You will write and rehearse an introduction that explains who you help and with what, and ends in a question.
Someone at a networking breakfast, a wedding table or a SkillsFuture workshop turns to you and asks, "So what do you do?" Most people answer with a job title and a company name, and the other person nods and moves on. A few people answer in a way that makes the listener ask a second question. That second question is the whole point of an introduction, and you can write one that earns it.
This exercise takes about twenty minutes. You will draft, cut and rehearse an introduction that runs under 30 seconds when you say it aloud. You need your notes from lesson 1.1 on the problem your product removes, and your phone.
A good introduction has four parts, 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.
Notice what is missing. There is no company history, no list of services and no claim about being the best. Those can come later, if the listener asks.
Write the four parts without worrying about length. Most first drafts are too long, and that is fine at this stage, because cutting is easier than adding.
Here is a worked example. Farah is a freelance bookkeeper who works mostly with small food businesses. Her first draft read:
"Hi, I'm Farah, and I run Farah Accounting Services. I provide full-cycle bookkeeping, GST filing support, payroll processing and management reporting for SMEs across Singapore, using cloud accounting platforms. I've been in the industry for nine years and I pride myself on accuracy and responsiveness. I help businesses stay compliant so they can focus on growth. Do you have any accounting needs?"
That is 62 words, and it took her 31 seconds to say because the jargon kept tripping her up. The length is close to the target, but the bigger problems are in the words.
Go through your draft and circle every term your buyer would not use about their own life. Farah circled full-cycle bookkeeping, management reporting, SMEs, cloud accounting platforms, compliant and focus on growth. Her clients do not 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".
Rewrite the problem in those words. Lesson 1.1 asked you to describe the buyer's problem in their own words, and this is where that work pays off.
Farah's draft ended with "Do you have any accounting needs?" That is a closed question, and most people answer it with "not really". A good closing question is about the listener's situation and is easy to answer honestly. "How do you handle the books in your business at the moment?" works. So does "Who does that for your company?"
The question changes what happens next. A speech gets polite silence. A question turns it into a conversation, and the listener's answer tells you whether they have the problem you solve.
Read the draft aloud with your phone's stopwatch running. Written sentences that look short on the page often take longer to say than you expect, and some will trip your tongue. Cut every word that does not do a job. Then read it again. Keep going until you can say it naturally, without reading, in under 30 seconds.
Farah's final version, after three rounds:
"I'm Farah. I do the books for small food businesses, cafes, hawker stalls, home bakers. Most of them 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?"
That is 60 words and she says it comfortably in about 25 seconds. It names who she helps, the problem in their words, the change, and a question. Her company name is gone, and nobody missed it. If the listener is interested, they will ask.
Three other things go wrong often. The first is listing services instead of describing a problem. The second is a vague who, such as "individuals and businesses", which describes everyone and lets nobody recognise themselves. The third is rushing. If you need to speak fast to fit under 30 seconds, the draft is still too long.
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, and cut it until it runs under 30 seconds.
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