How to Write a Winning Professional Profile

If you've ever read an official biofor a conference speaker or for the author of a report, you could be forgiven for snoring. Just listing positions and accomplishments doesn'timpress anybody. A list is justa list.

A good biohelps to explain what each phase of a career means for possible clients, partners or employers. It helps to tell a story,which is what I didwith my own biography

My biography is a bareminimum.It is meant simplyto givemy credentials to potential clients. A more extensive profile would be a more effective sales tool, but I use one-on-one emails tomake 100 percent custom pitches, so all I need to supplement those is a an easy-to-read bio.

However, ifyou want to really sell yourself with yourbio,hereis how to write an engaging professional profile or biography that peoplewill want to read.

1. Start with a handshake. Just as ifyouweremeeting someone in person, the firstthing people want to know is your name. The second thing they want to know is where you fit in the world. The third thing they'll want to know is where you fitin their world. So…

 Your name.

 Your current title or position.

 Anything that links the twoof you together.

In a written profile, the firsttwo points are easy. The third point ismore challenging. Itmight depend on who your audience is,whichmeans tweaking it each time you useit. Or you might have to be very general.

2. Now that you are introduced, people willwant to know your background,where you came from.

We all have roots. We'veall had experiences.The roots are wherewe started. The experiences steered usin certain directions from that starting point. When you know what might have influenced a person, you get a better idea of who they are and what values they have. Sotalk about your roots, your experiences and your earlymotivations.

3. The lifeyou've lived so far has lead you to ... where?

Yes,we know your name.Yes, we know your title orposition. Butwho are younow?What do you mean tome?

If you answer that you reallylove the yacht you canafford because of your success, you've failed. People only care about the yacht ifyou are inviting them aboard.

If you point to a series of awards and certificates onthe wall,you've failed. People only care about your certificates and credentials if you are writing ina scientific journal.

They want to hear about things that matter:

 Howmuch you like to seea customer's face light up from your top-notch customer service.

 How it fills you with joy to see people using your product.

 How you stand behind every project, because you know how muchit means to customers.

 How proud you are of the amazing team thatworks for you.

 How the best partof running your business is that you can give back to the community. The things thatmatter arenever about you. The things that matter are alwaysabout somebody else.

Like all effective communications, itis always about the peoplelistening, never about the people talking. Yes, your profile is about you. But the readers only care about you to the extent that you mean something to them. A successful professional profilealways tells a compelling story...and it always invites the reader to play an unspoken starring role.