Dear Tiffany,

I’m always attending work-related events and find it royally confusing, and sometimes intimidating, to introduce myself to strangers. I also notice that there are a lot of people not being introduced to others, leaving them to wander about alone and unsure. I’m confused about who should introduce who?

Dear Not-As-Confused-As-You-Think,

There’s something really uncomfortable about attending a work-related event and finding yourself unsure how to break the ice with new people. It is worse to be a veteran at the event allowing a never seen before or “new-be” linger along the wall alone and timid and doing nothing about it.

All I can say is you should be the one who gets introductions done so everyone feels at ease, including yourself. Never let “wallflowers” blossom too long alone in a corner. Draw them in like a good scout to help them make new friends. If you want to stand out, always remember that everyone was the lone wanderer at one time and a good leader recalls and remedies this uneasy situation by connecting people.

Say the most important person’s name first. For example: Congressman ________, I’d like to introduce you to our Vice President______. If you don’t know who is most important, better to guess than duck the introduction.

Refer to The Power of Civility as a great guide for the dos and don’ts of introductions.  I promise, you will love this book!