It’s hard to pull-off establishing your credentials without sounding like you’re bragging. The public speaking blogosphere is alive with stories of presenters who didn’t quite hit the right note. Lisa Braithwaite says in her blog post on establishing your credentials, they haven’t come to the presentation to hear all about you. Dave Paradi also warns against talking about yourself too much.
It’s like we have a braggart alarm bell. We’ve learnt not to trust people who speak too well of themselves. So how can you avoid setting off the braggart alarm bells of your audience while still establishing your authority to speak on the topic?
The secret is to make it look as if it’s not you doing the bragging.
1. Have someone else introduce you
In Yes: 50 secrets from the art of persuasion, Cialdini and his co-authors say:
Arranging for someone else to describe your expertise and credentials to the audience will do wonders to convince them that they should listen to what you have to say, while also avoiding the damage that blatant self-promotion can cause.
Prepare this introduction yourself
Having someone else introduce you, doesn’t mean you leave them to it – very few people prepare properly for introducing a speaker. And there’s also a risk that your introducer says something which is at odds with the message you want to send in your presentation. I have a good friend who speaks across UK, Australia and New Zealand on Values Education in schools. She has a Christian background but strongly believes in Values Education being non-religious in nature. Before one particular presentation, her introducer dwelt on her Christian “credentials”. The audience peppered her with questions about the relationship between her Christian beliefs and values education throughout the presentation.
Tailor your introduction to the presentation
The audience doesn’t want to hear a generic resume. They want to hear:
- Why this topic? How is this topic of benefit to them
- Why you? What special skills/expertise have you got which makes you qualified to speak to them on this topic
- Why now? Why is it important to hear from you at this time.
For more ideas on preparing an introduction check out Taking charge of your introduction from Denise Graveline.
When it’s your turn
Plunge straight into your presentation. Beware of falling into the trap of saying “Well, as the chairperson said my name is Olivia Mitchell, and I’m from a company called Effective Speaking.” Doh!
2. Provide attendees with a written profile
If there’s no-one to introduce you, write a profile detailing your experience and qualifications to be talking on this topic. Ensure the attendees have it ahead of time. Write it in the third person, rather than the first person. For example “Olivia has been teaching presentation skills for ten years” as opposed to “I’ve been teaching presentation skills for ten years”.
It’s a subtle distinction which makes a big difference. Here’s a description of a research study led by Jeffrey Pfeffer, and reported in Yes:
…participants were asked to imagine themselves in the role of senior editor for a book publisher, facing the task of dealing with an experienced and successful author. They were asked to read excerpts from a negotiation for a sizeable book advance. One group read excerpts touting the author’s accomplishments spoken by the author’s agent, whereas a second group read identical comments made by the author himself. The data verified our hypothesis: participants rated the author more favourable on nearly every scale – especially likeability – when the author’s agent sang his praises as compared to when the author tooted his own horn.
Even though we know intellectually that personal profiles written in the third person were probably written by the person themselves – it doesn’t set off our braggart alarm bell.
3. Tell a story
Tell a short personal story which serves both as an introduction to your topic and subtly signals your expertise in the area. When I’m introducing myself at the start of our introductory presentation skills course for nervous beginners, I tell the participants about the time I was enveloped with fear giving the first important presentation of my career. They can relate to this and can see that I have managed to overcome that fear. But I don’t come across as bragging. That’s because the information about my credentials is incidental to the main story and so slips through the back door into the audiences’ minds without setting off their braggart alarm bell.
So there’s three ways of establishing your credibility without being a braggart. It doesn’t matter that they audience may intellectually realise that you’ve written all the material, emotionally they’re fooled.
Are there other ways that you’ve pulled off this trick – let us know in the comments.
Great tips, Olivia. There are so many ways to get that information out there without wasting your audience’s precious time or putting them to sleep!
It’s terribly important for your expertise and authority to be established right away when you give a presentation. Being introduced by someone else is an imperative. Using the first 30 seconds of your speech for self-introduction scores a big 0. An introductory story that lays out your expertise, sets the tone for the presentation and establishes a link with your audience would be an ideal alternative.
Peter
Time to Market
You also have to make sure you do not negate your intro. On person to the audience she likes to intro the person so good they do not recognize that its them. To me that implied that perhaps she was exaggerating. So I said, Thats ME after she was done.
Some people get up and try to downplay what the person introducing them just said. It completely defeats the purpose.
Dr.Wright
The Wright Place TV Show
http://www.wrightplacetv.com
http://www.twitter.com/drwright1
Well my braggart alarm just went off.
Hi John
I think this is one of those occasions where how you say it is pretty important. If someone said “that’s me” in a humble, “can’t quite believe it” kind of way, that would be very different to saying it in a proud, arrogant way.
Olivia
Thanks Lisa and Peter, sorry for my delay in replying, I was overseas.
@Peter. I agree with you that a relevant story is a great way to start. However, I tend to stay clear of using such absolute language eg “terribly important” “imperative”. The reason for that is that it puts pressure on the presenter – whether its you or somebody you’re advising. If it’s imperative that somebody else introduce you – what do you do if the introducer doesn’t show up? Panic! No, the answer is you can manage just fine.
@Dr Wright. Good point that I hadn’t thought of.
Due to the numerous assignments and courses they must study, it is extremely challenging for pupils. There isn’t a lot of time for that. I can still recall my restless evenings. And one day tutor help https://paper24.com/tutor-help , which I discovered, helped me lighten the weight. My writing projects were aided by the writers. I then retrieved my academic record.
The tips and insights provided are invaluable for anyone looking to build trust and credibility in their presentations. I appreciate the practical advice and approach to showcasing expertise without coming across as boastful. Will use it at https://thesisgeek.com/buy.php. Highly recommended read for all presenters!