An intro.id preview00:16
Alex Morgan
Product designer · London
How to record
Ninety seconds, in your own words
Your CV records where you have worked and when. Your intro can show something different: your professional judgement, expressed directly and in your own voice.
Prepared, not scripted
The guiding principle
Know what you intend to say. Then put the notes aside and speak.
A script read aloud loses the natural emphasis that lets a listener hear an individual. Prepare an opening line, one central example and a closing point. Let the words between them vary.
What an effective intro achieves
Make the work easy to understand
“I’m a senior go-to-market manager with eight years across SaaS and fintech, focused on driving revenue growth.”
“I build go-to-market motions for B2B software companies. Usually I’m brought in when the product sells well with a founder in the room, and nobody has worked out how to sell it without them.”
01
Situation
Choose one piece of work you understand thoroughly and explain what was happening.
02
Action
Describe the judgement call or contribution that was specifically yours.
03
Outcome
Show what changed. Use a figure when it adds meaning, or precise detail when it does not.
04
What comes next
State the role you want, the work you want more of and what you intend to move away from.
Preparation
Four answers make your intro
Answer these aloud before recording. Full sentences are unnecessary—the objective is clarity of thought, not a written draft.
20 secIntroduce your work
50 secTell your example
20 secSay what is next
- 01
What do you do, described in one sentence to someone outside your industry?
- 02
Which piece of work are you proudest of, and what changed as a result?
- 03
What do colleagues consistently come to you for?
- 04
What are you looking for next?
Common weaknesses
What to leave out
Generic descriptors
Replace phrases like ‘results driven’ or ‘commercially minded’ with substantive detail that only you could give.
Reciting your CV
Your employers and dates are already available. Use your recording to provide what is not.
Figures without context
Explain what the number represented and what you did differently, or leave the figure out.
An extended introduction
Skip the long preamble. Begin with the work itself and give the example room to breathe.
Recording conditions
A few small choices make a big difference
- 01
Choose a softer room
Carpet, curtains and upholstered furniture absorb sound. Avoid bathrooms, empty kitchens and bare meeting rooms.
- 02
Keep the microphone close
Hold your phone about a hand’s width from your mouth. Wired earphones with an inline microphone also work well.
- 03
Remove background noise
Close windows, switch off air conditioning and silence nearby phones and domestic appliances.
- 04
Record standing
Standing tends to make your delivery more energetic, open and conversational.
Knowing when to stop
Choose the take that sounds most like you
Record several takes. For most people, the second or third is strongest: the first can feel stiff, while later versions often become over-rehearsed.
The goal is not flawless delivery. It is the version in which you sound clear, engaged and genuinely interested in the work you are describing.
Record your intro