Ghostwriter, speaker, Inc. columnist
Stop
Using These 16 Terms to Describe Yourself
January 17, 2013
inShare14K
·
o
Like Unlike (3,406)
o
Comment
(1,851)
Picture this. You meet someone new. "What do you
do?" she asks.
"I'm an architect," you say.
"Oh, really?" she answers. "Have you
designed any buildings I've seen?"
"Possibly," you reply. "We did the new
student center at the university..."
"Oh wow," she says. "That's a beautiful
building..."
Without trying -- without blowing your own horn -- you've
made a great impression.
Now picture this. You meet someone new. "What do you
do?" he asks.
"I'm a passionate, innovative, dynamic provider of
architectural services with a collaborative approach to creating and delivering
outstanding world-class client and user experiences."
All righty then.
Do you describe yourself differently – on your website,
promotional materials, or especially on social media – than you do in person?
Do you use cheesy clichés and overblown superlatives and breathless adjectives?
Do you write things about yourself you would never have
the nerve to actually say?
Here are some words that are great when other people use
them to describe you – but you should never use to describe yourself:
1. "Innovative." Most companies claim to be innovative. Most people claim
to be innovative. Most are, however, not. (I'm definitely not.) That's okay,
because innovation isn't a requirement for success.
If you are innovative, don't say it. Prove it. Describe
the products you've developed. Describe the processes you've modified.
Give us something real so your innovation is unspoken but
evident... which is always the best kind of innovative to be.
2. "World-class." Usain Bolt: world-class sprinter, Olympic medals to
prove it. Lionel Messi: world-class soccer (I know, football) player,
four Ballon d'Or trophies to prove it.
But what is a world-class professional or company? Who
defines world-class? In your case, probably just you.
3. "Authority." Like Margaret Thatcher said, "Power is like being a
lady; if you have to say you are, you aren't." Show your expertise
instead.
"Presented at TEDxEast " or "Predicted 50
out of 50 states in 2012 election" (Hi Nate!) indicates a level of
authority. Unless you can prove it, "social media marketing
authority" might simply mean you spend way too much time worrying about
your Klout score.
4. "Results oriented." Really? Some people actually focus on doing what they
are paid to do? We had no idea.
5. "Global provider." The majority of businesses can sell goods or services
worldwide; the ones that can't are fairly obvious.
Only use "global provider" if that capability
is not assumed or obvious; otherwise you just sound like a small company trying
to appear big.
6. "Motivated." Check out Chris Rock's response (not safe for work or the
politically correct) to people who say they take care of
their kids. Then substitute words like "motivated."
Never take credit for things you are supposed to do – or
supposed to be.
7. "Creative." See particular words often enough and they no longer make
an impact. "Creative" is one of them. (Use finding
"creative" references in random LinkedIn profiles as a drinking game
and everyone will lose -- or win, depending on your perspective.)
"Creative" is just one example. Others include
extensive, effective, proven, influential, team player... some of those terms
may truly describe you, but since they are also being used to describe everyone
they've lost their impact.
8. "Dynamic." If you are "vigorously active and forceful,"
um, stay away.
9. "Guru." People who try to be clever for the sake of being clever
are anything but. (Like in #8.) Don't be a self-proclaimed ninja, sage,
connoisseur, guerilla, wonk, egghead... it's awesome when your customers
affectionately describe you that way.
Refer to yourself that way and it's obvious you're trying
way too hard to impress other people – or yourself.
10. "Curator." Museums have curators. Libraries have curators. Tweeting
links to stuff you find interesting doesn't make you a curator... or an
authority or a guru.
11. "Passionate." I know many people disagree, but if you say you're
incredibly passionate about, oh, incorporating elegant design aesthetics into
everyday objects, to me you sound over the top.
The same is true if you're passionate about developing
long-term customer solutions. Try the words focus, concentration, or
specialization instead.
Or try "love," as in, "I love
incorporating an elegant design aesthetic in everyday objects." For
whatever reason, that works for me. Passion doesn't. (But maybe that's just
me.)
12. "Unique." Fingerprints are unique. Snowflakes are unique. You
are unique – but your business probably isn't. That’s fine, because customers
don't care about unique; they care about "better."
Show you're better than the competition and in the minds
of your customers you will be unique.
13. "Incredibly..." Check out some random bios and you'll find plenty of
further-modified descriptors: "Incredibly passionate,"
"profoundly insightful," "extremely captivating..." isn't
it enough to be insightful or captivating? Do you have to be profoundly
insightful?
If you must use over-the-top adjectives, spare us the
further modification. Trust that we already get it.
14. "Serial entrepreneur." A few people start multiple, successful,
long-term businesses. They are successful serial entrepreneurs.
The rest of us start one business that fails or does
okay, try something else, try something else, and keep on rinsing and repeating
until we find a formula that works. Those people are entrepreneurs. Be proud if
you're "just" an entrepreneur. You should be.
15. "Strategist." I sometimes help manufacturing plants improve
productivity and quality. There are strategies I use to identify areas for
improvement but I'm in no way a strategist. Strategists look at the present,
envision something new, and develop approaches to make their vision a reality.
I don't create something new; I apply my experience and a
few proven methodologies to make improvements.
Very few people are strategists. Most
"strategists" are actually coaches, specialists, or consultants who
use what they know to help others. 99% of the time that's what customers need –
they don't need or even want a strategist.
16. "Collaborative." You won't just decide what's right for me and force me
to buy it?
If your process is designed to take my input and
feedback, tell me how that works. Describe the process. Don't claim we'll work
together -- describe how we'll work together.
That’s my list -- clearly subjective and definitely open
to criticism.
So, more importantly, what do you think? What
would you add or remove from my list?
The way we describe ourselves is critical to making a
good first impression, so let others benefit from your perspective in the
comments below.
More on making a great impression:
(photo courtesy flickr user Shawn Econo)
No comments:
Post a Comment