This lesson presents scripts for two different styles that can be used when you introduce yourself and/or your company. The style that you use will depend on the context you are in: whether you are giving a formal speech or talking with someone informally. Be prepared for both of these situations by creating in advance your own self-introductions following the examples on this page.

SPEECH STYLE SELF-INTRODUCTION

In some business situations, like at the beginning of a meeting or presentation, you will need to give a quick self-introduction in front of a group of people. We call this kind of self-introduction a "speech style" introduction because it is similar to giving a quick speech. As you talk, people will probably not interrupt or ask questions, so you need to keep talking for about 60 seconds. In this situation, you should add the following information:

+ Your Name
+ Where you work
+ How long you have worked there
+ What you do in your job
+ Any information relevant to the meeting or presentation

For example:

My name is Dan Liu. I work at University Credit Union and have been working there for 5 years. I am a loan officer, and so I work directly with the students, helping them find and apply for suitable loans. In some cases, I even help them find grants or scholarships that they do not have to pay back. I really enjoy helping students find ways to pay for school.

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CONVERSATION STYLE SELF-INTRODUCTION

Sometimes you need to introduce yourself to people while in a one-to-one conversation. Unlike the speech style above, you do NOT want to give all of your information at one time. In a conversation style introduction, you should give a little information, and then wait for the other person to give some information. This should be like a tennis match, you "hit" the ball to your opponent, and he "hits" it back to you. Don't dominate the conversation. Ask questions, and give the other person a chance to speak. Read this example:

A) Hi, I'm Dan Liu. (Shakes hand)

B) Nice to meet you. I’m Tony Hall. What do you do?

A) I’m a student loan officer at University Credit Union. How about you?

B) I'm an accountant. How long have you been at UCU? I worked there about ten years ago.

A) Really? I've been with them for just five years, but I'm sure we know some of the same people.
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Practice this kind of conversation the next time you meet someone new.

More Practice
Once you have practiced this page, you may also want to try these related pages:
Elevator Pitches
Introduction (Cold) Email Template
Cold Call Phone Scripts