Hey darlings! Hope you’ve been having an awesome weekend because I sure have!
So I want to talk to you guys a little about the act of introducing yourself; it’s something that we think we all know but there are actually technicalities attached to this act!
First of all: what’s an introduction? It’s basically in layman terms a means of formal presentation of one person to another. Now we do these for a number of reasons but the most basic of them is for the other person to know who you are. So your introduction must achieve at least this basic expectation.
Personally, I have different introductions for different people and in different settings. If I’m at a conference where my point of view is being asked of me, like if I’m on a panel; then I’m Dr. Elizabeth T. Peters, a medical doctor and global health enthusiast. If I’m at a networking event for young creatives then I’m Dr. Elizabeth T. Peters, a medical doctor and lifestyle blogger; and if I’m at a social event I can be Elizabeth, Lizzy for short.
There’s a reason why I choose to have different introduction styles and it’s because I know the reception I want so I anticipate it with how I come across to the person. So for the first example where I’m on a panel, I would want the audience to have a clear picture of my career background hence the “global health enthusiast”, but at a creatives networking event, that might not be as easily relatable as the fact that I’m a lifestyle blogger. I’m not saying I no longer care about global health, it’s more a case of – what personal information will build rapport more organically with this person?
I would say that’s the question you should ask yourself internally whenever you’re about introducing yourself, such that you are able to garner as much from your human interactions as possible, having set the stage for healthy relationships via your personal introduction.
Till next time,
Dr. ETP xo