So you want to improve your English? You’ve read so many English proficiency books, taken tons of lessons, and know all the words – nouns, verbs, and adjectives, even the confusing prepositions, and yet you still couldn’t string them together when you talk to people. A good conversationalist has not only mastered the rules of grammar but also, more importantly developed self-confidence. It is essential to build confidence first, and then the words will flow automatically.
This article hopes to help you develop faith in yourself as you learn how to tell people about you in a very interesting way. Here are five practical and doable tips.
Know yourself
As the great business guru Lee Iacocca said, “There is no substitute for accurate knowledge. Know yourself, know your business, know your men.” Everything you do in this life begins with you, and so make sure you have a clear self-identity.
What are your strengths? What will people love about you? What are your weaknesses? What makes you nervous in front of people? What English words scare you most? What English sound do you find difficult saying? Build on your good points, and work on what scares you.
Try this: list some characters that make you an interesting person.
For example:
funny, loves to dance, loves to sing, the unique things you know about your home country that the average American doesn’t know
When introducing yourself to people, don’t focus on the words to say. Instead, focus on how great you are as a person and why people should make friends with you. Let your good traits shine. Smile, say “hi” with confidence, stretch out your hand to people, make yourself interesting. Remember, you are an amazing person.
Establish the basics
Now that you feel good about yourself, learn or review basic English words and phrases to use when meeting people for the first time.
“Hello, I’m (your name), how are you today?”
“Hi, my name is (your name) and I hope you’re having a great day.”
“Hey, I’m (your name). You can call me (your nickname).”
“Everyone calls me (your nickname).”
“Oh, by the way, I’m new in the neighborhood and would like to meet new friends.”
“I was wondering, can you help me with something. I would like to know ….”
“By the way, I work as a (your job). What do you do?”
“I’m really glad to meet you. See you around.”
Master a line or two
Pick one or two from the basic English phrases above and master those lines. Our goal for now is to learn how to introduce yourself by starting a casual conversation (not a job interview) with an acquaintance (not to a complete stranger, not a group of people), perhaps a friend of a friend. If you wish to get tips on how to do it in different situations, you may visit this site https://soenglish.me/introduce-yourself/ and feel free to surf the internet for more suggestions. The internet is teeming with helpful information and instructions you can use.
Practice
As you go about looking for ideas online, I bet everyone will tell you this: practice, practice, practice. There is no better way to learn English and build self-confidence than rehearsing, repeating, and exercising, until you develop good English-speaking habits.
The only thing better than practicing is doing it with a tutor. Do you have a trusted American or native speaker friend? Practice with them and be ready to receive coaching and corrections. If you want to learn from a professional coach, check out LingualBox. They have friendly, top-notch English tutors to help you. You can try them out for free.
Just step on the gas and do it
Go meet someone, and as you do, keep these things in mind:
- Smile! Give them the warmest smile, but not creepy. Once your new friend smiles back, then your off to a good start.
- Show your good side, literally. Everyone has a good side. If you think your hair sets better on the right side or if your right ear is shaped better than your left, then twist to your right a little.
- Show your truly color. Be sincere and genuine. You can also think of this literally. Your skin color gives your acquaintance a hint that you’re not from here. Americans and native speakers are really forgiving to foreigners as they speak English. (Hey, they can’t speak your native language, right?)
- Say it in English. You’ve practiced and mastered a few phrases, so don’t be afraid to use them. Say it with pride and enjoy yourself. Meeting people should neither be a chore nor torture.
- Seal it with a shake. After introducing yourself – saying your name, job, hobbies, or anything interesting about you, and they introduce themselves back, you just got yourself a new friend. Shake on it.
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