Hello.  My name is <Brief and to the Point>. My friends call me <90 Characters>. Pleased to meet you.

Introductions are on my mind. I’ve been writing several recently. Each one had its own rules (which I’ll come to in a moment). The commonality, though, is that good introductions require us to communicate a great deal of information in just a few words.

In my day job, I write speeches for corporate executives. A certain speech was to be delivered as a conference keynote address in Taiwan. It is an international conference drawing executives from around the globe. To minimize language issues, the organizers asked that the executive supply the introduction. This particular executive is not one to dwell on past accomplishments so a lengthy reading of a resume was out of the question. I had about two short paragraphs to communicate the essence of the executive’s accomplishments, the connection to the conference theme and foreshadow the nature of the speech. Each word had to do a lot of work.

Yet, that seemed easy compared to a couple of social media situations in the last few days. I recently joined groups that encouraged introductions. The introduction would sit next to my picture on a website and communicate to potential business contacts who I am and why someone might want to know me. This is the way a lot of business starts today. The introduction’s goal is to position yourself in your field and explain why people should want to talk to you. You get about 90 characters to do that. Every letter has a lot of work to do.

Introducing yourself is a skill. For every person we meet, we get one chance to do it right. The amount of time and space we get to do it is shrinking. It is no exaggeration to suggest that those who introduce themselves well will have an advantage in life. That is why students in our Public Speaking workshop start by introducing themselves several times in slightly different situations. They start by shaking hands and introducing themselves casually and work their way up to making an introductory speech about a defining aspect of their lives.

As the ghost of Christmas present said to Scrooge, “Come and know me better, Man.”