How to Introduce Yourself to a Stranger

Oh wow thanks for sharing this is a good article.

I guess the fact that for the last decade of my Army career I was a recruiter has insulated me from the fear and bashfulness of walking up to a total stranger and starting a conversation.
The fact is, I was always at ease talking to one or hundreds of people.

When I approach someone it goes something like this.... Hi, I'm Joe McCausland and you are.. Jim Jones..well Jim, may I call you Jim (no one will ever say no) yes, so Jim, what do you do ( with a smile and looking into their eyes). No matter if they say they're a "garbage collector" or a NASA scientist, I listen intently. The good Lord saw fit to give us two ears and one month, I take it he was saying talk half as much as you listen. If it were the trash collector, I would ask he or she what was the craziest thing you found in the trash? As for the NASA scientist, so, where do you see our space program going in the next decade? You have to be aware of the situation and the surroundings that made this stranger available to talk to you in the first place, you don't want to over stay your welcome, especially if your stranger was with other people.

More often than not, the stranger will be curious about what you do ( remember, I just introduced my self by name...not my occupation, organization or company) when asked...tell them but make it short and close with a "call to action" but do it respectfully.... my response would be.. as I said before my name is Joe McCausland but I'm also known as Sgt Mac, my company is Military Vets and I am a Veteran Advocate and I have been for over twenty years. I always "pause" after every fact that reveals something about myself or my organization, this way my new "friend" can interject his or her thoughts, you know a "conversation".
My exit goes something like this... well Jim, I don't want to over stay my welcome. after all, it was I who invaded "your" space" but when I saw you, I said to myself.." self" ( with a grin) now that guy ( or gentleman, you be the judge of which one seems more appropriate for the situation) looks interesting and you know Jim "self" (with a smile) was right again, I really enjoyed our chat.. with business card in hand, "here's my card..if you know of or run across a military veteran who needs anything, please, give me a call (notice I didn't say, have the vet call me... for two reasons first, now I am again talking to Jim and second most vets won't call, many have too much pride to reach out... that's the underlining factor for most of the problems our veterans face once they are out of the service) at this point, Jim will probably give me his business card and I say, great, thanks, Jim, perhaps we can get our schedules together and set up a lunch soon... I would love to hear more about... XYZ.
Although you might say there is a little "manipulation" in my methods, I just structure it to get results. I truly do care about people and what they do and as far as that second meeting with Jim, I don't talk business for at least the first ten or fifteen minutes, I just want to hear how Jim is doing and how I can help him.

One of the greatest salesmen who ever lived put it this way.... "the way to get what you want..is give other people what they want". Zig Ziglar