STARS 2014
Introducing a Guest Speaker
Congratulations! You have been asked to introduce one of our guest speakers this summer. To assist you
with this task, here are a few guidelines:
1) You will be given the name and affiliation for the speaker you are to introduce. For example, on
Wednesday, June 11, the speaker is Dr. Patty Parker, from the Department of Biology,
University of Missouri - St. Louis.
2) Go to that university’s or company’s website and find out what you can, including contact information.
In some cases, I will provide this to you.
3) You will be looking for this general information for each speaker. The goal is to give an introduction
that is around one minute! Some of our speakers are not scientists and some of the questions
below will not apply. Find out what you can about their career path and their credentials.
You may e-mail the speaker ahead of time for this information, or contact them by telephone. Introduce
yourself as one of the STARS participants.
a) what is the speaker’s present university, company, or organization?
b) where did the speaker grow up/go to school?
c) where did the speaker go to undergraduate and graduate schools?
What did the speaker study there? In whose lab did they work?
d) where did the speaker do their post-doctoral work and/or other university appointments?
You could search pubmed for the author’s papers, or simply ask this in your email.
Sometimes the departmental website includes this information, too.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/
e) what is the speaker’s present research interest or job focus? No more than two sentences.
f) what first got the speaker interested in their profession?
g) what will the speaker talk about today? (just one sentence)
4) Type up this information in a large font (16 pt or bigger) and print it out. You may have to pencil
some information in at the last minute.
5) Rehearse what you can beforehand. Speak slowly and time yourself. You should aim for about one
minute.
6) Introduce yourself to the speaker when they arrive. Double check any facts, including how to
pronounce his or her name (very important!)
7) Introduce the speaker before the presentation. At the conclusion of his or her talk, you may ask the
audience members if they have any questions for the speaker. Take your cues from Dr. Mares,
Ms. Kirkpatrick, or me about how many questions could be asked.
Dr. Howard Granok