19 Hi, My Name Is …

How do you introduce yourself? Have you ever thought about what are the first things you say to people you just met?

I have a 4 year old nephew that we are kinda teaching on how to introduce himself. We ask him what’s his name and how old is he. At this point, that probably is the most important fact about him.

“Say it again: My name is Bean. I’m 4 years old.”. He would try (but fail) and we all applaud anyway.

At around 6 years old, we teach kids to introduce themselves by rattling off other information. You start with the name, then address so in case they get lost, people know where to return them. If they are in school, the grade level and school name is included. Somehow, stating their age isn’t as important anymore. There are also no claps.

Once we start forming our own identities, this introduction changes to reflect something else. Belonging probably… I used to always introduce myself with my first name and last name identifying me with the family I belong to. As I grew older, it was shortened to my first name, last name given after a pause or after being asked. (It probably started from the first time I saw a Bond movie.)

Right now, I am not sure how to introduce myself. The usual protocol for work acquaintances is to follow with your position or job title after your name. But I don’t want to be the douche flinging around my very slight importance in the outside world.

“Hi, I’m (insert name here).” then I pause thinking of what else to say before faltering and just coursing through it with a “Nice to meet you.” which is probably fine… but I can’t help wanting to add something more: an achievement, a sense of belonging to something. Something else to follow…And then, in the hopeful future, even applause.

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