Write and practise an introduction that says who you help and with what, and ends with a question.
Someone asks "So what do you do?" and you have under 30 seconds to answer in a way that makes them ask a second question. It happens at a networking breakfast, at a wedding table, at a SkillsFuture workshop. Most people give a job title and a company name, the listener nods, and the conversation moves on. Earning that second question is the whole point of an introduction, and it comes from saying four things in a fixed order, in your buyer's words.
The exercise takes about twenty minutes. You need your notes from lesson 1.1 on the problem your product removes, and your phone.
A good introduction has four parts, and they go in this order:
Who you help: a type of person or business the listener can picture. The problem they usually have, described the way they would describe it. What changes when you help, in plain words. A question back to the listener about their own situation.
Some things are left out on purpose: your company history, a list of your services, and any claim to be the best. These can come later if the listener asks.
Start by writing a first draft of all four parts without worrying about length. First drafts are usually too long, and that's fine, because cutting is easier than adding.
Farah is a freelance bookkeeper who works mostly with small food businesses. Her first draft was:
"Hi, I'm Farah and I run Farah Accounting Services. We provide full-cycle bookkeeping, GST filing support, payroll processing and management reporting for SMEs across Singapore using cloud accounting platforms. I have nine years in the industry and I pride myself on accuracy and responsiveness. I help businesses stay compliant so that they can focus on growth. Do you have any accounting needs?"
It was 62 words and took her 31 seconds to say, because the jargon tripped her up. Jargon makes a draft harder to say aloud and slows you down. A draft can be close to the target length and still fail because of the words in it.
So the second step is to replace your words with your buyer's. Circle every term your buyer would not use about their own life. Farah circled six: full-cycle bookkeeping, management reporting, SMEs, cloud accounting platforms, compliant, and focus on growth. Her clients don't talk like that. They say things like "my receipts are in a shoebox" and "I only find out how the month went when the bank balance drops". Use your lesson 1.1 notes, where you wrote down the buyer's problem in the buyer's own words, and rewrite the problem part of your draft in that language.
Her draft also shows two common mistakes. The first is listing services instead of describing a problem. The second is a vague who: a description of whom you help that is so broad, such as "individuals and businesses", that it describes everyone and lets nobody recognise themselves. "SMEs across Singapore" has the same problem.
The third step is to end with a question about them. Farah's draft ended with a closed question, one most people answer with a short dismissal. Ask "Do you have any accounting needs?" and you mostly get "not really".
A good closing question is about the listener's situation and easy to answer honestly. Examples are "How do you handle the books in your business at the moment?" and "Who does that for your company?" A speech gets polite silence, while a question turns it into a conversation. The listener's answer also tells you whether they have the problem you solve. Farah replaced her closed question with one about the listener's situation.
The fourth step is to rehearse aloud and time yourself with your phone's stopwatch. Sentences that look short on paper often take longer to say than you expect, and some trip your tongue. Cut every word that doesn't do a job, then read it again. Your company name can usually go; if the listener is interested, they'll ask. Repeat until you can say the introduction naturally, without reading, in under 30 seconds.
Farah did three rounds of rehearsing and cutting. Her final version:
"Hi, I'm Farah. I do the books for small food businesses: cafes, hawker stalls and home bakers. Most have receipts in a drawer and only find out how the month went when the bank balance drops. I sort that out, so they know where they stand every week. How do you handle the books in your business at the moment?"
It is 60 words, and she says it comfortably in about 25 seconds. It covers all four parts. Her company name is gone and nobody missed it. The final version is only two words shorter than the first draft, so the six seconds she saved came mainly from removing the jargon, and the improvement came from changing the words rather than the length.
The third common mistake is rushing. If you have to speak fast to fit under 30 seconds, the draft is still too long, and you need another round of cutting.
Write your first draft now, in whatever length it comes out. The activity below takes you from there to a recording you can play back.
Write your introduction in under 80 words. Record yourself saying it on your phone, then keep cutting until it runs under 30 seconds.
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