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January 18, 2005
Personal
Marketing - Tooting Your Own Horn
When I was a young girl, I was the center of my universe
… and I had no problem letting people know it.
I had no reservations about talking about myself; I
had no qualms about telling my friends about my many
accomplishments at such a young age. I remember playing
down in the basement, holding court with my girlfriends
and sharing the secrets of my success. My dad would
overhear me talking and get very upset with what he
called my “bravado" behavior. He scolded
me, reminding me that I did not need to be such a bold
bragger. He said that if I really did a good job others
would notice and that modesty is a virtue.
I
wasn’t sure what all those big words meant, but
I got the point. I didn’t want to lose my friends
and the scolding stuck with me over the years. The more
I thought about his advice, the more I started to keep
my mouth shut. It was a sure thing that I wasn’t
going to turn people off by boldfaced bragging and obnoxious
behavior. What I didn’t know then was that bragging,
when done right, can actually be a good thing.
I
had yet to learn the delicate art of horn-tooting. (To
learn more register at www.generateabuzz.com)
Over the years, I have reevaluated my position on bragging
(not the obnoxious pushy part). The only sure thing
today is that no one is going to look after your best
interests except you and that the best way to get the
word out about your worth is to do it yourself.
Today
in this fast paced, technology driven world, stating
your accomplishments is a necessity — not a choice!
Remaining quiet about yourself, or worse downplaying
your successes, leads to being underappreciated and
allows others to take credit for your achievements.
The harsh reality about your success is that getting
ahead requires not only having a genuine knack for what
you do, but also a talent for self-promotion.
Personal
marketing, self promotion, tooting your horn, subtle
bragging … it really doesn’t matter what
you call it, you need it. Getting ahead requires not
only you being great at what you do, but also the ability
to turn your talents into performance and developing
the skill necessary to promote yourself in an upbeat
, authentic and positive light.
This
article is the first in a three-part series that will
help you develop a PR strategy and come across as an
interesting, accomplished, self-confident, all-around
good person without sounding like a self-centered, elbow-pushing,
insensitive bragger. I’ll be the first to admit
that this horn tooting is a very delicate business.
There is an art to giving a well-timed, gentle and even
discrete toot on your own behalf. Too loud and you are
a turn-off. Too soft and you risk not being heard. Being
able to show the world on a daily basis who you are
and what you have done takes work, but it’s worth
it.
You
can do it!
This
first installment is meant to get you started. Below
are the first steps to mastering the subtle art of self-promotion.
All it takes is beginning to identify your accomplishments
(what makes you “brag-worthy”), building
a bragging memory of all your achievements both big
and small, and putting all this into an authentic story
that you can seamlessly weave into any conversation,
performance review, job interview or networking event.
Let’s
get started on Gathering material and sharing The Story
of Your Life!
Step
#1: Know your subject matter – YOU!
What you are developing is a strong belief system in
yourself, your ideas, and your accomplishments. Take
some time and journal the answers to the following questions:
- What
are you known for around the water-cooler? What do
you want to be known for?
-
List all of the most interesting things that you have
done in your lifetime.
-
List 10 things that you have accomplished of which
you are the most proud.
-
What do you do for a living? How did you get to this
job/career?
-
What is it about your work that makes you happy?
-
Make a list of the three to five things that bring
you the most satisfaction in your work. How does your
job/career use your skills and talents?
-
Write about your ability to lead others.
-
What obstacles have you overcome to get where you
are today, both professionally and personally?
-
What new skills have you learned in the last year?
What training/education have you completed and
- What
professional organizations are you associated with?
Are you a member, board, treasurer, or the like?
Step
#2: Building your Bragging Memory
Throughout
the year you are going to accomplish some pretty amazing
things. Many of them will go unnoticed as you get up
each day and do it again.
Imagine
this: You just had a breakthrough with your team getting
them to open up and communicate more freely with each
other and under your guidance you were able to meet
a deadline that you never thought you would meet on
time. This is the highlight of your week. By the end
of the month, new challenges have cropped up and you
are on to the next deadline. By the time your performance
review rolls around, you have totally forgotten about
that very important accomplishment.
Does
this make the accomplishment any less of a success?
No. You just need to be able to remind yourself that
it happened and be able to talk about it in eight months
with the same enthusiasm that you had the week that
it happened. To do this, begin to build a bragging memory
for yourself.
Start
the New Year off right by journaling your high moments.
This can be as simple as writing notes in your calendar,
Outlook or ACT notes section. Or try sending emails
and memos to yourself where you write about some of
the great things you accomplished each day. Print up
you emails or notes and keep them in a notebook. Read
them often so you are connected to your great accomplishments.
Step#3:
Tell Your Story
Take
what you have learned from steps 1 and 2 and begin to
fill your story with your enthusiasm, energy and passion.
Once you have your story, tell it whenever you can.
Make sure that people have the facts right about your
accomplishments and your goals.
Be
comfortable with what you have to say. Remember, your
story needs to be conversational and not a memorized
script.
Telling
your story in an authentic manor will help you be noticed
and remembered.
Next Month: Tooting your horn face to face through email
and telephone!
Q
and A
Dear
Karen,
I
just ran a marathon and I would like a hint or tip on
how I share this with my boss and not sound like an
obnoxious bragger?
Bunions
and Blisters
Dear
B&B,
You just ran a marathon. Congratulations! All your training
and hard work has paid off and you are right to be proud.
Setting
such a large goal, staying focused and preparing to
meet that goal and then following through to achievement
is something that you want to share … and at work
it may be something that you want to share with your
company CEO or your manager. You are proud of your accomplishment
and you will want to plant the visual in their heads
about how disciplined, determined, and focused you are!
The
best way to do so may be to slip it into a conversation.
One of the keys to bragging without sounding like you
are is to be engaging, genuinely excited about what
you are talking about and inviting of follow-up questions
and opportunities to tell more.
Here are some possible scenarios…
If
it is right after the event, you have the perfect answer
to the typical Monday morning, “How was your weekend?”
You might say …
“It
was great! The weather was beautiful and I was so glad
to be outside. My brother and I ran in the marathon
and it was so much fun. It was such a great weekend
to be in Houston.”
The
same kind of response would work for someone who wanted
to talk about their volunteer efforts. They could answer
the same question like…
”I
spent the weekend passing out water at mile 23 in the
Houston Marathon. It was the most amazing experience.
This is my third year volunteering and I am still impressed.
It was so cool to see so many different people with
the commitment to get out there and do something. I
am inspired.”
If
some time has passed, you can look for an opportunity
to bring it up. For example, people might be talking
about Houston or the city in which you ran and you might
say…
“Houston
is an amazing city filled with people with such big
hearts. Last month when I ran in the marathon, I was
blown away by how many people were out there. The number
of runners, the number of volunteers, and the number
of spectators … the city was so excited about
the race.”
Even
though the marathon itself is not job-related, you can
use it as an example in job interviews or a performance
reviews. For example, if someone asks what are you most
proud of, you could answer…
“One
example of that happened off the job, but it is something
that I think about all the time at work, and that is
when I trained for and completed the Houston Marathon.
Before I started my training, the most running I had
done was to catch the bus, but I set this goal for myself
and spent 6 months getting ready for it. It was hard
work, but I learned a lot from the experience and ultimately
it paid off. I was thinking about this when I was thinking
about our goal here to attract new clients. It is not
something that is going to happen overnight, and much
like my training plan I spent the last year fine tuning
my plan to bring in new clients. By the end of the year,
I had reached my goal and again, the focus and dedication
that I possess really paid off.”
There
are many ways that you can talk about your accomplishments
without sounding like you are just blowing hot air.
Look for opportunities to bring up what you have done
in a way that makes sense in the context of the situation,
show enthusiasm for what you are talking about and engage
others in the conversation. Don’t be ashamed to
be proud, and … Congratulations!!!
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