I’ve attended a couple of meetings lately where a rousing round of introductions was necessary and I noticed how less than compelling many people are at the seemingly simple task at introducing themselves.   I observed women at each meeting making mistakes they could easily correct:

• Using only their first names.
  Professionals use their first and last names; you may not be the only “Amy” at the meeting but even if you are,  your credibility suffers if you don’t use your last name. (As an aside, that goes for answering the phone too.)
• Mumbling or speaking too quickly.
  Say your name clearly and slowly.  People want to be able to catch it so make it easy for them.
• Overdoing it.
  If you’re asked to introduce yourself and to describe what you do, do it clearly and concisely.  Don’t begin with your dysfunctional childhood and work your way painfully to current time.  Prepare and practice a 30 second “elevator pitch” that describes what your job/business in an engaging way.  Give people enough detail so that if they want to learn more about the details of what you do later, they will have a way to begin but don’t take up all the air in the room.
• Underdoing it.
  Use your full time allocation.  While you may not be completely comfortable as the center of attention,  realize that you need to establish your voice at the meeting.  Your introduction is the way to begin that process. At one of the meetings I attended, we were asked to tell the group something interesting about ourselves as part of our introductions.  One woman dutifully stated her name,  her company’s name, the committee she was representing and then said there was nothing interesting about her!  Can you imagine?  Not only did she undermine herself, she made the group so uncomfortable that the meeting leader jumped in to “save” her by mentioning something she found interesting about the shrinking violet.
• Being blasé .
  Don’t be afraid to assert your personality into the meeting even as early as the introductions.  If you are excited to be attending the meeting,  you may want to say that – and why.  If you have a particular objective for attending the meeting you may want to share that.  Or, if you have a particular role at the meeting (e.g. you’ll be taking minutes or keeping time), it is usually a good idea to explain that role when you introduce yourself.  Examples:  “I’m very much looking forward to this meeting because I feel so strongly that the work we’re doing as a committee is important to the community.”  Or, “I’ll be our timekeeper so please understand that if we run over the time we’ve allocated for any particular agenda item, I’ll be letting the group know.”

As the old cliché goes, you only get one chance to make a great first impression.  Prepare and practice so that your introduction puts you in the best possible light.

TAGS: business communication, introductions, LinkedIn