How to Confidently Introduce Yourself in English: 10 useful tips

Every person in his life made acquaintances, introduced himself to an unfamiliar company, and made a summary about himself when applying for a job. It is difficult for many to introduce themselves to someone for the first time. Especially if we are talking about English. You should never be embarrassed and afraid. Even for many native speakers, this is not so easy to do.

To introduce yourself in English means to tell about yourself, and to provide brief information. It is necessary not only to tell your name but also to give information about work, age, and even hobbies. Therefore, many options can be chosen for meeting new people.

Good ways to introduce yourself

The main goal is to convey information about you clearly and quickly. In this way, you will show a potential employer, partner, or client that you are a real professional.

First, develop a clear and concise introduction. In this case, you will be more prepared and will be able to answer the most common questions. These questions are about the following:

• Where are you from?
• What do you do?
• What are your special skills?
• What are you passionate about?

Do not forget that a basic introduction implies a formal style, which is usually used at job interviews, business meetings, and in business letters. In addition, you should not use idioms, phrasal verbs, and abbreviations.

For successful self-introduction in English, you need to master three skills:

• To tell about yourself briefly, but in a meaningful way;
• Talk about what is important to listeners;
• To seek the attention and trust of people.

The first impression you make on your interlocutors often determines the success of further relationships.

Tips for introduction in English

The Best introduction lines about yourself are an important stage of a job interview in English. During these five or ten minutes, the first impression is made about the applicant, which practically does not change by the end of the conversation. In this part of the job interview, you need to behave confidently, smile, not be nervous, and tell about yourself concisely and succinctly. The introduction includes a greeting and some common phrases. Familiarity in an informal atmosphere also requires a person to have self-confidence and simple rules of introducing yourself in English.

Tip 1. Break the Ice.

"Break the ice" means "overcome shyness", or "take the first step".

Be concise when you communicate with new people. No one expects you to write an essay about yourself as an answer. Although people genuinely want to know more about you, they want to know a brief version of your personality. Self-presentation begins with it.

To introduce yourself, you can take out of the speech the banal "My name is", and say: "Mom and Dad decided to call me Rita, and I think they were right."

Tip 2. Compose the text of the speech

Keep in mind that the interlocutors are not just interested in your personality – they want to know what benefits they will derive from meeting you. Just saying, "My name is Andrew, I'm a business manager" is not enough to get people interested in you. You need to immediately show the advantages that distinguish you from other managers and help your listeners.

Things to talk about when introducing yourself are focused on education and personal qualities. They will be needed in a new job. You can say a few words about your hobby, which is not related to work.

Tip 3. Ask specifying question

It doesn't matter what kind of acquaintance you have, formal or informal. In any situation, learn to keep the conversation going. Think ahead of the questions that you can ask the interlocutor. During an informal acquaintance, the questions may be as follows:

• Where do you come from?
• What are you doing here?
• Do you like it here?

Why should I ask questions? Because they always encourage your interlocutor to talk. On the other hand, while the interlocutor answers the question, you have time to think about what to talk about next.

Tip 4. Listen and ask new questions

If you do not have a high enough level of English, it is much easier for you to listen to the interlocutor and it is more difficult to speak. So you need to listen very carefully to the answer to your question and ask clarifying questions. Most people like to talk about themselves, so the questions should be focused on the personality and the problems of your interlocutor.

• Is this your first visit to…?
• Have you been here before?
• Have you visited/ seen…?
• How do you like/ find (our)…?
• How do you like it here?
• What do you think of…?
• Are you interested in…?

Tip 5. Prepare basic answers to the common questions.

During the job interview, your answers should be fast and accurate. Most potential employers want to know that you can compress the necessary information down to the most important fragments.

Use these and similar phrases for a bunch of sentences: people often think, strongly believe, namely, equally, due to, certainly, and so on.

Tip 6. Think of a backup plan

Any conversation is not only an opportunity to ask questions. At some point, your interlocutors start asking you. Therefore, you need to prepare your answers to the questions that are most likely to be asked in advance.

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to maintain a conversation. Therefore, this has to be interrupted. But how can you exit the conversation correctly? It is important to be extremely polite! Here are some examples:

• I must be off!
• I’ve got to go.
• I gotta get going (colloquial).
• I've got to rush, I'm afraid.
• I need to get going!

Tip 7. More smiles and self-confidence!

People are attracted when a speaker demonstrates sincerity and goodwill. These emotions are most reflected in the look and position of the chin. Fix your eyes directly on the listeners. If you are performing online, look into the camera. Start talking with a natural smile. If the speech is addressed to European or American listeners, smile broadly.

Tip 8. Make eye contact with your interlocutors

The lack of visual contact is perceived as a desire to hide the truth. Many people may think that you are indifferent to the interlocutor, acquaintance, and communication.

Tip 9. Control nonverbal signals when you present basic info about yourself.

Crossed arms, lowered chin, and excessive gestures indicate fear, lack of knowledge, or experience.

Tip 10. Do not tell false information.

The main thing is not to lie; it can play a cruel joke on you. A cool way to introduce yourself in English is to reveal an interesting fact from childhood or just find something interesting in yourself, for example, the ability to predict the weather. If it turns out that a person embellishes the facts or does not have the necessary information, trust instantly disappears. The audience is losing interest in you.

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Phrases to introduce yourself

To start a conversation, it is quite logical to use introductory phrases. What to say when introducing yourself?! There are examples:

• Hello!
• Good morning/afternoon/evening!

After greeting, continue the conversation as follows:

• May I introduce myself?
• Allow me to introduce myself
• I am sorry I didn’t introduce myself

Share general information. Below are things to say to introduce yourself:

• My name is…
• I’m…
• I also go by…
• But my friends call me...
• But you can call me...
• But people usually call me...
• I’m… years old.
• I was born in...
• I'm + nationality
• I'm from + country
• Name of the city + is my home town.

Tell people about the type of activity:

• I'm a... + (profession)
• I work as a…
• I’m… by profession.
• I’m a student.
• I study at…

About the family:

• I have a big/small family.
• I come from a small/ large family.
• I have /have no siblings.
• I’m the only child in the family.
• My family consists of… members.
• I have a mother, a father, and a younger/elder brother/sister.
• I live with my parents.
• I’m married/single/divorced.

When talking about your education, use the following phrases:

• I have a degree in…
• I graduated from… university.
• My major is/was…
• I studied…

To tell about your hobbies and how you spend your free time, remember the following phrases:

• In my free time, I like…
• I usually… when I have free time.
• I really like/enjoy/love…
• I’m interested in / fond of / keen on…

You need the following phrases to share your plans for the future:

• In the future, I hope…
• I’m planning to… next month/year.
• I want to… in the future.
• I would really love to… one day.

Also, in a good introduction about yourself, you need to include a description of your personal qualities. For example: brave, clever, easy-going, go-getter, friendly, funny, generous, wise, smart, neat, kind, polite, popular, and others.

Cool ways to introduce yourself, example: If someone asks me «What kind of person are you? », I will say «easy-going, kind, and generous couch potato».

You can also tell about your negative qualities: chatty, arrogant, mean, nervous, rude, selfish, and silly. Example of how to introduce myself: I try avoiding arrogant people and not working with selfish and nervous colleagues.

To make your speech more natural, use introductory words:

• Actually;
• Basically;
• Honestly;
• To tell the truth;
• Moreover/besides/in addition to;
• Firstly/secondly/thirdly.

How to introduce yourself to new people

• I am glad to see you. / I am happy to see you. / I am pleased to see you.
• Good to see you again. / Nice to see you again.
• How have you been?
• You met for the first time in your life (or practically do not know each other)
• What is your name?
• My name is (name). Nice to meet you!
• Common phrases-responses to greetings
• Fine thanks, and you?
• Fine thanks, what about you?
• Very well, thanks.
• Pretty good, thanks.
• How do you do?

The phrase "How do you do" is considered outdated when greeting. But its use is quite appropriate if it is pronounced to a new person.

How to present yourself?

It is important to understand the main purpose of self-presentation. That is, what we say and to whom, in what situation, and why. The duration and format of the self-presentation depend on the goal. Be sure to identify the audience. It can be new acquaintances at a party, a speech at an important meeting, or a job interview.

Think about the context. If you are speaking as a speaker or are at an official professional event, the best way to introduce yourself should be businesslike, clear, and concise. When you are out of work, a freer format is more appropriate — with digressions in the form of jokes and personal stories.

Work with speech. Even the most beautiful story about you can make a bad impression - bad diction, quiet intonation, and slang.

It is very important to think about the appropriate way to present information about yourself. To do this, you need to think about the topic of the future conversation. Your story about yourself should be only a few minutes long. But you need to skillfully include everything that concerns your experience and personal achievements. We recommend making a structured story plan and writing short essays about you.

Introduction myself examples

1) Let me introduce myself. My name is Anna Golovko. I’m 25 years old. I’m a business analyst.

I graduated from Kyiv International University in 2017. I worked as an assistant manager for “Kearns International”. My specific responsibilities included providing new project launches and development strategy planning. Currently, I’m working as a business analyst for “Sea Transportation group”.

I can describe myself as a hard-working, responsible, and highly organized person. I often have to deal with difficult situations and make quick decisions. One of my main strengths is the ability to work under pressure. The job you are offering me would allow me to broaden my knowledge and experience, which is my professional goal.

I believe I am the right candidate for this position because I have a solid background in it. My knowledge, experience, and my desire to learn new methods would allow me to contribute to your company. In my free time, I enjoy playing chess and doing active sports.

2) Let me introduce myself for a better impression of myself. My name is Victor Burnov. I am 32 years old. I am from Ukraine. My native city is Kharkiv. I’d describe myself as a purposeful and hardworking person who knows how to organize work. I have excellent speaking skills, but I'm also a great listener. That is why I can find an approach to different people. I have more than five years of experience in sales. During my career, I have acquired many important qualities, such as multitasking, and quick decision-making. The experience as a sales manager will help me achieve all the goals set for a candidate in this position. In my free time, I like to go hiking and play guitar. It provides me with a good balance in my life.

You can also practice how to confidently introduce yourself in English with this video from TEDx Talks:

Conclusion

The very first question when the interview begins is «Tell us about yourself». For most people, it's hard to do it in the right way, as well as experienced specialists. Therefore, it is worth rehearsing in advance the clarity and persuasiveness of speech, as well as gestures. You will feel more confident.

If spoken English is difficult for you, or you are embarrassed to start a dialogue with a foreign stranger. Or maybe you need to get a job in a foreign company and make a first impression, and your knowledge of English is failing, then online courses will help you.

The Promova platform offers classes via the app and online classes with tutors. Effective exercises on the platform help to develop the skill of speaking English. You will learn to easily enter into a dialogue, better understand the interlocutor's speech, and effectively apply your knowledge of the language in practice. The best tutors from different countries, where English is native, will be happy to choose an individual program for you.