Know the secret to introduce yourself in less than 10 minutes... Unlock your potential
There are different ways to introduce yourself in English, like how do you introduce yourself to the CEO on your first day at work? Or how do you introduce yourself to a group of people if you’re public speaking?
Well, how do you introduce yourself to an IELTS speaking examiner just before your test? Let’s find out. Introducing yourself can be awkward, especially if you don’t know the right type of introduction to use, because as I said, there are heaps of them. The right introduction depends on three factors, who you’re speaking to, why you’re speaking, and where you’re speaking, really, these three factors can be summed up in a single word, context, the context of who you’re speaking to, why you’re speaking, and where you’re speaking, will change your introduction significantly.
Imagine you’re meeting your new parents-in-law and you say,
Hey, how’s it going? This would be awkward. Or imagine you meet a stranger in a restaurant or a movie hall and you say, how do you do? That would also be awkward too.
Understanding context is critical if you want to introduce yourself properly, because there are actually set phrases, set introductions, set ways that you’re supposed to use in each context. The problem is, no one ever teaches you this stuff. You’re supposed to just pick it up as you go along. Well, I’m going to teach you.
Hello there, this is Govind here. Welcome to Learn English with Fun with Sahasriya. Twice every week, we focus on English grammar, vocabulary or pronunciation, and in this episode we are focusing on how to introduce yourself
Let’s start by looking at informal introductions. With informal introductions, you’re typically speaking to someone around the same age as you. This happens a lot outside of work in cafes or on the street. And the reason you’re introducing yourself is to be friendly and likeable. In many languages, what you say changes a lot depending on who you’re speaking to. English changes as well. Not a lot, but it certainly does with introductions.
Okay, so in informal context, we can introduce ourselves with great phrases like,
- Hey, how’s it going? I’m Govind.
- Hi, how’s things? I’m Govind.
- Hi, how are you? I’m Govind.
There are some other introductions like, what’s up? This is very American, or what’s going on? This is very Australian.
There are other informal introductions that are specific to certain places. And you might want to learn these, but you should be careful because some of these are very informal. And if used inappropriately can sound a bit weird. You’re safer with the ones we just saw, they’re universal and just the right level of formality. There are also lots of synonyms for friend that are used in these informal introductions as well. Such as,
- Hey man
- Hey bro.
- Hey buddy.
- Hey mate.
- Hey dude.
These words are typically used by men speaking to men and also depend on the place.
For example, in Australia, we often say, Hey mate, but I don’t think they say that in the United States or Canada. So listen carefully to what the locals say and mimic that. And as for women introducing themselves to other women or with men and women, I’ve noticed that they don’t say man, bro, sister, or buddy, or mate, they just say hi, or, Hey.
Let’s now look at semi formal introductions. With semi formal introductions, you’re typically speaking to someone older than you or someone who you consider to be in a higher social position than you. This happens a lot in workplaces. And the reason you’re introducing yourself is to establish a healthy, respectful connection between you and the other person. So maybe you’re thinking about your boss, or your doctor or a police officer or a teacher or professor. And here, you don’t want to say
Hey, What’s up, bro? Not cool. Totally inappropriate.
For these types of introductions, use set phrases like,
- hi, I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Govind.
- Hi, I’m Govind. How are you? Nice to meet you.
- I’m Govind. You’re Dr. Ankita. Right. I’m Govind.
Now if you’re taking the IELTS test, and you want to know how to introduce yourself to your speaking examiner, then use a semi formal introduction. IELTS speaking is semi formal. It’s not informal, and it’s not over-the-top formal. It’s a nice balance between the two. It’s kind of like meeting a stranger who is a bit older than you. You want to establish a healthy, respectful connection? So when the examiner comes to collect you from the waiting room, smile and wait for the examiner to introduce him or herself to you before responding, or take the upper hand and say,
Hi, I’m Govind, nice to meet you. Importantly, with IELTS don’t kowtow to the examiner while walking to the examining room. Maintain your dignity, be strong, silence might be the best option. It’s not an awkward silence. It’s a silence of you knowing what to do in the exam. Remember that speaking examiners see lots of people every day, and they may not want to engage in small talk, but do whatever feels right. Just be respectful and maintain your own dignity.
Let’s now look at formal introductions.
Alright, now when it comes to formal introductions, we’re really talking about two contexts. Introducing yourself to someone who is a lot older than you, an elderly person, or when speaking in public. So there’s a really old guy who lives in my building named Sheldon. He’s probably about 80 or 90 years old. And when I see him in the stairwell or outside, I always greet him with
- Hello Sheldon. How are you today?
- Good morning, Sheldon. How are you doing?
And if you need to introduce yourself, you do something similar. You’d say,
- Hello, I’m Govind. It’s really nice to meet you. What’s your name?
Eye contact and friendly energy is always important. But it’s especially important when introducing yourself to someone much older than you. But what about public speaking, public speaking can be daunting, it can be scary, because it uses different communication rules than usual, informal or semi formal contexts. Like, why do people say without further ado, what does that even mean? When public speaking you’re typically speaking to a small or large group of people, and you’re speaking to inform or educate or maybe even entertain.
So how should you introduce yourself when public speaking? It’s easy. Say,
- Hello everyone. I’m Govind.
This is such a simple, humble and powerful way to greet an audience.
- Hello, everyone.
It’s really nice because it includes everyone and you’re speaking to every person, not a group.
Remember to check out www.sahasriya.com for excellent English language learning resources. We have courses on grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, and much much more. So introductions always depend on the context. There’s the informal, semi formal and formal types of introductions. My name is Govind and I’ll see you soon.
