Perform for free at first, so you can develop a good reputation and a following. Meet on weekends with your group and perform on a street corner or park, though you should make sure this doesn't violate local ordinances. Carry business cards with you about your group so you can pass them out to people who stop to listen. Performing in front of a small crowd at first will help your group get comfortable in front of an audience. This can only help to improve the quality of your music. Ask your friends and neighbors if you can perform at parties they might be throwing. The more you get your group out there where people can hear you, the better. Even if it is just at a small neighborhood party, it is still better for your group than not performing at all. Volunteer to be entertainment at charity events and parties. This can really help your music and group get your name out. Play at local fairs and community events. Once get a reputation you can start charging a small fee. See if your community has a local talent show of any kind and sign up. This is a great way for you to become involved in the community, to get your music heard by a variety of people, and to open the door for new opportunities for your group. Many now famous bands and musicians(like Rhianna and Usher) got their start performing in small, local talent shows. Find out what clubs/bars/restaurants/venues have live music and ask how you would go about being considered for this gig. The venue might ask that you send them a demo tape or to come audition for them live. Whatever they ask, make sure you take your time to prepare and present your group's best image. Make sure the venue is appropriate for your type of group. For example, you wouldn't want to play at a hip-hop club if your style was more jazz or rock. Or if your style is loud and controversial, you'd want to avoid family friendly venues. This can be a good way to get short public performances and get noticed. If you know any other groups, offer to open up for them at concerts. An opening act usually only performs a few songs and introduces the headlining band or group. This is a great way for rock groups to get exposure. Sometimes, a headlining act will ask you to open for them on a short tour. Whenever you have an upcoming performance, make fliers and post them around your town. Make sure the fliers are exciting and attention-grabbing so that more people will take the time to look at them. Have all the information such as location, time, date, and price of your gig. Make sure you indicate whether your gig is all ages, 18+ or 21+ on your flier. Just a few years ago, people had no choice but to promote themselves by word of mouth, fliers, or radio ads alone. The advancement of technology and the internet has made this kind of work so much easier and more effective. Use the internet to your advantage and actively promote your group on popular social media platforms like FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Having an online presence makes it easier for your fans to find you, for people to contact you about booking gigs, and to put your music out there for people to hear.

Summary: Perform locally as often as possible. Play at parties in your area. Participate in local talent shows. Call local venues. Ask other groups to be their opening act. Make fliers. Promote your gigs online.

Some career service advisors recommend keeping your self-introductory speech as short as two or three sentences. Others suggest aiming for five to seven minutes in length. If it is not possible to make your speech this short, or if time permits you to give a longer introduction, you should still trim down your speech to be as concise, yet informative, as possible. Make sure that if this is an assignment, you stay within the assigned guidelines. If your speech is supposed to be 3-5 minutes, a 7-minute speech and a 2-minute speech are equally inappropriate. If you are giving a brief introductory speech in an interview, be certain that you don't go over the recommended time. Remember that your speech is going to be spoken out loud, and your audience will not be able to go back and re-read your words if something is confusing. Deliver your speech in such a way that no one will be uncertain of what you are trying to say. Avoid long rambling sentences, and use direct and concise prose as much as possible. Think about your sentence structure carefully. Reading your speech out loud will help you determine when you have overly long sentences that need to be restructured. You should run through your speech out loud well before the actual introduction. Practice different inflections and experiment with how you pace yourself during the speech. You can practice alone by reading at first, but to get some feedback it's a good idea to perform the speech in front of a friend, family member or colleague. Practicing in front of other people will enable you to gauge whether your speech captures the interest of your listeners. Think about which parts of the speech were successful and which parts weren't. Try to get as much detailed feedback as possible by asking specific as well as general questions after your speech. As well as saying "how did you like the speech?", ask specifically what parts were the strongest and weakest. Check that you delivered a clear message by asking your practice audience what they took away from the speech. Know what you're going to say, and how you're going to say it, well in advance. Although in some instances it is common practice to read from a piece of paper, try to memorize your speech and read it with minimal prompts. Presenting without reading a paper can create a stronger impression of control, knowledge and confidence. It will also help keep your audience's attention. If you are staring down at a piece of paper all the time, the audience might struggle to truly engage with what you are saying. You can, however, bring an index card with bullet points, just in case you freeze up. You shouldn't write your whole speech on the card, just the main points you hope to cover. Think of the card as a point of reference, rather than a backup for your speech.
Summary: Trim your speech down. Use short, simple sentences. Practice your speech. Memorize your speech.