Today it is important to have an opening statement about yourself that distinguishes you from your competitors. Successful pitches provide the audience an insight about you, your values, your achievements and why you are the person they should hire.
These are the three critical questions to consider:
• At the end of the interview will they want to have a cup of coffee with you?
• Have your achievements made a significant difference in any organization?
• How many folks know about you and respect your reputation?
The folks who are successful in obtaining the next position and continue to move forward include these three elements in their opening piece about themselves.
They are the executives who are memorable and highly sought after in any organization.
A personal introduction is a good way to get people to know you. Some call it the elevator speech. It is a good idea to have more than one. For example, you might have an intro prepared for business meetings, networking and one just for social situations.
The key points are:
• A business meeting: Your name, title and what you bring to the meeting
• A business networking event: Your name and what you do (no title)
• A social event: Your name and where you are from
Talking points to add to your personal introduction for:
• Networking events: A business situation you have been involved in that will get the audience to understand what you do and the impact you make
• Social events: A fun and interesting thing you are involved with; it could be a vacation or book you have read
The main purpose of your personal introduction and talking points is to get folks to get to know you in an inclusive way. When you are able to do this, it will widen your circle of influence.
Whether it is your appearance, communications or behavior, dependability is a critical factor in how you are perceived. People begin to trust you when they can count on your consistency. This does not mean you cannot change they way you look or sound but the difference must be not too far astray from your core.
For example, many times people will comment when you change your appearance, whether it is an update or a complete hair style change. Usually the comments are positive. What gets us in trouble is when the alterations are not seamless to your brand, the industry culture or the environment.
In fact, there are many folks who have been successful in business because their image has not changed or become dated. An example of this is Apple’s, Steve Jobs. His black turtleneck or T has been the same for 20 plus years.
Do not become one of the bad examples of misguided brand or image changes. Dependable, image conscious communication and behavior is the strongest example of true professionalism and in developing personal relationships.
What is it we need to do earn a vote of confidence from our audience? It is how we look, sound or is it what we say? Do actions count or is it an emotional reaction that instills confidence?
Today, the time we spend with folks is very limited so each interaction must count. Stephen Covey says we must invest in relationships like a bank making deposits so when you need to withdraw funds are available.
How we talk and act on what we say consistently begins to build confidence with those we have relationships with in all areas of business and life. When we do this in every interaction, we will have the confidence of our audience 90% of the time.
