It is important to help "newlymets" through their first nervous
moments.
"Susan, I'd like you to meet John Smith. John, this is Susan
Jones." Duh, what do you expect John and Susan to say?
"Smith? Umm, that's S-M-I-T-H, isn't it?"
"Uh, er, golly, Susan, well, now, there's an interesting name."
Nice-try-forget-it. Don't blame John or Susan for being less
than scintillating. The fault lies with the person who introduced
the two the way most people introduce their friends to each
other—with naked names. They cast out a line with no bait for
people to sink their teeth into.
Big winners may not talk a lot, but conversation never dies
unwillingly in their midst. They make sure of it with techniques
like "Never the Naked Introduction." When they introduce people, they buy an insurance policy on the conversation with a few
simple add-ons: "Susan, I'd like you to meet John. John has a wonderful boat we took a trip on last summer. John, this is Susan
Smith. Susan is editor in chief of Shoestring Gourmet magazine."
Padding the introduction gives Susan the opportunity to ask
what kind of boat John has or where the group went. It gives John
an opening to discuss his love of writing. Or of cooking. Or of
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How to Introduce People
Like the Host(ess) with
the Most(est)
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Copyright 2003 by Leil Lowndes. Click Here for Terms of Use.
food. The conversation can then naturally expand to travel in general, life on boats, past vacations, favorite recipes, restaurants, budgets, diets, magazines, editorial policy—to infinity