Hi Naturals! Today teacher Diane is going to talk about how to fluently and confidently introduce yourself in English to new colleagues, new classmates, or just anyone you meet. This is really important, because first impressions are everything.
We’re going to go above and beyone just “Hi, my name is…” We’re going to talk about how to really connect with people. I’ll give you some phrases you can use to sound like a native speaker. Let’s jump into it!
My Self-Introduction
Hello, I’m Diane. I’m 27 years old. I’m originally from Columbia, but I currently live in Nashville, Tennessee. I’ve been an English teacher for over two years. I help people of all ages improve their English. I have a degree in biology, but I enjoy teaching. For fun, I like to go hiking, and I also like to travel.
Know How to Introduce Yourself
Introducing yourself is essential for job interviews, for networking, for talking with new co-workers, or even meeting new friends at a party or on a date. It’s very important that you know how to introduce yourself.
Once you master this skill, it will help you ease into a conversation a lot easier. You don’t want to get stuck in that first part of the conversation! Knowing how to talk about yourself will also build your confidence and it will make a great first impression on someone.
Let’s get started with some great questions you should know how to answer.
1. Tell Me About Yourself
This question can be very daunting even in your own language! Answering it in English is probably even more scary. But don’t worry, it’s not that bad once you practice. Let’s go through a few questions or topics about yourself and see how you can answer them in different ways. We’ll start with formal greetings.
Formal Greetings
Maybe you are greeting your boss in the morning, or maybe you are talking to new co-workers that you don’t know very well, or just in another professional setting like a job interview, or a meeting. For a formal greeting, you would use:
Hello
Good morning
Good afternoon
Good evening
Informal Greetings
Informal greetings are used with friends, family, and co-workers you already know. They can be used in any other informal setting, like at a restaurant with your waitress. You would say:
Hi
Hey
What’s up?
What’s good?
How’s it going?
How you doing?
These are just a few ways you can greet someone, depending on how much you know the person.
2. What’s Your Name?
Telling someone your name is pretty universal, whether you are speaking to someone in person, in writing, or even on the phone. They are pretty interchangeable. Here are some examples:
I’m Diane.
I am Diane.
My name’s Diane.
My name is Diane.
Like we said, you can use these greetings in person or in writing. However, if you’re on the phone, you should say, “This is Diane.”
3. Where Are You From?
For the question, “Where are you from?” you can say:
I am from New York.
If you come from a little bit farther away, you can say:
I come from Columbia.
I was born and raised in Ecuador.
It depends on how far away you are from where you are from. For example, if you are in California and you were also born in California, you would say, “I’m from California.” But if you are in New York, and you were born in California, you might say, “I was born in California.” In general, you can just say, “I’m from …” (whatever city or state or country you are from).
You can also say, “I’m originally from…” That applies mainly to people who come from another country, but it really depends on how the question is phrased. It’s up to you how you want to answer.
If you say, “I was born in California and grew up in New York,” it means that you were born in one city but raised in another.
Someone might ask you, “Where are you from originally?” or “What country are you from?” “What city are you from?” It just depends on how the question is asked. You can answer however you want to, but you might want to practice some answers to these questions so you are prepared.
4. Where Do You Live?
You can be a little bit more descriptive with this question. You could say:
I live in southern California with my parents.
I live just north of the city in the suburbs.
I live in a small apartment in downtown LA, close to everything.
You can be as descriptive as you want, it just depends on your level of fluency and how much confidence you have in your English.
5. What Do You Do? (What Do You Do for Work?)
You would answer this question with “at.”
I’m an accountant at X company.
I work as a teacher at X school.
I’m a sales rep at X company.
I work at Starbucks.
I work at the mall.
I work at Google.
Don’t use “in,” because you work “at” a specific location, so we use “at.” You can also answer in terms of the industry you work in. Then, you could use “in.”
I work in education.
I work in accounting.
I work in sales.
I work in marketing.
You can use “in” in these sentences because this is within the boundaries of a general industry, or it’s something you are a part of. You aren’t at a specific location, so you wouldn’t use “at.”
6. Where Did You Go to School?
You can talk about your education in a lot of different ways, depending on what stage you’re at. Maybe you are finished, maybe you are in the middle of it. You could say something like:
I have a degree in biology.
I’m about to graduate in accounting.
I’m taking English classes.
I went to school for marketing.
Just pick the answer you feel the most comfortable with and practice it!
7. What Do You Like to Do for Fun?
This question is my favorite, because we get to talk about the things we like. Your answer might be short and sweet, but just be sure you answer truthfully so that the person who is asking the question gets to know you a little better.
I like to ride my bike around the neighborhood.
Traveling to places I’ve never been is something I enjoy.
I love to paint and draw on the weekends.
You can be as specific as you want to be. It also depends on who is asking the question. If you’re at a job interview, you probably wouldn’t want to provide too many details about what you like to do for fun, because you want to focus on your education and experience. If it’s more of a casual conversation with someone at a party, or if you’re on a date, you should probably go a little bit deeper into your hobbies.
8. What About Your Family?
It’s up to you how much information you want to give about your family if someone asks specific questions, like “How many siblings do you have?” or “Are your parents still married?” or “Are you married?” If it’s a general question, here are a few options for you:
I’m the oldest of three siblings.
I come from a family of five.
We were all born in Columbia.
I’ve been married for five years.
We have two kids, a boy and a girl.
The girl is five and the boy is two.
Practice Introducing Yourself
I’ve given you some ideas you can use to introduce yourself. Self-introductions can be a little bit awkward, but I promise that if you practice, they will be easier. Just practice in front of a mirror. Maybe you could record yourself, or introduce yourself to somebody you already know so that you feel more comfortable.
Practice some formal introductions as well as some informal introductions. This will really build your confidence so you can make a good impression with a great self-introduction. Then, the rest of the conversation will be easy!
You should also watch this video for more tips on how to introduce yourself like a native English speaker. If you’d like to learn more about how to be fluent in English, I highly recommend our Go Natural English fluency course. You can find out more about that here. Also, sign up to receive more of these free English tips in your email inbox!
Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you in my next video!
