topic page.