We all want to reach new heights and be successful, if, of course, we have goals and the desire to fulfill our dreams. Naturally, everyone’s path is different: someone climbs the career ladder, someone runs their own business, someone chooses “free flight” and learns to earn money and realize their plans without depending on anyone. But, one way or another, in almost any field we need to be able to competently and effectively (and even effectively) introduce ourselves to other people.
When getting a job, meeting potential partners and, in general, people who are interesting to us and from whom we can and want to get some benefit (we think you will agree with us that there are plenty of such situations in life, and there is no point in being modest), we should be able to create the right impression about ourselves - the one we need. It allows you to influence people, encourage them to take certain actions, etc. And to create such an impression, perhaps the best way is self-presentation.
Self-presentation: when you need a text about yourself
In simple words, presentation text is always needed when you need to build a trusting relationship with the audience:
- Meeting the audience and networking. In order to acquire a network of useful contacts and initial trust, you need to introduce yourself to the audience. Social networks often host so-called networking parties, where users get to know each other in the comments.
- Find a job or like-minded people to join your team. Showcase your experience and demonstrate your values to find those who align with you on key points.
- Gather a loyal audience. Your subscribers are your potential clients, but only if you have managed to gain their trust.
- Motivate for some action. A motivating text can show your strengths and demonstrate that you are the same as your subscribers, which again increases the degree of trust.
- Sell your products and services. No sales without trust, alas.
- Remind yourself. When you need to revive the audience, return attention to yourself, there is nothing easier than telling who you are and what you do.
Depending on the task, you can change the text, adding some details and details (for example, if you sell your services), or, conversely, leaving the bare minimum (for example, for a signature under an article).
Concept and why self-presentation is needed
Submission rules
Self-presentation is the process by which individuals present themselves in the social world. This process occurs at conscious and unconscious levels, usually motivated by the desire to please others and satisfy one's needs. Self-presentation can be used as a means of impression management.
Self-presentation is any behavior designed to create, modify, or maintain an impression of oneself in the minds of other people.
Self-presentation serves three important functions:
- helps social interaction
- allows people to achieve material and social rewards
- helps individuals create the IDs they want
What to write: general structure of a text about yourself
It seems that self-presentation is simple, because you need to tell your loved one about yourself. But in reality it turns out that:
- I don’t know what to say at all,
- I can't do anything special
- I'm like everyone else
- I have too much experience.
You don't really need to say "something special" about yourself. To decide what to write in a given situation, just ask yourself: what does the audience know about you and what doesn’t; what information is really useful to her in this case and how it relates to your products and services.
Who are you and what do you do
Introduce yourself. Write not only your full name, but also your type of activity. This information can be a signature to your articles on various resources, in profiles on social networks, the beginning of a large text about yourself on a website, a post for networking acquaintances, or a text selling your services.
Even your social media profile should tell you what you do.And if you have a team and are preparing text for your website, post a photo of your employees and tell us what each person does.
Your value to the audience and your values in general
Show what problems a person can solve with your help, and also that you have the same values as your potential client, if this is important at the moment. For example, you are working on eco-projects because you are concerned about the environment in which your children will live. The main thing is not to overdo it with value and pathos; there is no need to save the whole world, as sometimes they write in company missions.
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Write about what you really care about. Learn to write texts to establish communication between the company and clients. Teach marketing to help a company market successfully.
Types of presentations
You can convey information about yourself to people through self-presentation. They are divided into groups:
- In relation to the audience towards the presenter.
- According to the form of implementation (oral, in the form of text).
- According to the purpose of the event (promotional, informational).
- By audience size (private, chamber, public).
- Self-presentation theory suggests that human behavior is aimed at creating a desired impression. We want people to see us a certain way.
Three components of successful self-presentation:
How to tell about yourself
- the speaker must be motivated to have a special effect on the minds of the listeners
- the speaker must have the cognitive ability to know what specific behavior will produce the desired impression
- must be able and willing to accept the desired behavior
Successful self-presentation involves a balance between benefits (presenting the most useful image for the situation) and credibility (ensuring that the image will be perceived by others). By being aware of these factors, people tend to change behavior according to audience expectations.
Your experience that may be useful to the client
You don't need to tell absolutely everything about yourself. Choose the most relevant experience that will help the client make a decision about cooperation. What in your luggage will solve his problem?
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In this post I only talk about experience that demonstrates competencies for a specific task - I can advise and teach how to develop content strategies for a project. Moreover, everyone will note their own: for some, promotion on social networks is important - here you go, I teach a course on SMM and manage the account myself. Those who need email marketing will see that such experience is also available. But at the same time, for example, there is no emphasis on the fact that I am writing amazing commercial proposals - because a completely different product is being sold.
Relevant experience described in the text about yourself not only inspires trust, but also allows you to focus on what is most important to your client.
The most common mistakes in text about yourself and ways to correct them
There is another side: the text seems to be written, but something is wrong with it. Most likely, one of the most common mistakes has crept in.
Text from top position
Sometimes the text is written as if the author is a superhero, and everyone else is unclear. The impression from such text will not be very pleasant. But it’s one thing when you are Artemy Lebedev and can afford even borderline shocking, and another thing when you can’t.
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Write without disdain for others, you are not a savior, you are not the only one who knows how to solve a problem. Offer help in a friendly tone. If you don’t want to work with a certain category of clients, indicate this, but without being rude. For example:
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Stamps that say nothing about you
“Young dynamically developing companies” are especially guilty of this, but all sorts of templates from resumes and cover letters like “highly qualified professional”, “expert in their field” in fact do not inspire trust. Prove your qualifications with experience and training documents.
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But a course completion certificate does not make you highly qualified by default. Tell us what exactly you have learned, what you really can do, and they will believe you. Look how project manager at the Kreativity School of Creativity Anna Goncharova did it.
Unnecessary facts that don't say anything useful about you
If you are a philologist by training, and your products are about weight loss, then you need to write about what kind of education you received in this area. There is no point in telling you that you have dreamed of this job since kindergarten. It can be fun, but it's for fun, not for building trust.
How to tell
Many applicants, when going through an interview, get hung up on the question of what to tell about themselves. They make bright, colorful self-presentations, don’t forget about interesting biographical facts, study every word... But during the interview they get lost, mutter something under their breath and cannot present themselves well - so that the employer will pay attention to them. Therefore, it is important to know exactly how to play this part of the interview so that it becomes the next confident step towards getting your dream job.
What psychologists advise:
- It should be a short story without unnecessary details and at the same time capacious and meaningful.
- Avoid negative particles, the word “no”.
- The story should not contain filler words or slang.
- Speak every word clearly and distinctly.
- Sentences must be correctly composed, not complicated by pretentious phrases and not oversaturated with book vocabulary.
- Don't chatter. Choose a moderate pace for the story.
- Gesture in moderation.
- Avoid value judgments.
- Don't lie.
- Make sure every word demonstrates your professional competence.
Be sure to take note of psychologists’ advice on how exactly you should talk about yourself at an interview. A confident tone and good style will guarantee a successful outcome.
Lifehack. To increase your self-confidence, you can not only rehearse your self-presentation for an interview at home, but also film it. This will allow you to evaluate yourself from the outside and correct mistakes such as excessive gestures or uncontrolled facial expressions.
Nuances of the “about yourself” text for different resources
When you decide on the purpose of the text, do not forget about where you are writing.
Block on landing page
How to talk about yourself if you are preparing text for a course landing page? The purpose of this block on the landing page is to convince the reader as much as possible that you can be trusted. To do this, it is not always enough to list the regalia. You can strengthen the text by telling a story about how you or your client solved the same problem that the reader has.
Social network
The first thing worth noting here is that social networks are not a resume. Write less formally; emoticons (of course, not in every sentence) and a conversational style are acceptable. Focus on your audience: do they perceive such texts well?
Your website
It makes sense to write a text about yourself on your resource that is as detailed as possible. You can also tell the story of why you are doing what you are doing, and how the project began, how it grew and grows. Remember, of course, to write this for the readers - why do they need to know this? Out of curiosity or because you convey to them the benefits of your project.
Third Party Site
If you write guest articles, then do not forget that even there you are introducing yourself to the audience. Firstly, if this is provided for in the format, at the beginning of the material, and here you can tell exactly what problems you are helping to solve - you inspire trust. And secondly, in the signature - and there you can also clarify the type of your activity. Use this opportunity to grab the attention of your potential readers.
Tips for beginners
It is important to remember that self-presentation first of all helps to greatly develop confidence in yourself and your abilities. The public is like metal, which when heated and certain actions takes the form desired by the blacksmith. Therefore, there is no need to be afraid, because if you try, you can take control of any public.
It is also worth remembering the importance of visual images, since a person perceives most of the information through the eyes. Try to give and create more visualizations, use technology to present information more accurately.
Bonus: books and courses that will help with personal advancement
- Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi and Tal Rez.
- “Jedi Techniques”, Maxim Dorofeev.
- “We turn on the charm using the methods of the secret services,” Jack Schafer and Marvin Carlins.
- “Create a personal brand”, Jurgen Salenbacher.
- Skillbox course “Marketing for Entrepreneurs”.
- Course in English from the University of Virginia on the Coursera platform “Introduction to Personal Branding”.
- Another course in English “The Climb: 6 Steps to a Powerful Personal Brand” from Udemy.
- “Personal brand - a course on promoting a personal brand” from the CEO of the advertising agency Digital Bands.
