Chatting up with a colleague should be one of the easiest things you can do. But with the social dialog landscape littered with cluster mines, there are many ways to go wrong and few ways to set things right. And all of it begins with the first intro you make of yourself.
Don’t worry though – we all have made blunders without knowing. So, no need to go hard on yourself. Ultimately it's all about being open to communication and letting that which is natural flow out. It's the only real way to make lasting regard really last!
With that said, if you are struggling with making a good intro for yourself to a virtual coffee chat, here are 5 tips to help you get up and on it the right way!
5 Tips for Introducing Yourself at Your Next Virtual Coffee Chat
Relax, that’s the first thing
First things first, virtual coffee chats are not performance reviews, they are not peer interviews or job meetings – they are casual conversations with colleagues. In fact, this is they peers are often paired up together at random so there is no sense of formality and they can talk freely.
Of course, we understand if you do not want to slip into the overshare ditch when talking to your superior if you are ever paired up. However, for the most part, virtual coffee chats are supposed to help you relax and bond with your peers. They help you define yourself and your vision for yourself in front of your colleagues, and of course, hear similar things from your peers.
So, the first thing you should do when working out how to introduce yourself in a virtual coffee chat is remind yourself of what they are. It's often the case that when power meetings turn to zone-out and focus-in projects which turn into formal company gatherings, we forget that we also have a human and social side to us at work. A virtual coffee chat is the perfect contrast to your (probably) hectic work hours. It should be taken as the ideal opportunity to help yourself relax and communicate openly.
Talk like you want to
If you’re reading this, you are probably no stranger to the art of tactful conversation which is the cornerstone of workplace talk around the world. While we maneuver and navigate around the countless unwritten rules, many find ourselves losing ground on what we really want to say. But virtual coffee chats do not demand that. In fact, you can be your clear and free self at liberty when talking to a colleague. And they will probably respond with equal enthusiasm.
Introducing yourself in virtual coffee chats should also follow a similar pattern. It should not be some construed paragraph about your academic ink or list of accomplishments. Nor some stack of pronouns you’d find on a zany t-shirt. Rather, it should be that is quintessentially yours and in the best light possible.
Don’t forget to add your own unique flair to it when you talk about your interests like collecting action figures from the 70s or your upcoming soccer match at your local club. It’s your introduction, make it about you! and not what you think the management would like you to think you would like to present yourself as (phew!)
Stick to the up and over
We all deal with a lot of stress in our work lives and our personal lives often seep in to add some more. You may not notice this, but your intro might give off those signs of lingering stress too. Before we go any further, take it from us - You’re human, and you’re allowed to be stressed, it’s perfectly cool!
But, the last thing you need is to tell someone at work about your stresses without being aware of it or giving them some foregrounding. Well, you totally can, but unless you have that rapport from before, it just comes off as a bit disarming.
This is particularly true for virtual coffee chats since the person on screen is probably far away from you. So, it's always good to keep the introduction looking towards the shiny side of things.
You do not need to pretend and you certainly should not hold back from expressing your stress. Saying things like “I’ve been swamped with work from a client” or “We’ve been dealing with this and that over at those remote offices,” makes total sense.
But going beyond that is probably not going to help. If you’re going to ask for suggestions, make sure you have some of your own ready. No harm taking advice either – but avoid putting pressure on your virtual coffee chat buddy, especially right at the intro!
TL/DR? Find the best tips of this blog here. But do read through because we can't everything great in our blog in the video y'know.
Reciprocate consciously (but not too much)
Every virtual coffee chat session is a chance to grow not just as a professional working in a company but also as a person. Your introduction will serve as a point of reciprocity for the whole conversation.
So, the informal conversation is the perfect opportunity to introduce yourself to people from different parts of the world. You can even take inspiration from where they live or work and talk about the things you love from that place in your introduction.
For example, a lot of expat pros work from Thailand and the country is famous for its food and martial arts. Perfectly opportunity to ask for some recipes for Thai curry spaghetti! It’ll probably light their face up if you put in that bit of extra effort to reach out to them too!
Don’t overdo it though. I know I have the tendency to be too specific and it can dry up a conversation. But if you can keep it up and breezy, roll with the blank spaces if you get them, it is a great idea to make new connections and find cultural connect points. It helps communicate your human-ness and tells your colleagues how awesome you feel working with them!
Translate forward
Every virtual coffee chat is a window to another great bonding session that should translate into your work. The “should” is more of a point of inspiration than necessity.
The same goes for your intro too. Gauge how it went from this one and carry the insights forward. And above all else, be genuine about who you are and how you present yourself.
Genuine connections happen when people showcase their true selves. And you may find a genuine connection with a colleague in the attempt to make one. Or you may not! But what matters is the sincerity of effort and the willingness to carry that love forward.
So, when you speak to your colleagues about their kids’ or their hobbies and something comes up that links to that, you can bring a smile to someone’s face and maybe make a new friend too! <3
Feeling Ready for Your Next Virtual Coffee Chat?
Virtual coffee chats are great! And doing the introduction is a very exciting bit. If you are stressed about it, hopefully, we helped make things more lucid for you with our post. Be sure to check out our other virtual coffee chat resources like ultimate dos and don’ts for virtual coffee chats and strategic questions for enhancing networking potential in virtual coffee chats. Also, you may want to check out this Harvard research article on making introductions. Check out LEAD.bot for your company if you want a great virtual coffee chat app that does a lot more than just that!
