How do you wish to be remembered when you meet someone at an event, a party or anywhere in life?
- Focus on the impact. Make it brief, focused and with confidence. Be brief, Be brilliant, Be done.
- Rotate the facts. Develop several introductions. Think of the different aspects of your work and be creative. Have several introductions for different audiences.
- Don’t give your title. Focus on what you do:- “we help, we provide, we work with….’
- Make it relevant to the audience. What will make the listener say-Tell Me More”? My favorite 3 words. When someone says, “Tell me more”, you have their attention and you can now explain more what you do.
- Believe it. Be careful not to oversell-speak from integrity, pride and passion which like enthusiasm is contagious.
- Put your weight behind it. Be clear and concise and deliver with confidence.
- Look at the listener. Watch for “MEGO” “My Eyes Glaze Over”- we never want this and be aware, when you see even the slightest ‘non interest’- ask them a question to get them talking.
- Know when and when not to use the introduction. Sometimes your intuition kicks in and you know that you only have time or even want to give the briefest response- “I am in the ______Industry— and you?”
- Know when to stop. Less is more. Brief and focused. This bears repeating. Less is always more. Leave them wanting to know more about you.
- Once you have mentioned your name and what you do, immediately focus on the other person— “Tell me how you got interested in the ___________field?” “What is the most interesting part of your work?”
- People enjoy talking about themselves and when you listen, you learn and you can then reframe how what you do may correlate with what they do.
- The first step is building rapport.