Written by: Vickie Sullivan | April 02, 2020
2 New Ways to Introduce Yourself
Whew! It took me a while to get over the jet lag from an epic trip to Australia with my fellow board members from Harvard. And then the world was hit with the COVID-19 pandemic, and new chaos ensued. I’ve since been able to reflect on my trip, and like what usually happens when I travel, learned a lot.
A challenge popped up, though. Our many meetings with various dignitaries started with introductions. The standard was fine—at first. By the third day of an 11-day trip, we all got tired of hearing the same thing from each other.
The big question: How do we describe/introduce ourselves to the new folks when most of the group already knows the spiel? How do we stand out? Two fabulous ideas worked well here:
• Share your passions. We shortened who we are to one sentence and shifted the focus to what we’re passionate about. Doing so showed our human side and what we care about.
• Tell a story. We started to tell stories about how we got started. How we got connected to the board. This provided context to our professional side. It connected what we do with who we are.
Listen: Two Stories That Introduce Who You Really Are
It’s hard to be intriguing to folks who already know you. When you drill down and share what they likely don’t know, you provide a different context that makes your achievements more meaningful.
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