Why Introductions Matter Is a New Post I did at the BMJ

The other day, I was invited to give a seminar on interprofessional teamwork to a group of residents and attendees at a prestigious university medical center in Europe. The first thing people did when they trooped into the room was introduce themselves to me. Since there were about 25 people in the room, no one really expected me to remember their names. But each and every one of them went through the drill.

These introductions did more than convey instrumental information about who we all were and what roles we had. At the most fundamental level, what people are doing when they acknowledge a stranger walking down a street or shake the hand of a person whom they have just met is create a psychologically—not to mention physically—safe environment. Read More