How To Introduce Yourself To A New Remote Team

The first impression matters a lot. And I’m sure you may have heard that over a thousand times. As a remote team, you truly want to introduce yourself to other team members and leave a “good” lasting impression. You don’t want to be remembered as someone with a weird personality.

A good introduction doesn’t come easily. If you have ever come in contact with any person and feel wowed by their introduction, it results from practice over time. Nobody wakes up and gets on the meeting to leave those remarkable words spontaneously. None! Well, maybe a wordsmith would, but they rarely happen. You must choose your words nicely and piece them together to form a good impression; otherwise, you’ll wobble when introducing yourself.

How to Introduce Yourself to a New Remote Team

Generally, we tend to note our first encounter with people, especially when it has to do with work. And the new remote team isn’t out of the equation. A bad impression, once made, would be difficult to change and may incur negative impressions. It is always important to make the right impressions.

Except there are laid down principles to follow, it is necessary to adhere to the following rules when introducing yourself to a new remote team:

• Know Your Audience

When introducing yourself to a new remote team, it is important to understand the nature of your audience clearly. You must not rely on one traditional, general, and age-long means of introduction. You must consider whether your audience is composed of young people who may not mind if you are a friendly person. Another thing you must consider is whether your audience is made up of people from varying cultures and philosophies. When you can understand all these, you will be able to introduce yourself in the most accepted way.

• Prepare Ahead with Key Message Points

Introducing yourself to a new remote team is far different from when you are discussing with your friends and family. In your discussion with friends and family, you may say things randomly and dive from one topic to another as it pleases you. But when introducing yourself to a remote team, random talks may be problematic. This is why it is important to have key message points at hand. Always have a list of things you intend to tell your audience.

• Catch the Attention of Your Audience

Always make sure to grab the attention of your audience. Sometimes, a smile may not be bad. Most audiences pay more attention to speakers who put up a slight smile. By smiling, you are admitting you’re happy to be in their midst. Sounding like a brute may deter a smooth introduction. The audience may become uncomfortable, and in the process, your audience’s attention might be lost.

• Be Confident

When introducing yourself, speak with confidence and with a full voice. Look your audience in the eyes. Look straight at the camera and make sure you observe their body language. Your language, body posture, and facial expressions must communicate confidence. It is important to be careful about your background. Do not let your background catch more attention than you should. Always ensure you are in an environment that displays nothing worthy of attention. Using a wall as your background will not be bad. You must also minimize background noise or other disturbances that may prevent your audience from focusing on what you are saying.

• Be Mindful of Your Attitude

The first impression matters most. As you introduce yourself, be mindful of your attitude. It may be difficult to change when you create a bad impression on your audience. One of the ways to create a good impression on the minds of your audience is to greet your new remote team co-workers with enthusiasm. It is also important to be positive. This will help you win over your audience’s mind, making them confident to work with you. It would be best if you always remembered that your attitude could be observed through your posture, facial expression, and voice. Do not sound rude, and always remember to put up a smile and an enthusiastic mood.

• Read the Team

If you’re the one doing the introduction, it means you are the newest person on the team. You must align yourself with the status quo of the team. If the team has an instituted way of doing things, trying to do things differently or annihilating them may not end up well. By doing so, you will only make enemies, not friends. Before your introduction, you must seek information about your new team, how they operate, what they enjoy best, and how their meetings are made. Also, try to find out about your new team members beforehand. Get any information capable of giving you a clear picture of the people who make up your new team.

• Listen More Than You Speak

As mentioned earlier, the first impression matters a lot. As a new remote team member, you should not just move into the remote team and begin to make changes. This can create the impression that you’re an authoritarian in nature. Such behavior can lead to low work productivity and loss of remote team members. As a new remote team member, it’s important to do more listening and learning. You can begin to make necessary changes when you’ve understood and learned much about the remote team. When making decisions, you need to seek the opinion of team members. This is why it’s said that “two heads are better than one.” 

This tip is most beneficial to you if you’re introducing yourself as the manager of a new remote team. It’ll help you manage remote team members and bring them closer to you and the job.

Also, it’s important to take the initiative. Introduce yourself smoothly to your new colleagues. Don’t let them come to you before you can do that. This attitude will create the impression that you’re worth liking and approachable. 

In the process, go a bit further than merely introducing yourself. As you mention your name and role, mention your hobbies and interests. Show your audience that you are very social and worth talking with. Get to know each of their likes, dislikes, names, hobbies, and interests. But, only do this when the meeting is not so formal.

• Know Your Team Members

As you introduce yourself, getting your hands on the organization’s organogram is important. By doing this, you’ll get to know each member and their roles in the virtual team. Make sure you know each of your colleagues by name and face, and do not fail to call them by their names. Calling them by their names will show that you hold them in high regard. It will also create the impression that you are very cordial.

• Follow Up Promptly

After you have formally introduced yourself, endeavor to do a follow-up introduction via email or on any other platform to each remote team. If you can’t do this to everyone, ensure to do it in batches, beginning with the people you’ll be interacting with daily. It’s good to do the same with others after that. 

While doing the follow-up introduction, you don’t need to present long and complicated write-ups. Your writing must be clear, short, and easy to understand. The message’s main point is to tell them that you are happy to be part of their team, appreciate their time, and look forward to smooth work and productivity. Ensure to tell them that you’ll reach out to them if you need assistance or when you have questions. Tell them to feel free to do the same.

• Understand That Change is Inevitable

As a human being, it’s good to know that things don’t and can never remain static. Hence, you must always employ your foresight skills to identify negative changes and deal with them before they run out of hand. Where that is not possible, at least it’ll help you manage change. It is widely said that “when you are in Rome, you must do as Romans do.” In your new workplace, your experience and changes over time may not always be good. You’ll meet individuals with different attitudes. You may not like some of these behaviors, but the most important thing is to manage them.

 FAQS

How do you introduce yourself when you join a new team?

To do this, you need to start by stating your name, position, previous achievement in a similar position, and what you set out to achieve with your new position. Follow this format, “Hi everyone, my name is Princewill and I just joined the team as a content writer. Glad to make your acquaintance.”

How do you introduce yourself on your first day of remote work?

On your first day of remote work, it’s a good practice to introduce yourself to your co-worker. This will help you build connections quickly and find help whenever needed. Adopt this format: “Hello, my name is Princewill Uchegbu, and I’m the new SEO-Content writer here at Woculus. I’m super excited about my new role, and I hope to start working with you all.”

Conclusion

If you want to build your “know quickly,” “Like,” and “Trust,” you need to learn how to introduce yourself to a new remote team in a remarkable way. Irrespective of your kind of person, it is possible for you to make a fantastic first impression on your first day at work to attract them to you. To do this supremely well, you need to: know your audience, prepare ahead with key message points that will get them hooked to your screen, be confident, be mindful of your attitude – don’t allow pride to sets in, appearance matters a lot, listen more to their countenance than you speak, try to know their pedigree, follow-up promptly, and understand that change is inevitable.

The post How To Introduce Yourself To A New Remote Team appeared first on Woculus.

Ayo Oyedotun is a professional blogger and freelance writer. He reads, writes and talks about business. You can follow him on Twitter @Ayo_Oyedotun[http://twitter.com/#!/Ayo_Oyedotun] or read Business Owners’ Bible[http://woculus.com/].