How to Introduce People via Email

A Financial Times article offers advice for introducing people by email. Students can reflect on their own experience introducing others or getting introduced.

Most important: Before introducing anyone, ask their permission. Otherwise, revealing an email address and setting an expectation that the person will respond could be awkward. If someone doesn’t want to meet, they’re left with a tricky decision of whether to go through with it anyway, ignore the email and a possible follow-up from the other person, or respond and decline the invitation, which could feel hurtful. For the latter, the receiver could cite deadlines, other pressing priorities, or something perhaps more truthful, for example, “It sounds like you have a lot of interesting work in progress. I find my own interests moving away from xx but wish you the best of luck with your projects.” Maybe students could talk about how they might react to that type of email—or draft their own polite decline, as we talk about in business communication textbooks.

The article gives an example of not asking permission: when someone knows the person very well and sends a thoughtful, complimentary email. Students might agree, particularly if they are looking for work and an introduction gets them close to a potential hiring manager.

The author raises the question of how long to keep the introducer on the email chain. I suggest including the introducer on one email from each responder. “Thanks, Jamie, for the introduction! Matt, I’m glad to meet you . . .” As the introducer (which I was recently, after getting permission from both parties, of course), I like to see that the people responded. But that’s enough. I don’t need to be involved in plans for a lunch to which I’m not invited.