The Lost Art of the Great Speech: How to Write It * How to Deliver It

Chapter Fourteen. ''I have the honor to present . . .''

In the last several chapters, we've been exploring various aspects of the writing of a speech—from making an outline to using language well, to adding sparkle to the speech with appropriate quotations, anecdotes, statistics, and humor. Now I want to delve into a much neglected subject—the introduction of a speaker.

If you're a speech writer, you almost certainly will have many opportunities to write an introduction. If you're a speaker, or if you're active in an organization that regularly has guest speakers at its meetings, you will sooner or later be asked to introduce the speaker. How well you do so will affect the organization's impression of the speaker, the speaker's impression of ...