Telling Your Story. Not Whether But How
Seems to me that today we are encouraged to tell our stories, as never before. Actually, career coaches have long stressed the importance of being able to respond well to “tell me about yourself.” Yet, today personal branding and social media are driving story as a key to becoming known, liked, and trusted. Clearly, there is little question that we need to tell our stories.
The real question is: How?You don’t need to know that “storytelling” produces over 11 million results on Google to realize that storytelling is a creative pursuit open to a wide range of interpretations and approaches. So, how do you proceed when crafting your story for online consumption?In the spirit of full transparency, my partner Carol Ross and I have addressed that in our Remarkable Online Profile kit. Still, we can begin to give you some guides for what constitutes a solid story:- Commands the listener’s attention from the start, so they want to keep reading.
- Has a clear theme that defines who you are and what you offer.
- Validates what you offer by giving the reader a sense of your career journey without getting bogged down in details of your employment history.
- Shows the attributes and competencies that make you stand out.
- Has particular words and phrases that “ring true,” and are especially clear and emotionally powerful.
- Clearly communicates how you make an impact.
- Makes an emotional connection that sets the foundation for creating trust and likability.
Of course, telling your story does take a substantial investment of time. Yet, when you have it, you have a tool that can best establish your brand and attract interest, online and off. Ready to tell your story?
