‍Level Up: Insights for Impact

‍Welcome to our newsletter, Insights for Impact! This newsletter is designed for technical professionals who want their expertise to land, their ideas to stick, and their impact to be visible. Expect monthly tips and templates to help you take your career to the next level.

‍Your Intro Is a First Impression

Most technical professionals introduce themselves by listing job titles, tools, or tech stacks. That’s fine — but forgettable.

A great intro helps people understand what you actually do, who you help, and why your work matters, without needing the full job description. It opens the door for better conversations, stronger networking, and clearer visibility at work. It also helps you and the person you are networking with to understand the context of the conversation - and whether it’s the beginning of a great friendship (or not).

Here are the keys to a great intro:

1. Your name and maybe your nickname

2. I am a… [insert profession]

   • What you are currently working on (this might be a subdiscipline of your title or different than what your profession is )
     

Other questions to keep the conversation going:

• How did you end up at this event?
• How did you find out about this event?
• What are your expectations/goals for this event?

Take Action: Practice saying lines 1 and 2 so that they don’t sound rushed. Use the other conversation starters to keep the flow going.

Take Action: Do you have a favorite question to ask people when you are networking? Reply to this email and let us know. We might feature you in a future article!

‍Template: Build Your Intro in 30 Seconds

Copy/paste and fill in the blanks to build your 15-second intro:

“Hi, I’m ___________. I’m a _______. Right now I’m focused on _______.”

That’s it. Don’t overthink it.

Examples:

• Hi. My name is Eva. I’m a GIS Professional, and I manage a team of 30 analysts. Right now I'm focused on better workflows for project management.

• Hello! My name is Tim. I’m a GIS analyst who builds field surveys for water utility teams. 

• Hi, my name is Jami and I wrote the 2nd edition of GIS for Dummies. Right now, I’m focused on building a professional development training company.