What are some effective ways to introduce yourself to a professional contact?

1 Start with a purpose

Before you introduce yourself to a professional contact, you should have a clear idea of why you are reaching out and what you hope to achieve. Your purpose will guide your tone, content, and format of your introduction. For example, if you are looking for advice, feedback, or collaboration, you might want to be more polite, respectful, and specific than if you are simply expressing appreciation, curiosity, or admiration. Your purpose will also help you craft a relevant and compelling hook that will capture your contact's attention and interest.

2 Use the right medium

The medium you use to introduce yourself to a professional contact can affect how they perceive and respond to you. Depending on the context, you might choose to use a face-to-face, phone, email, or social media introduction. Each medium has its own advantages and disadvantages, and you should consider the norms, expectations, and preferences of your contact and your industry. For example, face-to-face and phone introductions can allow you to build rapport, convey enthusiasm, and clarify misunderstandings more easily, but they can also be more intrusive, time-consuming, and nerve-wracking. Email and social media introductions can give you more control, convenience, and flexibility, but they can also be more impersonal, formal, and prone to miscommunication.

3 Adapt to your audience

One of the key principles of linguistics is that communication is not only about what you say, but also how you say it. To introduce yourself effectively to a professional contact, you need to adapt your language, style, and tone to your audience. You should consider factors such as your contact's background, position, expertise, goals, and personality, and tailor your introduction accordingly. For example, if your contact is a senior executive in a conservative field, you might want to use more formal, polite, and concise language than if your contact is a junior colleague in a creative field. You should also avoid jargon, slang, and acronyms that your contact might not understand or appreciate.

5 Express your interest

Another way to introduce yourself effectively to a professional contact is to express your interest in them and their work. You should show that you have done your research and that you are genuinely curious and enthusiastic about what they do. You can do this by asking relevant and open-ended questions, giving sincere and specific compliments, or sharing common or unique insights. For example, you could ask your contact how they got started in their career, what they are working on currently, or what they think about a recent trend or development in their field. You should avoid asking too personal or sensitive questions, or making assumptions or judgments about your contact.

6 End with a call to action

The last step to introduce yourself effectively to a professional contact is to end with a call to action that invites them to respond or continue the conversation. You should make your call to action clear, specific, and reasonable, and align it with your purpose and your contact's availability and interest. For example, you could ask your contact to schedule a meeting, send you some information, or connect with you on another platform. You should also thank your contact for their time and attention, and express your hope or expectation to hear from them soon. You should avoid being too pushy or vague, or leaving your contact hanging.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?