How to introduce yourself in a group

71,713 views ・ 2024-08-07

English with Ronnie


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

00:00
Hey, I'm Ronnie.
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This might surprise some people, but there's
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some things that I really hate doing, and
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one of them is introducing yourself.
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Another thing is being in a group.
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I don't know what it is, I hate being in a group.
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You see?
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I'm always making these videos, it's only me, there's no group around me, except for
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little...
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Oh, hi.
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It's okay.
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Okay.
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We're doing a video.
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So, one thing that I really, really, really hate is introducing myself in a group.
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I hate introducing myself to begin with.
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This is cool, but when there's a group of people, I get really nervous, and I'm sure
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you do too, especially if you are a shy person.
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So, how to interself, interself, interself.
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How to introduce yourself in a group.
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The leader of the group will say, "Now", all
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happy about it, like it's a great thing, "Let's
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go around the circle and introduce ourselves.
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Ronnie."
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Oh, can I escape?
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Can I run?
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Can I kill someone?
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What if I just killed the person?
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No.
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So, comes to my turn, I will always say something stupid.
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I'll say some stupid shit that has nothing to do, or it's very insulting, or...
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Let me give you an example.
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I was standing in a stupid circle, in a stupid
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group, and we had to talk about why we're
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interested in salsa.
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Not the food.
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Okay?
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Because I like salsa.
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But the music.
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It came to my turn, and I said, "I don't like salsa.
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I didn't know that that was what this is for."
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And after I thought about it, I was like, "Oh, great.
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I've just really said something stupid, and
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it was just embarrassing for me, but I really
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didn't care anyways."
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But saying stupid shit usually happens to me, because I just...
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"Hi, I'm Ronnie.
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Ask me a question."
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Okay?
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That's a good technique.
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Yes.
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It's right there on the board.
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You're in a group situation, you say, "Hey, I'm Ronnie.
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Hey, you ask me a question, and I'll help you out."
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But if you have to stick to the traditional
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techniques, I've got some do's and some don'ts.
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So, first one, please, don't say, "I don't
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speak English", because obviously you do speak
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English, because you're in a group and you're communicating in English.
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I know that you're learning English, that's fine, but if you say to the group, "I don't
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speak English", the first impression, people
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are going to say, "Oh, well, I'm not going
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to talk to that person, because they don't even
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speak English, so I wonder if they understand..."
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So, please don't say that.
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It makes you sound that you don't belong in
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the group, and it just brings your confidence
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level down.
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What you can say, please say, "Hi, I'm Ronnie.
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English isn't my first language."
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Okay?
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This tells the people, like, "Hey, I'm going to make mistakes.
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I'm not perfect in English, but I'm trying, and I know at least one other language."
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You could say, like, "Oh, English is my second language.
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I speak French and Portuguese", or "English is
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my third language", or "I'm learning English",
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but please just don't say, "Oh, I don't speak
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English", because you've just told a lie,
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because you can speak English.
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Come on.
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Second one.
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Yeah?
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Hmm.
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Don't say stupid shit.
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So, "Oh, god.
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What do you do?
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How...
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Hmm."
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Practice, practice, practice, practice what you're going to say.
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If you have to go first, kind of move out of the group and be like, "There you go.
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I'm just going to tie my shoe."
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But just practice what you say.
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Okay?
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So you know it's going to be your turn,
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you're getting nervous, you're a little shy.
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"Hi.
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Okay.
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My name's Ronnie, and I like mushrooms."
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Yes. Okay.
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"Hi.
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My name's Ronnie, and I like mushrooms."
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Good.
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Good.
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And then eyes are done, next person goes.
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Okay?
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Make it short.
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Don't say a lot.
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Don't go into conversations about yourself.
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"Oh, my name's Ronnie, and, you know, like,
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I really like mushrooms, and, like, yesterday
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I went to the park, and I saw, like, a squirrel,
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and then I gave him a nut, but he didn't want
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a nut."
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And you're like, "I don't care."
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Okay?
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So keep it short.
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Don't talk too much.
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It's just an introduction; it's not a life story.
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One or two sentences is perfect.
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We don't...
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We don't need 10 things about you; it's just a short introduction.
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Your name, something else, but don't be boring.
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Okay?
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If you talk really quietly, people can't under...
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If you talk really quietly, people can't
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understand you, and it makes you less confident.
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I know maybe you don't have a lot of confidence
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in English, but it's okay; you can fake it.
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So speak loudly, even if it's...
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You're screaming at people, "My name's Ronnie, I like mushrooms and fairies."
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Perfect.
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Make sure people can hear you.
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There's lots of scientific studies that people
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who speak loudly, other people seem to think
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that they're more enthusiastic or they have more power.
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So the louder you speak without yelling, people
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will seem to like you more, which is weird,
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but people are weird.
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And to say a few sentences.
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Okay?
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One, two, three, max, ask a question.
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Great, thanks.
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Try and say something positive, something fun.
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Again, don't tell them what you can't do.
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"Hi, my name's Ronnie, and I don't like karaoke or groups."
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Oh, good.
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We don't care.
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Okay?
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Say things like, "Oh, my name's Ronnie.
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I really like hanging out with you guys because you're so fun.
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I'm looking forward to this."
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Perfect.
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Try and keep it fun.
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Try and keep it positive.
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Don't be negative like Ronnie.
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Bad Ronnie.
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Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad.
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"Brag" or "boast".
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These words have the same meaning.
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If you brag about yourself or you boast, you're
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telling people how wonderful you think you
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are.
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This is really common.
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A lot of conferences that I never go to, a lot of talks, people introduce themselves.
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"Hi, my name's Ronnie.
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I went to Ottawa University.
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I have a PhD in linguistic..."
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Nobody cares what university you went to, unless it's a university conference.
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Don't...
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Don't say, "I have a PhD."
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Nobody cares.
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You're here to play music.
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We don't care about your education level, so be careful what you say.
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Don't...
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Don't brag about your accomplishments or...
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Yeah.
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Okay.
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"How to make not friends."
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Okay?
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Be funny.
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Be polite.
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Yeah, don't look at the floor.
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Okay?
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"Hi."
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This is kind of a rule with, like, with everyone.
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When you're having meaningful conversations
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with people, try and look bright in the people's
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eyes.
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If you look at the floor, it means that you're shy and you lack confidence.
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If you're looking at the ceiling up there, or the sky if you're outside, people think
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you're not paying attention, you don't like them.
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You know, if you're distracted, like, looking at the cat.
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You want to focus at the people.
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It can be difficult, though, if you're in a group, like, which eyes do I look at?
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What people...
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Focus on the person you think's the cutest.
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"Hi, I'm Ronnie."
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If it's hard for you to look people in the eyes, you could focus on something that's
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eye level.
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So "eye level" means it's the same level to your eyes.
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So don't look up, don't look down, just kind
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of look straight ahead, stare out the window
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or something, you know, if it's too hard for you.
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If you can, great people skill, look at the people, kind of do a little...
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Little room scan, you know.
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Hand gestures help, too, especially, I don't know...
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People say Italians talk with their hands, but I'm not Italian, I talk with my hands.
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If you want to incorporate some hand
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gestures, that's fun, give them a thumbs up.
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Anything to make you feel comfortable.
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I, like I said at the beginning, I'm not comfortable in a group.
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I prefer to be me or one or two people, but
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there are going to be situations, especially
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at work situations, if you're in a meeting, you have to come across as confident.
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You have to be on your game, which means a good worker.
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People at your work want you to be confident
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and think that you can speak English well,
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and just be the best person you can be.
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So, speak loudly, speak confidently, don't say too much.
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Look at the people.
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Look at the people, and always highlight the
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positive things about you, never the negative.
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My name's Ronnie.
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I'm an English teacher on engVid.
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I'm not bragging, and I'm happy to teach you.
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I hope to see you again.
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Bye.
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