Individual Preparation Part 2: Developing Your Individual Introduction
Feb 03, 2026
Reading Time: 3 minutes
This is part 8 of a 16-part blog series designed to help you win government oral presentations. To read the previous blogs, click here to find the index with individual blogs. In the previous blog, I covered the initial homework that teams and individuals need to complete as a critical first step. In this blog, I cover tips for developing your individual introductions.
Individual Introductions
To prepare for presentation rehearsals, we want everyone on the team to be ready to give a 30- to 90-second individual introduction before the first practice.
The Structure of Individual Introductions
Here is a starting point structure for individual introductions. I recommend using this structure first, fine-tuning the details, and making changes only after the team has mastered this approach.
- Your name.
- Your company’s name.
- What you were bid as or what your role would be on the contract (not your company title).
- If you are from a subcontractor, give the socio-economic status of the company (if applicable), and one to three capabilities or attributes about what your company brings to this contract, only if it will be meaningful to the evaluators.
- Any relevant degrees or certifications, especially those required for the position or hard to obtain.
- Reference your past military and/or civil servant experience. If not in the last five years, then your final rank, role, and number of years only.
- Give up to five relevant experiences (three is usually enough) in the last five years in chronological order, with a strong preference for the last 18 months. Practice using this format for each experience. “I was [position] where I/we did [experience] resulting in [results and benefits to the client].
- Present your current role. Spend most of your introductory time on this and make sure what you say is directly relevant to the current scope of work.
- End with an enthusiastic statement such as:
“I am excited to support X client as your program manager in the future.”
If you are the incumbent for the position, you can make your ending even more powerful by ending with excitement about one or two specific challenges that you know are coming up.
“I’m excited to continue as your program manager as we tackle the Milestone B program
check and deploy the XXX system to support our troops in Afghanistan.”
Potential Additions to an Individual Introduction
This format is a starting point and will work well for 80% of your team. In some cases, relevant experience will not be the most important information for evaluators to hear. Here are some other types of background information you may want to consider, depending on who you think will be evaluating.
- Relevant stakeholder relationships and access
- Relevant program and systems knowledge
- Relevant skills that are critical to the performance of the Statement of Work
Most everyone should end with their most recent relevant position. This is especially important if you are an incumbent and doing the work today. I coach everyone on the team to transition to what they are doing today by saying the same simple phrase.
“Currently I am the…”
This simple transition lets the evaluator know that you are talking about the work you do today and how it applies to solving the organization’s problems with you in the key position.
Individual Introductions to Team Excellence
Mastering your individual introduction is a critical first step, establishing your credibility and relevance from the outset. With a solid foundation for each individual presenter, you can empower the whole team. In part 3 of this topic, I’ll dive into Developing Speaker Points and Transitions. This is where I’ll cover how to build on these individual components by using engaging stories and examples to enhance the team’s collective.
Trident Support
Our orals coaches work with state and federal contractors at every step, from individual pre-work through final team delivery. Trident’s coaches work with team to develop their individual introductions and speaker points to build a cohesive story for your presentation.
- Explore our Oral Presentation Coaching services and winning frameworks.
- Contact Us to ensure every member of your team is individually and collectively ready to win.
Don’t miss blog 9: Individual Pre-Work Part 3: Develop Speaker Points and Transitions
Written by Jeff Everage
Jeff is the President and Founder of Trident Proposal Management. As a GovCon Oral Presentation Coach for more than 15 years, Jeff has coached more than 100 teams to success. His insights into oral coaching, gained from the trenches of coaching, are designed to support you and your team in your efforts. As a Navy veteran, Jeff resides in Southern California and provides support to clients worldwide as part of our globally dispersed team.
