Finetune Your Networking Introduction

The old saying that you never get a second chance to make a great first impression is very true, and introductions are critical because they have the power to define one’s relationship with others forever. The following tips will help you improve your introductions so that you make a good first impression and start things out on a positive note!

Selling Your Brand to Others

Regardless of the work that any of us do, we are all engaged in a type of “selling” when we meet others. When we are introduced to someone, we typically want them to like us and trust us, so we are literally pitching them our personal brand.

Similarly, when we introduce our nonprofit to others, we also want to make a good first impression. We want others to care about our cause and become willing to help us advance it forward. We are, in effect, selling our NFP’s brand.

In a great introduction, we display confidence and make it easy for others to want to connect with us and our organisation.

Focus on Impact, Rather than Activities

When introducing ourselves to others, most of us focus on the activities that we do. We’ll typically greet someone with a hello, and then state our name, our employer’s name and our job title. While this is a very common practice, it does little to tell others about what it is that we really do. It doesn’t convey anything that tells our audience why our work is important, or why they should trust us and help us.

A better way to introduce ourselves and our organisation, is to focus on the impact made by our work. When creating your introduction, think of a way to explain in just a couple of sentences, what it is that you are doing to help others. This simple technique encourages greater interest in your cause and connects you with others in a more meaningful way.

Keep it Short and Sweet

While you want to help others connect with your work on a human and emotional level, keep in mind that your introduction is not the time to go into a full, detail-heavy analysis of what you and your organisation do for others. It should only be two to three short sentences and take about half a minute.

Ideally, your introduction should be easy to remember and say. It should also be interesting and capture your audience’s attention and make them want to learn more. It should summarise what you have to offer to others in a clear, concise, succinct way.

Practice Makes Perfect

Once you’ve distilled the essence of your work into two to three short, snappy sentences, you should practice saying your introduction so that it comes naturally to you. Practice helps you to relax during introductions so that you appear more at ease and confident. This, in turn, will help others to relax and gain greater trust and confidence in you, and your nonprofit! Don’t forget to customise your introduction to better fit the circumstances of specific events and your audience.