There are lots of possible situations where you’ll meet new people: at a party, in the student lounge, at a conference, on the train, while traveling, just to name a few.
What do you usually say when you meet someone new?
How do you introduce yourself?
Do you find it difficult to continue the conversation with them after exchanging names?
Even though the language we use to make small talk with new people may appear to be very simple, it is often difficult to use without practice.
(In addition, some questions which are normal in your native language are actually considered rude in the United States!)
Let me guide you. In this article, I’m going to give you some tips on how to find out information you’re interested in from someone new.
Introducing Yourself to New People
If I’m honest, introducing yourself can be the most challenging part of a conversation. Even native speakers feel a little shy when approaching someone new.
That’s why you usually practice the easiest way to introduce yourself in beginning English classes:
- Hi! I’m _____________. What’s your name?
However, there are many other ways to introduce yourself. These expressions sound a little more natural.
Make sure you pay attention to your intonation so that you sound friendly.
- Hi there! My name’s _________. What’s yours?
- I don’t think we’ve met. I’m ___________.
- I don’t believe we’ve met before. My name is __________.
- Have we met? I’m ____________.
- I think I’ve seen you around, but we haven’t officially met. I’m _________.
Introducing People to Each Other
At any social event, you are probably going to introduce other people to each other and talk with more than one person at a time, which makes conversation much more interesting.
Here are some good ways to introduce two people who haven’t met:
- I’d like you to meet ____________.
- This is ______________.
- I’d like to introduce you to _______________.
- Have you met ____________? (This phrase was made famous by Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother!)
Small Talk Topics
When meeting someone new, we usually stick to very basic conversation topics until we get to know the person better.
While you may want to learn a lot about an interesting person, you need to be careful not to ask too many personal questions the first time you meet.
Americans are well-known for almost always asking these three questions:
- What do you do for work?
- Where did you go to school? (This question means, what college or university did you attend?)
- What brings you to __(this event/this party)__?
In general, people will ask you about work or school as soon as they meet you.
They may ask “What brings you here?” to find out more about you without being too direct.
This question encourages you to talk more about yourself and give reasons for attending the event.
Similarly, if you live in a city like Boston with a lot of neighborhoods and nearby cities, another neutral topic is asking for more details about where you live.
- Do you live in __(this city/this neighborhood)__?
- What brings you to __(this city/this area)__?
- Where do you live?
- Where are you living?
- What kind of place do you live in? (Is it an apartment, a house, a dormitory, etc.?)
- What’s your place like?
- How do you like living here/there?
If you are just visiting or are not from the United States, people will usually ask you more questions about your background and for your opinion about their city.
- Where are you from originally?
- Where are you from in __(your country)__?
- What are you doing in __(this city)__?
- How do you like living here?
- What do you think about __(this city)__?
- Do you like it here?
Asking about Romantic Partners and Family
Let’s be honest: if you are single and talking to someone attractive, you probably want to know whether they have a boyfriend/girlfriend or romantic partner, are married, or have kids.
However, it’s best not to be too direct when asking questions about the other person’s relationships. You can ask in a more indirect way:
- Are you here with anyone?
- Did you come here with anyone?
- Did you move to __(this city)__ on your own?
- Do you live alone or have roommates?
If you have been talking to this new person for a while, you can ask more direct questions:
- Is there anyone special in your life?
- Do you have any kids?
Americans also really like their pets, so it’s common to ask, “Do you have any pets?”
Conversation Topics
After learning basic information about the person you have just met, you can continue the conversation by asking him/her more general questions.
This also enables you to find something in common! Here are some basic questions to start with:
- What do you like to do?
- What do you like to do outside of work/school?
- What kinds of things interest you?
- What kinds of things do you do in your free time?
- Do you like/watch/follow any sports/TV series?
Deciding to Continue or End the Conversation
As you can see, making small talk with someone you’ve just met is easy if you remember to stick to neutral, general conversation topics.
After you’ve talked for a while, you may want to continue the conversation and can ask for more details about their work, studies, or interests. (Get some suggestions here.)
If you don’t want to continue talking, you should end the conversation politely:
- It was nice meeting you. See you later!
- There is someone I want to say “hi” to over there. Nice talking with you!
- I’m going to get a drink/some water. Nice to meet you!
Your Turn
After reading this article, I hope you feel more confident and comfortable introducing yourself to and making small talk with new people.
You may be interested in how to make small talk with acquaintances and friends you run into unexpectedly.
Or perhaps you’d like to find out how to make small talk in the workplace.
Now it’s your turn! Please leave a comment below introducing yourself and asking me one of the questions we discussed above! I’ll respond and we’ll get the conversation going.
Remember, the language is simple, but you must practice!
In order to improve your conversation skills, you must find opportunities to interact, so go to a party or event, introduce yourself to someone new at your school, or talk to someone at a bus stop.
The more you practice, the easier it becomes!
It’s is basic of conversation. Thanks
You’re right – small talk is a good foundation skill to have!
Thank you so much it’s really helpful.
Happy to hear this helped you!
Hi Kim I am trying to do my homwork and the Subject is to write a letter to our year 5 teacher and I am in year 4 in Junior school and I am doing just great so thanks
Glad it was helpful for you!
This has been very helpful. Thank you.
Happy to hear this helped you!
Thanks alot this is very helpful
I have gained new ground with this on my conversion level
There’s this guy that i really like, and i dont know how to start a conversation with him. I’m in 10th grade and he is in 11th grade. I dont want to scare him when i talk to him, but i dont know how to introduce myself please help me
ROMAN
Hi Roman! Social interactions in high school can be quite challenging, but I always encourage people to be friendly and start simply with “hello.” Finding a shared interest is always an easy way to start a conversation, as is mentioning that you’ve seen the person before. Try a phrase like, “I’m not sure we’ve met. I’m Roman” and see where the conversation goes!
My problem is like that ma i can’t introduceing my self among people i need you assistance what i will say at the first moment when i introduceing myself
The simplest way to introduce yourself is to say “Hi, I’m ____.” You can find other ways to introduce yourself at the beginning of the article. What you say next depends on the context. If you’re at a conference, meeting, or networking event, you might share some details about your work. If it’s a social event, you may want to ask a question like, “What brings you here?”
Wow I really love this introduction…thanks very much it’s really helpful..
I’m happy to hear it helps you. You have to get started somewhere!
Hi! I’m not sure how to introduce myself with this new girl in my high school English class. She’s new and I want to get to be friends with her. I already kinda introduced myself but i’m still not sure what to say when I see her around. Can you help me?
Hi Emma! I suggest a quick question like, “What have you been up to recently?” I also like asking “What are you currently watching/loving/listening to?” Hope that helps! Keep it simple and be friendly. 🙂
I wanna learn speaking English fluently😔
Try practicing with some of these exercises: https://englishwithkim.com/exercises-access-vocabulary/
Thank you!
Very good Thank you
You’re welcome! 🙂
I love it
Awesome!
nice to meet u kim
Nice to meet you too!
thank you kim.
You’re most welcome!
this is very good , thank you .
Glad it helped you!
Hi! I read very carefully your article. And I found it very interesting. But I have a big problem. I come from Benin, a west africa french speaking country; and it’s difficult for me to get started in english. When I open my mouth, I usualy forget every thing in english. Do you have any recepe for me?
My best advice is to try the writing and speaking exercises in this article and video: https://englishwithkim.com/exercises-access-vocabulary/ The more regularly you use your vocabulary, the easier it will be to speak when you have the opportunity. I also recommend you check out this video for ideas on how to find focus to improve your English more quickly: https://englishwithkim.com/find-focus-improve-english-quickly/
Hi! I really appreciate your article it’s very interesting and more clearly. But the problem is we don’ t speak currently english and I have difficult to communicate correctly. I need your help and advice also.
Yes, these tips are for people who have the opportunity to speak English with others. I encourage you to try some of these exercises to start using English more: https://englishwithkim.com/exercises-access-vocabulary/
Hi
Hello!
Hi Kim, I really enjoy your article, it helps us to get familiar with someone. I have learned some things from your article which would help me in future conversations.
Thanks for this help.
That’s awesome! I hope you have great conversations and feel more comfortable when you meet someone new.
Hello kim really love your article, but please i just want to ask a question please, for instance you said hello to someone and the person asked you. who are you or do we know each other what is should i reply with?
please i get it more difficult when it gets to that stage please
Your response depends on the situation. Where are you introducing yourself to someone? Should they know who you are? If they’re not sure they remember you, but you’ve definitely met before, share a detail that helps jog their memory. “Yes, I’m _____. We met a few months/years ago at [event/gathering].” If you can share a few more details of that last interaction, that will help them remember. If you haven’t met before, what you say depends on the nature of the event and why you’re approaching them.
Thanks alot it’s really Helps
I’m happy to hear this helped you!
i’m a student. if i study in computer science engineering in Wuhan university of techonology then how to say it to my friends family. please help me . my sentence is not perfect. i want to be more accurate. thank u .
You’re very close: “I study computer science (or computer engineering, or computer science and engineering, depending on the actual name of the field of study at your university) at Wuhan University of Technology.”
Hello sure the best of the best
Glad it helped you!
I love your article Kim. I wish to introduce myself to a new foreign friend whom I was connected with by my boss to share me some work related skills. How can I introduce myself to him? Thank you.
Simple is usually best in these cases: I was given your contact information by [name] so that we could connect to discuss [work-related topic]. At that point, you can introduce yourself and provide any details that give context, like what you’re working on, your role at work, or the topic you’re interested in discussing.
Thanks a lot, it’s Really Helps
That’s awesome to hear – glad it helped!
Hi Kim, thank you very much for the article. this is very useful for me. I get bored teaching “self Introduction” in very usual ways. but suddenly I came across your article..well, …I am happy…
You’re most welcome! I’m glad you found this helpful and that it gave you different ways to talk about introductions.
Hi ma’am! I really like and helpful for me. Thank you very much.
You’re most welcome – I’m glad you found this helpful!
Hi kim, thanks for the great article….
It’ll be great if you can give your thoughts while casual business meetups, like say I know a guy who is very senior to me in terms of position in some different company and we decide to meet to plan some business together, so you actually have to pitch yourself up but can’t straightway start with that, nor you can show the recognitions and achievements. In such scenarios how to start knowing the next person knows your profile but formally meeting for the first time.
How to carry such conversations ??
Thanks.
Glad this helped you! What you’re describing here is often called an elevator pitch. The idea is to be prepared to get someone else interested in what you have to offer in a very short period of time (such as the length of an elevator ride). There are a lot of resources out there on how to structure an elevator pitch, so I encourage you to search for that particular term. For casual business meetups, you may want to look for conversation starters for networking events. I have some tips on small talk at work here, but it’s geared more towards interacting with coworkers, although you can always adapt the questions to your particular situation.
Please can I get an example on how to introduce myself professionally? ..(I trade and I would like to introduce myself as a trader )
When introducing yourself professionally, I encourage you to be more specific about what you actually do, who you work with, and how you help. For example, I’m not really sure what a trader does, so you’d want to share details about what exactly you trade, who you trade with, and what you do through your work. The more details you can share, the more interested people will be in hearing more. If someone tells you they’re an engineer, you don’t know the specific field of engineering, what the work entails, or who they work for/with. It may be helpful to research the term “elevator pitch” to get more specific examples of how people introduce themselves professionally.
Thank you so much, your article is really helpful to me, I will love to improve my English and my vocabulary. Hope you can help me?
I encourage you to browse the other resources on this website!