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A Simple Way to Introduce Yourself

• Andrea Wojnicki

Think: present, past, future.

Many of us dread the self-introduction, be it in an online meeting or at the boardroom table. Here is a practical framework you can leverage to introduce yourself with confidence in any context, online or in-person: Present, past, and future. You can customize this framework both for yourself as an individual and for the specific context. Perhaps most importantly, when you use this framework, you will be able to focus on others’ introductions, instead of stewing about what you should say about yourself.

You know the scenario. It could be in an online meeting, or perhaps you are seated around a boardroom table. The meeting leader asks everyone to briefly introduce themselves. Suddenly, your brain goes into hyperdrive. What should I say about myself?

• Andrea Wojnicki , MBA, DBA, is an executive communication coach and founder of Talk About Talk, a multi-media learning resource to help executives improve their communication skills.

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Home Blog Presentation Ideas About Me Slides: How to Introduce Yourself in a Presentation

About Me Slides: How to Introduce Yourself in a Presentation

From conference talks to client demos, it’s always essential to include an About Me slide in any presentation you are giving. Introducing yourself early into the presentation helps build a better rapport with the audience.

You can start with several fun facts about me slide to break the ice or go for a more formal professional bio to explain your background and what makes you qualified to talk about the topic at hand. At any rate, your goal is to get the audience on your side by revealing some of your personality. 

How to Introduce Yourself in a Presentation: 4 Approaches 

It’s a good practice to include self-introduction slides at the beginning of your presentation. If you are looking to answer how to introduce yourself professionally, typically somewhere after the title, opening slide , and the main agenda. However, the presentation structure will be somewhat different depending on whether you are presenting to a new audience or a group of people familiar with (e.g., your team, clients, or business partners). 

Here are four about me slide ideas you can try out, plus an About me template you can use to present yourself in a presentation. 

1. Mention Your Name and Affiliations

Start with the introduction basics. State your name, company, title/position, and several quick facts about who you are and what you do. Even if you present to a familiar audience, a brief recap is always welcome. 

To keep things a bit more engaging, consider adding some lesser-known facts about yourself. For example:

• Your interests 
• Recent accomplishments
• Testimonial/quote from a team member 
• Fun nicknames you got 

The above can be nice ice breakers for less formal team presentations, project updates, or catch-ups with clients. 

Here are several unique About Me examples you can try out:

For a client case study presentation : 

“Hi, I’m Lynda, Chief Customer Success Specialist with Acme Corp. (Also, someone you thought was a chatbot for the first few encounters)

47 NPS | 15% Churn Rate | 40% repeat purchase rate”

For a team after-action review presentation :

Mike, Project Manager at Cool Project

(aka Maximizer)

Personal Project stats:

387 Slack messages answered

56 cups of coffee consumed

Project profit gross margin: $1.2 million 

2. Work On Your Elevator Pitch 

One of the best ways to introduce yourself in a presentation is to share a punchy elevator pitch. This works extra well if you are presenting to a new audience. 

An elevator pitch is a concise statement (1-2 sentences) that summarizes your unique strengths, skills, and abilities and explains how these can benefit your listener. 

It’s nice to have one ready for your presentations and networking in general since it helps you immediately connect with new people and communicate your value. 

Writing a solid elevator pitch may require several attempts and iterations. But the sooner you start — the faster you’ll arrive at the best formula! 

To get your creative juices flowing, here are several elevator pitch ideas you can incorporate in an introduction slide about yourself. 

For professionals: 

“Certified Salesforce Administrator, data visualization specialist, and analytics for top SaaS brands. I help businesses make more sense of their data to drive better outcomes”.

For a mentor :

“Adjunct professor of creative writing at Columbia University, published author, former lifestyle editor at Esquire, the New York Times. I can teach you how to find, shape, pitch, and publish stories for web & print.”

For a student: 

“Third-year Marine Biology student at Denver State Uni. Volunteer at Lake Life Protection NGO, climate change activist, looking to expand my research about water conservation”.

3. Answer Popular Questions or Assumptions 

If you are a frequent presenter , chances are you get asked a lot of the same “About Me questions” after your speeches and during the networking bits. So why not address a roaster of these in your About Me slide? Select 4-5 most common questions and list them as quick FAQs on your slide deck. 

4. Focus on Telling a Story 

Strong introductions are personable. They are meant to offer a sneak-peak into your personality and the passion behind your work. That’s why for less formal presentations, you can (and should!) start with a short personal story. 

Remember: reliability is important to “click” with your audience. 

For instance, neuroscience research of political ads recently found that ads featuring real people performed better than those with genetic stock footage. Among viewers, emotional engagement and memory encoding (recall) increased dramatically when political ads showed relatable people. 

The same holds true for commerce. In 2015, GE launched a viral “What’s the Matter With Owen?” video ad series to attract more young talent to the company. The clips featured a relatable protagonist, struggling to explain what his work at GE entails e.g. that the company isn’t building railroads, but actually does some very innovative pilots. Many engineers related to the promo and work applications to GE shoot up by 800% ! 

As the above examples show, a good relatable story can go a long way. So think about how you can make a PowerPoint presentation about yourself more representative of who you really are as a person. 

How to Give a Presentation About Yourself: 4 Fool-Proof Tips

On other occasions, you may be asked to give a full-length “about me” presentation. Typically, this is the case during a second interview, onboarding , or if you are in attending a training program or workshop where everyone needs to present themselves and their work. 

Obviously, you’ll need more than one good about me slide in this case. So here’s how to prepare a superb presentation about me. 

What to Put in a Presentation About Yourself?

The audience will expect to learn a mix of personal and professional facts about you. Thus, it’s a good idea to include the following information: 

• Your name, contact info, website , social media handles, digital portfolio .
• Short bio or some interesting snippets. 
• Career timeline (if applicable).
• Main achievements (preferably quantifiable).
• Education, special training.
• Digital badging awards , accolades, and other types of recognition.
• Something more personal — an interest, hobby, aspiration. 

The above mix of items will change a bit, depending on whether you are giving an interview presentation about yourself or introduce yourself post-hiring. For example, in some cases a dedicated bio slide may be useful, but other times focusing on main achievements and goals can be better.

That being said, let’s take a closer look at how to organize the above information in a memorable presentation. 

P.S. Grab an about me slide template to make the design process easier! 

1. Create a List of “Facts About Me”

The easiest way to answer the “tell me about yourself” question is by having an array of facts you can easily fetch from your brain. 

When it comes to a full-length about me presentation , it’s best to have a longer list ready. To keep your brainstorming process productive, organize all your ideas in the following buckets: 

• Key skills (soft and hard)
• Educational accolades, training
• Accomplishments and other “bragging rights”
• Personal tidbits (a.k.a. fun facts ) 

Once you have a list, it gets easier to build a series of slides around it. 

2. Think Like Your Audience 

Most likely you’d be asked to make a presentation about yourself by a recruiter. There’s a good reason why many ask this — they want to determine if you are a good “cultural fit” for their organization. 

After all, 33% of people quit within the first 3 months of accepting a new job. Among these:

• 43% of employees quit because their day-to-day role was different than what they were told it would be during the hiring process.
• 32% cite company culture as a factor for leaving within the first three months. 

About me presentations often serve as an extra “filter” helping both parties ensure that they are on the same page expectations- and work style-wise. Thus, when you prepare your slide deck, do some background company research. Then try to align the presentation with it by matching the company tone, communication style, and cultural values. 

3. Include Testimonials and Recommendations

Use the voice of others to back up the claims you are making in your presentation. After all, trumping your own horn is what you are expected to do in such a presentation. But the voices of others can strengthen the claims you are personally making. 

Depending on your role and industry, try to sprinkle some of the following testimonials: 

• LinkedIn recommendations
• Quotes from personal or professional references
• Social media comments 
• Data metrics of your performance
• Funny assessments from your colleagues/friends 

The above not just strengthen your narrative, but also help the audience learn some extras about you and your background. Testimonial slides can be of help for this purpose.

4. Include a Case Study 

One of the best ways to illustrate who you are is to show what you are best in. Remember, an about me presentation often needs to “soft sell” your qualifications, experience, and personality. 

One of the best ways to do that is to showcase how you can feel in a specific need and solve issues the business is facing. 

So if you have the timeframe, use some of the ending slides to deliver a quick case study. You can present: 

• Short retrospective of a past successful project
• Before-after transformations you’ve achieved 
• Spotlight of the main accomplishments within the previous role 
• Main customer results obtained
• Specific solution delivered by you (or the team you’ve worked with) 

Ending your presentation on such a high note will leave the audience positively impressed and wondering what results you could achieve for them.

To Conclude 

It’s easy to feel stumped when you are asked to talk about yourself. Because there are so many things you could mention (but not necessarily should). At the same time, you don’t want to make your introduction sound like a bragging context. So always think from the position of your audience. Do the facts you choose to share benefit them in any way? If yes, place them confidently on your About Me slides! 

1. Personal Self Introduction PowerPoint Template

Use This Template

2. Self Introduction PowerPoint Template

3. Meet the Team PowerPoint Template Slides

4. Introduce Company Profile PowerPoint Template

5. Modern 1-Page Resume Template for PowerPoint

6. Modern Resume Presentation Template

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How to Introduce Yourself in a Presentation [with Examples]

In this post, we are going to cover the best way, a very simple three-step process that will help you introduce yourself in a presentation. A summary of the steps is below.

• Start with your name and company (or organization or school).
• Tell your audience what problem you can solve for them.
• Share some type of proof (social proof works best) that you can solve this problem.

I will break down each step into a simple-to-follow process. But first… a little background.

Want to beat stage fright, articulate with poise, and land your dream job? Take the 2-minute public speaking assessment and get the Fearless Presenter’s Playbook for FREE!

First, Identify What Your Audience Wants from Your Presentation

So, before you design your introduction, think about what your audience wants from your presentation. Why do they want to spend their valuable time listening to you? Are going to waste their time? Or, are you going to provide them with something valuable?

For instance, I have expertise in a number of different areas. I’m a public speaking coach, a keynote speaker, a best-selling author, a search engine optimization specialist, and a popular podcaster. However, if I delivered that sentence to any audience, the most likely reaction would be, “So what?” That sentence doesn’t answer any of the above questions. The statement is also really “me-focused” not “audience-focused.”

So, when I start to design my self-introduction, I want to focus just on the area of expertise related to my topic. I’m then going to answer the questions above about that particular topic. Once you have these answers, set them aside for a second. They will be important later.

How to Introduce Yourself in a Presentation in Class.

Instead, you probably want to add in a fun way to start a speech . For example, instead of introducing yourself in your class speech and starting in an awkward way, start with a startling statistic. Or start with a summary of your conclusion. Or, you could start the presentation with an inspirational quote.

Each of these presentation starters will help you lower your nervousness and decrease your awkwardness.

If you are delivering a speech in a speech competition or to an audience who doesn’t know you try this technique. Just introduce yourself by saying your name , the school you represent , and your topic . Make it easy. This way you get to your content more quickly and lower your nervousness.

Typically, after you get the first few sentences out of the way, your nervousness will drop dramatically. Since your name, school, and topic should be very easy to remember, this takes the pressure off you during the most nervous moments.

Obviously, follow the guidelines that your teacher or coach gives you. (The competition may have specific ways they want you to introduce yourself.)

How to Introduce Yourself in a Business Presentation — A Step-by-Step Guide.

In a professional setting, when new people walk into a meeting and don’t know what to expect, they will feel uncomfortable. The easiest way to ease some of that tension is to chat with your audience as they come into the room.

By the way, if you are looking for a template for an Elevator Speech , make sure to click this link.

Step #1: Start with your name and company name (or organization).

This one is easy. Just tell your audience your name and the organization that you are representing. If your organization is not a well-known brand name, you might add a short clarifying description. For instance, most people outside of the training industry have never heard of The Leader’s Institute ®. So, my step #1 might sound something like…

Hi, I’m Doug Staneart with The Leader’s Institute ®, an international leadership development company…

Still short and sweet, but a little more clear to someone who has never heard of my company.

Should you give your job title? Well… Maybe and sometimes. Add your title into the introduction only if your title adds to your credibility.

For example, if you are delivering a financial presentation and you are the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of your company, you might mention that. Your title adds to your credibility. However, if the CFO is delivering a presentation about the value of joining a trade association, the CFO title adds little credibility. So, there is very little value in adding the title.

Step #2: Tell your audience what problem you can solve for them.

For instance, if my topic is how to deliver presentations, I have to determine why the audience would care. What problem will they have that I can help them with? For my audiences, the problem that I most often help people with is how to eliminate public speaking fear. Once I have the problem, I add that to my introduction by using the words, “I help people…”

Hi, I’m Doug Staneart with The Leader’s Institute ®, an international leadership development company, and I help people eliminate public speaking fear.

However, if my topic is How to Close a Higher Percentage of Sales Presentations , I’d likely want to alter my introduction a little. I might say something like…

Hi, I’m Doug Staneart with The Leader’s Institute ®, an international leadership development company, and I help people design more persuasive sales presentations.

I have expertise in both areas. However, I focus my introduction on just the expertise that is applicable to this audience. If I gave the first introduction to the second audience, they will likely respond by thinking, well, I don’t really get nervous speaking, so I guess I can tune out of this speech .

So, create a problem statement starting with, “I help people…” Make the statement apply to what your audience really wants.

Step #3: Share some type of proof (social proof works best) that you can solve this problem.

By the way, if you just do steps #1 and #2, your introduction will be better than most that you will hear. However, if you add Step #3, you will gain more respect (and attention) from your audience. Without adding some type of proof that you can solve this problem, you are just giving your opinion that you are an expert. However, if you can prove it, you are also proving that you are an expert.

This is the tricky part. For some reason, most people who get to this part feel like they haven’t accomplished great things, so they diminish the great accomplishments that they do have.

For instance, an easy way to offer proof is with a personal story of how you have solved that problem in the past.

A Few Examples of How to Introduce Yourself Before a Presentation.

For instance, one of my early clients was a young accountant. When I was working with him, he came up with the following introduction, “I’m Gary Gorman with Gorman and Associates CPA’s, and I help small businesses avoid IRS audits.” It was a great, audience-focused attention-getter. (No one wants to get audited.) However, as an accountant, it wasn’t like his company was getting a lot of five-star reviews on Yelp! So, he was kind of struggling with his social proof. So, I asked him a series of questions.

Me, “How many clients do you have?”

Gary, “Over 300.”

Me, “How many small business tax returns have you processed?”

Gary, “Well, at least a couple hundred a year for 15 years.”

Me, “So, at least 3000?” He nodded. “How many of your 300 clients have been audited since you have been representing them?”

He looked at me and said, “Well, none.”

So, we just added that piece of proof to his talk of introduction.

I’m Gary Gorman with Gorman and Associates CPA’s, and I help small businesses avoid IRS audits. In fact, in my career, I’ve helped clients complete over 3000 tax returns, and not a single one has ever been audited.

Here Is How I Adjust My Introduction Based on What I Want the Audience to Do.

For my proof, I have a number of options. Just like Gary, I have had a lot of clients who have had great successes. In addition, I have published two best-selling books about public speaking. I also have hundreds of thousands of people who listen to my podcast each week. So, I can pick my evidence based on what I want my audience to do.

For instance, if I’m speaking at a convention, and I want the audience to come by my booth to purchase my books, my introduction might sound like this.

Hi, I’m Doug Staneart with The Leader’s Institute ®, an international leadership development company, and I help people eliminate public speaking fear. One of the things that I’m most know for is being the author of two best-selling books, Fearless Presentations and Mastering Presentations.

However, if I’m leading a webinar, I may want the audience to purchase a seat in one of my classes. In that case, my introduction might sound like this.

Hi, I’m Doug Staneart with The Leader’s Institute ®, an international leadership development company, and I help people eliminate public speaking fear. For instance, for the last 20 years, I’ve taught public speaking classes to over 20,000 people, and I haven’t had a single person fail to reduce their nervousness significantly in just two days.

If my goal is to get the audience to subscribe to my podcast, my intro might sound like…

Hi, I’m Doug Staneart with The Leader’s Institute ®, an international leadership development company, and I help people eliminate public speaking fear. One of the ways that I do this is with my weekly podcast called, Fearless Presentations, which has over one million downloads, so far.

Use the Form Below to Organize How to Introduce Yourself in a Presentation.

The point is that you want to design your introduction in a way that makes people pause and think, “Really? That sounds pretty good.” You want to avoid introductions that make your audience think, “So what?”

If you have a speech coming up and need a good introduction, complete the form below. We will send you your answers via email!

Can You Replace Your Introduction with a PowerPoint Slide?

Is it okay to make your first slide (or second slide) in your presentation slides an introduction? Sure. A good public speaker will often add an introduction slide with a biography, portrait, and maybe even contact information. I sometimes do this myself.

However, I NEVER read the slide to my audience. I often just have it showing while I deliver the short introduction using the guide above. This is a great way to share more of your work experience without sounding like you are bragging.

For tips about how many powerpoint slides to use in a presentation , click here.

Remember that There Is a Big Difference Between Your Introduction in a Presentation and Your Presentation Starter.

When you introduce yourself in a presentation, you will often just use a single sentence to tell the audience who you are. You only use this intro if the audience doesn’t know who you are. Your presentation starter, though, is quite different. Your presentation starter should be a brief introduction with relevant details about what you will cover in your presentation.

For details, see Great Ways to Start a Presentation . In that post, we show ways to get the attention of the audience. We also give examples of how to use an interesting hook, personal stories, and how to use humor to start a presentation.

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Impression management: Developing your self-presentation skills

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What is impression management?

Examples of impression management, the theory behind impression management, impression management in the workplace, 7 impression management techniques, noticing the practice of impression management.

How much is a first impression worth?

We all know the value of a strong first impression, but not many of us know how to strategically go about creating one . Instead, we tend to cultivate two different personas. There’s our relaxed self, when we don’t feel like we have to impress. And then there are the times when we’re “on,” and we become deliberate about every word we say and move we make.

Social media has made us even more aware of the power of our personas. And that doesn’t mean that we have to be inauthentic. Understanding impression management can help us emphasize the qualities that we want to shine through and how to be more at ease with others.

Canadian social psychologist, sociologist, and writer Erving Goffman first presented the idea of impression management in the 1950s. In his book, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life , Goffman uses the idea of theatre as a metaphor for human social interactions.

His theory became known as Goffman's dramaturgical analysis. It provides an interesting contextual framework for understanding human behavior.

Impression management is the sum total of actions we take — both consciously and unconsciously — to influence how others perceive us. We often attempt to manage how people see us to make us more likely to achieve our goals.

People use impression management to align how we’re seen with what we want. In general, we want other people to think of us as confident, likeable, intelligent, capable, interesting, and any number of other positive traits.

We then “adjust” our behavior to exhibit these characteristics to meet a desired goal. This is closely related to the self-presentation theory — and in fact, the two ideas are often used interchangeably.

If you’ve ever seen the musical Chicago, you’re familiar with the idea of impression management.

Our client, Roxie Hart, was an ambitious adulterer — a persona that wouldn’t have made her too sympathetic to the jury during her murder trial. Instead, she and her lawyer carefully curated a set of behaviors, actions, and even a backstory that made her seem more likeable and naive. 

This impression management strategy culminated in the song, “ They Both Reached for the Gun .” Her lawyer, Billy Flynn, stepped in to manage every part of her presentation to the court, emphasizing that Roxie would only have fired a gun in self-defense.

Outside of the Cook County jail, people use impression management strategies in all kinds of ways. Here are some examples you might have experienced in the workplace: 

• A person is walking into a meeting. They’ve had a rough morning and an even rougher commute. But they smile broadly and wave at each person as they walk in, hiding their bad mood and exhaustion. To all watching, they’re happy to be here.
• You’ve been working in your pajamas all day amongst a pile of paperwork and cookie crumbs. Before joining the afternoon Zoom call, you brush your hair, throw on a clean shirt, and dust the crumbs off the sofa.
• A candidate arrives for their job interview several minutes late. “So sorry,” they say breathlessly. “I was here early, but I got sent to the wrong office.”

What’s the point of this duplicity? 

Well, it might not be all that inauthentic . Despite a rough morning, the first person might genuinely be thrilled to be at work — or might be trying to salvage the day. You might be extremely punctual and just ended up in the wrong place. And it’s totally possible you have no idea how those cookies got there.

On both conscious and unconscious levels, we’re aware that in different situations, we need to emphasize different aspects of our personality and behavior. That doesn’t mean that they aren’t true, just that they’re hidden (under a layer of cookie dust). We tend to engage in a constant, quiet self-monitoring that makes us aware of behaviors that don’t align with how we want to be seen. 

Awareness of these internal contradictions is known as cognitive dissonance . It’s the sense of psychological discomfort that we feel when we’re doing something that contradicts our beliefs or values. We typically resolve cognitive dissonance by taking an action that’s better aligned with our beliefs, or by changing our beliefs to justify our behavior.

So in the above examples, we smile, clean up, or apologize because we want to emphasize our good nature, professionalism, and punctuality. We curate these behaviors to try to control the impressions others have of us. 

Over time, the behaviors (and feedback we get based on those behaviors) inform our self-concepts. We begin to believe that we are the face that we’re putting out to the world, and to a large extent we are.

After all, a tree makes a sound if it falls in the forest, even if no one is around to hear it. But it’s hard to understand the impact of the sound — or put it into context — without an audience.

Goffman explained impression management theory using theatre as a metaphor. Our behavior in a given setting is based on three components: motives , self-presentation , and social context .

We adapt our behaviors as a means to an end. We might want to seem more likeable, competent, or attractive. The qualities we decide to emphasize are the ones that we believe are in line with the outcome we want.

If you pay attention to people’s behavior across different settings, you can often guess what they want to accomplish. The behaviors and qualities they “play up” will clue you into the goal. 

Self-presentation

Self-presentation falls into two main categories: actions that are aligned with your self-image, and actions that align with the expectations of the “audience.” When people respond positively to the projected self, it has a positive impact on our self-esteem. 

This effect is multiplied when the desired image feels congruent with the audience’s expectations. In other words, when people feel like they can bring their whole selves to the “performance,” and that self is welcomed and rewarded, they feel great about themselves. In the workplace, these individuals have higher job satisfaction, a sense of belonging , and increased retention.

Social context

Our public image is also closely tied to how we conduct ourselves in social situations. We inform our understanding of acceptable and unacceptable (and by extension, desirable and undesirable) behavior according to context and social norms.

When we’re successful in making the desired impressions on a group, we feel good about our social standing.

Impression management is a very important skill to have in the workplace. It affects your social influence at work, or — in other words — how others perceive you and your company. 

How organizations use impression management

Organizations use it for both internal and external purposes. Internally, companies want to be seen by the industry as a good place to work. They want to appear organized, capable, supportive, and financially stable. Impression management is closely related to company culture. 

Organizations also use impression management for external purposes. This might include communications with clients, partners, or investors. Managing the positive and negative impression a company has on the general public is usually called public relations or marketing.

Impression management in interviews

The classic scenario of impression management in the workplace is the job interview. Candidates and interviewers alike feel compelled to try to look “perfect.” This means coming across as “authentically perfect” — that is, pleasant, competent, and yet not so perfect as to seem disingenuous.  

Interviews also involve quite a bit of self-promotion. Although self-promotion gets a bit of a bad rep, it’s often the best way for a company to find out about a candidate's skills and experience. This kind of self-promotion can help a candidate leave a positive impression on a prospective employer or client.

Note that this is only true when self-promotion is based in honesty. Lying about your skills or competencies doesn’t earn you any ingratiation points.

Interpersonal impression management

Another common use of impression management at work is building relationships with your colleagues. People usually have a work “persona,” which encompasses a range of behaviors, wardrobe choices, and even topics of conversation. 

While we all shift our behavior to suit different contexts, many feel the shift that happens at work acutely. This is because of the pressure and high value placed on social capital at work, which often compounds other issues of belonging. This kind of impression management is called code-switching .

Impression management techniques can be used in a variety of situations, from job interviews to networking events. Even if it happens unconsciously, we tend to match our behavior and techniques to the situation. According to Goffman, there are 7 different types of impression management tactics we use to control how others perceive us: conformity , excuses , acclaim , flattery , self-promotion , favors , and association .

1. Conformity

Conformity means being accepted by a larger group. In order to conform, you have to (implicitly or explicitly) uphold the social norms and expectations of the group.

Group norms are the behaviors that are considered appropriate for a situation or in a particular set of people. For example, if your job may have a business-casual dress code, so cut-off jeans would feel out-of-place.

Excuses are explanations for a negative event given in order to avoid (or lessen) punishment and judgment. There are countless examples of excuses being made — in and out of the workplace. For example, you might hear people blame traffic when they’re late to meetings.  

Generally speaking, you can only count on but so much social favor with excuses and apologies. Once you make an excuse, you’ve given up a little bit of authority in the situations. Do this too often, and you’ll be seen as unreliable or as a perpetual victim .

That being said, traffic, setbacks, and emergencies really do happen. Communicating these changes proactively can go a long way towards building rapport — especially if you show you’re willing to work through it. 

Public recognition of someone’s accomplishments often goes a long way towards building rapport. When you acclaim someone in this way, you applaud them for their skills and success. If your team is recognition-driven, this sentiment will likely inspire others to work hard as well. It can help incentivize specific behaviors.

4. Flattery

Flattery is a technique often used to improve your relationship with someone through compliments. It’s meant to make you seem agreeable, perceptive, and pleasant. After all, who wouldn’t want to spend time with someone who always has something positive to say about them?

As with the other techniques — if not even more so — flattery can easily come across as insincere. Anchor flattering comments in specific praise, and try not to go overboard. It can be helpful to develop self-awareness and ask yourself why you’re piling it on. Are you truly impressed, or are you feeling a little insecure?

5. Self-promotion

Self-promotion is about highlighting your strengths and drawing attention to your achievements. This phenomenon is especially common in business settings, but it’s frequently seen in personal relationships, too. Because it’s self-directed, some worry that “bragging” on themselves will make them less likeable.

You can eliminate a little of this pressure by looking for spaces where talking about yourself isn’t just welcomed, but expected. Social media, job interviews, and professional networking events are great platforms for practicing self-promotion. Curate at least one space where you can own your full range of accomplishments.

Doing a favor for someone, whether in business or in everyday life, shifts the power dynamic of a relationship. It establishes the person doing the favor as “useful,” and may result in the recipient feeling like they owe something to the other party. 

When favors only come with strings attached, people feel manipulated and resentful. When they’re done freely and out of a desire to be helpful, they can build mutual affinity in a relationship.

7. Association

Association means ensuring that any information shared about you, your company, and your partners is truthful and relevant. This is especially important, as being associated with someone means that everyone’s impressions reflect on each other's values and image.

Sometimes, we consciously associate with certain people to promote our self-image. Some people will network with you (and you with others) in hopes of being introduced to a larger network of contacts.

Impression management is the act of managing how other people perceive you. It is a social strategy that we employ in order to make a good impression on others and to control what they think about us. 

The practice of impression management is a common one in modern society. It’s one of the main ways that people try to maintain their social status and establish themselves as a worthy individual. We may not be aware that we’re doing it, but — at any given time — we’re making dozens of decisions that are influenced by what others might think of us.

You can learn how to better manage your own persona, thrive in social situations, and understand the behavior of others by working with a coach. Coaches can help you understand what you need to project more (or less) of to get what you want, and how to align it with your authentic self.

Ready to learn how to improve your influence, both in and out of the workplace? Schedule a demo with a BetterUp coach today.

Understand Yourself Better:

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Allaya Cooks-Campbell

With over 15 years of content experience, Allaya Cooks Campbell has written for outlets such as ScaryMommy, HRzone, and HuffPost. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and is a certified yoga instructor as well as a certified Integrative Wellness & Life Coach. Allaya is passionate about whole-person wellness, yoga, and mental health.

Professional development is for everyone (We’re looking at you)

10+ interpersonal skills at work and ways to develop them, why an internship is step #1 to figuring out what to with your career, 10 organizational skills that will put you a step ahead, goal-setting theory: why it’s important, and how to use it at work, your work performance will sky-rocket with these 13 tips, how to set short-term professional goals, be cool: how to manage your emotions and avoid rage quitting, the power of politeness: 10 ways to deal with rude people, the self presentation theory and how to present your best self, bringing your whole self to work — should you, how to not be nervous for a presentation — 13 tips that work (really), 25 unique email sign-offs to make a good impression, developing individual contributors: your secret weapon for growth, what are hard skills & examples for your resume, how to stop self-sabotaging: 5 steps to change your behavior, self-management skills for a messy world, make a good first impression: expert tips for showing up at your best, stay connected with betterup, get our newsletter, event invites, plus product insights and research..

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20+ Self Introduction PowerPoint Templates: Download for free!

Think about the image you want to portray during your presentation pitch. Creativity? Soberness? Reliability? A professional PowerPoint design can help you deliver a powerful introduction to your stakeholders . 

Here, you'll find some creative Self-Introduction PowerPoint Templates that are going to elevate your slides to the next level. Our expert team has designed different layouts that you will surely love and save you a lot of time. 

And if you want to present your company and highlight your team's experience, you'll also find some fantastic Team Presentation Templates . Keep reading to get them all for free!

Introducing Yourself PowerPoint Templates

Introducing yourself is vital to generate a connection with your audience . In fact, it showcases your background and abilities, making sure you are the person they seek. 

That being said, let's have a look at the Self-Introduction PowerPoint Templates that we prepared for you and will optimize your creative process:

1. About Me PowerPoint Template

These self-introduction PowerPoint templates are perfect for anyone trying to convey sobriety and professionalism. 

The pack offers different layouts, which you can use to engage your audience and showcase your work experience. 

2. Personal Resume PowerPoint Template

This template is another great option for introducing yourself through a PowerPoint presentation. 

You'll find different types of diagrams and graphs that will display all your skills and work experience in a more eye-catching way. 

3. Colorful Resume PowerPoint Template

With this colorful template, you'll be able to create more impactful slides and add your desired background. 

It also includes a map that will help you showcase your experience abroad! 

4. Creative Resume PowerPoint Template

If you are not sure of the color palette of your presentation, try this blue template. It's the perfect color to convey professionalism!

This self-introduction PowerPoint template will definitely catch your audience's attention from the beginning. 

5. Personal Branding PowerPoint Template

This template is focused on Personal Branding, but you can use the graphics to organize your "About me" presentation in PowerPoint.

As always, we invite you to customize each element however you like!

6. Women Leadership Powerpoint Template

Want to be concise in your pitch? This template will inspire you!

As you can see in the image, you'll find a minimalist design of pink and purple tones.

7. Timeline Infographic PowerPoint Template

This template package has timelines and graphics that will be useful for organizing your personal information.

If you were looking for a modern and creative self-introduction template, this design may be for you!

8. User Persona PowerPoint Template

This PowerPoint template was initially designed to present Buyer Personas but can be adapted for an "About Me" section.

9. Photography Portfolio PowerPoint Template

Want to improve your portfolio? We've designed portfolio templates in PowerPoint, too!

This resource was created for photographers, but you can adjust it to your needs.

10. Career Portfolio PowerPoint Template

Here is another portfolio design in PowerPoint! 

When you download this template, you'll find a sober self-introduction design with blue tones.

We're not done yet!

In the following section, you'll discover more PowerPoint templates for introducing your work team to an audience.

Team Introduction PowerPoint Templates

Introducing your team becomes crucial when you want to attract new clients or investors to your business. It will spotlight your team's capabilities, convincing your audience that you can solve their problems. 

As always, all the slides in our templates are easily editable , so you can add any image you like and customize the aesthetics according to your color scheme .

Let's check the Team Introduction PowerPoint Templates we have for you: 

1. Team Slides PowerPoint Template

This team introduction PowerPoint template offers 8 different designs that will impress your audience. 

Pick the layout you like the most and add it to your presentation deck! 

2 . Roles and Responsibilities PowerPoint Template

This PowerPoint template is all about the roles and responsibilities of each team member.  

If you’re working on a new project, this team intro PowerPoint template will be perfect! 

3. Meet The Team PowerPoint Template

If you're seeking to introduce your company to a potential investor or client, check out these team introduction slides! 

This template pack will help you to present a complete overview of your business and the people involved in it.

4. Project Management PowerPoint Template

Do you have a project running and need to design the final presentation? This template is made for you!

As in the previous designs, you will find a project team slide template and more graphics that will make your presentation dazzle.

5. Strategic Action Plan PowerPoint Template

Here is another of our corporate templates to introduce your work team to an audience.

If you want designs with green and blue tones, this resource is for you!

6. Finance Team PowerPoint Template

This presentation contains animated slides with a fresh design.

When you download this PowerPoint template, you'll find a "mission and vision" section, a description of services, a customer profile, and more!

7. Light Corporate PowerPoint Template

Want to present a creative self-introduction but need more time to think about the design? If so, this template will be perfect for you.

You'll find a "meet the team" section, 3D graphics, infographics, and more. Download it for free now!

8. Creative Business PowerPoint Template

If you prefer a one-page self-introduction, take a look at this template.

It contains icons, timelines, statistical graphs, and more resources. Like the previous designs, the download is completely free!

9. Creative Pitchbook PowerPoint Template

This PowerPoint template and its unique designs will immediately catch your audience's attention.

If you want to convey professionalism and detail-oriented, this template pack is for you.

10. Film Pitch PowerPoint Template

These designs were created for film teams but can be adapted to any field!

We are confident its aesthetics will inspire you.

11. Storyboard Artist PowerPoint Template

Looking for more creative self-introduction slides? You'll love this one! 

Initially, this template is black and white, but you can edit the colors freely.

12. Team Introduction PowerPoint Template

This team introduction PowerPoint template has a unique format.

You'll be able to highlight your team's skills visually. And the best thing is that it's easy to understand at first glance!

13. Science Organization PowerPoint Template

A team introduction is always a great idea, but it's even better when you can showcase the relationship between different members and roles! 

With this template pack, you can make that possible.

Looking for Custom PowerPoint Presentations? We got you! 

If you liked our free template designs, you'll love 24Slides custom presentations ! 

A PowerPoint presentation is a great place to start making an excellent first impression. It will show your audience how committed you are to a project and how much effort you will put into it. 

But making a good PowerPoint presentation takes a lot of time and effort. Why not call upon professionals to handle it efficiently?

24Slides offers a pro-level design service that will elevate all your presentation decks. Our Designers have worked with some of the biggest companies worldwide, so we can offer the expertise you need. 

Still not sure? While working alongside us, you will: 

• Own high-impact presentations aligned with your brand – We help you communicate the message you want to convey!
• Choose between different services: Regular Service , Dedicated Design Teams , and Credit Packages – We adapt to your needs!
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• Have the option to create a platform for connecting your Internal Team with our Designers – The integration will be seamless!

The best part is that you can try our expertise and style for just $1 . Our Designers will be happy to show you the true potential of your slides!

Found this content interesting? You'll love what's next: 

• 50+ Fun Icebreakers for Your Next Presentation
• 20+ Free PowerPoint and Google Slides Templates for Data Presentations
• How to Make a PowerPoint Template (Tutorial with Pictures!)
• Why is Brand Identity Important in Presentations? Experts answered!  
• The Cost of PowerPoint Presentations: Discover the hidden expenses you might overlook!

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When you give a presentation, it is important to remember the whole package, and that means how you present yourself as well as how you present the material.

It is not good to spend hours and hours preparing a wonderful presentation and neglect the effect of your own appearance.

Whether you like it or not, people make judgements about you based on your appearance.

These judgements may be conscious or subconscious, but they all affect how, and whether, your audience is prepared to take on board your message as presenter.

Our pages on Personal Appearance and Personal Presentation explain the importance of presenting yourself effectively, more generally. This page focuses on the impact of self-presentation in presentations.

The Importance of Expectations

When you stand up to give a presentation, the audience already has certain expectations about how you will behave, and what you will say.

These expectations may be based on the event, the marketing, their knowledge of you, or their previous experience more generally.

Expectations may also be based on societal norms, such as business people are expected to wear suits.

You don’t have to match people’s expectations, of course, but you do need to be aware that, if you don’t, they are going to have to spend time processing that difference. This mismatch will take some of their concentration away from your message.

You also need to be aware that people can only take so much discomfort.

A mismatch between expectations and reality can even lead to a situation called cognitive dissonance , where individuals come into contact with something — whether idea, person, or belief — that causes them to question their own internal beliefs and values.

This can be very uncomfortable, and the normal reaction is to try to avoid it. In a presentation situation, that's going to mean either leaving or just not listening, neither of which is ideal.

This is particularly important if you want to say something that your audience will find difficult to hear.

If you want to say something outrageous, wear a suit.

The late Dr Joe Jaina, Organisational Psychologist at Cranfield School of Management.

Aspects of Personal Presentation

Your personal presentation includes:

• Accessories, which in this context means anything that you’re carrying or wearing, including your notes, although it also includes luggage, bags, phones, jewellery, watches, and scarves;
• Body language; and

Your clothes are probably the most obvious aspect of personal presentation.

In deciding what to wear, there are several things to consider:

What does the audience expect?

It’s not actually as simple as ‘wear a business suit’, because this may not always be appropriate.

It does depend what your audience is expecting. On some occasions, or in some industries, smart casual may be much more appropriate. If you’re not sure, ask the organisers about the dress code. You can also ask someone who has been to the event before, or have a look online.

If it’s a regular event, there will almost certainly be photographs of previous occasions and you can see what other people have worn.

Within the audience’s expectations, what will make you feel comfortable?

You will present best if you are fairly relaxed, so you need to find a balance between the audience’s expectations, and feeling comfortable.

For example, you may have a particular suit that you think makes you look good. For women, it’s also worth thinking about shoes: you’re going to have to stand for the duration of the session, so make sure that you can do that.

If you’re not used to heels, don’t wear them.

Your accessories should be consistent with your clothes.

That doesn’t mean that your bag needs to be the same colour as your jacket.  However, if you’re wearing a suit, your notes should be in a briefcase or smart bag, and you’re not carrying a backpack or plastic carrier bag. Again, it’s about not distracting your audience from your message.

Likewise, your notes should be part of your thinking. Producing a dog-eared sheaf of paper is not going to help you project a good image. Papers tend to flap about, whereas cue cards can be held on your hand, which is why it is worth considering using cue cards, or even memorising most of what you’re going to say and using your visual aids as cues.

See our page: Managing your Presentation Notes for more on this.

The Importance of Self-Presentation

In 2005, the Conservative Party in the UK faced a leadership election as leader Michael Howard announced that he would step down. The actual election was held between October and December that year. In October, at the Conservative Party Conference, each of the announced candidates was given an opportunity to make a 20-minute speech.

Before the speeches, David Davis was very much the front-runner in the competition. However, his conference speech was considered poor. He spoke from notes, and never really came alive. David Cameron, a more junior member of the party and considered by many an outside chance as leader, made a speech that set the hall alight. He spoke without notes, and with passion, presenting himself as the young, upcoming potential leader who could take the party in a new direction.

By the following morning, the bookies had David Cameron as the front-runner and he went on to win the leadership election.

Self-Presentation also Includes Body Language and Voice.

While there are many important elements of body language, perhaps the most important is to project self-confidence .

You need to demonstrate that you believe in what you’re saying. Otherwise, why would anyone else believe it?

For more about this, and other aspects of body language that may help your communication, see our pages on Managing a Presentation Event and Non-Verbal Communication .

Part of projecting self-belief is being able to control your voice, and speak slowly and clearly. You also need to vary your tone and pace to keep people interested.

For more about this, see our page on Effective Speaking .

In conclusion…

When you are making a presentation, you are presenting a package: you and your message. The more you are aware of the impact of every element, the more effective the package will be as a whole.

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Continue to: Presenting to Large Groups Top Tips for Effective Presentations

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Top 10 Templates to Design an Introduction Slide About Yourself (Samples and Examples Included)

Siranjeev Santhanam

Introducing oneself in the workplace is one of the more under-valued and under-emphasized moments in the average professional’s career. Making a good first impression can make a big difference, whether it be dealing with managers, clients, stakeholders, or during interviews with potential employers. It can help you strengthen your professional credibility, broadcast your strengths and gain traction.

Dive deeper into this issue by checking out other blog on must have cover letter templates to use for introductions. Click here and read it now.

In the modern workplace, there are many methods and formats that professionals weaponize to create a good first impression. 

Crafting a cogent and compelling PPT Presentation can be one empowering way to present oneself and get people to place their faith in you. Whether it be during interview sessions, business meetings or during engagements with clients, having a presentation can be a great way to command attention, to assert your own presence and to establish your identity during meetings.

In this blog, we’re going to be taking a look at ten templates that you can use to create an authentic introduction slide, one that you can accommodate within distinct settings, be it in interviews or in personal business conventions. These slides are 100% editable and customizable, giving you the flexibility to work with them and to redesign them exactly the way you see fit. Let’s begin.

Are you seeking similar content-rich templates on employee introduction as well? Click here and read our other blog on this subject now.

Explore our blogs on  Presentation About Myself Templates  and  Self-Introduction Templates   for an extensive collection of PowerPoint designs by SlideTeam, offering a solid framework to introduce yourself in formal settings. Craft engaging and informative presentations effortlessly with 100% editable slides, saving you time and energy.

Template 1 - Ten Minutes Presentation About Myself PowerPoint Bundle

This PPT Set helps showcase your professional journey in a concise manner. This versatile set covers essential aspects, including your work experience, personal profile, education, hobbies, and contact information. With a focus on your career map, SWOT analysis, professional qualifications, achievements, and training, the presentation highlights your unique skill set and experience. The sleek design ensures a dynamic and compelling delivery of your professional story within the allotted time, making it an ideal tool for self-introduction in professional settings. Download now!

Download this template

Template 2 - Introduce Yourself PPT Presentation Slides

Leverage the use of this well-designed PPT Bundle to create and implement an introductory presentation that leaves a lasting impression. Packed with 65 slides, the presentation is complete with a wide range of intricate tools and resources to enhance your professional profile. Legitimize your career in the eyes of the audience with the personal qualifications section and elevate your own corporate credentials with the achievements section. Establish a more personal account of yourself with the about me section. Also present are slides dedicated to your professional experience, your language skills, your hobbies, and more.

Download now

Template 3 - Be able to introduce yourself PPT presentation slides

This template can be a defining feature of your corporate success story, if used properly. It comprises 57 slides, complete with tables, graphs, charts, and a range of slides that can help master the office world. With the aid of the slides in this deck, you’re given the chance to elaborate on your career objectives, establish your own personal set of ethos and your ‘mission’, detail your work experience, education details, achievements, and map out a career path. Get it now and win over more people.

Template 4 – Self-Introduction in Interview for Job PPT Presentation Slides

Strengthen your corporate profile, control your appearance in the office and boost your chances in interviews, all with the aid of this ready-to-use PPT Deck in 39 slides. It is complete with powerful aesthetics, content-rich slides and a host of well-researched information pockets that you can harness to introduce yourself. Some key segments included within in package are about me, career, SWOT analysis, professional qualifications, achievements, training, and more. Get it now and ace your next job interview with ease!

Template 5 - How to introduce yourself PowerPoint Presentation slides

Elevate your own standing in the office and make more people notice you using this PPT Template. The 34-slide deck and is rich with content, allowing you to tailor it your needs and the stakeholder who is to view it. Some highlights incorporated into the slide include a SWOT analysis, sections dedicated to your job experience, sections dedicated to the path to career, and more. Download this template and sharpen your own appeal in the workplace, creating a more engaging corporate personal in the process.

Template 6 - Name position self-introduction template with details

This one-page PPT Template can be your means to creating a more professional and polished self-introduction session. It has been segregated into smaller sections that cover aspects within the corporate experience, each of which can be customized to fit your individual needs. Space for a photograph is also present at the top left corner of the slide, along with space to accommodate other crucial information such as your job description and application requirements.

Template 7 – Self-presentation creative resume template

This PowePoint Theme can be a valuable resource for professionals seeking to make a positive first-impression in the work place, and specifically in job interviews. The high-resolution slide allows you to craft your own personalized resume theme, allowing you to stand out from the crowd and attract more attention. Some key subheadings include education, skills, contact, experience, and more. Get this template and make people notice you in the office.

Template 8 - Formal self-introduction framework for interviews infographic template

Are you searching for a way to present yourself in curated and professional manner during interviews? Then this one-page PPT Layout is the answer. It allows you to illustrate your professional strengths and distinctive qualities in an elegant and concise manner. You can use it to draw attention to your own internal guiding ethos and to underscore your professional strengths, creativity, and personality.

Template 9 - Self-introduction of branding professional with skills

This template offers you a creative and wholesome means of promoting yourself, giving you the tools to facilitate better connections in the workplace and impress people with your profile. The template can be re-tailored to suit the needs of a resume, or be used by its own self within the office, making it adaptable and valuable within the corporate framework. It has been endowed with some pertinent subheadings such as profile, contact, education, skills, work experience, and some space for a personalized image as well.

Template 10 - Detailed self-introduction for managing director profile interview infographic template

Are you struggling to unleash your full potential as you wade through the corporate world? Make a firmer impact on your peers and get more people to invest in you, all with the aid of this vibrant one-page template. It has been designed with the structure of a typical resume template, with the aid of some basic features such as skillset, name, hobbies, etc. It has the added advantage of a more rousing appearance with the use of contrasting white and green colour grading and prominent black font.

Template 11 - Case study self-introduction PPT inspiration

This dashboard could be your solution to getting your dues in the workplace. It is a case study template, designed to be able to add value to any presentation centred around your own professional experience. It has been divided into three major segments, challenge, solution and results, allowing you to outline your own personal challenges and results in a clear and compelling manner.

BE BOLD IS THE BEST INTRO

Introducing oneself in the right manner, with the right etiquette and professionalism, can go a long way in the workplace. The templates featured in this blog make for simple, yet effective instruments of communication, giving you the tools needed to cultivate a distinct appeal for yourself when using them. Download our self introduction ppt templates and deploy them in whichever business settings you deem necessary, adding some boldness to your own presence in the workplace.

Don’t turn away just yet! We’ve got more for you on this subject. Click here now and read our other blog on ten self-introduction templates. 

FAQs on Introduction Slides

How do you introduce yourself in a slide.

Here are some steps to follow when seeking to introduce yourself in a slide within a professional setting:

Step 1 – Establish the relevant information, such as the name and title

Step 2 – Outline a brief summation of your professional history and the work experience. 

Step 3 – Engage with the audience by including some basic personal information such as hobbies, etc. 

Step 4 – Employ strong visuals and incorporate graphs, tables, etc. to add colour to the experience.

How can you do a five-minute presentation about yourself?

To be able to deliver a five-minute presentation on oneself, one would have to be brief, focused and concise. Here are some general tips to follow:

1 – Plan your content and determine what information needs to be included and what needs to be left out.

2 – Practice the presentation, making sure to enact rehearsals if needed to attain a degree of comfort.

3 – Design the slides and structure them in accordance with the presentation plan.

What is the best self-introduction?

There is no definitive answer to this question. However, general guidelines to improve upon and strengthen one’s self-introduction within the professional environment are:

1 – Be brief, concise and make relevant points. 

2 – Underscore your strengths, accomplishments and professional accomplishments. 

3 – Be confident and charismatic when presenting yourself. 

4 – Be authentic; no overselling please.

Related posts:

• Top 10 Self-Introduction Templates with Samples and Examples
• Top 10 Personal Presentation Templates with Examples and Samples
• Proven Best Practices and Templates to Deliver My Presentation (Samples and Examples Inside)
• Top 10 Personal Introduction Slide Templates to Make Yourself Unforgettable

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How to Introduce Yourself in a Presentation

Last Updated: October 4, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Patrick Muñoz . Patrick is an internationally recognized Voice & Speech Coach, focusing on public speaking, vocal power, accent and dialects, accent reduction, voiceover, acting and speech therapy. He has worked with clients such as Penelope Cruz, Eva Longoria, and Roselyn Sanchez. He was voted LA's Favorite Voice and Dialect Coach by BACKSTAGE, is the voice and speech coach for Disney and Turner Classic Movies, and is a member of Voice and Speech Trainers Association. There are 11 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 127,122 times.

Introducing yourself in a presentation is more than just saying your name. It’s an opportunity for you to share relevant details about yourself and connect with your audience. It also sets the tone for the rest of the talk. How you introduce yourself will influence how your audience receives the message you want to get across. Make your next introduction flawless by presenting the most engaging information about yourself. Be sure to prepare the introduction in advance and start with an attention-grabbing technique to connect to the audience.

Including Relevant Information in Your Introduction

• If you have an unusual or difficult to pronounce name, you may want to add a small remark to help your audience remember it. For example, you can say “My name is Jacob Misen, like ‘risen’ but with an M.”
• Try to make eye contact with parts of audience during your presentation as well. [1] X Research source

• If you are VP of Marketing at a large company, it can actually be much more effective to say something like “I have more than a decade of experience using Facebook marketing ads to target clients in the dance industry” rather than simply stating your job title.

• You can also specifically refer your audience to the handout or powerpoint for more information. For example, if you want to let them know that you have articles in many international newspapers but you don’t want to list them all out, simply say “I’ve written for a number of internationally recognized news organizations. You can find the full list on the first page of my handout.”

• For example, you could say “when I designed a website for Richard Branson last year …” to inform your audience that you have an impressive resume, without having to list it all for them in your introduction.

• Try concluding your introduction by mentioning a client or project you were working on that directly relates to the topic of your presentation. For example: “I’ve had the pleasure of working with NXP Semiconductors for the past three years. Just last week we encountered a problem with our logistical database...” and then lead into your presentation about a new software that will solve everyone’s logistical hiccups.

Grabbing Your Audience’s Attention Before Your Introduction

• If you don’t have music that can tie to your presentation, you can use a song with the theme of beginning. For example, if you are presenting at a sales meeting, play some soft jazz as participants enter. Then, when it’s time for you to start, play the Black Eyed Peas chorus of “Let’s Get it Started” to get your audience’s attention. You can then open with an energetic “Good morning!” or “Good Afternoon” as the music ends.
• Remember to choose music that’s appropriate to the event. An academic conference may not be the best place for pop music, for example (unless you are presenting research on pop music, of course).

• For example, if you are presenting on the design of a new user-friendly coffee machine, you may start your presentation by referencing Elon Musk: “Any product that needs a manual to work is broken,” and then go on to say “My name is Laurie Higgens, and my coffee machine doesn’t come with a manual.” Speak briefly about your relevant experience and qualifications, and then dive into presenting your design.
• Avoid cliche or overused motivational quotes the audience has probably already heard many times.
• Be sure to correctly cite your quote.

• For example, you might start with “According to Time magazine, Americans filled 4.3 billion prescriptions and doled out $374 billion on medicine in 2014.” Then, introduce yourself and your qualifications in medical research and transition into a presentation about how to prevent doctors from over prescribing medication to their patients.
• Remember to cite the source of your statistics. You will look more professional and reliable, and the audience will be able to follow up on the information if they wish.

• If you are giving a presentation about a new airport security-friendly travel bag, try starting your presentation with “How many of you have ever stood in line at airport security and nearly missed your flight?”
• You can also invite your audience to close their eyes and imagine something as you lead up to your question.
• Don’t be discouraged if your audience doesn’t raise their hands when you ask a question. Sometimes these questions seem more rhetorical to an audience, or maybe they are just shy. You can often see signs that they are still engaging with the question if people are nodding or smiling after you ask it.

• Try telling stories, showing pictures on a powerpoint, or using quotations.
• Being funny not only puts your audience at ease, but it also helps them remember you after the presentation. [10] X Research source

• For example, if you are making a presentation about a pizza delivery app, ask your audience members to tell their name, their favorite pizza topping, and a situation where they’ve had a particularly amazing or awful experience with food delivery.

Preparing Before Your Presentation

• When it’s time to present, it’s probably best to just write down a few notes or key words to remind you of what you want to say so you don’t just read off your note cards.
• Think about your overall intention as a speaker. Are you trying to educate, enlighten, or entertain the audience? Figure out the effect you want to have on the listener so your presentation is impactful.

• If you don’t have a friend to watch your presentation, record yourself on video and play it back later to refine your presentation skills. It can be uncomfortable to watch yourself on video, but it will help you nail your introduction. You can even record your whole presentation. Keep recording and re-recording until you are happy with it. Then you know the audience will be happy too.

• The best resource to learn about the local culture is the locals themselves. If you have a contact where you will be speaking, ask them about customs, dress code, and how humor is usually received. If you don’t know anyone personally, try searching in industry-specific online forums. Find YouTube videos of presentations given in the area that are relevant to your industry.

What Is The Best Way To Start a Presentation?

Expert Q&A

• Don’t spend too much time introducing yourself. Your introduction should be short and to the point so you can get on to your main presentation material. Depending on the length of your presentation, your introduction should be between 20 seconds and 2 minutes long. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/eye_contact_tips_to_make_your_presentations_stronger
• ↑ https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/introduce-yourself-professionally
• ↑ https://www.washington.edu/doit/presentation-tips-0
• ↑ https://www.gvsu.edu/ours/oral-presentation-tips-30.htm
• ↑ https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2018/09/27/15-hacks-for-making-your-presentation-more-creative-and-engaging/
• ↑ https://www.hamilton.edu/academics/centers/oralcommunication/guides/how-to-engage-your-audience-and-keep-them-with-you
• ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/make-em-laugh-ten-tips-using-humor-presentations-judy-romano-mba?trk=portfolio_article-card_title
• ↑ https://www.ncsl.org/legislators-staff/legislative-staff/legislative-staff-coordinating-committee/tips-for-making-effective-powerpoint-presentations.aspx
• ↑ https://crln.acrl.org/index.php/crlnews/article/view/19102/22119
• ↑ https://www.forbes.com/sites/tjwalker/2011/06/07/should-i-rehearse-and-for-how-long-presentation-training/

About This Article

To introduce yourself at the start of your presentation, all you need to do is state your name and tell the audience any relevant experience or skills you have. For example, say something like, “My name is Jacob Misen, and I have over a decade of experience using Facebook marketing ads in the dance industry.” If you have a broad range of relevant experience, you can bullet point a few examples on your opening slide instead of reading them out. Once you’ve introduced yourself, smoothly transition into your presentation. For instance, you can mention a client or project you’ve recently worked on that relates to the topic of your presentation. For more tips, including how to practice your presentation, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Impression Management: Erving Goffman Theory

Charlotte Nickerson

Research Assistant at Harvard University

Undergraduate at Harvard University

Charlotte Nickerson is a student at Harvard University obsessed with the intersection of mental health, productivity, and design.

Learn about our Editorial Process

Saul McLeod, PhD

Editor-in-Chief for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester

Saul McLeod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc

Associate Editor for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education

Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.

On This Page:

• Impression management refers to the goal-directed conscious or unconscious attempt to influence the perceptions of other people about a person, object, or event by regulating and controlling information in social interaction.
• Generally, people undertake impression management to achieve goals that require they have a desired public image. This activity is called self-presentation.
• In sociology and social psychology, self-presentation is the conscious or unconscious process through which people try to control the impressions other people form of them.
• The goal is for one to present themselves the way in which they would like to be thought of by the individual or group they are interacting with. This form of management generally applies to the first impression.
• Erving Goffman popularized the concept of perception management in his book, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life , where he argues that impression management not only influences how one is treated by other people but is an essential part of social interaction.

Impression Management in Sociology

Impression management, also known as self-presentation, refers to the ways that people attempt to control how they are perceived by others (Goffman, 1959).

By conveying particular impressions about their abilities, attitudes, motives, status, emotional reactions, and other characteristics, people can influence others to respond to them in desirable ways.

Impression management is a common way for people to influence one another in order to obtain various goals.

While earlier theorists (e.g., Burke, 1950; Hart & Burk, 1972) offered perspectives on the person as a performer, Goffman (1959) was the first to develop a specific theory concerning self-presentation.

In his well-known work, Goffman created the foundation and the defining principles of what is commonly referred to as impression management.

In explicitly laying out a purpose for his work, Goffman (1959) proposes to “consider the ways in which the individual in ordinary work situations presents himself and his activity to others, the ways in which he guides and controls the impression they form of him, and the kind of things he may or may not do while sustaining his performance before them.” (p. xi)

Social Interaction

Goffman viewed impression management not only as a means of influencing how one is treated by other people but also as an essential part of social interaction.

He communicates this view through the conceit of theatre. Actors give different performances in front of different audiences, and the actors and the audience cooperate in negotiating and maintaining the definition of a situation.

To Goffman, the self was not a fixed thing that resides within individuals but a social process. For social interactions to go smoothly, every interactant needs to project a public identity that guides others’ behaviors (Goffman, 1959, 1963; Leary, 2001; Tseelon, 1992).

Goffman defines that when people enter the presence of others, they communicate information by verbal intentional methods and by non-verbal unintentional methods.

According to Goffman, individuals participate in social interactions through performing a “line” or “a pattern of verbal and nonverbal acts by which he expresses his view of the situation and through this his evaluation of the participants, especially himself” (1967, p. 5).

Such lines are created and maintained by both the performer and the audience. By enacting a line effectively, a person gains positive social value or “face.”

The verbal intentional methods allow us to establish who we are and what we wish to communicate directly. We must use these methods for the majority of the actual communication of data.

Goffman is mostly interested in the non-verbal clues given off which are less easily manipulated. When these clues are manipulated the receiver generally still has the upper hand in determining how realistic the clues that are given off are.

People use these clues to determine how to treat a person and if the intentional verbal responses given off are actually honest. It is also known that most people give off clues that help to represent them in a positive light, which tends to be compensated for by the receiver.

Impression Management Techniques

• Suppressing emotions : Maintaining self-control (which we will identify with such practices as speaking briefly and modestly).
• Conforming to Situational Norms : The performer follows agreed-upon rules for behavior in the organization.
• Flattering Others : The performer compliments the perceiver. This tactic works best when flattery is not extreme and when it involves a dimension important to the perceiver.
• Being Consistent : The performer’s beliefs and behaviors are consistent. There is agreement between the performer’s verbal and nonverbal behaviors.

Self-Presentation Examples

Self-presentation can affect the emotional experience . For example, people can become socially anxious when they are motivated to make a desired impression on others but doubt that they can do so successfully (Leary, 2001).

In one paper on self-presentation and emotional experience, Schlenker and Leary (1982) argue that, in contrast to the drive models of anxiety, the cognitive state of the individual mediates both arousal and behavior.

The researchers examine the traditional inverted-U anxiety-performance curve (popularly known as the Yerkes-Dodson law) in this light.

The researchers propose that people are interpersonally secure when they do not have the goal of creating a particular impression on others.

They are not immediately concerned about others’ evaluative reactions in a social setting where they are attempting to create a particular impression and believe that they will be successful in doing so.

Meanwhile, people are anxious when they are uncertain about how to go about creating a certain impression (such as when they do not know what sort of attributes the other person is likely to be impressed with), think that they will not be able to project the types of images that will produce preferred reactions from others.

Such people think that they will not be able to project the desired image strongly enough or believe that some event will happen that will repudiate their self-presentations, causing reputational damage (Schlenker and Leary, 1982).

Psychologists have also studied impression management in the context of mental and physical health .

In one such study, Braginsky et al. (1969) showed that those hospitalized with schizophrenia modify the severity of their “disordered” behavior depending on whether making a more or less “disordered” impression would be most beneficial to them (Leary, 2001).

Additional research on university students shows that people may exaggerate or even fabricate reports of psychological distress when doing so for their social goals.

Hypochondria appears to have self-presentational features where people convey impressions of illness and injury, when doing so helps to drive desired outcomes such as eliciting support or avoiding responsibilities (Leary, 2001).

People can also engage in dangerous behaviors for self-presentation reasons such as suntanning, unsafe sex, and fast driving. People may also refuse needed medical treatment if seeking this medical treatment compromises public image (Leary et al., 1994).

Key Components

There are several determinants of impression management, and people have many reasons to monitor and regulate how others perceive them.

For example, social relationships such as friendship, group membership, romantic relationships, desirable jobs, status, and influence rely partly on other people perceiving the individual as being a particular kind of person or having certain traits.

Because people’s goals depend on them making desired impressions over undesired impressions, people are concerned with the impressions other people form of them.

Although people appear to monitor how they come across ongoingly, the degree to which they are motivated to impression manage and the types of impressions they try to foster varies by situation and individuals (Leary, 2001).

Leary and Kowalski (1990) say that there are two processes that constitute impression management, each of which operate according to different principles and are affected by different situations and dispositional aspects. The first of these processes is impression motivation, and the second is impression construction.

Impression Motivation

There are three main factors that affect how much people are motivated to impression-manage in a situation (Leary and Kowalski, 1990):

(1) How much people believe their public images are relevant to them attaining their desired goals.

When people believe that their public image is relevant to them achieving their goals, they are generally more motivated to control how others perceive them (Leary, 2001).

Conversely, when the impressions of other people have few implications on one’s outcomes, that person’s motivation to impression-manage will be lower.

This is why people are more likely to impression manage in their interactions with powerful, high-status people than those who are less powerful and have lower status (Leary, 2001).

(2) How valuable the goals are: people are also more likely to impress and manage the more valuable the goals for which their public impressions are relevant (Leary, 2001).

(3) how much of a discrepancy there is between how they want to be perceived and how they believe others perceive them..

People are more highly motivated to impression-manage when there is a difference between how they want to be perceived and how they believe others perceive them.

For example, public scandals and embarrassing events that convey undesirable impressions can cause people to make self-presentational efforts to repair what they see as their damaged reputations (Leary, 2001).

Impression Construction

Features of the social situations that people find themselves in, as well as their own personalities, determine the nature of the impressions that they try to convey.

In particular, Leary and Kowalski (1990) name five sets of factors that are especially important in impression construction (Leary, 2001).

Two of these factors include how people’s relationships with themselves (self-concept and desired identity), and three involve how people relate to others (role constraints, target value, and current or potential social image) (Leary and Kowalski, 1990).

Self-concept

The impressions that people try to create are influenced not only by social context but also by one’s own self-concept .

People usually want others to see them as “how they really are” (Leary, 2001), but this is in tension with the fact that people must deliberately manage their impressions in order to be viewed accurately by others (Goffman, 1959).

People’s self-concepts can also constrain the images they try to convey.

People often believe that it is unethical to present impressions of themselves different from how they really are and generally doubt that they would successfully be able to sustain a public image inconsistent with their actual characteristics (Leary, 2001).

This risk of failure in portraying a deceptive image and the accompanying social sanctions deter people from presenting impressions discrepant from how they see themselves (Gergen, 1968; Jones and Pittman, 1982; Schlenker, 1980).

People can differ in how congruent their self-presentations are with their self-perceptions.

People who are high in public self-consciousness have less congruency between their private and public selves than those lower in public self-consciousness (Tunnell, 1984; Leary and Kowalski, 1990).

Desired identity

People’s desired and undesired selves – how they wish to be and not be on an internal level – also influence the images that they try to project.

Schlenker (1985) defines a desirable identity image as what a person “would like to be and thinks he or she really can be, at least at his or her best.”

People have a tendency to manage their impressions so that their images coincide with their desired selves and stay away from images that coincide with their undesired selves (Ogilivie, 1987; Schlenker, 1985; Leary, 2001).

This happens when people publicly claim attributes consistent with their desired identity and openly reject identities that they do not want to be associated with.

For example, someone who abhors bigots may take every step possible to not appear bigoted, and Gergen and Taylor (1969) showed that high-status navel cadets did not conform to low-status navel cadets because they did not want to see themselves as conformists (Leary and Kowalski, 1990).

Target value

people tailor their self-presentations to the values of the individuals whose perceptions they are concerned with.

This may lead to people sometimes fabricating identities that they think others will value.

However, more commonly, people selectively present truthful aspects of themselves that they believe coincide with the values of the person they are targeting the impression to and withhold information that they think others will value negatively (Leary, 2001).

Role constraints

the content of people’s self-presentations is affected by the roles that they take on and the norms of their social context.

In general, people want to convey impressions consistent with their roles and norms .

Many roles even carry self-presentational requirements around the kinds of impressions that the people who hold the roles should and should not convey (Leary, 2001).

Current or potential social image

People’s public image choices are also influenced by how they think they are perceived by others. As in impression motivation, self-presentational behaviors can often be aimed at dispelling undesired impressions that others hold about an individual.

When people believe that others have or are likely to develop an undesirable impression of them, they will typically try to refute that negative impression by showing that they are different from how others believe them to be.

When they are not able to refute this negative impression, they may project desirable impressions in other aspects of their identity (Leary, 2001).

Implications

In the presence of others, few of the behaviors that people make are unaffected by their desire to maintain certain impressions. Even when not explicitly trying to create a particular impression of themselves, people are constrained by concerns about their public image.

Generally, this manifests with people trying not to create undesired impressions in virtually all areas of social life (Leary, 2001).

Tedeschi et al. (1971) argued that phenomena that psychologists previously attributed to peoples’ need to have cognitive consistency actually reflected efforts to maintain an impression of consistency in others’ eyes.

Studies have supported Tedeschi and their colleagues’ suggestion that phenomena previously attributed to cognitive dissonance were actually affected by self-presentational processes (Schlenker, 1980).

Psychologists have applied self-presentation to their study of phenomena as far-ranging as conformity, aggression, prosocial behavior, leadership, negotiation, social influence, gender, stigmatization, and close relationships (Baumeister, 1982; Leary, 1995; Schlenker, 1980; Tedeschi, 1981).

Each of these studies shows that people’s efforts to make impressions on others affect these phenomena, and, ultimately, that concerns self-presentation in private social life.

For example, research shows that people are more likely to be pro-socially helpful when their helpfulness is publicized and behave more prosocially when they desire to repair a damaged social image by being helpful (Leary, 2001).

In a similar vein, many instances of aggressive behavior can be explained as self-presentational efforts to show that someone is willing to hurt others in order to get their way.

This can go as far as gender roles, for which evidence shows that men and women behave differently due to the kind of impressions that are socially expected of men and women.

Baumeister, R. F. (1982). A self-presentational view of social phenomena. Psychological Bulletin, 91, 3-26.

Braginsky, B. M., Braginsky, D. D., & Ring, K. (1969). Methods of madness: The mental hospital as a last resort. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

Buss, A. H., & Briggs, S. (1984). Drama and the self in social interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 1310-1324. Gergen, K. J. (1968). Personal consistency and the presentation of self. In C. Gordon & K. J. Gergen (Eds.), The self in social interaction (Vol. 1, pp. 299-308). New York: Wiley.

Gergen, K. J., & Taylor, M. G. (1969). Social expectancy and self-presentation in a status hierarchy. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 5, 79-92.

Goffman, E. (1959). The moral career of the mental patient. Psychiatry, 22(2), 123-142.

• Goffman, E. (1963). Embarrassment and social organization.

Goffman, E. (1978). The presentation of self in everyday life (Vol. 21). London: Harmondsworth.

Goffman, E. (2002). The presentation of self in everyday life. 1959. Garden City, NY, 259.

Martey, R. M., & Consalvo, M. (2011). Performing the looking-glass self: Avatar appearance and group identity in Second Life. Popular Communication, 9 (3), 165-180.

Jones E E (1964) Ingratiation. Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York.

Jones, E. E., & Pittman, T. S. (1982). Toward a general theory of strategic self-presentation. Psychological perspectives on the self, 1(1), 231-262.

Leary M R (1995) Self-presentation: Impression Management and Interpersonal Behaior. Westview Press, Boulder, CO.

Leary, M. R.. Impression Management, Psychology of, in Smelser, N. J., & Baltes, P. B. (Eds.). (2001). International encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences (Vol. 11). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Leary, M. R., & Kowalski, R. M. (1990). Impression management: A literature review and two-component model. Psychological bulletin, 107(1), 34.

Leary M R, Tchvidjian L R, Kraxberger B E 1994 Self-presentation may be hazardous to your health. Health Psychology 13: 461–70.

Ogilvie, D. M. (1987). The undesired self: A neglected variable in personality research. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 379-385.

• Schlenker, B. R. (1980). Impression management (Vol. 222). Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Schlenker, B. R. (1985). Identity and self-identification. In B. R. Schlenker (Ed.), The self and social life (pp. 65-99). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Schlenker, B. R., & Leary, M. R. (1982). Social anxiety and self-presentation: A conceptualization model. Psychological bulletin, 92(3), 641.

Tedeschi, J. T, Smith, R. B., Ill, & Brown, R. C., Jr. (1974). A reinterpretation of research on aggression. Psychological Bulletin, 81, 540- 563.

Tseëlon, E. (1992). Is the presented self sincere? Goffman, impression management and the postmodern self. Theory, culture & society, 9(2), 115-128.

Tunnell, G. (1984). The discrepancy between private and public selves: Public self-consciousness and its correlates. Journal of Personality Assessment, 48, 549-555.

Further Information

• Solomon, J. F., Solomon, A., Joseph, N. L., & Norton, S. D. (2013). Impression management, myth creation and fabrication in private social and environmental reporting: Insights from Erving Goffman. Accounting, organizations and society, 38(3), 195-213.
• Gardner, W. L., & Martinko, M. J. (1988). Impression management in organizations. Journal of management, 14(2), 321-338.
• Scheff, T. J. (2005). Looking‐Glass self: Goffman as symbolic interactionist. Symbolic interaction, 28(2), 147-166.

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IResearchNet

Self-Presentation

Self-presentation definition.

Self-presentation refers to how people attempt to present themselves to control or shape how others (called the audience) view them. It involves expressing oneself and behaving in ways that create a desired impression. Self-presentation is part of a broader set of behaviors called impression management. Impression management refers to the controlled presentation of information about all sorts of things, including information about other people or events. Self-presentation refers specifically to information about the self.

Self-Presentation History and Modern Usage

Early work on impression management focused on its manipulative, inauthentic uses that might typify a used car salesperson who lies to sell a car, or someone at a job interview who embellishes accomplishments to get a job. However, researchers now think of self-presentation more broadly as a pervasive aspect of life. Although some aspects of self-presentation are deliberate and effortful (and at times deceitful), other aspects are automatic and done with little or no conscious thought. For example, a woman may interact with many people during the day and may make different impressions on each person. When she starts her day at her apartment, she chats with her roommates and cleans up after breakfast, thereby presenting the image of being a good friend and responsible roommate. During classes, she responds to her professor’s questions and carefully takes notes, presenting the image of being a good student. Later that day, she calls her parents and tells them about her classes and other activities (although likely leaving out information about some activities), presenting the image of being a loving and responsible daughter. That night, she might go to a party or dancing with friends, presenting the image of being fun and easygoing. Although some aspects of these self-presentations may be deliberate and conscious, other aspects are not. For example, chatting with her roommates and cleaning up after breakfast may be habitual behaviors that are done with little conscious thought. Likewise, she may automatically hold the door open for an acquaintance or buy a cup of coffee for a friend. These behaviors, although perhaps not done consciously or with self-presentation in mind, nevertheless convey an image of the self to others.

Although people have the ability to present images that are false, self-presentations are often genuine; they reflect an attempt by the person to have others perceive him or her accurately, or at least consistent with how the person perceives himself or herself. Self-presentations can vary as a function of the audience; people present different aspects of themselves to different audiences or under different conditions. A man likely presents different aspects of himself to his close friends than he does to his elderly grandmother, and a woman may present a different image to her spouse than she does to her employer. This is not to say that these different images are false. Rather, they represent different aspects of the self. The self is much like a gem with multiple facets. The gem likely appears differently depending on the angle at which it is viewed. However, the various appearances are all genuine. Even if people present a self-image that they know to be false, they may begin to internalize the self-image and thereby eventually come to believe the self-pres

entation. For example, a man may initially present an image of being a good student without believing it to be genuine, but after attending all his classes for several weeks, visiting the professor during office hours, and asking questions during class, he may come to see himself as truly being a good student. This internalization process is most likely to occur when people make a public commitment to the self-image, when the behavior is at least somewhat consistent with their self-image, and when they receive positive feedback or other rewards for presenting the self-image.

Self-presentation is often directed to external audiences such as friends, lovers, employers, teachers, children, and even strangers. Self-presentation is more likely to be conscious when the presenter depends on the audience for some reward, expects to interact with the audience in the future, wants something from the audience, or values the audience’s approval. Yet self-presentation extends beyond audiences that are physically present to imagined audiences, and these imagined audiences can have distinct effects on behavior. A young man at a party might suddenly think about his parents and change his behavior from rambunctious to reserved. People sometimes even make self-presentations only for themselves. For instance, people want to claim certain identities, such as being fun, intelligent, kind, moral, and they may behave in line with these identities even in private.

Self-Presentation Goals

Self-presentation is inherently goal-directed; people present certain images because they benefit from the images in some way. The most obvious benefits are interpersonal, arising from getting others to do what one wants. A job candidate may convey an image of being hardworking and dependable to get a job; a salesperson may convey an image of being trustworthy and honest to achieve a sale. People may also benefit from their self-presentations by gaining respect, power, liking, or other desirable social rewards. Finally, people make certain impressions on others to maintain a sense of who they are, or their self-concept. For example, a man who wants to think of himself as a voracious reader might join a book club or volunteer at a library, or a woman who wishes to perceive herself as generous may contribute lavishly to a charitable cause. Even when there are few or no obvious benefits of a particular self-presentation, people may simply present an image that is consistent with the way they like to think about themselves, or at least the way they are accustomed to thinking about themselves.

Much of self-presentation is directed toward achieving one of two desirable images. First, people want to appear likeable. People like others who are attractive, interesting, and fun to be with. Thus, a sizable proportion of self-presentation revolves around developing, maintaining, and enhancing appearance and conveying and emphasizing characteristics that others desire, admire, and enjoy. Second, people want to appear competent. People like others who are skilled and able, and thus another sizable proportion of self-presentation revolves around conveying an image of competence. Yet, self-presentation is not so much about presenting desirable images as it is about presenting desired images, and some desired images are not necessarily desirable. For example, schoolyard bullies may present an image of being dangerous or intimidating to gain or maintain power over others. Some people present themselves as weak or infirmed (or exaggerate their weaknesses) to gain help from others. For instance, a member of a group project may display incompetence in the hope that other members will do more of the work, or a child may exaggerate illness to avoid going to school.

Self-Presentation Avenues

People self-present in a variety of ways. Perhaps most obviously, people self-present in what they say. These verbalizations can be direct claims of a particular image, such as when a person claims to be altruistic. They also can be indirect, such as when a person discloses personal behaviors or standards (e.g., “I volunteer at a hospital”). Other verbal presentations emerge when people express attitudes or beliefs. Divulging that one enjoys backpacking through Europe conveys the image that one is a world-traveler. Second, people self-present nonverbally in their physical appearance, body language, and other behavior. Smiling, eye contact, and nods of agreement can convey a wealth of information. Third, people self-present through the props they surround themselves with and through their associations. Driving an expensive car or flying first class conveys an image of having wealth, whereas an array of diplomas and certificates on one’s office walls conveys an image of education and expertise. Likewise, people judge others based on their associations. For example, being in the company of politicians or movie stars conveys an image of importance, and not surprisingly, many people display photographs of themselves with famous people. In a similar vein, high school students concerned with their status are often careful about which classmates they are seen and not seen with publicly. Being seen by others in the company of someone from a member of a disreputable group can raise questions about one’s own social standing.

Self-Presentation Pitfalls

Self-presentation is most successful when the image presented is consistent with what the audience thinks or knows to be true. The more the image presented differs from the image believed or anticipated by the audience, the less willing the audience will be to accept the image. For example, the lower a student’s grade is on the first exam, the more difficulty he or she will have in convincing a professor that he or she will earn an A on the next exam. Self-presentations are constrained by audience knowledge. The more the audience knows about a person, the less freedom the person has in claiming a particular identity. An audience that knows very little about a person will be more accepting of whatever identity the person conveys, whereas an audience that knows a great deal about a person will be less accepting.

People engaging in self-presentation sometimes encounter difficulties that undermine their ability to convey a desired image. First, people occasionally encounter the multiple audience problem, in which they must simultaneously present two conflicting images. For example, a student while walking with friends who know only her rebellious, impetuous side may run into her professor who knows only her serious, conscientious side. The student faces the dilemma of conveying the conflicting images of rebellious friend and serious student. When both audiences are present, the student must try to behave in a way that is consistent with how her friends view her, but also in a way that is consistent with how her professor views her. Second, people occasionally encounter challenges to their self-presentations. The audience may not believe the image the person presents. Challenges are most likely to arise when people are managing impressions through self-descriptions and the self-descriptions are inconsistent with other evidence. For example, a man who claims to be good driver faces a self-presentational dilemma if he is ticketed or gets in an automobile accident. Third, self-presentations can fail when people lack the cognitive resources to present effectively because, for example, they are tired, anxious, or distracted. For instance, a woman may yawn uncontrollably or reflexively check her watch while talking to a boring classmate, unintentionally conveying an image of disinterest.

Some of the most important images for people to convey are also the hardest. As noted earlier, among the most important images people want to communicate are likeability and competence. Perhaps because these images are so important and are often rewarded, audiences may be skeptical of accepting direct claims of likeability and competence from presenters, thinking that the person is seeking personal gain. Thus, people must resort to indirect routes to create these images, and the indirect routes can be misinterpreted. For example, the student who sits in the front row of the class and asks a lot of questions may be trying to project an image of being a competent student but may be perceived negatively as a teacher’s pet by fellow students.

Finally, there is a dark side to self-presentation. In some instances, the priority people place on their appearances or images can threaten their health. People who excessively tan are putting a higher priority on their appearance (e.g., being tan) than on their health (e.g., taking precautions to avoid skin cancer). Similarly, although condoms help protect against sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy, self-presentational concerns may dissuade partners or potential partners from discussing, carrying, or using condoms. Women may fear that carrying condoms makes them seem promiscuous or easy, whereas men may fear that carrying condoms makes them seem presumptuous, as if they are expecting to have sex. Self-presentational concerns may also influence interactions with health care providers and may lead people to delay or avoid embarrassing medical tests and procedures or treatments for conditions that are embarrassing. For example, people may be reluctant to seek tests or treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, loss of bladder control, mental disorders, mental decline, or other conditions associated with weakness or incompetence. Finally, concerns with social acceptance may prompt young people to engage in risky behaviors such as excessive alcohol consumption, sexual promiscuity, or juvenile delinquency.

References:

• Jones, E. E., Pittman, T. S. (1982). Toward a general theory of strategic self-presentation. In J. Suls (Ed.), Psychological perspectives on the self (Vol. 1, pp. 231-260). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
• Leary, M. R. (1996). Self-presentation: Impression management and interpersonal behavior. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
• Leary, M. R., Tchividjian, L. R., & Kraxberger, B. E. (1994). Self-presentation can be hazardous to your health: Impression management and health risk. Health Psychology, 13, 461-470.
• Schlenker, B. R. (1980). Impression management: The self-concept, social identity, and interpersonal relations. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.

• Personality

Self-Presentation in the Digital World

Do traditional personality theories predict digital behaviour.

Posted August 31, 2021 | Reviewed by Chloe Williams

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• Personality theories can help explain real-world differences in self-presentation behaviours but they may not apply to online behaviours.
• In the real world, women have higher levels of behavioural inhibition tendencies than men and are more likely to avoid displeasing others.
• Based on this assumption, one would expect women to present themselves less on social media, but women tend to use social media more than men.

Digital technology allows people to construct and vary their self-identity more easily than they can in the real world. This novel digital- personality construction may, or may not, be helpful to that person in the long run, but it is certainly more possible than it is in the real world. Yet how this relates to "personality," as described by traditional personality theories, is not really known. Who will tend to manipulate their personality online, and would traditional personality theories predict these effects? A look at what we do know about gender differences in the real and digital worlds suggests that many aspects of digital behaviour may not conform to the expectations of personality theories developed for the real world.

Half a century ago, Goffman suggested that individuals establish social identities by employing self-presentation tactics and impression management . Self-presentational tactics are techniques for constructing or manipulating others’ impressions of the individual and ultimately help to develop that person’s identity in the eyes of the world. The ways other people react are altered by choosing how to present oneself – that is, self-presentation strategies are used for impression management . Others then uphold, shape, or alter that self-image , depending on how they react to the tactics employed. This implies that self-presentation is a form of social communication, by which people establish, maintain, and alter their social identity.

These self-presentational strategies can be " assertive " or "defensive." 1 Assertive strategies are associated with active control of the person’s self-image; and defensive strategies are associated with protecting a desired identity that is under threat. In the real world, the use of self-presentational tactics has been widely studied and has been found to relate to many behaviours and personalities 2 . Yet, despite the enormous amounts of time spent on social media , the types of self-presentational tactics employed on these platforms have not received a huge amount of study. In fact, social media appears to provide an ideal opportunity for the use of self-presentational tactics, especially assertive strategies aimed at creating an identity in the eyes of others.

Seeking to Experience Different Types of Reward

Social media allows individuals to present themselves in ways that are entirely reliant on their own behaviours – and not on factors largely beyond their ability to instantly control, such as their appearance, gender, etc. That is, the impression that the viewer of the social media post receives is dependent, almost entirely, on how or what another person posts 3,4 . Thus, the digital medium does not present the difficulties for individuals who wish to divorce the newly-presented self from the established self. New personalities or "images" may be difficult to establish in real-world interactions, as others may have known the person beforehand, and their established patterns of interaction. Alternatively, others may not let people get away with "out of character" behaviours, or they may react to their stereotype of the person in front of them, not to their actual behaviours. All of which makes real-life identity construction harder.

Engaging in such impression management may stem from motivations to experience different types of reward 5 . In terms of one personality theory, individuals displaying behavioural approach tendencies (the Behavioural Activation System; BAS) and behavioural inhibition tendencies (the Behavioural Inhibition System; BIS) will differ in terms of self-presentation behaviours. Those with strong BAS seek opportunities to receive or experience reward (approach motivation ); whereas, those with strong BIS attempt to avoid punishment (avoidance motivation). People who need to receive a lot of external praise may actively seek out social interactions and develop a lot of social goals in their lives. Those who are more concerned about not incurring other people’s displeasure may seek to defend against this possibility and tend to withdraw from people. Although this is a well-established view of personality in the real world, it has not received strong attention in terms of digital behaviours.

Real-World Personality Theories May Not Apply Online

One test bed for the application of this theory in the digital domain is predicted gender differences in social media behaviour in relation to self-presentation. Both self-presentation 1 , and BAS and BIS 6 , have been noted to show gender differences. In the real world, women have shown higher levels of BIS than men (at least, to this point in time), although levels of BAS are less clearly differentiated between genders. This view would suggest that, in order to avoid disapproval, women will present themselves less often on social media; and, where they do have a presence, adopt defensive self-presentational strategies.

The first of these hypotheses is demonstrably false – where there are any differences in usage (and there are not that many), women tend to use social media more often than men. What we don’t really know, with any certainty, is how women use social media for self-presentation, and whether this differs from men’s usage. In contrast to the BAS/BIS view of personality, developed for the real world, several studies have suggested that selfie posting can be an assertive, or even aggressive, behaviour for females – used in forming a new personality 3 . In contrast, sometimes selfie posting by males is related to less aggressive, and more defensive, aspects of personality 7 . It may be that women take the opportunity to present very different images of themselves online from their real-world personalities. All of this suggests that theories developed for personality in the real world may not apply online – certainly not in terms of putative gender-related behaviours.

We know that social media allows a new personality to be presented easily, which is not usually seen in real-world interactions, and it may be that real-world gender differences are not repeated in digital contexts. Alternatively, it may suggest that these personality theories are now simply hopelessly anachronistic – based on assumptions that no longer apply. If that were the case, it would certainly rule out any suggestion that such personalities are genetically determined – as we know that structure hasn’t changed dramatically in the last 20 years.

1. Lee, S.J., Quigley, B.M., Nesler, M.S., Corbett, A.B., & Tedeschi, J.T. (1999). Development of a self-presentation tactics scale. Personality and Individual Differences, 26(4), 701-722.

2. Laghi, F., Pallini, S., & Baiocco, R. (2015). Autopresentazione efficace, tattiche difensive e assertive e caratteristiche di personalità in Adolescenza. Rassegna di Psicologia, 32(3), 65-82.

3. Chua, T.H.H., & Chang, L. (2016). Follow me and like my beautiful selfies: Singapore teenage girls’ engagement in self-presentation and peer comparison on social media. Computers in Human Behavior, 55, 190-197.

4. Fox, J., & Rooney, M.C. (2015). The Dark Triad and trait self-objectification as predictors of men’s use and self-presentation behaviors on social networking sites. Personality and Individual Differences, 76, 161-165.

5. Hermann, A.D., Teutemacher, A.M., & Lehtman, M.J. (2015). Revisiting the unmitigated approach model of narcissism: Replication and extension. Journal of Research in Personality, 55, 41-45.

6. Carver, C.S., & White, T.L. (1994). Behavioral inhibition, behavioral activation, and affective responses to impending reward and punishment: the BIS/BAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(2), 319.

7. Sorokowski, P., Sorokowska, A., Frackowiak, T., Karwowski, M., Rusicka, I., & Oleszkiewicz, A. (2016). Sex differences in online selfie posting behaviors predict histrionic personality scores among men but not women. Computers in Human Behavior, 59, 368-373.

Phil Reed, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology at Swansea University.

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• Communication

20+ Best PowerPoint Templates to Make About Myself Presentations in 2024

At some point in business, you’ll have to do a presentation about yourself and your accomplishments. It could be to help you land a new role or simply to help investors and stakeholders learn more about the person they’re dealing with. One way to quickly create an about myself presentation is to use an all about me PowerPoint template .

Using a template gives you the professional look you need  without you having to focus on fiddly design details. You can find plenty of PowerPoint presentation about myself templates on Envato Elements. In this guide, I’ll share some of the best PPT templates for self-introduction. 

Best Premium PowerPoint Presentation About Myself Templates on Envato Elements

If you're looking for premium all about myself PowerPoint presentation templates , Envato Elements has a great offer you won't want to miss. Download as many presentation about myself templates as you want, all for one low price .

Explore PowerPoint Templates

Type self into the search box. You'll see a range of suitable self-introduction templates for PowerPoint. Once you decide on the one you want, select it and click Download . Then you're ready to start customizing. 

Here are some of the reasons it makes sense to use premium PowerPoint presentation about myself templates. With a premium template you:

• get the benefit of design skills without needing to have those skills yourself
• save time , which is always a concern for busy business owners
• give your presentation a coherent, professional look that'll impress your audience
• are well supported and regularly updated by the designers 

That's why it's a good idea to check out the self-introduction PowerPoint presentation samples on Envato Elements. To find the right one, visit Envato Elements and click on Presentation Templates . 

5 Premium All About Myself Presentation Templates

To help you get started, here are some of the best PPT templates for self-introduction on Envato Elements:

1. Self PowerPoint

This clean, minimalist template set includes 30 well-designed slides. They'll help you create a stunning all about myself PowerPoint presentation quickly and easily.

2. Personal - Portfolio PowerPoint Template

This abstract, modern PowerPoint template has 12 different slides in three color schemes on both dark and light backgrounds. Change colors in a couple of clicks to an eye-catching presentation that matches your branding.

3.  Mosic - Business Overview Google Slides Template

This Google Slides template also works with PowerPoint. The clean, modern design provides an excellent way to present yourself via a pitch deck or sales presentation. 

4. Personal PowerPoint Template

Personal PowerPoint Template is a self-introduction template for PowerPoint that comes with over 150 slides. Also, it comes with five premade color schemes that you can choose from. Plus, this template comes with graphics, illustrations, and infographics.

5. Duofolio Personal Portfolio PowerPoint Template

This creative self-introduction PPT template comes with over 40 unique slides. Also, Duofolio Personal Portfolio PowerPoint Template comes with charts, media placeholders, and icons. Add data or information as needed. Easily add an image to this template by dragging and dropping an image of your choice into a picture placeholder.

25 Top Free About Myself PowerPoint Templates and Backgrounds to Download for 2024

If you want unique, beautifully designed PPT templates for self-introduction, premium templates are a good option. Not only will they give you a coherent look, but they'll save you time, too.

Before looking for self-introduction PowerPoint presentation samples on the web, look at Envato's free templates first. You'll be able to try out all kinds of premium templates (not just all about myself PowerPoint presentations) at no cost. 

Here's how it works:

Every month, Envato Elements offers 12 different hand-selected files (fonts, presentations, videos, and more). Create a free account to download this month's free premium files now.

If you're thinking, " I need to do a presentation about myself, but I'm on a tight budget ", we've got you covered. Check out these free PowerPoint presentation about myself templates:

1. Single Slide Resume Template for PowerPoint

This customizable resume template provides an easy way to highlight your accomplishments on a single slide. 

2.  Education Idea Bulb

This template set includes 34 slides as well as maps and icons to help you create a memorable self-introduction presentation.

3.  Computer Mouse With Red Background

This template set has 34 slides on an eye-catching red background. This would make a great example of a PowerPoint presentation about myself for a web designer or computer scientist.

4.  Medical Doctor With a Stethoscope

If you're a doctor needing to do an " about myself " presentation, this template set includes 34 slides with the graphics you need. 

5.  Real Estate Key on Computer Keyboard

This template set includes 34 easy-to-edit slides, along with vector graphics, icons, and maps. 

6.  Abstract Background Leaves

This multipurpose template can help you showcase your accomplishments with 34 creative and easy-to-edit slides.

This template with muted colors is easy on the eye. You can change colors to match your branding with a couple of clicks. 

If you're a podcaster wanting to present yourself, the Reegan theme includes podcast-related graphics and colorful slides to help you do so.

9. Paint Roller

This template will help you create a simple but effective presentation about yourself. You can easily change the background color with a few clicks.

10. Formal Black and White

This black and white template is useful for a business all about myself PowerPoint presentation. You can use it with Google Slides, too. 

11. Formal Red

To impress your audience, try this template. It behaves like a website and includes dropdown menus. 

12. Water Colored Splashes  

This self-introduction PowerPoint presentation sample from FPPT is quite attractive. The template set includes 36 slides and editable vector graphics.

13. Industry 4.0 Revolution

This template works well for an industry presentation. It includes 48 slides with a range of useful vector graphics. 

14. Success Businessman

The Success Businessman PPT template for self-introduction has a pink and black color scheme. It includes 48 slides, along with customizable icons. 

This template doesn't just work with PowerPoint; it works with Google Slides, too. It includes a range of slide types, as well as examples of charts and graphs. 

The York theme makes it easy to include charts, graphs, and tables in your " about myself " presentation.  

This free all about me presentation template from SlidesGala includes editable charts and graphs. It works with both PowerPoint and Google Slides.  

18. Dynamic Curves

This stylish and colorful presentation template includes 35 slides, along with maps, icons, and graphs. 

19. Upward Arrows  

This all about me PowerPoint template uses geometric shapes and arrows to create a pleasing, professional design. It includes 35 slides. 

20. Business Geometric

This engaging theme features geometric shapes. It's got 25 slides with an easy-to-edit color palette.  

21. Colorful Brush Strokes

This template features a framed brush stroke with a gradient color scheme that's easy to change.  

This gradient PowerPoint template has more than 140 slides with creative layouts.  

23. Portfolio

There are 25 slides in this template to help you produce a creative and professional PowerPoint presentation about yourself. 

24. Pattern

This template is useful for those wanting a minimalist approach to presentation creation. It features uncluttered, professional-looking slides. 

This colorful templates includes 11 slides and works with Google Slides and Keynote, as well as PowerPoint. 

How to Customize Your Creative Self-Introduction PPT Template

Here are tips on how to customize your self-introduction PowerPoint template. In this tutorial, I’ll be using PowerPoint version 16.65.

1. Choose Your Template

An important step in creating an introduction presentation is choosing a creative self-introduction PPT template. Templates save time instead of making a presentation from scratch.

This tutorial looks at the premium Grey PowerPoint template from Envato Elements. This template comes with over 50 slides. This means that you’ll have many slides to add information on. If you don’t find a self-introduction PPT template, try searching for a minimal presentation template.

2. Tell the Audience Who You are

One of the most important things you need to do for an all-about-me presentation template is to tell the audience who you are and why you’re giving the presentation. You need to tell your audience why they should know this information. You can do this by briefly discussing what your three main points are.

To do this, choose a slide that you want to use. For this step, we’ll be using the slide below:

Next, you’ll need to add text boxes. First, click on the Insert tab above the toolbar. Then, click on the Draw a Text Box button in the toolbar. This turns your mouse into a textbox drawing tool.

Draw a diagonal line where you want the text box to be. Lastly, click inside the box and begin typing.

3. Have Consistency

To have a professional-looking all-about-me presentation template, you need consistency in your text. This means that all your headings should be in the same font and font size.  

To change your font size, begin by highlighting the text that you want to change. In the toolbar, you’ll see a field with the current font in it. This is the Font menu. If you click on the arrow in the field, a menu drops. Choose a font.

Next to the Font menu is a Font Size field. This is where you can change the font size. A menu drops if you click on the arrow in this field. Choose the right font size for you.

4. Personalize the Colors of Objects

Adding color is the best way to add a personal touch to your presentation. One way to add color to your slide is to change the color of objects. Slide #8 has an object, so the rest of the tutorial features slide #8.

First, select the object that you want to change. Click on the Shape Format tab.

Next, in the toolbar, click on the Format Pane button. A pane appears on the side of your window.

In the Fill section of the Format pane, you’ll see a Fill Color button that looks like a paint bucket. Click on this button. When you click on this button, a color menu appears. From the menu, choose the color that you want to use.

5.  Personalize the Background Color

Changing the slide background color of your all about me PowerPoint template is another great way to personalize your presentation template. First, click on the Design tab above the toolbar.

Next, click on the Format Background button in the far right of the toolbar. When you click on this button, a Format Background pane appears on the side of your window.

In the pane, you’ll see a Fill Color button. Click on it. Choose a color from the menu that drops down.

5 Quick PowerPoint About Myself Presentation Slide Design Tips for 2024

1.  be selective.

Nobody wants your whole life story, so select the highlights when deciding what to include in your presentation. 

2.  Use Relatable Images

Though it's a cliche, pictures really are worth a thousand words. Choose images that support your presentation and help your audience relate to you. Make sure the images are of good quality. Fuzzy images are a huge turnoff. 

3. Simplify Slide Design

If your slides are too busy, you'll lose your audience. Keep them simple, with a main point and no more than a couple of bullet points on each. You don't want your audience to feel frustrated because there's too much information for them to read.

4. Include Media

Switch things up a bit by importing an audio or video clip into your presentation. That'll keep your audience engaged and interested in what you're saying.

5. Get Attention With Color

No matter what your color scheme, you can improve your slides by using color selectively to highlight important points and key messages. 

Discover More Top Microsoft PowerPoint Template Designs

We've shared some great premium and free PowerPoint presentation about myself templates. To choose from even more templates, check out the guides below:

Common PowerPoint Presentation Questions Answered (FAQ)

It’s common to have questions about PowerPoint. Here are some common PowerPoint questions and answers:

1. Can I Present My PowerPoint Presentation Over Zoom?

Yes, you can. To present your PowerPoint over Zoom, you’ll need both applications.

It can be convenient to know how to record PowerPoint presentations with audio and present it in Zoom. Here’s an in-depth tutorial on how to present your PowerPoint presentation in Zoom:

2. How Do I Make Sure That My Presentation Is Professional?

The best way is to have a premium template. When you use a premium template, some of the work is already done for you.

Another tip is to practice your presentation before you present it. For more tips, read this article: 

3. How Do I Make My Presentation More Interesting?

Add multimedia to your presentation to make it more interesting and engaging for the audience.

Multimedia is images, audio, and video. You can use all three or a combination of two of those or one. It’s up to you.

For a tutorial on how to add multimedia to your PowerPoint presentation, read this tutorial:

4. How Do I Make PowerPoint Handouts?

Having handouts that go with your presentation can be helpful. They're a great tool if you think your audience will want to look over your presentation again. For a tutorial on how to create PowerPoint handouts, read this:

5. How Do I Create a Quiz in PowerPoint?

If you really want to see if your audience is paying attention, add an interactive quiz to your presentation. A quiz is also a great way to engage with your audience. You can even make it fun by adding a prize. For a tutorial on how to create an interactive quiz in PowerPoint, read this article:

Learn More About Making Great PowerPoint Presentations in 2024

You've got your template and some tips to create a great presentation. To learn even more PowerPoint skills, read our in-depth PowerPoint guide , and check out the articles below:

Make an All About Myself PowerPoint Presentation Today!

You've seen how a premium presentation template can help you save time, look professional, and benefit from great design. Remember, you can get plenty of self-introduction PowerPoint presentation samples at Envato elements for one low price. 

Get your template now and create a stunning " about myself " PowerPoint presentation today!

Editorial Note: This post has been updated with contributions from Sarah Joy . Sarah is a freelance instructor for Envato Tuts+.

Greater Good Science Center • Magazine • In Action • In Education

How To Show Up For Yourself (The Science of Happiness podcast)

We explore the science behind how self-compassionate touch can help us feel better about ourselves..

Scroll down for transcript.

Summary:  Brittany Luce, host of NPR's "It's Been A Minute," shares her experience with self-compassionate touch. She did it for 20 seconds, almost daily. to quiet her inner critic and foster self-compassion, especially during moments of stress or self-judgment.  Researcher Eli Susman also shares the fascinating science behind this practice, and how despite being short and sweet —it may still be an effective way to cultivate self compassion -- especially if you find ways to make it a habit.

How To Do This Self-Compassionate Touch Practice: Take a moment to try these different touches and see which feels most supportive to you. Whenever you feel stressed or upset, or just need some extra support, use this compassionate touch to remind yourself that you’re here for you. Research shows the practice works best when practiced regularly.

Duration: 20 seconds, practiced daily or as often as you can.

Find a comfortable space. Sit or stand somewhere you feel relaxed and at ease. Try out these micropractices while thinking kind words to yourself, as though you were comforting a dear friend in distress.

1. Touch Your Heart: Place both hands gently over the center of your chest, one on top of the other. Apply just enough pressure to feel connected, but not uncomfortable. Focus on the warmth of your touch.  

2. Feel Your Strength: If it feels right, make a gentle fist with your left hand, symbolizing strength, and place it over your heart. Rest your right hand on top of the fist to combine the feeling of strength and love.  

3. Cradle Your Face: Gently cup each of your cheeks with your hands, holding your face as you would a loved one in distress. Let the touch be soft and caring.  

4. Support Your Core: Place both hands over your solar plexus, just below your ribcage, and imagine you're holding and supporting your core. This can be particularly comforting if you're feeling fear or deep emotions.  

5. Give Yourself a Hug: Cross your arms, resting each hand on the opposite shoulder. Gently squeeze yourself, adjusting the pressure to feel comforting but not overwhelming.

Guest:  Brittany Luse is an award-winning journalist, cultural critic. and host of the NPR podcast “It's Been a Minute.” Learn more about Luse: https://tinyurl.com/3bjt6v7m Follow Luse on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmlu Listen to the NPR podcast "It's Been A Minute": https://tinyurl.com/3uek8ey8 Guest: Eli Susman is a researcher and Ph.D. Candidate in Psychology at UC Berkeley Read Eli Susman's study on self-compassionate touch: https://tinyurl.com/2uh783z8

Related Science of Happiness episodes:

• How to Feel Better About Yourself
• Give Yourself A Break
• If You Want to Be More Productive, Cut Yourself Some Slack

Related Happiness Break mediations:

• What to do When you're Struggling, With Spring Washam

Transcript: BRITTANY LUSE The past few weeks it's been travel. I've gone out of town. I have come back home. I had my parents in town. So, like, I was sleeping on my couch with my husband on a sectional and my parents were in my bedroom. I mean,I've had all sorts of feelings come up in the past couple of weeks, like, I don't know, "Am I cleaning enough? Am I helping my husband enough around the house? He's doing a lot to, like, make my parents feel really comfortable. Have I done that enough? Have I done enough? Did I do a good enough job at this panel that I was on?"

I just had a lot of big questions swirling around in my head. So I have had plenty of opportunities to, I guess, feel the kind of guilt that, that for me it has been a big barrier to self compassion. It's very easy for me to take any stressful situation in my life and turn that into like an opportunity to guilt myself into why I didn't do something better. And then it goes to like, "Oh, I messed this thing up too. I'm a failure. And, you know, so on and so forth.

I think I could have a better relationship with myself around compassion. I feel a lot of responsibility to get things right, to do things perfectly. Perfection is not real. But somehow I've brought that spirit of perfectionism upon myself when all I need to do is really show up and, um, and be curious. I don't have to show up perfectly in order to be competent. I think we're all harder on ourselves than we are on others in many ways. DACHER KELTNER Welcome to the Science of Happiness, I'm Dacher Keltner. We've all heard about being kind to ourselves, but have you ever tried self-compassionate touch? New research shows that something as simple as placing a gentle hand on your heart, while focusing on warmth and care for yourself, can make you feel more self-compassionate in that moment.

Our guest this week, Brittany Luse, is an award-winning journalist and cultural critic. She's also the host of the NPR podcast “It's Been a Minute.” She’s been looking for a way to ground herself amid a hectic season of travel and work, and be a little kinder to herself in the process. 

So for our show, for just 20 seconds or so a day, Brittany practiced self compassionate touch —doing things like placing her hands on her heart or giving herself a hug. 

Later we hear from researcher Eli Susman, about the fascinating science behind this practice. And how despite being short and sweet—it may still be an effective way to cultivate self compassion —especially if you find ways to make it a habit.

ELI SUSMAN Among those who practice self compassionate touch daily, we found greater increases in self-compassion and greater reductions in mental health problems and stress.

DACHER KELTNER More, after these messages from our sponsors.

DACHER KELTNER Self-compassionate touch is an emerging area of research combining the power of soothing touch, where we make tactile contact with a part of our body in a calm and comforting way, while turning our inner dialogue to one of self-kindness. Asking ourselves questions like, “How can I be a friend to myself in this moment?” I'm Dacher Keltner. Welcome back to The Science of Happiness. 

Our guest, Brittany Luse, practiced self-compassionate touch for a few weeks and is going to share how it went for her. Brittany, thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to join us on the show. 

BRITTANY LUSE Thank you for having me. This is really exciting for me. 

DACHER KELTNER I'm really curious, why did you choose self-compassionate touch when you think about the array of exercises you could try? What spoke to you about this exercise. 

BRITTANY LUSE I wish I had like, um, like a loftier, more spiritual reason, as like my chief reason, but it's not long. It's short. It's very brief, but purportedly effective. So I am a big fan of like any type of self care, emotional release, and I go through phases where I'm really into meditation, and there's been like whole periods of my life where it's been a really wonderful constant and I've gotten so much out of it, but sometimes it's like long. And I don’t always have –  

DACHER KELTNER Like 10 minutes.

BRITTANY LUSE Yeah, sometimes I'm just like, I can't even sit for three minutes. I'm just gonna, like, lose it.And I liked that this was something that was a little bit more active than meditation is. And also was so brief. I like the idea of something that like, no matter what, where I am, because I also have traveled a lot of the past couple weeks, but no matter where I am, or no matter what I've got going on in my life that I can incorporate it in.

DACHER KELTNER I've done a lot of research on touch and I think what I love about the self compassionate touch paradigm is it brings in this amazing science of touch of like, you know, there are recent discovery, there are these cells in the back of your neck where you get the loving touch from other people that go straight to oxytocin release that makes you feel oceanic and warm. I mean, that's mind blowing, the underlying neurophysiology of touch. And I'm curious, what's your kind of relationship to touch? 

BRITTANY LUSE Touch is very grounding. And even though I work from home, I still have often enough for work, reason to like travel or I'm visiting family.

Oh my gosh. In the past couple of weeks, I have been to Chicago for NABJ, National Association of Black Journalists Conference,I went home to visit my parents and my niece. I did a bunch of road trips with my husband, and it was nice to be able to know that whether I was surrounded by others or in an unfamiliar place by myself, that touch was something I could still provide for me, no matter the circumstance or who else was around.

DACHER KELTNER I'm just curious how your first session went. What was it like? What'd you do? 

BRITTANY LUSE The first session actually, it was a positive. It was really positive. The first thing I did is I breathed really deep, and I tried to focus or picture the thing that was like causing me distress. And whatever had been, was bothering me that day or whatever was like the guilt, I guess, theme of the day, it made me suddenly very aware of of where I was holding like tightness in my body. So, like, I felt like it increased awareness to like where I was feeling tight. For me, the first place I noticed it is like in my trapezius muscle and in my neck, like, I'll get like a little, "Ahhh." I start looking like a minion, or start feeling like how I think a minion looks. It can be if I'm sitting at my desk, driving in my car, if I'm supposedly relaxing on the phone. Or if I'm even laying down or something like that, I can like that tenseness, I don't know, it's such a running theme in my life that I don't know if I always notice it, but I don't know, at least that first time that was the first place where I would feel it. But as I continued on, sort of, I would notice tightness in different places.

Being able to place a hand on my chest and another hand on my tummy as soon as I sort of noticed that tension and relaxed, then I would just, I was trying to put, like, warm, kind energy back into myself. So I wasn't pressing, but I guess I was like, touching my body with intent with the intention of, like pressing kind, warm energy. back into myself. 

DACHER KELTNER Did you feel like you calmed down body wise or what were some of the things?

BRITTANY LUSE Yeah, I did feel calmed down body wise. I guess I felt like, I thought that it would take longer. Does that make sense? In order for me to meditate, I gotta sit there. I got to have the eyes closed. I got to do the whole thing, where I'm sitting and like, you know what I mean?

For like 35 minutes or something like that, I feel like I have to do that to sort of achieve that feeling of like giving yourself,  like a deep, deep warm hug. But I was able to access it a lot more quickly. There was some days, not the first time, but there were some days where like I would tear up and I'm talking like in under 30 seconds, you know, like have tears spring to my eyes.

At one point I wrote down about how it made me feel like you know, like when you're having a really bad day and someone's really kind to you, like someone you don't know, a stranger is really kind to you or someone like, holds open a door or gives you a cup of tea on the house or something like that Like right when you needed it most? I guess I felt like the warmth of that kind of serendipity But like I was able to provide it for myself instead of waiting for it to happen to me.

DACHER KELTNER  How did you build it into your days? I mean, it's so hard for people You're busy, you're flying, you're flying around, hosting family, how did you find the moments

BRITTANY LUSE So lot of times it would be after my husband who wakes up and embraces the morning,like a marathon runner. He just wakes up in the morning, like, greets the day. It's so beautiful. I admire him so much for that. But, it would be after he had gotten out of bed, but before I was going to start my day. And then there were a couple of times where I would realize like, "Ah, crap, I didn't do it. And I'm feeling a little froggy." And so then I would have to kind of like incorporate that in.

DACHER KELTNER How often did you do it? 

DACHER KELTNER Seriously? 

BRITTANY LUSE Yes. And I think if it had taken even two minutes, I think I probably would have been like, "Screw this."

I guess I was kind of skeptical at first  that touch, such a short amount of it, like such a small amount of touch was going to really change that much in my life. Twenty seconds, you know what I mean? I was skeptical that 20 seconds of touching my chest was gonna do anything for me.

DACHER KELTNER And there's research on that, that maybe these briefer exercises, given how busy we all are, maybe they're more effective. And – 

BRITTANY LUSE Because you can stick with it. I mean, yeah, my hypothesis, scientific me, science me is saying that, you know, yeah, you can stick with it. 

DACHER KELTNER You know, one of the things we know, Brittany, about, uh, self compassionate touch practices and a lot of other happiness practices, if you will, is that if you can associate them with cues that are regular part of your day, it gets easier to do the practice. It becomes habit, if you will. And I'm really curious, as you experimented with the self compassionate touch practice, were there cues that triggered you to try to do the practice? And how did that help you? 

BRITTANY LUSE Okay. So something that also has worked for me is like pairing. I think there's research about this too. They call it habit stacking or something like that. Stacking habits on top of each other. Flossing, I love it. Like when I wake up in the morning, it's like the second thing that I do. If everything else went wrong, I'm like, "I'm going to floss. I'm going to brush my teeth." I actually think that it would work really well as like something that would come after like flossing, like, I think it's actually made the cut in my life as something that can be part of like the very small amount of morning mental tasks that I can handle. Because it just is that short and it just is that effective.

DACHER KELTNER What were the shifts in your self compassionate thinking this relationship to yourself you've talked about? What do you notice in your thinking about yourself as you did the practice over time?

BRITTANY LUSE Well, I think because I was having to like actually. Sometimes talk to myself and, you know, ask myself, like, how can I be a friend to me right now?

Sometimes I would ask myself,  "If I choose to believe this negative thing about myself, what am I saying to me about myself? What am I signaling to myself in believing sort of my inner critic?" I guess hearing my own voice be loving toward me made me a lot more aware of the times when I was not loving toward me. And also made me aware of how much that is just like, constantly running in the background, you know, like, "Why did you say that? Why did you do that? They don't like you."

One thing that I did recently was, like, call someone on the phone that I hadn't talked to in a while, because I, what I would tell myself is like, if things got busy and I meant to call them and I didn't, or I missed a call from them and I didn't get back to them, I would just be like, well, "You can't call them now, you know, it's been a couple months, they probably hate you and they don't want to be friends with you anymore. So you should probably not try your little pathetic, you know, attempts at closeness again. She doesn't need someone flaky like you around." But the thing that I said back to myself was like, "Okay, does that sound true? Does that sound, does that sound true? Does it sound like it makes sense?"

So I think first, I guess my compassionate voice first investigated my inner critic's claim, like, "Does that sound like it makes sense? You think that's true? Does that make sense to you?" And then also kind of minimized. the thing that I was stressing myself out about.

I think that was the thing that surprised me the most. That like brief engagement with my physical body could change so much to my like mental and emotional experience of my life. 

DACHER KELTNER: That’s powerful. Thank you. I really appreciate your deep inquiry into this and sort of opening up your mind. And it's been wonderful to just hear how this shifted your thinking about your thoughts towards yourself. and it's been wonderful to talk to you. 

BRITTANY LUSE Thank you. Thank you. I really appreciate it. This has been so much fun.

DACHER KELTNER: Up next: we hear from researcher UC Berkeley researcher Eli Susman about the proven benefits of this practice. 

ELI SUSMAN When they actually did the exercise, we measured how much compassion they were feeling  towards themselves in the moment.  And they experienced greater in the moment increases in self compassion.

DACHER KELTNER If you want to try out this practice for yourself, tune in for next week's Happiness Break, where we'll be led in a short guided meditation by self compassion expert Kristen Neff. More, up next.

DACHER KELTNER Hi everybody, this is Dacher Keltner. Welcome back to The Science of Happiness. We've been exploring how placing a hand on your heart or giving yourself a reassuring hug, may foster greater self-compassion. 

That's according to research by Eli Susman, a PhD candidate in clinical science at UC Berkeley. Eli shares why he combined self-compassionate touch and self soothing touch into one powerful practice. He also talks about the best way to create cues so you don't miss a day. 

The seed of the idea for Eli’s research on self compassionate touch was planted when he came across a study from researcher Aljoscha Dreisoerner . The study found that just 20 seconds of soothing self-touch can lower stress hormones just as much as getting a hug from a stranger.

ELI SUSMAN I was like, "Wow, like doing this for 20 seconds, like something you can do that's right at your fingertips can reduce your cortisol levels?" You know, something that is associated with, you know, better immune responses. The reduction of mental health problems. 

DACHER KELTNER We actually covered self-soothing touch practice in a previous episode of The Science of Happiness. We'll add the link to that in our show notes.

ELI SUSMAN So I thought, "Well, what if people did this, you know, every day. Kind of like brushing your teeth or flossing?" And that’s really what inspired me to do this study.

DACHER KELTNER Eli recruited 135 Berkeley undergrads. About half were instructed to place their hands over their heart or belly, or give themselves a hug, and contemplate warmth and self-compassionate thoughts at least once a day for 20 seconds. The rest were instructed to do a finger-tapping exercise where they touched their middle finger to their thumb, pointer finger to their thumb, and so on

ELI SUSMAN So, the self-compassionate touch group had greater in the moment increases in self-compassion relative to the finger tapping group. 

DACHER KELTNER Eli also noticed something intriguing about a subset of participants who actually managed to practice self compassionate touch every day.

ELI SUSMAN Among those who practice self compassionate touch daily, we found greater increases in self-compassion and greater reductions in mental health problems and stress relative to daily practice of the finger tapping active control group.

DACHER KELTNER Since the effects of self-compassionate touch were so dependent on consistent practice, Eli is now studying how to make self-compassionate touch a habit.

ELI SUSMAN One of the most important things about building habits is that when our habits and our goals conflict, most of the time, habits win. So, let's say you made a mistake, or you did something that made you feel unworthy, unloved, not enough. If you have a strong habit of practicing self compassionate touch, then you might be more likely to practice it and experience self compassion in your life. Even when you don't necessarily feel like doing so, which is often the times when we need it most. 

DACHER KELTNER His new study gives participants evidence-based tools for forming habits. Advice like: make it specific; remember what’s rewarding about the habit; and perhaps most importantly, pick a cue. 

ELI SUSMAN What's often recommended is that the cue is something that is noticeable to you. Whether it's an alarm, whether it's, you know, you walk out of the shower. It's something that is very much, like, I noticed this as my cue versus like, "Oh, it's 9am. So I'm going to practice self compassionate touch." You know, you might not always be looking at the time.

It's also important, you know, if your cue is actually related to what you're doing. People do it after getting dressed in the morning, after their morning coffee. A great time to do it, you know, sitting at a stoplight, or you just parked your car. Find a time in your day where you're not going to feel rushed, where it's going to be very obvious that, you know, now is the time to practice and that you can actually get yourself to do that.

I feel proud when I practice self compassionate touch in public. I  think me doing it gives other people permission to do it as well. You know, my hope is that one day it won't be something that, you know, people might feel embarrassed about. It might just be like, you know, scratching your head or tying your shoes. It's just something that you do, like brushing your teeth.

DACHER KELTNER Hey everybody. As summer winds down, vacations come to an end, and students head back to school -- it's important to remember to take a moment to breathe.

In the next two episodes of The Science of Happiness, we're diving into ways to breathe away anxiety. Each episode will be followed by a Happiness Break meditation that will guide you through these research-backed techniques.

First up, join us as we explore cyclic sighing with pro surfer Sarah Gerhardt. Tune in and discover how this breathing technique can help you find calm and clarity.

SARAH GERHARDT The first step for me, that was so important was the acknowledgment  of my body and just the awareness of, "Oh, my shoulders are in my ears and  I'm not breathing." So I set a timer and my timer got off an hour later and I'm like, "Oh, what's the timer for? Oh yeah, I'm going to breathe right now."  

DACHER KELTNER Thanks for joining us on The Science of Happiness. This episode was produced by Kate Parkinson-Morgan. Our research assistants are Dasha Zerboni and Selina Bilal. Our sound designer is Jennie Cataldo of Accompany Studios. Our executive producer is Shuka Kalantari. I'm Dacher Keltner. Have a great day.

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