Want to make your introductions more impactful? Stop skipping this one crucial element.
So, when it comes to shaking hands and introducing yourself to someone new, you likely default to something simple and standard like, "I'm Joe, and I'm the Sales Manager at Company XYZ."
At first glance, it seems effective. It's short, sweet, and it serves the intended purpose--sharing your name and your job title.
But, look closer and you'll notice that it's missing something important. While it may seem complete and polished, it's really lacking one crucial element that helps to take your introductions to the next level.
Why is sharing value important?
Sure, spitting out your job title is a key part of an introduction, but it's really only a slice (and, often a somewhat ambiguous slice) of the whole pie. So, you want to make sure you emphasize not only what you do, but why you do it.This is important for everyone, but particularly for those of us with job titles or occupations that don't immediately provide an adequate picture of what we do day in and day out. For example, when I used to introduce myself as only a "writer", most people would respond with something along the lines of, "Oh, so you're writing a book?"
I can understand their assumption. But, this is actually pretty far from the truth--I've never written a book, and I don't plan to in the near future.
So, instead of sticking with the tried and true introduction of, "I'm Kat, and I'm a writer," I've expanded things just a touch to say something like, "I'm Kat, and I'm a writer who helps businesses and brands engage their audiences through thoughtful blog posts and articles."
See the difference? Instead of just firing off a job title, I'm giving my conversational partner a more specific look at not only what I do, but also why it's important.