Quick life update. I don't know if it seems like I've been a little bit absent, but I have been thinking a lot about what's next for me personally.
And I know we all go through these cycles where we're like, yes, we're really excited about what we're doing, what we're working on.
And then all of a sudden, it's like, what am I doing?
Where am I going? What's next?
And so what I have been doing is taking classes on Skillshare that help me to really explore my creative skills, but also my business skills.
So Skillshare is an online platform where you can find thousands of courses from thousands of professional expert teachers who have these fun, engaging classes.
And a lot of them are about art, design, but also business, marketing, and even English learning skills.
Right now, I'm taking a class that's about how to discover profitable design trends.
So this is like combining your art skills with business skills.
So you could sell your art online with Cat Coquillette.
And I love this class.
It's just fun to explore new ideas.
And if you're feeling stuck, like you're not sure what's next for you, or maybe you just need something a little different to try out that you've never done before, I want you to try Skillshare because I am super, super happy with it.
I'm enjoying exploring all the different courses.
Also, because I love Skillshare so much, they have partnered with Go Natural English and are offering a free one -month trial membership to access all of their thousands of courses.
To the first 1 ,000 people who click on the link in the description.
So check that out and make sure that you get your free trial.
This is an amazing value and opportunity for you to learn.
I mean, you could take as many courses as you want in one month.
So if you have some extra free time this summer, this would be a great chance for you to dive in and explore a new skill on Skillshare.
Remember to click the link to get your free trial.
Otherwise, if you just go to the website, you're going to have to pay to sign up.
So this is a really special opportunity.
Don't miss out. Now, if you take a new course, whether it's in person or online, you might have to introduce yourself.
So today we're going to learn with teacher Diane about how to fluently, confidently introduce yourself for the first time to new colleagues, new classmates, or just anyone that you meet.
This is really important because first impressions are everything.
And we're going to go above and beyond just hi, my name is.
So we're going to talk about pronunciation, about how to really connect with people, and the phrases that you need to know to sound like a native speaker.
So let's jump into it.
Hi, I'm Diane from gonaturalenglish .com, your personal English coach and motivator.
Hello, I'm Diane. I'm 27 years old.
I'm originally from Columbia, but I currently live in Nashville, Tennessee.
I've been an English teacher for over two years.
I help people of all ages improve their English.
I have a degree in biology, but I enjoy teaching.
For fun, I like to go hiking and I also like to go traveling.
Introducing yourself is essential for job interviews, for networking, talking to your co -workers that maybe you just met, making new friends at a party or on a date.
It is very important that you know how to introduce yourself.
And if you like these English tips that help you become fluent faster, don't forget to give this video a thumbs up and don't forget to subscribe.
Also, check out our e -book and our Go Natural English online course to help you take your English to the next level at gonaturalenglish .com.
Introducing yourself is a basic English conversation skill that once you master it, it'll ease you into conversation a lot better than if you get stuck in that first part of the conversation.
It will also build your confidence, and it'll make a great first impression.
Anyway, let's get started with today's video about how to introduce yourself.
Tell me about yourself!
This question can be very daunting even if in your own language.
And now that you have to do it in English, it's probably even more scary.
But don't worry, it's not that bad once you practice.
Let's go through a few questions or topics about yourself and see how you can answer them in different ways.
Let's start with formal greetings.
You would use these greetings when you are talking to your boss, greeting your boss in the morning, or maybe you are talking to new co -workers that you don't know very well, or just in a professional setting in general, maybe a job interview or something.
And for that you would use hello, good morning, good afternoon, or good evening.
Now, informal greetings are used with friends, family, co -workers that you already know, or just in an informal setting, maybe like at a restaurant with your waitress.
So you would say, hi, hey, what's up?
What's good? How's it going?
How you doing? And these are just a few ways that you can greet somebody depending on how much you know the person.
Now, introducing your name.
This can be used in different ways if you are, that can be interchangeable when you are talking to somebody in person or in writing, even on the phone.
You could say, I'm Diane.
I am Diane. My name's Diane.
My name is Diane. You can use these greetings in person or in writing.
But if you're on the phone and the other person is not sure who you are, you can say, this is Diane.
Where are you from?
You can say, I am from New York.
But if you come from somewhere a little bit further away, you can say, I come from Columbia, or I was born and raised in Ecuador.
It depends on how far away you are.
Because you don't want to say, I come from California.
Maybe you could if you live on the East Coast in New York.
That's a long distance.
But in general, you can just say, I'm from wherever country, city, or state.
You can also say, I'm originally from.
That applies mainly to people that come from outside of the country.
But it really depends on how the question is phrased.
And it's up to you.
Because you can say, I was born in California and raised in New York.
So you were born in one city, but you were raised in another.
You may be asked, where are you from originally?
Or what country are you from?
What city are you from?
So it just depends how the question is asked.
But you can answer however you'd like.
Where do you live? You can be a little bit more descriptive when it comes to this question.
You can say, I live in Southern California with my parents.
I live just north of the city in the suburbs.
Or I live in a small apartment in downtown LA close to everything.
So it depends on your level of fluency and confidence in your English that you can be more descriptive about where you come from or where you live.
What do you do for work?
I'm an accountant at X company.
I work as a teacher at X school.
I'm a sales rep at X company.
When you're asked, where do you work?
Then you should answer with at.
So I work at Starbucks.
I work at the mall.
I work at Google or something like that.
Obviously, I hope I won that can work at Google.
But you would answer with at.
You would not use in because you work at a specific location.
So we use at. You can also answer in terms of the industry that you work in.
I work in accounting.
I work in education.
I work in sales. I work in marketing.
That you can say in because it is something that you are a part of.
So it's within the boundaries of an industry.
So you would use in because you're not at a specific location.
What did you go to school for?
There are many ways to talk about your education, depending on where you're at in your education journey.
Maybe you're done. Maybe you're in the middle of it.
It depends. So you can say, I have a degree in biology.
I'm about to graduate in accounting.
I'm taking English classes, or I went to school for marketing.
There are many ways to answer this question.
Just pick one you feel the most comfortable with and start practicing with that one.
What do you like to do for fun?
This question is my favorite because we get to talk about the things that we like.
This answer may be short and sweet, but make sure that you answer with something that you actually like so that the person asking the question can get to know you a little bit better.
I like to ride my bike around the neighborhood.
I enjoy traveling places I've never been.
I love to paint and draw on the weekends.
You can be as specific as you want to be.
It also depends on the context of who's asking you, where you're at.
If you are at a job interview, you probably don't want to go too deep about what you like to do for fun because you want to impress your employer.
You want to focus on your education and your experience in the job that you're interested in trying to get.
So if this is more of a casual conversation with somebody at a party or on a date, then you should probably go a little bit deeper into your hobbies.
What about your family?
It's up to you how much information you want to give about your family.
If you're at specific questions like how many siblings do you have or how your parents still married or are you married, it depends on what you're asked.
But if it's a general question, then here are a few options for you.
I'm the oldest of three siblings.
I come from a family of five.
I'm the oldest of three siblings.
We were all born in Colombia.
And if you're married, you can answer a little bit differently.
I've been married for five years.
We have two kids, a boy and a girl.
The girl is five years old and the boy is two years old.
Self -introductions can be a little bit awkward, but I promise you, just practice in front of the mirror, record yourself, or maybe introduce yourself to somebody you already know so you feel more comfortable and that way you can start practicing.
Depending on the setting, the self -introduction portion may be very casual or it may not be casual.
It just depends on what you're trying to do.
But either way, I suggest you practice in front of the mirror because this will build your confidence.
So that way, if you start strong with a good self -introduction, the rest of the conversation will be easy.
Comment below a short self -introduction and I promise I read the comments.
So I would love to get to know you guys.
Write something short where you're from, maybe how old you are, if you have any siblings and your favorite hobbies.
And don't miss free Go Natural English tips at gonaturalenglish .com.
And if you'd like to continue learning, I highly recommend our Go Natural English Fluency course.
There are many, many, many resources for you there.
And don't forget to give this video a thumbs up and I'll see you on my next video.
Bye!