First impressions are vital—you never get a second chance to make a first impression. This lesson will introduce you to the course, and show you how to introduce yourself using professional language and strong delivery.
The aim of this course is to show you how to both speak and act professionally in English. This means a few things.
- Your teacher understanding is not enough. Even making clients and colleagues understand is not enough. The goal is to impress and build trust with colleagues and clients.
- We will pay attention to not only meaning, but also nuance and common usage.
- We will practice speaking smoothly with great delivery.
Now, let's consider all this from the perspective of introductions.
Take some time especially with 1. Making your teacher understand is not the goal. You can say something like this:
English teachers are "professional understanders" - we take time to understand what students are saying, we give advice and offer vocabulary or phrases when students don't know how to say something.
But in business, people want to get the job done. So they might not take your language level into consideration when they talk. If they're rushed, they'll speak fast. If they decide you don't understand them, they might choose to avoid you.
Most native speakers will decide on a non-native speakers' level within a few seconds.
2. Nuance is the subtle difference in or shade of meaning. Common usage is set phrases, common words and collocations (words we expect to hear together).
3. Delivery and speaking smoothly is introduced in the Speaking Test Strategies course, lessons 6-10.
Note: Take "grammar breaks" when your student makes a mistake. Even if the mistake is minor and doesn't interfere with understanding, it breaks trust in the language. Small errors matter.
This discussion topic about how native speakers view non-native business leaders is very enlightening: Non-native English speakers.
Important note
Consultants are different from typical business people because consultants solve other people's problems.
- Typical business people need to make their own company grow by solving their own problems.
- Consultants need to not only solve problems but to communicate the solution as well. This means building relationships and trust.
A. Imagine you are meeting your teacher for the first time. Give a quick (one minute or less) introduction of yourself to your teacher. Be mindful of your audience.
B. Let's think about your introduction from the viewpoint of professionalism.
- When speaking in your native language, do you pay more attention to what you are saying or want to say, or are you paying more attention to what the other person understands or wants to know?
- What about in English?
A. Listen to the intro (correct grammar mistakes, if necessary) and jump right into B.
B. So you told me about your work background. Of course, this is important, but an English teacher's job is to teach you English. So...
- your English goals,
- your experience with English,
- how long you've been studying,
- things like this.
Key point—think:
1. What does the person need/want/expect to hear?
2. How can I communicate it best to them?
In short, you need to think about topics from the other person's perspective. That's the point of this course.
More detail:
- People think way too much about themselves when they speak a foreign language. They don't pay as much attention to context, expectations, and what the other person wants.
It's okay to be focused on yourself when you are learning. But, in the consulting world, you have to think about the other person!
Being a self-focused speaker comes out in a few ways:
- Failing to give the right information in the best order. You need to organize your thoughts from the perspective of the listener.
- Confusing the listener. You should pay close attention to whether the listener is following what you are saying, checking in from time to time ("Are you with me?") to see if they need you to repeat anything.
- Rushing through set phrases. Just because you can say it quickly, it doesn't mean you should. You should slow down through transitions.
- Flat intonation or overusing the same intonation pattern. You should make sure to use clear word stress and intonation to help the listener follow along and understand.
Always think about what the other person wants to know! Then people can relax around you and you'll build trust.
A. Look at the following phrases and discuss the context in which you might use it:
- It’s a pleasure meeting you.
- It’s nice to meet you in person.
- It’s great to finally meet you!
- It was good to meet you / a pleasure meeting you.
Practice not only the meaning, but also the intonation.
B. You may want to discuss your background or experience:
- I have a background in ______.
- I've been at my company for about ____ years.
or: I've been in consulting for about ____ years in total. - I’ve worked on projects in a variety of fields, from ______ , to ______ , to ______ .
-
I specialize in the _______ industry.
or: I generally work on projects in the _______ industry.
or: I'm really interested in _______ projects. -
(Other information, depending on context)
C. It's often nice to end internal introductions on a high note. If you are introducing yourself to a team or to a manager, you can use the following phrases. Can you think of any more?
- I'm really looking forward to working together.
- If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask.
- I like to keep a frank and friendly atmosphere, so don't be shy.
- I also like to have some fun and have a drink when we reach milestones.
A. Read all the phrases.
Ask:
How many times have you said, "It's nice to meet you?"
...How many times have you said, "It was nice to meet you?"
It should be THE SAME AMOUNT.
Many students will enter this with confidence as it's one of the first things they learned in English.
The student needs to speak like a business professional. Practice good word stress and intonation.
- It’s a ↗ pleasure meeting ↘ you.—Used for any situation. (This is ideal probably 90% of the time.)
- It’s nice to meet you in ↗ person ↘.—Used if you have already contacted each other (e-mail, text, etc...).
- It’s great to ↗ finally ↘ meet you!—You have been looking forward to meeting them. Used if you have already been in contact but not face-to-face, or if you are meeting a person you know of, like the partner who oversees your project who you've worked with for some time but not met yet.
- It was ↗ good ↘ to meet you/a ↗ pleasure ↘ meeting you.—Used at the end of a first meeting. Don't forget the ending phrase! Final impressions are important too.
B. You may want to discuss your background or experience.
Pay attention to tone. Get them to shadow you if they sound flat or they are rushing.
- I have a background in ______.
- I've been at my company for about ____ years.
or: I've been a consultant for about ____ years in total. (Used if you've worked at multiple consulting companies.) - I’ve worked on projects in a variety of fields, from ______ , to ______ , to ______ .
- I specialize in the _______ industry. (For experienced consultants: 3 years+)
or: I generally work on projects in the _______ industry. (For semi-experienced consultants: 1-3 years)
or: I'm really interested in _______ projects. (For newer consultants: < 1 year)
- Other background information could be:
- My project functions are typically streamlining business practices. I've been doing that in a variety of industries. (The function is what the project does, the field or industry)
- I'm from [place]...
- I was born and raised in [place].
- I went to [name of university], where I studied [course].
Again, this depends on context. Ask yourself, "Do I think the person wants to know this?"
Note: Some students will not have an area of specialty. Actually, for the first few years, many consultants work a variety of projects so they can learn raw consulting skills without relying on specialized knowledge.
C. End on a high note (End positively).
- I'm looking forward to:
- working with you.
- learning a lot in the project.
- getting to know you all better.
- 3 & 4 - this is probably more of what you might say in a managerial or team lead role.
Introductions should be neither too long, nor too short. First, listen to your teacher's introduction.
Now try giving quick introductions for the following situations:
Situation 1: You have started on a new project in the digital marketing area. Give your typical introduction to the group.
Situation 2: It's time to meet the client. You will be working closely with counterparts; in fact, you are to be spending the majority of your time with them. Tell them about yourself.
Situation 3: After a week of working on that project, you have a new addition to the team who has just started at your company. Introduce yourself one-on-one.
Situation 4: After a month on the project, you finally have a chance to meet the client CEO. You've emailed a couple of times about topics related to your work, but this is your first in-person meeting.
Situation 5: You're meeting a new English teacher for the first time. Give a super quick, friendly introduction.