Hello! I just want to take a quick sec to say Thank You. After the last issue was published PlotStack was ranked in the top 20% of all 75K+ newsletters on Beehiiv, and that’s 100% thanks to you.

I put a lot of work into making each issue educational, relevant, and most importantly, valuable for you — so it’s great to see it resonating.

Thanks again for your continued support and engagement!

— Dmitri

Now, back to this week’s topic: professional introductions.

Have you ever joined a call where, by the time everyone’s done introducing themselves, you’ve already forgotten who does what? Or walked away unsure who to reach out to for a specific part of the project?

How we introduce ourselves to our colleagues is more important than people think. Whether it’s a first impression or reintroduction, people will either remember or forget you based on how you introduce yourself.

Many of us here are in remote/hybrid environments. I’m sure you’re familiar with the “let’s do a round of introductions” calls where people just say their name and maybe how many years they have been with the company. It’s mostly flat and forgettable.

Personally, I think name and tenure are the bare minimum (I mean, everyone’s names are already right there on the screen). If you want to position yourself as a subject matter expert, people need to know what you do, how you fit into the project, and why you’re even in the room.

Introductions don’t need to sound rehearsed or robotic, 1-2 sentences is all it really warrants.

A well rounded introduction might sound something like, “My name is Dmitri, I’ve been with [company] for X years:

People naturally pay attention to pattern breaks. So when everyone else just shares their name and years, your introduction immediately stands out. You’re signaling value and expertise without overdoing it, and people will remember those keywords when they need help in your domain.

You never know when someone on a call might play a bigger role in your project or career than you realize. Keeping your name and what you do fresh in people’s minds moves you one step closer to being the go-to expert.

A Simple Way to Introduce Yourself by Andrea Wojnicki (Harvard Business Review)
Andrea Wojnicki breaks down introductions into a simple 3 part structure: past, present, and future. While this method can lead to a much longer intro, it provides a good foundation to take ideas from. Read more

How to Introduce Yourself Professionally: A 3-Step Guide by Paola Pascual
Similar to the approach I mentioned above. If you like that method, this article breaks down the 3 steps even further with more examples. Read more

How to Lead Introductions in Business Meetings by Elise Keith
This one’s for those of us that lead calls. An experience shared by Elise, and how to lead a call to encourage engagement and promote conversations among attendees. Read more

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ColorSlurp #productivity
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ClipBolt is a smart clipboard manager that saves everything you copy. The first 5,000 on the waitlist get a free lifetime account.

▶️ How to introduce yourself—and get hired | Rebecca Okamoto | TEDxNorthwesternU by TedX Talks
Can you introduce yourself in 20 words or less? Rebecca Okamoto explains how to introduce yourself to get the person you are talking to to respond with “tell me more”. A useful technique when you want an introduction to lead into a conversation.

Did you know? The average person scrolls the height of the Eiffel Tower on their phone every day.