Congressman smith, General So and so, distinguished guests, (with a pointed nod to the head tables yes even if there are two you can acknowledge them just takes a little practice,) ladies and gentlemen, with a look to the audience. Unless you're prepared to name every single one of them and deal with the fact that there will most always be someone who thinks they should have been named, it's always better to err on the side of blanket introductions.(ergo distinguished guests)
My name is .... and I'm pleased to welcome you to such and such an event today.Whatever else you have to say, and then introduce the General or the speaker that follows you, the key to making an introduction is simply that, keeping it an introduction and not a speech. Less chance of accidentally offending someone by NOT mentioning their names too, far better to let everyone assume they're in the distinguished guests catagory than commit a major faux pas (at least in someone else's eyes).
If you name individual names or ask them to stand, youre inviting applause and turning a 3 to 4 minute introduction into a 15 minute debacle.
My fourpence
