Oration is a skill that is difficult to master and anyone who has ever been asked to stand in front of a mike and speak to an expectant audience will testify to the jitters that you experience during the process. According to several people, introduction speeches are the worst of the lot, because speaking about a person or even oneself can be an extremely difficult task. While you can learn public speaking techniques, unless you infuse it with your own dash of personality, introduction speeches may fall flat. This article will help you write speeches of introduction, both self introductory speech and speeches about others and also provide examples of the two types. Self Introduction Speech Example If you have been asked to be the speaker at an event or have joined public speaking classes, then you may need to introduce yourself to the audience. But the moment you say "I am ...", you will probably have the audience yawning, falling on each others' shoulders. You will need a great speech attention getter which grabs eyeballs and holds the attention of your audience. If you are looking for ideas to prepare yourself for a speech that you have to give then, here are some pointers that will help you in making an outline for your speech.

• Your passion in life should be reflected in your speech. Mention your ambition and where you are trying to head.
• An incident that has influenced you to look up to someone as your role model.
• Your hobbies and interests.
• Ensure that you include the qualities that make you stand out and assert your individuality.
• The relevance with regards to the occasion that you are making the speech at.

While it is difficult to give an template, there are many examples that you can refer to, while framing your speech. Given below is an example of introduction speech about yourself, given by a guest speaker at the graduation ceremony of a college.

One Four One One! That is the number of tigers left in the Indian subcontinent. And for the past five years those are the numbers I have been trying to better. Needless to say, I am a tiger conservationist and after a lifetime of chasing money, success and to an extent fame, I am devoting my life to chasing poachers. No, I did not take a page out of the life of characters in best selling books, though the parallels drawn are inevitable. I did this because this is what my life's aim was when I was, let us say, younger and naive. It took me 10 years to realize that my naivety had more individuality in it than my success did. After behaving like a groupie of Ansel Adams' for years, I was more than content being just another face in the crowd. By the way, for those of you who are too young (or not worldly wise) to have heard of Adams, he was an environmentalist and photographer, who took brilliant photographs of the Yosemite National Park in America. You may wonder why, while addressing a batch of graduates from one of the most prestigious journalism colleges in the world, I am reminiscing about my own life. Well, introducing myself, with all my faults and mistakes, is the one way I have of explaining to you how important it is to pursue your dreams. Do not let the big bad world outside (and it is big and bad), affect that idealism you have in your heart. Follow your dreams, however stupid and impractical, someone else tells you, they are. For a few weeks after you start your jobs, you will remember my words and fight the corruption of your soul but then you will give in. It is inevitable. But try and fight it as long as you can. Channel Dylan Thomas and remember, "Do Not Go Softly Into That Good Night."

Introduction Speech Example While it is definitely difficult to introduce oneself, it is no mean job when you have been asked to introduce another person. Speeches about others are always difficult to write, because you have to tread a fine line between praising someone and not sounding sycophantic. Here is a guideline that will help you in the task at hand.

• Research the person you are introducing.
• Decide on which topics about the speaker will attract your audience the most.
• Introduction speeches are judged by how good or bad the first two and last two sentences are. Frame them well and make them catchy.
• The best speeches are those that tell the audience something they don't know.
• Keep it brief and simple; your audience wants to hear your guest and not you.

Examples may vary depending on the person who is being introduced in the sample. Given below is an example of introduction speech for former Vice President, Al Gore.

Eight years in office, businessman, environmental activist, Nobel Prize winner, recipient of a Grammy and an Emmy, and runner-up for Times' 2007 Person of the Year. A pretty mean task for one person to achieve. But our chief guest for today is no ordinary person. A politician and a keen environmentalist, what most people do not know about him is that he has politics in his genes; his father was also the senator of Tennessee for 18 years. He studied at Harvard graduating in the year 1969. He volunteered to go to Vietnam as a reporter for the Army, after deciding not to find a way to dodge the draft, and forcing someone with lesser privileges to go to war. After the war, he attended the Vanderbilt University but won a Congress seat before he got a degree. This started his political life, which we are all familiar with. Without much delay, here he is, who in his own words, was the next President of the United States for eight years; Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you, Mr. Al Gore.

These were just samples that you can refer to. Public speaking is an art in which words are molded to suit the person giving the speech and the situation at hand. Hope the above speech writing tips hold you in good stead for your foray into making introduction speeches.