128. How to introduce yourself with confidence
Can you confidently introduce yourself? At networking events, in online meetings, on podcasts, on social media? Even though the question is expected it can often be awkward at best and a big missed opportunity at most. In this episode I share three practical things you can do with your voice, your structure and your body language to make a great introduction.
Transcript
We've all been there. You're in a meeting, at a networking event maybe, or a guest on a podcast. And in comes the question, Oh, can you introduce yourself? Tell us a little bit about yourself. Like it's the easiest thing in the world. And YES of course you can expect a question like this, but for some reason the reaction is your heart rate beats faster, your throat gets a little bit tight, and your brain goes into overdrive.
You're like, What do I say? How do I answer this question? How do I put my whole life story into a sentence? Am I going on too long? They must think I'm a babbling idiot. Do I know what I'm talking about? Why am I here again? Oh my gosh, What a nightmare. And this is why I'm doing an episode on how to introduce yourself with confidence.
It's inspired by a workshop I'm running of the same name on October 10th called How to Introduce Yourself with Confidence. The workshop will give you the opportunity to get real time feedback on your introduction, so you'll be able to practice. I'm going to give you easy to remember frameworks for what to say.
You can take those with you. We're going to practice powerful vocal tone and inflections. You'll discover three body language hacks. There's three because there could be a whole masterclass just on body language, which there is inside my membership, and you walk away from this workshop really wanting to introduce yourself.
Like, you'll be stopping people on the street going, Hello? Can I introduce myself? Actually, wouldn't recommend that. That could be a little bit weird and dangerous depending on what street you are walking down. So that is how to introduce yourself with confidence that's happening on the 10th of October. It is USD $22. If you're in the Member's Only Masterclass Vault, it is $12.
So today, I want to give you a taster of what you can expect in that work, which I'd really encourage you to come along with because of course, it's fantastic to be listening to all of these techniques and ideas. When it comes to voice and speaking, nothing... I dunno what I'm doing with my voice there, nothing replaces actually speaking out aloud and practicing. So if you've been listening to the podcast for a. And that's all you've been doing in the speaking space, just listening to the podcast, I'd really encourage you to get out there and practice.
Post a video on social, make a podcast, come along to my workshop How to Introduce Yourself with Confidence. Do something where you will speak. It's difficult to improve when you're only getting the theory without the practical experience. So I have three tips to share with you today that will be expanded upon in the workshop.
And the first one is around voice. When you introduce yourself, say your name with conviction. I'm a fan of the first name and the last name . Of course, there are some settings where you sound a bit wanky if you introduce yourself with your last name, but many situations it is great to say first name and last name, especially when people don't know you. Give separate emphasis to your first name and your last name so they don't blend together. When people introduce their first and last name, like, Hi, I'm Sally Prosser. It's near impossible to remember. Has anyone ever done that? And you've heard their name, and then immediately after they've said it, you've completely forgotten.
So Sally Prosser. I'm Sally Prosser, and you can imagine that you're throwing a dart at a dart board for each of those syllables. Sally Prosser.. So the 'Sa' and the 'Pros', the two syllables that are emphasized. So practice that now. Who are you? I am bang, bang. First name, last name. And exercise to practice this is to look in the mirror and replace your middle name with the F bomb.
Who are you? I'm Sally fucking Prosser. Again. Who are you? Sally fucking Prosser. Sally fucking Prosser. Sally fucking Prosser. Now I know, hearing on the podcast, that must sound incredibly, incredibly egotistical. Honestly, try it. Look in the mirror right now. Pause this podcast. Look in the mirror and say, Who are you?
Or who am I? I am first name fucking last name. And if your last name is something you don't really vibe with, that's fine. Choose names that you really identify with. It can even be first name, fucking first name. So that's the first tip when introducing yourself is to say your first name and your last name, and to give emphasis on both.
Now, the second one is around structure. The rule of threes is super effective and easy to remember as. So you've got three parts in the rule of three. It's funny thing that, the first one is your name. The second one is your title or the job you do. And the third one is a little anecdote, a little story.
So you've got name, title, anecdote, and this really depends on the setting. The name and title don't. That should pretty much be the same. So name, Sally Prosser, title, Voice and Public Speaking Coach. And the anecdote could be something like, Oh, you know, just yesterday a business owner reached out to me and said, Oh, I really want to get my content out there.
Yet, every time I put up the camera, I just get so self-conscious about what I look like, and I just can't even listen to myself being played back. And you can tell by the audience what anecdote is going to create the best rapport. So think about who your audience is and something that they might relate to.
Name, title, anecdote. And the good thing about an anecdote is it doesn't sound rehearsed or anything like that, and it's quite short. So recently I was on a call with a bunch of managers at a company and they unexpectedly threw to me and said, Okay, so Sally introduced yourself and let us know a little bit about what you do.
I thought we were going to go straight into the, Okay, here are the dates and here are the logistics. So I was a little bit caught off guard and I used this format. So I said, Of course. Many of you know me. For those of you who don't, my name is Sally Prosser. I'm a voice and public speaking coach. A couple of years ago, I worked with your leaders to help them feel more confident to deliver toolbox talks and to make them more engaging.
And I particularly enjoyed getting a tour in Adelaide, and now I have the light switches in my house, which were manufactured there, it was awesome. Name, title, anecdote.
And the last one I have for you in this episode is a great body language slash facial expression slash voice tip that you can use online, in person.
You can also use on podcast, even if they can't see your face. And that is, the smile. A smile on the face puts a smile in the voice. It will help you feel more relaxed and create that contagious mood with your audience. It's really hard to be with somebody who looks genuinely happy and is smiling and not feel like you wanna be around them.
It's a really great way to set the mood for yourself and for others. With a smile, you want to be smiling with your eyes. Bring out those crows feet. Gorgeous! A smile just with the mouth is fake. A smile with the eyes is real. So make sure you're smiling with the eyes. And when you do that to introduce yourself, you'll immediately sound more upbeat and happy to be there, even though inside your stomach might be dropping and you thinking, Oh my God, I hate it when we have to introduce ourselves.
So giving that positive response. Hi, I'm Sally Prosser, straight away you are lifting the mood of yourself and creating that really exciting, vibrant first impression. You would've heard people when they introduced the. Hello, I'm Sally, and you're like, Oh my gosh. It sounds like it's hell to be you. It sounds like you hate being you, right?
So when you introduce yourself, it's a chance to show how excited you are to be you. And to share that magic with whoever you are speaking to. And that tip with the smile can go through any type of communication, not just the introduction, of course. So that wraps up this episode, Emphasis on your first and last name.
Practice the first name, fucking last name, activity into the mirror. The second one is the rule of threes. Your name, title, and anecdote. And then the third one is to smile. Smile with the eyes. In the workshop on the 10th, how to introduce yourself with confidence, the 10th of October. It's 6:00 PM Brisbane time, 7:00 PM for Sydney and Melbourne.
If you are listening from somewhere else in the world, get in touch and I'll be able to throw you the time zone converter. This is one to be at live because I'll be giving you real time feedback on your introductions. You'll walk away from this workshop wanting to introduce yourself, maybe not to randoms on the street. On social media, at networking events on podcasts that will give you that confidence to make more videos, pitch to more podcasts, approach more strangers at events. And all of that is so great for your overall confidence and helps to get your message out there to a wider audience. Amazing. Have a fabulous day, and I'm really looking forward to hearing you introduce yourself live, in the workshop How to Introduce Yourself with Confidence.