‘A presentation about myself’ – I think this is one of the most dreaded speech

topics. Talking about yourself – it’s difficult to know what your audience want
to know, and how much you should tell them.

Its all about you

Unfortunately this also happens to be one of the most common speeches you
will be asked to give. Whether you are applying for a new job, or starting a
new course/class, quite often the first meeting will involve getting to know
each other and this will often mean saying a little bit about yourself. Luckily
this often has a short time scale, perhaps five or ten minutes so it isn’t as
daunting as it sounds.

Firstly when planning your speech, break it down into three sections – a
beginning, a middle and a conclusion. This will not only give your speech
some structure but will also help with the writing of it.

To start with

The most important thing to remember with the beginning is that it doesn’t
really contain any real information. Greet your audience with a warm
welcome, tell them who you are and what you are going to talk about, and tell
them why you are going to talk about it. Take a look at Making a
Presentation:Part One.

The middle section

This is where you tell them about you, tell them about your hobbies, your
hopes, your dreams, your goals. Don’t brag about what you have achieved but
be informative about it. If it is relevant then you should definitely include
achievements.

If you are at a job interview discuss the reasons for wanting the job, touch on
some past experience and tell them why you think you are suitable. Back this
up with an anecdote from your past if it is related. Tell them what you pride
yourself on. This might be time-keeping, efficiency, people skills, or all of
these. Be prepared for questions on this because they may ask for examples
of when you have shown these skills.

If you are at school, or starting a new college course then tell them why you
chose to go for the course, what interests you about that particular job or
career, what experience you have had previously, and where you hope it will
take you.

For some pointers, have a look at this article on Making a Presentation: Part
Two

Wrapping it up

The most important point to remember here is never to add any extra
information at this point, this is where you should ask the audience if they
have any questions. Do a little preparation for this beforehand so that you are
prepared for questions about something that you have not covered. Have a
look at this article about preparing for your presentation. Finally, you should
thank them for their time and attention. And that’s it, finished.