Sunday, August 12, 2012

Introduce Yourself

(Courtesy: Yahoo)

When you meet a stranger and want to start a conversation what do you do first. Introduce yourself. How do you do that?

Start the conversation with a casual greeting.

State your name. (If it is a work related meeting add your title with a firm handshake).

Listen carefully to the response from the other person.

Simple? Not so simple. Quite a few people, when starting a conversation, forget to state their names and start a conversation on a subject that is important to them. That immediately puts off the other person. He/She would just smile and move away.

A funny incident happened with me while we were living in Salt Lake City. My wife had to undergo an operation. She was in the operating room. I was sitting, reading a magazine, in the relative’s waiting room. There were about 25 people in that room.

A gentleman, wearing just a t-shirt and pant, sat next to me. Nice respectful appearance. I looked at him. He smiled. The following conversation took place.

Someone is undergoing operation today?

Yes, my wife.

Who is the surgeon?

Dr. xxxxxxxxxx

What kind of operation she is undergoing today?

I looked at him. He was smiling. I stood up, stared at him, and said the following words in a much louder voice so that everyone can hear in that room.

“That is none of your fxxxing business.”

The guy was so ashamed and embarrassed. He said:

“I am sorry. I should have introduced myself at first. My mistake. I am “so and so” and I am the Director of Patient Services for this hospital. If you tell me the name of the surgeon and why the patient is being operated upon, I can call the surgeon in the operating room and ask him about the progress. I can then let you know what is happening in the operating room and the progress they have made. That is my job in this hospital”.

What then? I told him I am sorry for blurting out bad word. He then immediately called the surgeon in the operating room and got the information. Everything ended well.

He repeatedly apologized for not introducing himself at the beginning.

16 comments:

  1. LOL - that is a funny tale but it is true...There are so many people who do not introduce themselves and just start off on a conversation - it does irritate me!

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  2. A pretty sporting man he was!!

    I have often seen instances when people introduce someone to you, but forget to introduce you to them. That creates sticky situations too.

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  3. Thanks for your comments Divya. Yes, it does irritate us.

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  4. Thanks for your comments Anupama. I have come across situations like the one you have mentioned. That is another problem we have to deal with.

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  5. Yeah, I hate it when people don't introduce themselves properly when meeting me for the first time.

    I also can't stand it when people mess up my introduction to others.

    Regards,
    Paul Ryan

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  6. :D..but u were lucky..most of the people are not..

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  7. Thanks for your comments Paul.

    Mitt Romney (Republican Presidential Candidate) introduces you (Republican Vice Presidential Candidate) as the Next President of the United States. Does Mitt know something that we don’t know. Anyhow, I have never heard of you son.

    Good luck to you and Mitt this coming November. You both need that.

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  8. Thanks for your comments Ranita. Everything ended OK.

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  9. Speaking to a stranger who pokes his nose in our personal affairs, will definitely be irritating.

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  10. Thanks for your comments Sandhya. It certainly is irritating.

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  11. Ooops! why yes, you were justified in reacting like that. A messy situation indeed, an intro would've avoided the bad situation.

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  12. Thanks for your comments lostworld. I don't know why he did not introduce himself at first (when he is doing this job for a living every day).

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  13. OMG... :D

    Yes I have also experienced situations where people just start off without any introductions which is highly unwelcome!

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  14. Thanks for your comments Me. And, welcome to my blog.

    Yes, these kinds of happenings really irritate us.

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  15. At the outset it seems funny but it's also true that we get into these sticky situations when there are no proper intros....even in phone conversations, this happens. Etiquette may sound formal but it's relevance shouldn't be completely ruled out.

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  16. Oh.. awkward situations created by people. We remember them forever.

    I also note that you already know the VP candidate !!

    I have noticed here that, while travelling, esp on long journeys, we speak to people,sharing our travelling space,and our likes and dislikes, but names are mentioned rarely. May be we do not want to give our personal details in public spaces.

    Thanks for sharing.

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