Introductions and Greetings

 Introductions and Greetings

Greetings are used to say hello in English. It's common to use different greetings depending on whether you greet a friend, family or a business associate. When you meet friends, use informalgreetings. If it's really important, use formal greetings. Formal greetings are also used with people you do not know very well.

 

Greetings also depend on whether you are saying hello, or you are saying goodbye. Learn the correct phrases using the notes below, and then practice using greetings with the practice dialogues. 

Formal Greetings: Arriving 

• Good morning / afternoon / evening.
• Hello (name), how are you?
• Good day Sir / Madam (very formal)

Respond to a formal greeting with another formal greeting.

• Good morning Mr. Smith.
• Hello Ms. Anderson. How are you today?

Informal Greetings: Arriving 

• Hi / Hello
• How are you?
• How are you doing?
• What's up? (very informal)

It's important to note that the question How are you? or What's up? doesn't necessarily need a response. If you do respond, these phrases are generally expected:

How are you? / How are you doing?

• Very well, thank you. And you? (formal)
• Fine / Great (informal)

What's up? 

• Not much.
• I'm just (watching TV, hanging out, cooking dinner, etc.)

Informal Greetings After a Long Time 

If you haven't seen a friend or family member for a long time, use one these informal greetings to mark the occasion.

• It's great to see you!
• How have you been? 
• Long time, no see. 
• How are you doing these days?

Formal Greetings: Departing 

Use these greetings when you say goodbye at the end of the day. These greetings are appropriate for work and other formal situations. 

• Good morning / afternoon / evening.
• It was a pleasure seeing you.
• Goodbye.
• Goodnight. (Note: Use after 8 p.m.)

Informal Greetings: Departing 

Use these greetings when saying goodbye in an informal situation. 

• Nice seeing you!
• Goodbye / Bye
• See you later
• Later (very informal)

Here are some short example conversations for you to practice greetings in English. Find a partner to practice and take a role. Next, switch roles. Finally, make up your own conversations.

Greetings in Informal Conversations: Practice Dialogue 

Anna: Tom, what's up?
Tom: Hi Anna. Nothing much. I'm just hanging out. What's up with you?
Anna: It's a good day. I'm feeling fine.
Tom: How is your sister?
Anna: Oh, fine. Not much has changed.
Tom: Well, I have to go. Nice seeing you!
Anna: Later!

Maria: Oh, hello Chris. How are you doing?
Chris: I'm well. Thanks for asking. How are you?
Maria: I can't complain. Life is treating me well.
Chris: That's good to hear.
Maria: Good to see you again. I need to go to my doctor's appointment.
Chris: Nice seeing you.
Maria: See you later. 

Greetings in Formal Conversations: Practice Dialogue 

John: Good morning.
Alan: Good morning. How are you?
John: I'm very well thank you. And you?
Alan: I'm fine. Thank you for asking.
John: Do you have a meeting this morning?
Alan: Yes, I do. Do you have a meeting as well?
John: Yes. Well. It was a pleasure seeing you.
Alan: Goodbye. 

Notes 

Greeting someone when you are introduced. 

Once you have been introduced to someone, the next time you see that person it is important to greet them. We also greet people as we leave people. In English (as in all languages), there are different ways to greet people in formal and informal situations.

Introduction (first) Greeting: How do you do?

The question 'How do you do' is only a formality. In other words, the question does not need to be answered. Rather, it is a standard phrase used when meeting some for the first time.

• Tom: Peter, I'd like to introduce you to Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith this is Peter Thompson. 
• Peter: How do you do?
• Mr. Smith: How do you do?

Use these phrases to say that you are happy to meet someone when introduced for the first time. 

• It's a pleasure to meet you.
• It's nice to meet you.

Greetings after an Introduction: How are you? 

Once you have met someone, it's common to use standard greetings such as 'Good Morning', 'How are you?' and 'Hello'.

• Jackson: Hi Tom. How are you?
• Peter: Fine, and you? 
• Jackson: I'm great.

 

 

 

Beare, Kenneth. "Social Greetings in the English Language." ThoughtCo, Aug. 27, 2020, thoughtco.com/greetings-social-language-1210042.

 

 

Social Media In The Workplace

Social media is no longer just a personal matter. It’s a professional one, too.

Nearly 3.5 billion people worldwide use some type of social media, according to a survey conducted by advertising company Monster. And yet for years, there was no place for it within the confines of the average 9-to-5 gig. But with every new wave of employees and the acceleration of digital workspaces, that’s changed — and will continue to evolve.

“When social media first started, it was a way for people to connect, then it evolved to become a source of information and news,” says Anna Bersudsky, chief product officer at social recruiting software company CareerArc. “Now, it's becoming a way to tell stories and share more about what's going on and who we are as people and as companies.”

Advances in Technology

 

Sharing those stories on LinkedIn has been the norm for employers and employees alike since 2003, and the platform has gained prominence in recent years as the de facto job-search destination. But now, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok have infiltrated the working world with increasing speed, and are contributing to the so-called "Great Realization" more than employers may have anticipated.

 

“Folks — especially Gen Z and millennials — looking for work are looking for authenticity in whatever they're seeking,” says Debora Roland, vice president of human resources at CareerArc. “And social media is a good way to storytell and share that authenticity.”

According to Glassdoor, 65% of job seekers claim they would be open to hearing about a new job opportunity if they were informed about it by a personal connection in their social network, and 79% are alre

The ability to have these variables for your next career or your next job search and being able to find a company that fits them has made [recruiting] much more effective,” says Bersudsky. “Much more effective than it was even a decade ago.”

Employers are getting in on the social-media action, too. Over 84% of organizations are actively recruiting via social media, according to SHRM, with another 9% planning to do so. And it’s working: 70% of managers said they have had success hiring candidates through social media.

“What we're seeing employers start to do now is understand the data,” says Casey Welch, CEO of job search company Tallo. “Let's understand how employees want to behave, let's understand how they want to communicate. It's a great way to get data and insights, like what are their biggest concerns? How are we perceived as a brand?” 

And it’s not just their own brand that businesses are concerned about. Seventy percent of employers believe that every company should screen potential candidates’ social media profiles when considering them for a job opportunity, according to a 2020 Harris poll. The same survey also found that 21% of hiring decision-makers said they are not likely to consider a candidate without a social media presence.

With the pandemic driving employees home — 2021 saw an 87% increase in remote work, according to Upwork’s Future of Workforce Pulse Report — recruiting has evolved to fit that new normal.

“Now that we're in a hybrid remote world,” says Taylor Roa, director of talent at video marketing software company Wistia, “your online presence may be more important than your physical presence.”

But employees’ online presence is no longer confined to traditional networking platforms, and for employers who are stuck in their ways, they may soonfind that LinkedIn is no longer enough. Especially as newer generations that were raised on social media begin to dominate the workforce, companies will need to meet them where they are to build authentic connections with prospective talent.

“For companies that aren't already using Twitter to source candidates, it's a great place to start to do that because there are people that use Twitter for everything that they need,” Bersudsky says. “Then we start seeing video content becoming more and more important for sharing information and for storytelling, so TikTok, in its virality, is the next exciting thing to look into for social media [in the workplace.]”

 

Quantity doesn’t necessarily mean quantity, she says. It’s not just about posting job listings and opportunities on multiple platforms; it's about posting quality content in places there will be an audience to engage with it. Considering the audience and objective of each post can help maximize reach and even help companies boost their DEI efforts.

“We've seen a lot of use of Twitter, particularly for underrepresented groups, to network and share job posts,” Roa says. “We've seen a lot of success from folks putting job posts out in ‘Black Twitter,’ and we even work with a job board called Black Tech Pipeline which was born from a Twitter post.”

As employers get comfortable with new opportunities created by social media, it's important to remember that these platforms are a two-way conversation, Welch says. As much as you’re looking at prospective employees’ accounts, they’re paying attention to your moves, too.

“It's that balance to understand your people and how they want [to engage with social media],” he says. “Understand which platforms they’re on, why they’re on it, and what they want to see from you.”

Written by:

Paola Peralta

Associate Editor, Employee Benefit News 

Visit their website here:  https://www.benefitnews.com/news/how-social-media-has-changed-the-workforce-and-what-it-means-for-business

Describing Your Morning Routine

 Tell me about your morning routine.  A routine is a group of activities you do often.  Do you eat breakfast every morning? Do you brush your teeth before your go to school?  Do you take a shower in the morning or do you just wash your face and comb your hair.  Tell me about your morning routine!

Written by Michelle Donnatien, May 28, 2022

Story and questions can be shared with the permission of the author by contacting Michelle Donnatien at michelledonnatien@live.com.  The content may not be shared on another website without the written permission of the author.  A direct link with the author’s name must be displayed when sharing this article. 

Suzie and Her New Life

 Suzie went to a new school.  She was very excited about making new friends and meeting her new teacher!  She was excited about leaning a lot in school this year.  Suzie was in the 7th grade!  Suzie had moved to America and she was really happy about her new life.  She wanted to make new friends and learn more about American culture.

Suzie was surprised that students in America did not go to academies after school.  Her friends had homework and when they were finished with their homework, they could hang out and relax at home.   When Suzie finished school that day, she couldn’t wait to come home and tell her mom and dad about what she learned.  She was really excited and she knew that this was going to be a great new life!

Written by Michelle Donnatien, May 28, 2022

Story and questions can be shared with the permission of the author by contacting Michelle Donnatien at michelledonnatien@live.com.  The content may not be shared on another website without the written permission of the author.  A direct link with the author’s name must be displayed when sharing this article. 

Taking Responsibility - Thinking About More In Life

 What do you know about taking responsibility for your actions?  When was the first time you had to take responsibility?  I remember when I was a little girl, I used to walk around the store with my hands out, touching everything in sight.  My mother would become angry and tell me to stop touching everything.  She did not want to have to pay for something that one of her children broke because of carelessness of disobedience.  In America, there is a saying:  Your break it, you bought it!  It means if you break this item, you now must pay for it since you were so careless.  I remember being in a store in Louisiana and walking down the isle with my hand out touch every single item in that isle.  I walked down that isle as if my life depended on touching each item.  After my mother telling me so many times that I would break something....I broke something.  My mother made me bring it up to the register and apologize to the cashier for breaking it.  I don’t remember what the cashier said but I don’t think I’ll ever forget the moment that I had to take responsibility for my actions.  It was a turning point in my life.

American culture teaches that we take responsibility for our actions even if the outcome is painful.  At school, if your parents did your homework for you, you could get into big trouble in your school.  The idea was that learning from life lessons and learning how to be a capable human being was much more important than just pursuing good grades.  Many students were straight A students and they did not know how to function in the real world.  How would it help them if they were just “book smart”?  Could they clean their house?  Could they get a job and contribute something positive to society?  This is the goal of many parents in America.  Getting good grades is very important, however many people would rather have a child grow up into an honest member of society working at a job that is not best rather than going to the best school, getting the best job and being unhappy and unable to cope with the issues of life.  

Discussion:  

What about you?  When you graduated from high school, did you just have good grades or could you take care of yourself?  What about after graduating from college?

If you have not graduated yet, what skills do you think you should have after your graduate from high school?

What are some good skills that you should acquire to help you in your adult life?

What are some life skills you should have?

Written by Michelle Donnatien, December 12, 2020

Story and questions can be shared with the permission of the author by contacting Michelle Donnatien at michelledonnatien@live.com.  The content may not be shared on another website without the written permission of the author.  A direct link with the author’s name must be displayed when sharing this article. 

Michelle Helps Out

 Michelle was a middle school student.  She loved school and she loved to learn.  Her dad was a fireman in the Air Force and her mom stayed home to take care of her and her five brothers.  Michelle had a dog named Bandit and she loved taking him for walks.  Bandit was a cute dog.  His father was a Beagle and his mom was a Poodle/Terrier.  Michelle and her oldest brother, Clinton would compete to see who Bandit loved more.  Sometimes, Clinton and Michelle would take Bandit for a walk together at night because Michelle was afraid to go outside by herself at night.  There were bats that flew between the trees but Michelle’s brother, Clinton wasn’t afraid of them.  

Michelle’s mom had two baby boys when she was young.  They were twins.  Michelle’s mom needed a lot of help with the twins because her dad worked a lot.  Michelle loved babies.  She loved them so much that she babysat some neighborhood children every week.  She loved taking care of children and all of her mom’s friends said that she would be a good mom one day.  Michelle would help her mom change the baby’s diapers and feed them their bottles of milk.  She always felt really good about it.  Michelle’s mom was very happy about her help.

How about you?  Do you help your mom and dad at your house?  Do you clean your bedroom?  Do you help your mom or dad wash the dishes?  Parents need lots of help.  What can you do to help your mom and dad?

Vocabulary words:

Find the meaning of these words.  Test yourself!  Make one sentence with each word!

Fireman

Air Force

Beagle

Poodle/Terrier

Compete

Babysat

Written by Michelle Donnatien, December 11, 2020

Story and questions can be shared with the permission of the author by contacting Michelle Donnatien at michelledonnatien@live.com.  The content may not be shared on another website without the written permission of the author.  A direct link with the author’s name must be displayed when sharing this article. 

The Girl Who Lived All Over America - Comprehension Questions

Comprehension Questions: 

1.  How old was Michelle when she lived in Washington?

2.  How many states did Michelle live in?

3.  How many schools did Michelle attend?

A deeper look:

1.  Have you ever moved to another city or country?  Why did you move?

2.  What would you do if your parents told you that you had to move to another city or country?  Would you be afraid or excited?

3.  How do you think Michelle felt about moving to another city or country?  How do you think she coped?  How would you cope?

4.  What are the pros and cons of moving to a new city or country?  What can you learn from moving to a new place?

Written by Michelle Donnatien, December 4, 2020

Story and questions can be shared with the permission of the author by contacting Michelle Donnatien at michelledonnatien@live.com.  The content may not be shared on another website without the written permission of the author.  A direct link with the author’s name must be displayed when sharing this article.