In my work, I frequently have an opportunity to read biographies on company websites, in LinkedIn and other social profiles, and on professional services firm 'About' pages. Most are written in the detached third person. However, the ones that come alive are almost always written in the first person.
Imagine you’re shopping for dentist. Perhaps you’re new to town or need emergency work on the road. You find a half dozen dentists via search and one of them has a narrative using the pronouns “I” and “my”. This particular dentists shares the story of why they went into dentistry and what excites them about their work. Maybe there’s some fun stuff about what she is passionate about, a sport perhaps. Or the kind of live music she enjoys. There might be photos of the dentist enjoying her hobby included as part of the bio.
Contrast that with a dull repetition of where “Dr. X” earned her professional degrees. There’s a single posed photo with some important looking certificates on the wall behind her.
Which dentist would you be drawn to?
Tell your story!
We want to know your story. And we want to know who you are in your own words. Let us know about some of the things that make you a unique and interesting person.
For example, here is the opening to my LinkedIn profile:
I was fired. Sacked. My ideas were a little too radical for my new bosses. So I started writing books, speaking at events and advising emerging companies. That was in 2002 and since then my books have sold over a million copies in 29 languages.
