Introducing Yourself to New People and Making Small Talk

There are lots of possible situations where you’ll meet new people: at a school, 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 fluently without practice.

(In addition, some questions which are normal in your native country 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 tone 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 _________.

Don’t forget to say, “Nice to meet you!” after the other person says his/her name!

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 ____________? 

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.

Please note: in the United States, it is rude to ask, “How old are you?”  Age is not a common topic of conversation with people you have just met.

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. (Watch the video lesson on the question “What brings you here?” for more details.)

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)__?
• 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?

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?