Objectives
Students will:
- Understand the importance of introducing themselves to people
- Identify essential behavioral elements of introducing themselves
- Identify negative consequences of not introducing themselves to people
- Identify personal benefits of introducing themselves to people
- Model successfully introducing themselves
Step 1: Lesson Introduction
Last time, we found out why it’s important to show interest when you meet someone. We learned that if you don t show interest, you probably won’t meet many people. There are other ways to make sure you don’t meet people. One of these ways is by not introducing yourself. Have you ever been in a situation where you wanted to meet someone but you were afraid to introduce yourself? Why were you afraid? What bad things did you think might happen if you introduced yourself? What good things did you hope would happen if you met the person? In today’s video we’re going to see why not introducing yourself is a good way not to meet people.
▶️ Show the video.
⏸️ Stop the video when the “Pause for Discussion” title appears on the screen.
Step 2: Guided Discussion, Part 1
What did Leah do that was NotSmart?
She had a room full of empty seats to choose from, and she chose a seat as far away from Helen as possible. She nodded briefly to Helen, but did nothing else to let Helen know she wanted to meet her. It was clear that Leah wanted to meet Helen; she kept looking up there. But she finally decided to stay where she was and did nothing to let Helen know that she wanted to meet her.
What happened because Leah was NotSmart?
Leah and Helen remained separated and failed to meet. By sitting so far from Helen, Leah probably made Helen feel that Leah was stuck up or didn’t want to meet her or perhaps didn’t like her for some reason. Feeling this way, Helen will be unlikely to make an effort to meet Leah. Thus, Leah may never know whether Helen could have been a good acquaintance or even turn out to be a valuable friend.
Also, by sitting way in the back, Leah is sending a message to any other students who may enter the room. They will probably think she wants to be left alone. It’s much more likely they’ll sit near Helen and begin talking to her. Leah may end up all by herself, completely isolated from the rest of the class.
How could Leah have been PeopleSmart?
Have students discuss how Leah could have been PeopleSmart in the same situation. Then tell students to watch the next part of the video to see one way Leah could have been PeopleSmart.
▶️ Start the video again.
⏸️ Stop the video when the “Pause for Discussion” title appears on the screen.
Step 3: Guided Discussion, Part 2
How was Leah PeopleSmart this time?
Leah initially isolated herself from Helen as before. She was still hesitant about joining Helen. But this time she overcame her fears and decided to move next to Helen. She:
- Introduced herself
- Made eye contact
What happened because Leah was PeopleSmart?
Helen responded in a friendly way and acted interested in Leah. She found out that Leah is a new student and made her feel welcome. By introducing herself, Leah doesn’t feel isolated anymore. Now she knows someone in her new school. And if she gets to know Helen better, she may end up with a good acquaintance or even a valuable friend. Helen may even introduce Leah to other students she knows. Also, now that Leah has had a positive experience introducing herself to Helen, she’ll be more confident and have an easier time introducing herself to others.
What can we learn from this?
- It’s natural to be afraid about introducing yourself to someone you don’t know. The person may reject you. Or, you may find out you don t like the person. But you’ll never know unless you try. Who knows? Maybe it’s someone you’ll really enjoy being with, someone who is just as eager to meet you as you are to meet them!
- Many people find it difficult to introduce themselves to others. But think about it; if no one took the first step if no one took that risk no one would ever meet anyone. It doesn’t matter who takes the first step. So just do it!
- Remind students what they’ve learned in previous lessons. That is, you can always come up with reasons not to do something - not to join a club, not to go out, not to introduce yourself, not to get involved in the world of people. But only by looking for reasons to say yes will you give yourself an opportunity to meet people and enjoy life to the fullest.
Step 4: Activities
Have students identify the essential elements of introducing themselves:
- Brief greeting (“Hi” or other casual greetings with someone your own age; “How do you do” or “Pleased to meet you” with someone older)
- State your name clearly
- Eye contact
- Smile; warm, friendly facial expression
- Shake hands (optional except with someone older).
Have students:
- List the above behaviors on a wall chart
- Pair off and practice these behaviors while introducing themselves to each other.
Have students roleplay the NotSmart and PeopleSmart vignettes from the video. After each roleplay, have students discuss how they feel.
Have students form a circle. Have them all mimic Leah s nonverbal behavior from the NotSmart video vignette: tense face, avoiding eye contact, afraid to make contact with each other but wanting to. Encourage students to exaggerate these behaviors to the point of being funny; everyone really wants to meet each other, but all are afraid to make the first move.
- Call time and tell students that this is what life would be like if no one was willing to introduce themselves to each other.
- Tell students to just do it and introduce themselves to each other.
Have students identify someone they want to meet. Get students to commit to introducing themselves to these people, then report back to the class on how it went.
Have students keep a journal of their experiences introducing themselves to people. Have them report these experiences to the class. Have the class assist them in learning from their experiences and improving their chances of having positive experiences when they introduce themselves to people.
Have students identify the negative consequences of not introducing themselves to people and the personal benefits of introducing themselves. Then have them create separate wall charts listing these consequences.