Making Introductions

Introducing individuals correctly can get people off to a good conversational start and help ease any anxiety at meeting for the very first time.

The most important and delicate part is to figure out who should be introduced to whom based on authority and rank in a social setting. Once you have this figured out, you can easily help two people get to know each other and start a great conversation going.  Here's what you need to know:

.               The person of lesser rank should always be introduced to the person of higher authority.

In general, women are always ranked over men, unless he is significantly older than the woman. After the gender, age is the next determining factor. An older person ranks after a younger person, which can be a helpful distinction if both people are of the same gender.

.               Avoid introducing someone to people who are in the middle of a conversation. You should wait for an opening or when the conversation has somewhat subsided. Making introductions at the wrong time can lead people to not hit it off as well as they could.

.                For social introduction, men are normally introduced to women as a sign of respect. However, gender is not a factor in business settings, where rank and position are more important, and after that come gender then age.

. All things being equal, the person who you have known the longest should be named first, such as introduce your junior friend to your senior friend.

.               Always mention the name of the person with high rank and present the person of lower rank to them.

Here are some examples.

When introducing a friend to a relative, the latter has a higher rank. "Mom, I would like you to meet my classmate Sandra."

Introduce a client to a business associate. "Mr. Aguirre, this is Mr. Alvarez, my associate."

Introduce a man to a woman. "Susan, this is Jose."

In a business setting let rank take precedence over gender. If Mr. Gonzalez is a higher ranking male than Mrs. Reyes, Mr. Gonzalez gets the higher authority because of his business position, even though Mrs. Reyes is a woman. "Mr. Gonzalez, may I introduce Mrs. Reyes."

.               Provide a short background information to help the person start a conversation. Do this only after you have introduced them. You can help connect the people by mentioning common interest or hobby or a place they both know well.

Here are examples how to connect people.

"Mom, this is my friend Elizabeth. She teaches classes at your pilates studio."

"Emee, I'd love for you to meet Loreta, my neighbor. She is an excellent baker. Emee has just started taking basic cooking lessons."

.               Use common sense when deciding what to call people. The general rule of thumb is that  you should introduce people to each other by what you normally call them. Forexample, if you are good friends with your former boss, David, you can just introduce him to your friend as David, if that is what you always call each other.  If you are in a more formal situation and the person has not given you permission to call him or her by          his or her first name, and you have always called the person Dr.  or Mr. then you should keep doing that.

.               In regular situations it is best to use a person's first and last name when making introductions. To use only the first name is not introducing the total person.

.               Keep the forms of the address equal. If you use Ms. Selma, you must also use Mr. Garcia.

.               Formal etiquette rules dictate that men should stand when being introduced to women, and women should stand when beingintroduced to older women.

While some people have difficulty introducing individuals to one another and helping establish a conversation, with some practice and a sense of social ranking one can master the art of proper introductions.