Introducing yourself and others

Moving to another country and changing your job is always a big challenge. I'm now experiencing all the ups and downs of this situation and what struck me is that during the last several weeks I've introduced myself or have been introduced to other people for definitely more than a hundred times! That's made me thinking of how important it is to make this first impression the most positive one.

If you are a native speaker the only thing you have to keep in mind is your body language and the general positive attitude. But if you are not, you also have to think about what actually comes out of your mouth and most probably, it is English. Since these first words are so crucial, let's make a small revision. 

Introducing yourself:

- My name is...

- I'm......

- Nice to meet you, I'm....

- Pleased to meet you, I'm....

- I'd like to introduce myself, I'm...

- Let me introduce myself, I'm...

- I don't believe we've met before, I'm...

- I don't think we've actually met formally yet, I'm...

Introducing others:

- I'd like to introduce you to....

- Have you met....?

- I'd like you to meet...

- Jack, this is Daniel. Daniel this is Jack.

- There's someone i'd like you to meet, this is...

- Alex, please meet Ann.

Useful responses:

- Nice to meet you.

- Happy to meet you.

- Pleased to meet you.

- Very nice to meet you.

- It's a pleasure to meet you.

 -How do you do?

Remember 'how do you do?' is not really a question but it simply means 'hello'.

For 'how do you do?' always respond 'how do you do?'. :)

Returning a compliment:

 - Likewise.

- And you:)

A sample dialogue:

- Hello. My name is Jane Fox. The new sales director.

- Hello. I''m Peter Brown. Nice to meet you, Mrs Jane Fox.

- Peter, please meet Ms Still, my assistant.

- How do you do?

- How do you do?

Saying 'goodbye':

- I've got to be going.

- I really must be running along.

 - Is that the time? I've got to go.

- I've got to get back to....work/school etc.

- See you later.

- Catch you later.

- Have a nice day.

- Goodbye.

- Take care.

- Bye!

In case you don't have enough, you can have a look at what bbc says about greeting people formally and informally here.

And good luck to everyone who has just changed their job or moved to a new place. Have fun!!! 

Seeya!!! :))

source: google images