Let me ask you something: What makes you REMARKABLE?

“Remarkable.” That’s a great word, isn’t it? 

It’s a word that Lisa Bragg, CEO of MediaFace and Founder of The Bragging Rights Collective, thinks we should use more often.  I agree.

 

Talk About Talk #105 - Bragging, Self-Promotion & Your Personal Brand - image of Lisa Bragg
Lisa Bragg

Last week I introduced you to Lisa’s philosophy of BRAGGING – a bold and positive reframing of the word.

Bragging is not a dirty word.

 

Talk About Talk #105 - Bragging, Self-Promotion & Your Personal Brand - quote about bragging by Muhammad Ali

 

I had a fantastic time talking BRAGGING, self-aggrandizement, self-promotion and personal branding with Lisa in the latest episode of Talk About Talk, and I’m sure you’ll find her insights as fascinating as I did.

Keep reading to learn:

1️⃣ Why you should focus on what makes you REMARKABLE
2️⃣ How to communicate your SUPERPOWERS without bragging

 


There’s Only One YOU

As Lisa highlighted in the podcast episode, our society has shifted from a focus on the individual to the collective and back to the individual again.

This has resulted in many people feeling threatened in a competitive world and a SCARCITY mindset.

 

Talk About Talk #105 - Bragging, Self-Promotion & Your Personal Brand - quote on bragging by Lisa Bragg

 

Instead of thumping your chest and declaring, “I’M BETTER THAN YOU! I’M THE BEST!”, how about determining what makes you REMARKABLE, and really OWNING IT?

In other words, it’s not about competition or scarcity, it’s about figuring out what sets you apart.

Talk About Talk #105 - Bragging, Self-Promotion & Your Personal Brand - image of one red apple amid many green apples

Image by CharlieAJA from Getty Images/Canva

Unique is better than better.

Subtle SELF-PROMOTION

 

I get this question often from my coaching clients: “How can I share my superpowers without sounding like I’m bragging?”

That’s a fair question.  I have two suggestions for you!  But first – a thought exercise.

Imagine you’re at a conference and you’ve been introduced to two people:

Talk About Talk #105 - Bragging, Self-Promotion & Your Personal Brand - image of four people mingling at a conference
Image by Monkey Business  Images from Canva

Person A: I earned my doctorate at Harvard Business School and now I’m the Founder & CEO of Really Successful Multinational, Inc.

Person B: I earned my doctorate at Harvard Business School, where my research focused on interpersonal communication and consumer psychology, and now I help ambitious executives improve their communication skills.

Who made the better first impression?

Most of us would choose Person B. (Full disclosure: Person B is me, but that’s not why it’s the correct answer 😉

Person A and Person B’s introductions are both examples of self-promotion, but with Person A’s focus on themself, they embodied all the negative connotations of BRAGGING

Here are 2 simple things you can do to communicate your SUPERPOWERS and share your proudest achievements without coming across as bragging or worse, self-aggrandizing:

1️⃣ Add details

  • If you’re worried about being perceived as bragging, shift the focus and provide more detail.
  • Instead of just name-dropping your Ivy League school, highlight your research focus and what you learned there.
  • Instead of focusing on your rapid career advancement at an impressive firm, highlight the projects you’ve worked on and the team members with whom you’ve worked.

2️⃣ “People tell me”

  • Preface what you have to say with these three little words: “People tell me…” 
  • Instead of, “I’m great at motivating my team,” try, “People tell me that I’m great at motivating my team.”
  • It’s like including a short testimonial with other people as a source!

This last one, “people tell me,” is ⭐️ golden⭐️.  Please give it a try and tell me how it goes!

That’s it for this week!

Thanks again to Lisa for encouraging us to consider BRAGGING in a new light.

 

Talk About Talk #105 - Bragging, Self-Promotion & Your Personal Brand - image of Andrea Wojnicki and Lisa Bragg

Andrea & Lisa

 

You can listen directly on the Talkabouttalk.com website just by clicking ▶️ play.  Or you can find the podcast on any podcast app.  Just search “Talk About Talk”. Please SUBSCRIBE!

 

Please forward to your friends who might like help with their communication skills and communicating Psychological Safety. Thank you.

Have a great week.

Talk soon,

Related content from the Archives – Episodes focused on PERSONAL BRANDING:

#9 – Re-Imagining Your PERSONAL BRAND with Michael Boydell
#68 – Communicating Your PERSONAL BRAND ONLINE
#71 – PERSONAL BRANDING, AUTHENTICITY & TMI with Tom Megginson
#77 – PERSONAL BRANDING: Reinforcing Your Personal Brand With Implicit Communication
#84 – Strategic Principals of PERSONAL BRANDING
#97 – PERSONAL STYLE & Your Personal Brand
#98 – The Power of PERSONAL BRANDING
#101 – Communicating your Personal Brand on SOCIAL MEDIA with Andrew Jenkins

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