How to Introduce Yourself in English | What to Say (and Avoid!)

Hi. I'm Jennifer. Let's practice a skill you need to have in today's world. How confident are you introducing yourself? It's easy enough to say hi and state your name. Let's go beyond that. I'll give you some useful phrases and models so that you can confidently introduce yourself online or in person. The basic format is to give a greeting and then state your name. Remember who you're talking to. If it's very casual, you can use these informal greetings. Hi. Hi there. Hello everybody. Hey there. If you need to be just a little more polite, say hello. Hello everyone. More formal greetings include the time of day. Good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening. And my intonation changes. More formal English uses falling intonation. Good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening. Or possibly a fall-rise pattern. Good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening. Compare. Hi there everybody. I'm Jennifer. Hello everyone. I'm Jennifer. Good morning to you all. My name is Jennifer Ratio-Lebedev. In a more formal introduction, I'll likely use my full name. Another basic format we use in self-introductions is greeting, name, and where you're from. It's your choice how much information you want to give about where you live and where you're from. Usually, among Americans, I name my state. Sometimes I'll explain that I'm near Boston. This gives a reference point. Hi. I'm Jennifer from Massachusetts. Hello. I'm Jennifer. I live in Massachusetts just outside of Boston. You may or may not want to explain that where you're living now is not where you're originally from. Again, it's your choice. Hey there from Massachusetts. I'm Jennifer, and I'm originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Hello. I'm Jennifer. I live in the Boston area, but I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA. I've been in New England for over 20 years. Pause the video and practice this much. Give a greeting, state your name, and say where you're from. Do this twice. First, introduce yourself informally. Then, do it again more formally. Look in a mirror or record yourself. Are you making eye contact? This is very important. Get used to looking at the camera. In online meetings, this is how you make eye contact with your audience. The next format we'll practice is greeting, name, where you're from, and what you do. My son said he got tired of introducing himself as he traveled from hostel to hostel this past spring, but he got very good at it. He explained that he was from the U.S., but he was currently a student in Prague. If you're a student, it's up to you. How much information do you want to share? You could state what year you're in, or you could say what your major is. Your major is your area of study. One option is just to give your name and say where you're from. You can add that you're a student, and if they want more information, then you can share the details. Here are some examples. Hi, I'm Alex. I'm from the U.S., and I'm currently studying in Prague. Hey, I'm Alex. I'm in my third year of college. I'm a psych major, and I'm studying in Prague this semester. Hello, my name is Alex. I'm from Boston, Massachusetts. I'm majoring in psychology, and I'm spending this semester in Prague. If you're already out there in the workforce, what do you do? Not every introduction is a job interview, so you don't have to give your current job description and list all your future aspirations. You can state what field or industry you work in. You can name your job title and or your company. When you're in a large group, like a video call, listen to how much detail everyone else is giving, and then use a similar length. Be careful of TMI, too much information. Here's a short model I might use. Hi, I'm Jennifer from Massachusetts. I'm an online English language teacher. If I want to give a bit more detail, I might explain what kind of work I do exactly. Hello from Massachusetts. I'm Jennifer, and I'm an online English language teacher. I post content under the name English with Jennifer, and I primarily work with adult learners. If you want to hear variations of a 30-second professional introduction, watch my short. I'll put the link in the video description. One thing I have to warn you about is that Americans aren't so great with world geography, so keep that in mind when you explain where you're from. Did you also know that we have many cities in the U.S. that have the same name as European cities? No kidding. That's probably where we got the names from. For example, there's St. Petersburg, Florida, Paris, Texas. There's a city named Rome in at least three different U.S. states. We also have U.S. cities named Berlin, Amsterdam, and Dublin. And please keep in mind that we have the state of Georgia here in the U.S., and that is the first association Americans have when you say you're from Georgia. They will not immediately think of the country Georgia. If I'm introducing myself to people in the U.S., I'll say, I'm from Massachusetts. If I'm introducing myself to an international group, I often say, I'm from Boston, Massachusetts on the east coast of the U.S. It helps to give some geographical reference. An amusing yet sometimes annoying tradition we have when introducing ourselves in a large group is to include one fun fact. The organizer will tell you, please state your name, where you're from, what you do, and one fun fact, or maybe two or three fun facts. We say fun fact, something surprising, something that not many people know about you, so you're supposed to share something extra. Your choice. At this point, you can choose to mention your marital status, a hobby, a special achievement, a recent trip, or any pets. Organizers sometimes get silly with their instructions. They don't always require a fun fact. They may ask everyone to share their favorite food, their favorite superhero, or a country they want to visit. Note that Americans don't generally mention their age in self-introductions, and we generally stay clear of politics and religion. Right now, pause the video and write down a few fun facts that you'd be comfortable sharing. This is useful for a self-introduction or for a conversation when you're getting to know someone. Here are five fun facts about me. I play the piano and sometimes the accordion. I have a black Labrador. She's 10. I practice tai chi, and recently I learned a kung fu fan form. I used to dance in a Polynesian show. I briefly worked in the cruise line industry after college. I was a youth counselor, a costume character, and a purser. Some people want to share their marital status even when not asked about it. That's okay, but you're not expected to one way or the other. My one brother might say, I've been happily married for over 20 years. I often explain that I'm a mother of two, and I choose not to share any more personal details. A single person might choose to avoid the word single but mention their pets. They could say, I'm from St. Petersburg, Florida, and I live with my two cats. Okay, so here's my full self-introduction with greeting, name, where I'm from, what I do, and one fun fact. Hello, I'm Jennifer. I live in Massachusetts, but I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA. I've been in New England for over 20 years. I'm an online English language teacher, and I live with my two children and our black lab. One fun fact about me is that I used to dance in a Polynesian show on college breaks. The general rule is that people share what they're comfortable sharing. Share what you want, and you'll feel more comfortable. Practice, and you'll feel more confident. So now it's your turn. Write an introduction. I encourage you to try a semi-formal one because you'll be able to use it in more situations. Then practice. Look in the mirror and introduce yourself, or record yourself, and remember to make eye contact with the camera. That's all for now. If you'd like more interaction and feedback, then join the English with Jennifer community on Patreon, where we practice all skills for confident, effective communication. The link is in the video description. Thanks for watching and happy studies!