bryan c. daniels - writing a professional bio
TRANSCRIPT
Writing a professional bio
Bryan C. Daniels
Who are you?
Personal Brand
Marketing yourself, your career and/or passion
Image/Perception
Establishing a prescribed image or impression
in the mind of others
IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT
1st step to building/establishing your personal brand
Develop a paragraph or two emphasizing your specialty
and/or key talents, weaving in your most important values,
passions and skills
That requires bragging about yourself – to some degree
1st step to building/establishing your personal brand
Bragging about yourself
❖ It’s something many of us
are uncomfortable doing
❖ We’re shy/modest/humble
– avoid attention
❖ It’s obnoxious, irritating and
narcissistic (just bad)
We’ve been taught that
bragging is wrong/self-serving
and form of selfishness
Bragging is good – when done the right way
Brown University
❖ People can manipulate how others see them by carefully
choosing when and how to
boast
❖ Brag when you can back up
your claim, and people will
see you as competent
Stay quiet about your
achievements and people will see you as warm and humble,
although less capable
Bragging is good – when done the right way
Harvard University
❖ Looked at the effects of talking about ourselves
❖ 40% of everyday speech is telling others about what you feel or think
❖ It feels so rewarding
Talking about ourselves (inclusive of writing about
ourselves) triggers the same sensation of pleasure in the
brain as food or money
What can a bio do for you?
Highlight your skills, abilities and accomplishments
Articulate your value, talents and contributions
Tell your story – the cornerstone of your personal brand
Some HR experts say your bio is the
most important document you will ever write
A rule of thumb for industry professionals
A bio is far more compelling/interesting than your resume
People will spend more time learning about you –
opposed to skimming your resume
A promotional document
❖ Tells a story about you –
whereas a resume gives “just
facts”
❖ Gives you an opportunity to
explain a bit about yourself
in an easy-to-read format
❖ You can convey more
information – compared to a
resume
❖ Should be concise and compelling – to some
degree
A summary of who you are and
what you’re all about
Here are few tips
Write in the third person
Say who you are and what you do immediately
Inverted pyramid method
Keep it short
Create multiple versions
Edit ruthlessly
Write in third person
❖ Speaking in third person suggests that someone else is speaking about you
❖ Makes it easier for others to talk about you using information straight from your bio
Makes it easy for others to share information about you
Say who you are and what you do immediately
❖ Include something more tangible like your job title, industry and location
❖ When you have more space, share something personal about who you are – a passion, a core value and/or an outlook on life –something that speaks to you
The most important details should go in the first sentence
Inverted pyramid
❖ Put the most important information at the start and the least important information last
❖ People tend to be lazy readers, so if you are worried your audience will only read the first few paragraphs; at least you know they have received the most important information about you at the beginning
Assume with each word that fewer and fewer people will keep
reading
❖ The shorter your bio, the more people will read it
❖ Alternate between short and long sentences
❖ Keep paragraphs short –between four and six sentences (focusing on one subject)
If short, people will be curious to find out more about you
Keep it short
Create multiple versions
❖ Long – Necessary for those who require a more detailed understanding of your background (250 to 500 words)
❖ Short bio – Keep to 75 to 125 words
Not all target audiences require the same amount of
background information
❖ Read your bio aloud to yourself, and have others read it for accuracy
❖ Your bio is the authoritative source on you. Update your bio with obvious milestones like a promotion or degree
It needs to reflect you in the best light possible
Edit ruthlessly
