How 'Introducing Someone' can illuminate your Personal Brand?

I wonder if you have ever felt shrunk and proud both at the same time while getting introduced by someone.

Proud, because the world now knows about your accolades, your work experiences, and possibly the hierarchical positions that you might be holding, and Shrunk, because maybe they got your title wrong.

Maybe they referred to you as a former colleague or roommate, and you thought you were real friends. Simply said, they picked something insignificant to define you by, and it sadly stuck with your audience. 

As I always say, “Don’t let anyone else hold the pen while writing the story of brand YOU.”

Exact or not, introductions can be stubbornly hard to undo. Remember my friend, first impressions may not be last, but certainly are lasting impressions. That means that every time you introduce someone, you brand them for others in some way. If that sounds like a lot of pressure, believe me it is. Maybe it should better be!

And that’s why it’s so important to be mindful of how you’re introducing others, and how they’re introducing you, too.

It is said that our brain is mostly habitual of finding the simple in the complex, simply looking for shortcuts. Once we’ve found a shortcut, it’s hard to train ourselves out of using it.

Essentially, what I mean is that we may rationally understand that people, and situations are complex, but our minds intuitively seek to simplify them. And mostly this is the reason when we meet someone new, we grab just a few pieces of information that our brain labels as simple, and rest of the file is detailed away for later recall. Interesting?!

So, what makes a good introduction?

Explicably, when you are on the receiving end of a good (read: impactful with the right label that you want Brand YOU to be known as/for) introduction, you know it. Isn’t it?

Let’s begin at this same point. What say?

In my understanding, ‘Good’ introductions are genuinely precise, personalized, and well-thought-out. They are crafted, yes crafted (after all, it is a small yet significant investment in our relationships) with benevolence and a meaningful intent.

I recollect one of those far-from-satisfying experiences of being introduced at a large gathering by a senior official where the gentleman was totally absorbed in his whitepaper on my credentials, that I exclusively felt invisible on the stage for a while even when I was one of the core panelists that evening.

He spoke elaborately about what I had collected in terms of degrees, certificates, awards, etc. (all this just read monotonously from a piece of paper without making it look like a natural conversation between him, me and the audience at all), and nothing about who I am as a person and how he or his organisation believes I could contribute in today’s panel discussion.

I do genuinely respect his intent, but the missing like I could guess was a well-thought-out preparation, an influence that he could evoke for himself, and on my behalf.

I am inviting you to take a pause here, reflect the character ‘me’ with ‘you’ and mindfully reflect on what possibly would you have wanted in the way you get introduced.

I am sure you want to introduced a person, not a resume. Right?

Introductions by job title or company are common: they are an easy default descriptor for a person. They are also frankly a little bit lazy.

Meaningful introductions are based on who the person you are introducing is as a person, not as a resume. People are typically much more interesting than their jobs might imply.

That’s not to say that you can’t or shouldn’t mention someone’s job title or company in an introduction: some situations explicitly call for it i.e. professional conferences or meet-ups. And that’s exactly where Brand YOU has a wonderful opportunity to wear her charismatic presence where you-the-introducer turns a simple piece of raw diamond into an exquisite masterpiece that most people long to possess forever.

I agree sometimes a person’s profession really is core to who they are, and it’s more than imperative to highlight more about that aspect, then the context is important. The intro by job title isn’t always the best option for every situation.

If you do lead with a “standard” intro (a job title, a school, some other “off the resume” introduction), complement the intro with something to make the person more relatable and human. (And fun!) An interesting, cheering tidbit can go a long way.

Let me share another example, a good friend and a business connect @Vishal Thakkar is an entrepreneur, and a practicing Chartered Accountant, but more importantly he is writing his 8th book in finance literacy series - authenticating, and an excellent conversation starter – what do you think?

Think about stories, not just facts while enriching personal brands through introductions. 

Your roommate, or your partner in crime for Friday parties? Your neighbor, or your trek buddy in the Himalayas? Your co-worker, or your co-worker who throws down at karaoke? Share what happened that one time. (As long as it’s not too incriminating, of course.)

My friends, not only does a story help others remember the person being introduced, but they make the introducer – YOU - the storyteller – more memorable, too.

You are almost always in the spotlight. In improvisational theatre, one of the most basic and critical guideline to be followed is to keep the spotlight always on your co-actors. I am sure you get what I mean. Do you seek and value external status markers like educational pedigree? Are you more interested in the personal or professional attributes of your peers and contacts? Do you define others by social hierarchy, relative to a specific social group? When you consider how you typically introduce others, what do your introductions say about you?

Remember that in many ways, your introductions say a lot about your values.

Another example of a well-intentioned introduction, I want to share is of a business connect who is now a good friend too. She introduced me at an important networking meet saying, “…we met through our wonderful friend Manmeet. Manmeet thought we’d get along because we are both interested in mentorship. You're involved in mentoring, too, right?” Now, that’s personalized and relevant. Isn’t it?

She gave more than just historical context. Saying you're friends through so-and-so is just the tip of the iceberg. She looked deeper for a common ground between the one she was introducing, the one she was introducing to, and shared relevant context. She enriched Brand YOU by being an authentic bridge.

One such elite gentleman and a successful entrepreneurs I know is @Milind Kher, CEO, HQ. He has his own style of enriching anyone’s personal brand. Get introduced by him once at any gathering, personal or professional, and you will want to become an addict of being introduced by him.

He always says, “…Vinita, while introducing I like to go big. Use the superlative as relevantly as possible. It's nice to subtly compliment your connects. Introduce them as the impressive people they really are! (for e.g. This is Vinita. She’s the most creative person I know.) People will appreciate your kind words and remember them the next time around. Just remember not to toss the superlative around too easily - use it wisely and authentically.”

A refined example from Milind that he had once shared on his social media profile page after a networking event, “When the doyen of entrepreneurs grants you an exclusive audience and also shares the frame with you, it is indeed a simply wonderful privilege. A true delight to meet the ever-humble and a no-nonsense professional @Namrata Thakker – a serial entrepreneur of high statute, and be able to discuss many things on the basis of which we could add a lot of value to the system.”

And it’s all truly relevant. Everyone who knows Namrata would agree. I wonder how many of us truly invest our time and energies in enriching other’s personal brands. It’s a mutual respect we could show each other. Isn’t it? 

Now, what do you think Namrata might be feeling as a personal brand!

Good introductions are not made in haste. Think hard about what someone might be proudest of, what they enjoy thinking about, or what interesting thing you know about them and admire. Lead with those details, and notice whether they are the right ones. Be authentically meaningful, not transactional.

Bonus Tip:

How about designing a format in which you’d like to introduce people at different occasions just like we prepare an elevator pitch for our introductions?

And garnish their personal brands with the charismatic presence that ‘Brand YOU’ wears in the form of your audio and video. That’s likely the way you’d like to be introduced, too.

Happy Introducing! :)