Practical template included
Here you are, somewhere new. Maybe it’s a job interview, maybe it’s a potential client, maybe it’s your idol or maybe it’s a date. All eyes are on you. It’s your time to shine. Are you feeling a bit anxious already?
It’s okay, you tell yourself. You’re not a child. You’ve achieved a few things in your life. So you overcome the discomfort and rattle off your usual arsenal of self-serving facts:
I work at… in charge of… studied at… managed the… served under…
Does this approach work for you? Can it create the impact you wish for? Can it build the foundation for a strong personal connection?
So many of us rely on this strategy to make an impression. But there are a few problems with this technical, achievement-focused approach:
– First, “impressive” is always relative. Sure, working at Google is impressive in its own right, but it might not be impressive enough if you’re meeting senior managers in a large company.
– Only focusing on your positive achievements can be interpreted as arrogance.
– People know that many times, luck and connections are the true reasons for any success.
– This approach gives the listener no sense of what it would be like to work or build a relationship with you.
– If it’s an interview or a business meeting, people probably already know those details from your resume or LinkedIn profile, and the repetitiveness can be annoying.
– It’s boring!
The best way to truly impress people and make them want to collaborate with you is to give them a glimpse of your authentic character and spirit. Such a glimpse can only be observed, however, by watching a person be tested in some way.
“Fortunately, you don’t need to run into a burning building to save a baby or a cat. There’s another way to showcase heroism: revealing some difficulties you’ve successfully dealt with in the past. In other words, you can tell a story about a challenge you overcame.
Narratives are the only format in which we present our heroism, the only type of information that can be transferred from one person to another without the critical voice inside the listener’s brain completely picking it apart. Listening to success stories feels almost like being there with you and experiencing your achievement.
Here is a narrative template for presenting yourself in job interviews that worked for me in the distant past, and works for many of my friends today. By tweaking it a bit, you can use it in other contexts as well:
Exposition: When I started working at [company x, position y], I didn’t expect it to be as challenging as it was.
Conflict: But then I found myself in a very difficult/complex situation. [The bigger the challenge you describe here, the more impressive it will look when you overcome it.] I was desperate in the beginning, but then I decided to face it head-on. [Go into details of the struggle — this is the most interesting part of your story.]
Resolution/Transformation: I found my way out through [precision/learning/trial and error], and this was the moment when I felt I truly became a [professional/manager or any quality important to your listener].
We all have stories like this, even if we have never told them before. Our life is built from stories. Yet many of us feel very uncomfortable with this narrative format. Perhaps it feels unnatural and awkward. But please keep in mind: it’s only awkward for you, and only at the beginning.
For your audience, your current achievement-oriented approach feels stiff and inauthentic, while stories feel real and natural. So, step out of your comfort zone, embrace your story, and start making an impactful impression.
____
If you need help with finding the essence of your strategy and creating a strategic narrative simply ping me here or on LinkedIn.