“May I introduce. . .” Show
Tips for Introducing Someone
Order of IntroductionsMany people think that introducing themselves or introducing others is so complicated that they tend to avoid doing it altogether. While that might have been the case years ago, today the process is much simpler. It all boils down to speaking to the person you wish to honor first. For example, you’d like to introduce your college roommate to your grandmother. Turn to granny and say, “Grandmother, I’d like you to meet my roommate, Susie Foster.” Then turn to Susie and say, “Susie, this is my grandmother, Mrs. Duran.” Here is the order of introduction for a variety of scenarios: Social SituationsFIRST: Your grandparents, parents, or anyone older than you... THEN: Your contemporary (or younger) FIRST: Your friend... THEN: Another family member FIRST: An adult... THEN: A child FIRST: A woman... THEN: A man FIRST: Someone with a title: Senator, Mayor, Judge, Colonel, nobility, Bishop, Reverend, Professor, Doctor; anyone senior in rank to you (boss, CEO).... THEN: Your contemporary (or younger) FIRST: Your guest of honor.... THEN: Others attending the event Business SituationsFIRST: A client... THEN: Anyone in your company, including your CEO FIRST: Your boss, or a higher-up... THEN: A person of lower rank in the company One of the best ways to provide meaningful, relevant value to someone is to offer them an introduction, but that process isn’t always as easy as it seems … Imagine this: You’ve just met with a new contact for the first time and can already tell there’s a lot of potential in the relationship. As a result, you want to establish yourself as someone of value; someone worth connecting with. What’s one of the most effective ways to deliver this kind of value early in a relationship? Simple: By offering a professional introduction. Almost any new contact you meet would benefit from an introduction to someone you know; and offering to bridge that gap can be a powerful way to provide a meaningful, relevant, valuable interaction. But if business introductions are so powerful, why don’t we do them more often? Because introductions come with a pretty hefty tax. Although the concept is simple, doing the process right is surprisingly complex. Not only does making an introduction require a substantial amount of time, it also demands a good deal of your brain’s processing power. Because at the end of the day, making an introduction is a lot more than sending a single email to connect two people. Done right, the introduction process usually has five phases:
Let’s take a closer look at each of these phases and talk about how to deliver as much value in the introduction process as possible. Phase one: ValidationGenerally speaking, there are three types of business introductions:
In most cases, my recommendation is to focus on that third category: The easy introductions. Why? Because they’re usually going to be more valuable for both parties, and more efficient for you. These types of introductions often have a much higher likelihood of being accepted (see phase two below), a better response rate, and a dramatically higher velocity. But how do you ensure an introduction is going to be valuable to both parties in advance? That all starts with knowing your network. Validate the introduction by asking yourself: “Do I truly know what each party wants right now? And does this introduction align with those needs? If so, how?” If the answer’s “yes,” make the introduction. But if the answers “no,” you’ll probably want to hold off. Remember: Just because you can make a professional introduction — or just because someone asks for an introduction — doesn’t mean you have to make one. Warning: Don’t be a Super ConnectorIf you make every potential introduction without a thought to relevance and value, you become what’s known as a Super Connector; and in most cases, that’s not a good thing. Super Connectors are those who become inflationary in the way they make introductions. As a result, their introductions often feel mindless, transactional, and compulsive; as if the introducer is hoping to generate value by sheer quantity, rather than quality. Always ensure both parties will receive measurable value out of an introduction before you offer or accept it. Phase Two: Opt-inOne of the most common introduction management mistakes is failing to opt both parties into the exchange. In other words, you have to ensure both parties want the introduction in the first place. Too often, we’re so eager to provide value to a new contact that we promise an introduction to someone without ever confirming this “someone” is even interested in the introduction. For example, imagine you received an unexpected email that looked something like this:
How likely would you be to appreciate — or even respond — to an email like that? Probably not very. Why? Because the email’s got two primary problems:
And yet, despite these problems, many people still try to make introductions this way. No surprise, many of them never end up coming to fruition. But there’s a better way, and it starts with this: As a general rule, never commit to — or make — a business introduction until you have both party’s approval. So instead of saying, “I know someone you’ve got to meet! I’ll introduce you this week,” try something like, “I think I know someone you’d benefit from meeting. I’ll reach out to her this week and see if she’s interested and available.” Then all you’ve got to do is draft an opt-in email with enough context to intrigue the other person. For example:
Begin the process this way and your introduction is much more likely to succeed and benefit all parties involved. Wait: What If Someone Turns Down an Introduction Request?Just because you offer an introduction doesn’t necessarily mean the other party wants the introduction, but that’s okay. As long as you set realistic expectations (as illustrated above with, ” … I’ll see if she’s interested and available …”), it’s easy to go back and let the other person know the introduction isn’t going to happen. Because when someone turns down an introduction, they often let you know why. For example, they’re …
All you have to do is relay that information and you’ll still win; because a big part of the perceived value comes from your intent, regardless of the outcome. Phase Three: Follow-upYou could write the most thought-out opt-in email in the world and still not hear back from the other party. Why is that? Generally speaking, it’s not because they’re spiteful or uninterested; in many cases, no response simply means the other person got so caught up in the reactive urgency of day-to-day life that they just didn’t get around to responding. They probably saw the email, meant to reply, then got involved in something else and forgot. That’s why it’s so important to follow-up. No surprise, this is where the process often falls apart: You offer a potential introduction, send an opt-in email, and … Then life gets busy and you forget about it. Suddenly three weeks pass and you finally realize you never heard back. And this is a huge problem, because there’s a good chance you’ve damaged your relationship with the person you offered the introduction to. By failing to follow through, you may have unintentionally communicated to this person that they aren’t worth your time. All of this to say, you need some sort of system in place that reminds you to follow-up with unfulfilled opt-ins. That’s why we at Mindmaven train our clients on a concept called LoopLeverage. Simply put, LoopLeverage helps you “close the loop” on open cycles, like unfulfilled commitments or opt-ins. Here’s how this might work in the context of introduction management:
Here’s how this might look in our task management tool of choice, Asana:
If you have a good relationship with this person, a single follow-up email is usually all it takes. They’ll feel embarrassed about not getting back to you and will often reply on the spot; and as long as this person is invested in their relationship with you, they’re likely to agree to the introduction. Phase Four: IntroductionAlright: You sent the opt-in, followed up, and got the confirmation. Now you’re finally ready to send the business introduction email. Many people assume this process is self-explanatory and, as a result, send emails that are way too short. For example:
That interaction’s shorter than some tweets! Sure, you connected them; but you provided no context. By the time they actually connect in the next two or three weeks, at least one of them has probably forgotten why the introduction is relevant in the first place. If they have to spend more than a few minutes digging through their emails to find out why the introduction is relevant, they’re probably going to be a little annoyed. Or worse: Because the value isn’t immediately apparent, they may end up postponing the meeting. You might save yourself a little time by writing a brief email, but all you end up doing is transferring the burden onto others. To make sure that doesn’t happen, let’s talk about how to write an effective professional introduction email. How to Write a Great Business Introduction EmailWe’ve already talked about what a bad introduction looks like, so let’s take a look at a good introduction:
As you can see above, an effective introduction email accomplishes three primary things:
Follow those guidelines — or even copy and paste the template above — and the experiences you deliver as a result of your introductions will be richer, fuller, and more valuable to everyone involved. Phase Five: Wrap-upMany people make the mistake of assuming their role in the introduction process is over as soon as the email’s been sent. It’s not. Although making an introduction is largely focused on providing value to your network, there’s one final step you can take to maximize the value you gain from this experience, and it’s simple: 3–4 weeks after the introduction was made, reach out to both parties individually and ask whether or not they were able to connect and, if so, if anything valuable came from it. Hopefully — and in most cases — they’ll have a positive experience to share. But either way, the simple fact that you’re checking in with them clearly displays three personal traits:
Those three traits are foundational to high-performers; you’ll rarely find someone with any lasting success who doesn’t personify them. So when the most important people in your network start associating those traits to you, they’ll also start associating terms like “successful,” “trustworthy,” and “high-quality.” Plus, if the introduction led to an exceptionally positive experience, this follow-up will also serve as a reminder that the interaction all started with you. Three Final Tips to Supercharge Your IntroductionsThe concept of introducing two people is simple, but the act of making an introduction is anything but trivial. As we’ve already discussed, doing it right involves a pretty significant time and mindshare tax; but doing it right is worth the effort. That said, there are a few steps you can take to make the process a little easier. For example … #1: Create templatesMost introductions will involve at least four emails: An opt-in email, a follow-up email, and an introduction email, and a wrap-up email. Although the exact wording for these emails will change on a case-by-case basis, their structure will likely remain the same. Save yourself time by creating templates for each of those four emails. After all, it’s quicker to make a few modifications than it is to write an entire email from scratch. However, you must use templates wisely. Think of them as a framework for a successful email, not the complete structure of one. Make sure you take the time to personalize the template for each introduction.
#2: Leverage Technology to Your AdvantageEven with templates and reminders, it’s often hard to make time for proactive tasks like introductions. Thankfully, entrepreneurs like Entro founder Seth Gold (@seth_gold) have created powerful technologies that makes the process a little easier. Entro is an great web and mobile app designed to optimize and automate almost every step of the introduction process. Check it out if you find introductions often stuck in your pipeline. #3: Streamline Introductions to Your MVPsMany people find themselves sending introductions to the same 5–10 contacts over and over again. If that sounds like you, you can significantly improve the efficiency of these introductions by cutting out the opt-in phase. Here’s how it works: Sit down with those you consistently send introductions to and ask them about their experience with your introductions so far. In particular, use this conversation to …
Assuming they’ve benefitted from your past introductions, ask for permission to send future introductions without the opt-in. This increases the velocity of all future introductions for everyoneinvolved. If they agree, you might also want to set up a few “code words” to use that rate new introductions on a scale from, “I pretty sure you’ll enjoy this introduction but not 100% positive,” to “I’m 100% certain this is a high-value introduction.” For example: You might include the word “really” in especially valuable introductions (“I really think you’ll enjoy meeting Peter”) to communicate that this introduction is definitely worth their time. And you might include the phrase “I’m confident” in those introductions that are a little more of a gamble (“I’m confident you’ll enjoy meeting Erin”) to communicate that you think the introduction will be valuable, but that you could be wrong. This simple process will dramatically increase the efficiency of all future introductions with this contact. And that’s it! If you consistently follow through on the tips in this post, you’re going to do more than simply make introductions; you’re going to deliver experiences. And as I always say: Experiences become stories. Stories become legends. And legends create legendary leaders. 👉 How do you introduce someone in an essay?Your essay introduction should include three main things, in this order: An opening hook to catch the reader's attention. Relevant background information that the reader needs to know. A thesis statement that presents your main point or argument.
How do you introduce someone example?State the name of the person you are making an introduction to.. "I would like you to meet...". "It's a pleasure to introduce...". "I would like to introduce...". "I would like to present...". "May I introduce...". "May I present...". "This is...". "My name is...". How do you introduce a person to someone?“I'd like to introduce…,” “May I introduce…,” “I'd like you to meet…” are all good options. “May I present…” is the formal version. Use preferred names and titles. In more formal situations, or when there's an obvious age difference, it's best to use courtesy titles and last names: “Mrs.
What's a good way to start an introduction?5 Ways to Write an Introduction [Summary]. Start with a quotation.. Open with a relevant stat or fun fact.. Start with a fascinating story.. Ask your readers an intriguing question.. Set the scene.. |