Lesson 1 of 12 · Breaking the ice

First impressions

The first ten seconds decide how the next ten minutes feel. You can plan them.

About 20 minutes
Chapter 1 of the book
Saves on this device

Activity 1 of 5 · Build

Build your introduction

A good introduction has three parts: a greeting, your name, and one detail the other person can ask about. That detail is the hook. It gives them their first question.

Introduction builder

Pick the situation, add your details, and the tool writes three versions to practise.

✓ Done

A learner's story

Marco's two-word introduction

Marco · software engineer from Milan · upper intermediate

At his first team lunch in London, Marco said “Hi, Marco” and nodded. His new colleagues smiled, said their names and went back to their conversation. Nobody asked him anything.

The following week he tried something different: “Hi, I'm Marco. I've just moved from Milan, so I'm still finding my way round London.” Three people answered at once, one with a tip about the Tube and two with restaurant recommendations.

His English hadn't changed in a week. His introduction had.

Activity 2 of 5 · Sort

Formal, neutral or casual?

British English has a wider range of greetings than most textbooks show. Sort each one. When in doubt in real life, choose neutral.

Greeting sorter

Tap the level for each greeting. You'll see straight away if you're right.

✓ Done

Say it

Phrase box

Useful phrases from this chapter. Anything that isn't British English is labelled.

Formal

Good morning.
How do you do?
Pleased to meet you.

Neutral

Hello, nice to meet you.
Hi, how are you?
Lovely to meet you.

Casual

Hiya.
All right? (UK, mainly England)
Hey, how's it going? (US English, now common in the UK)

Activity 3 of 5 · Choose

What would you say?

Four real moments. Pick the best response, then read why.

Situations

✓ Done

Activity 4 of 5 · Play

The name game

Forgetting a name in the first minute is very common. The fix is to hear it, use it, and link it to something. Meet three people, then see how many you remember.

Meet the room

Read each card, say the name aloud with its detail, then test yourself.

✓ Done

The research

First impressions form fast, but they are kinder than you think. In studies by Erica Boothby and colleagues (2018), people consistently underestimated how much the person they had just met liked them. Researchers call this the “liking gap”. Your listener is probably enjoying the conversation more than you imagine.

Activity 5 of 5 · Say it

Say it aloud

Reading an introduction isn't the same as saying it. Listen to the model, say yours three times, then rate yourself.

Your introduction, out loud

Your line comes from the builder above. Say it slowly, and stress your name.

✓ Done

Before you move on

Three questions

Where will you use your introduction this week?

Which greeting level feels most natural to you, and why?

Whose name did you forget recently? What would have helped?

5 activities to go

Finish all five activities to complete Lesson 1. Your progress saves on this device, and finished lessons are marked on the lessons page.

What to remember

Five things to keep

Greeting, name, hook: three parts every time.
The hook gives the other person their first question.
Neutral greetings work almost everywhere.
Hear it, use it, link it: names stick.
Practise your introduction aloud before you need it.

Your answers and progress stay on this device. Nothing is sent anywhere.