Talking About Your Credentials to Improve Your Business
I’ve worked with hundreds of small businesses in the last several years and one of the issues I see repeatedly from women is that we downplay our credentials.
I was at a meeting recently in a room full of talented and highly credentialed women with advanced degrees and executive experience and not one of them talked much about their credentials during the introductions.
It’s a catch 22 for women-if we pound our chest about our credentials, it appears to be bragging and a turn off for most people.
If we downplay our credentials and experience, we are sometimes perceived as less competent and confident.
As women entrepreneurs we all have to get more comfortable talking about
who we are, who we were and what we bring to the table.
I’m on a personal mission to make sure that every woman I meet who wants to be a successful entrepreneur has got to get comfortable talking about her credentials when she is networking, meeting customers, even just talking to family and friends.
We have to improve our own narratives if we want to reach our highest potential.
Take some time to do this exercise to write your own narrative and give yourself full credit for the work that you have done and the successes that you have achieved in your career-it does make a difference in your business and with the people that you meet.
-What are your previous job titles?
-What key responsibilities did you have?
-What is your education? Advance degrees?
-What projects have you been involved in with measureable results?
-How many promotions did you have over the years and how did your level of responsibility change?
-Did you manage a team of employees?
-Are there high profile corporations, organizations or individuals that you have worked with previously that will make an impression?
-Have you volunteered with a non-profit or community organization? Did you have a leadership role? Did you manage a project?
-Have you written a book, white paper or blogged?
-Have you taught a workshop or facilitated important meetings?
Once you’ve completed your own narrative, the next step is to get comfortable talking about yourself and your background in a way that is natural and fitting to the environment that you are in.
Start practicing with people that you know and ask for feedback from them about how you are talking about yourself. Most importantly-be consistent. Learn to get comfortable talking about your credentials and your experience so when you are talking to customers they see the full value that you bring to them.
I hope that you make it your own personal mission to speak confidently about your own credentials and see the impact on your business.