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The Art of Introductions

When making introductions in business, the order of introduction is important—the easiest way to remember is whoever has the highest honor is mentioned first.

For example, when introducing the vice president of your company to a new marketing manager, you would say: “Bob Smith, I’d like to introduce to you Angela Morrison. Angela is our new marketing manager at the Tampa Bay office and is here for the business expo.”

In the social arena, however, gender and or age determine who is introduced to whom. If the individuals being introduced are of the same generation you would use the female gender first rule.” Sally Martin, may I introduce to you George Tilley. ”  However, in the event you were introducing a young woman to gentleman who is much older use “Grandpa I would like to introduce to you my good friend Dawn.”

Examples introducing a man to a woman include:

Formal:
“Ms. Lawrence please let me introduce Mr. Jones. Mr. Jones is visiting the Sunshine Coast from Seattle, Washington.”

Informal:
“Jane please let me introduce Steven. Steven is visiting the Sunshine Coast from Seattle.”

Always add a piece of information that will easily spark conversation. And when introducing relatives, take a moment to clarify their relationship to you. For example, “Jane, I would like to introduce my sister Michelle to you. She has just moved to Vancouver from Ontario last week.”

In small-group gatherings, the host or hostess is expected to introduce guests to other guests. However, among large groups, if you are hosting a gathering you are off the hook—guests are responsible for introducing themselves to each other.

Be careful about introducing one guest to another and calling only one of them “my friend.” To single out a particular person as “my friend” implies that the other person is a stranger! You never want to leave anyone feeling slighted.

Take action on these introduction tips and you’ll feel confident at any gathering or business function this summer!

Posted by Margaret in Business Etiquette.