In this video we're going to look at different ways to say ‘nice to meet you’ and different
ways to respond to them we're also going to look at different ways to respond to ‘how are you?’ and
those types of questions. This video is suitable for beginners all the way to advanced and beyond
because the answer is not so much about the grammar, it's about the message. If you think
you already know the answer to these questions then think again you could be surprised. Let's go.
Let's start with nice to meet you. When you meet someone for the first time
you can say ‘nice to meet you’ or ‘pleased to meet you’ or it's a pleasure to meet you
or 'delighted to meet you.' Remember, whatever you say, say it as if you mean it that's much more
important than which one of those phrases you choose to use. If you already know the person
maybe you've spoken them on the phone or you've heard about them then you can add 'at last '
to your greeting. "Bob it's a pleasure to meet you at last. Jennifer has told me so much about you
I feel like I'm meeting an old friend." 'Nice to meet you' in these type of questions you say only
once and that is when you meet someone for the first time. So what is the response?
"Nice to meet you," "Nice to meet you too." or "pleased to meet you too" or "it's a pleasure to meet you too "
or "delighted to meet you too" or you could say, "the pleasure is mine." Please sound like you mean it
"pleased to meet you", "pleased to meet you too" and not "pleased to meet you too" yeah
you could also say 'likewise' although this is a rather bland response so do say with enthusiasm.
'likewise' and not 'likewise' . Avoid saying 'me too' it's just confusing "nice to meet you,"
"me too" but I know it's nice to meet myself I i don't understand it. 'You
too' is also confusing so avoid that too. Instead of 'nice to meet you' you could say
'how do you do' but, big but, remember this is very old-fashioned. It doesn't mean you shouldn't use it
or you mustn't use it I'm not the conversation police in fact somebody
said it to me a couple of months ago and it was actually a surprise because it's so rare
that you hear it these days and it sounded quite charming, so why not. One point to clear up
'how do you do' does not mean 'how are you?' 'How do you do' is another way of saying 'pleased to meet you',
and like 'pleased to meet you,' you only say it once when you make the person for the first time and
the response to 'how you do' is 'how do you do.' "How do you do", "how do you do." So not say "I'm fine" or any
other type thing 'I'm good,' no. Another misconception is that 'how you do' is a British form. No it isn't
it's an old-fashioned form but spoken throughout the English-speaking world. In fact in the southern
states in the US in places like Texas they still say 'how do you do' but it's shortened to
'howdy.' I can't do the American accent so sorry for that. This howdy form is actually very old and
it comes from Southern England in the 16th century we don't say it in England like that anymore
but it lives on in some US states. Sometimes you'll have a conversation with somebody either in person
or on the phone and this 'pleased to meet you' is put at the end of the conversation in those cases
just say 'it was nice meeting you' at the end of the conversation or 'it was nice speaking with
you' at the end of a phone call. So let's move on to 'how are you?' how do you respond? Well I know
it's the textbook answer but one of the best responses is simply 'I'm fine thank you, and you?'
I know it's the one you learned at school but it's a great response why? it's brief, it's positive
and most importantly, you are asking about the other person as well it's not just about you,
it's about him or her too and that's important. It ticks all the boxes. With many other responses
it's just about you of course it isn't what you say it's how you say it if it's said robotically
"I'm fine thanks and you?" then what's the point but said with belief and conviction with a smile
and good eye contact "I'm fine thank you and you?" then it's a perfect answer it's a classic
like The Beatles or The Rolling Stones so do use it. Approved. You could also adapt it slightly .
'I'm fine thanks and how are you today? 'I'm fine thanks it's good to see you my
friend.' So you can always use it as a base and then adapt it to suit your purposes .
let's move on to some other responses to 'how are you?' you could say 'pretty good thanks'
you could say 'I'm good' some people don't like this because grammatically it should be 'I'm
fine' but so many people say it it's a standard response. It's positive, it's nice so yes it's okay.
'Never been better, 'just great' but what about if you're not feeling great? Don't say "actually
not good, my back's hurting and Mr Grimshaw is giving me a hard time at the office and I've
got no pineapple in the house at the moment and it's really depressing." No don't say that .
How are you does? not mean tell me your whole goddamn life story!
it's just a way to acknowledge the other person if you're not feeling great say something like
"How are you? "well, a lot better for meeting you." Here the subtext is that you've seen better days
but you're pleased to see them. Let's look at some other responses. "How are you?". "not bad "
personally, I don't like this one it sounds so negative. I'm an optimistic person and 'not
bad' sounds like the response of a pessimist 'how are you?' means 'how is your life going at the moment?'
and if I hear 'not bad' I want to say 'your life is not bad? when is it going to be good? 'it's an answer
that saps your energy instead just say 'I'm fine thank you and you?' In fact it's better to say, 'I
just cleaned my socks' than 'not bad' what would you prefer to hear let me ask you that what would you
prefer to hear 'how are you?' 'Not bad' or 'how are you?' 'I just cleaned my socks' Answers in the comments.
It's not what you say it's the way that you say it and there are other standard answers that
sound so negative. 'Could be better,' 'mustn't grumble', 'I've seen better days,' 'it's Monday'
And what about other greetings that you might hear that are similar to 'how are you?' How do
you respond to these? You might, for example, hear 'how you doing?' and the answer would be 'I'm doing
fine.' 'How's it going?' 'it's going fine.' They're not asking about you directly they're asking about IT
so 'it's going fine.' 'How're things?' 'they're fine,' 'they're fine thanks.' The question is in the plural and
the third person so it's not technically about you it's about your THINGS whatever that means.
'How's life?' 'Just fine', 'it's fine.' Again it's not about you it's about
your life of course with all these questions you could just say OK, fine, great that type of thing.
Finally just remember that there are two types of 'how are you?' One you say to someone
you haven't seen for a while and it's a real question, they really want to know how you are
and the other 'how are you?' is simply another way of saying hello maybe to someone that
you see frequently so you might not answer it directly at all. So, for example, 'How are you bob ?'
'Ah Jennifer! Good to see you again. Fancy a coffee?' By the way, if you want to know
some other ways of saying 'hello. how are you?' check the video up here somewhere.
how do you respond to 'how are you?' and 'nice to meet you' let us know in the comments. Grammarians, it's
always a pleasure to see you stay tuned for more videos see you next time.