This is a question that I’m always asked, and while there is no set rule on the matter, it’s certainly something that divides opinion. Just glance through a handful of LinkedIn profiles to see what I mean. But as our personal bio becomes more important in a world where our digital profiles are read before our voices are heard, understanding how best to write your bio is definitely something worth figuring out.

Your personal bio serves several functions. Firstly, it needs to tell people who you are and what you’re about and it’s a great opportunity for you to tell people what makes you great/different/interesting/unique/qualified for the job/credible/worth listening to (*delete as appropriate). Ideally it should tell people what you think they will be interested in knowing about you and help you to stand out and be memorable. What you don’t want, are people giving up on reading your personal bio half way through because they’re bored or they think you’re an idiot. Anyway, back to the question; “Should my personal bio be written in the first person or third person?”

As part of my research for this post, I put the question to my Twitter followers, and here are some of the responses I received.

@Story_Jon Jon Thomas “If its your own site, I would say first. Otherwise, third.”

@colinjbrowne Colin J Browne “Third. That way people can cut and paste it, which is really the point, I reckon.”

@CopyFountain “Personal bios: 1st or 3rd person RT @colinjbrowne: @AlexiaL Third. That way people can cut and paste it. <- Mark likes this.”

@gspress4attnpr Greg Simpson “hmmm re personal bio, I would say 3rd person as often used by people who do not know you”

When I ran a poll on my Facebook page, the votes were 67% – first person and 33% – third person. What does that tell you? We don’t really know! So, to help us figure this out, I think the first question we need to ask ourselves is this:

Where is it going to be used?

Is it on your personal website? Is it for a speaker bio at a conference? Is it for the “Meet our team” page on the company website? Is it for a book? All these are very different environments and the reader will have a different expectation of “who” is doing the talking. For example, at a conference, all literature and collateral is likely to be produced by the event organiser. So, in this situation, most people would probably expect a bio to be written in the third person. Just as if the organiser is standing there on stage introducing this person who’s about to come on.

However, if it’s for your personal website or your LinkedIn profile they are going to have a different expectation. People are going to be engaging directly with you (you hope!). So, in this environment you want to be able to create that connection as effortlessly and as naturally as possible. Imagine being at an event and introducing yourself: would you do it in the 3rd person? NO! Not unless you’re an idiot or you’ve multiple personalities. People are going to assume that you are responsible for your own website or LinkedIn profile and that you write it yourself. That is, unless you want to create the impression that you have a team of minions that do everything for you. But even if you did, would you still outsource the bit where you meet and engage with new people? Probably not. A great bio will encourage people want to find out more about you. People are more likely to want to find out more about you if you’ve helped to create a connection with them and in this situation, a connection is better created when you’re speaking as you rather than through someone else.

@StoryJon ‘s response “If its your own site, I would say first. Otherwise, third.” highlights my next point.

Your personal bio never exists in the singular

You have several. It is likely after all, that you will be engaging with different audiences, in different places, in different contexts. Different audiences have different needs and will be interested in different aspects of you. In some instances your bio will need to be four or five lines, whereas others may be two or three paragraphs. Do you have the same bio in your Twitter profile as your LinkedIn profile? Knowing what to say, where, and to who is the art of communicating. So having one bio to fit all these is just not going to work. You don’t have just one way of introducing yourself when you meet people; you have several depending on who you meet, where you are and what you think they’ll be interested in. The same goes for your bio.

Free for all?

@ColinJBrown ’s comment “Third. That way people can cut and paste it, which is really the point, I reckon.“ is interesting. Personally I’d never considered that someone would copy and paste my bio from my site. Why would anyone be using your bio without your knowledge? In my mind, if someone wants a bio from you, it’s very likely that you’re already engaging with them on some level and that you know that they will want your bio. Maybe you’re speaking at their event, or contributing to their magazine or blog. In this case I would send them a bio that is tailored to the audience and message I want to get across. This may well be a standard bio that you have ready to send, even if it is a direct copy of your first person bio.

Keep control of your message

Mark (@copyFountain) likes the fact that people can copy and paste a bio from the online home where it may be living. Personally, I find this a risky strategy. If anything, you DO NOT want people to copy it. If someone wants your bio, then it’s worth taking the time finding out where it’s going to be used and who’s likely to be reading it. This then offers you the opportunity to tailor your bio appropriately thus ensuring that you are saying exactly what you want to say to that particular audience.

This close management of your message will go a long way in helping you to build and maintain the kind of reputation that you can be proud of. The lazy approach of letting people copy and paste what they like, maybe even writing it for you, means that you are relinquishing control of one of the most important opportunities for you to be clear on what you’re about and thus extend your reach and your network in the way that you want. In a world where people will first meet you through your personal bio, can you afford to take the lazy approach?

So, what are your thoughts on whether your personal bio should be written in the first person or third person? I would love to know, so please leave me a comment and let me know!

The current debate on privacy here in the UK is an interesting one. A well-known footballer has been caught with his pants down. Literally. And so, in order to protect his reputation he paid in excess of £200k to lawyers for a super-injunction to keep this mess out of the press. Unfortunately, this didn’t keep it off the social networks and now it’s public knowledge. So, now not only has his misdemeanour come out, but it’s a hot topic on all media. Surely not what he had in mind when he coughed up his £200k.

This situation is quite complex so rather than get distracted in the privacy part of this debate I’d like to focus on the reputation angle.

If you are going to do something that damages your reputation, then you need to be mindful of the consequences. The transparency of social media has forced many of us to be more mindful of our behaviour. Whether it’s flirting around the boundaries of a relationship or showing a side of us that only alcohol reveals, we are all only too aware of the chaos that can ensue once it appears on Facebook.

So, to use the argument that a super-injunction is required to protect his reputation is a very weak one. The responsibility for reputation damage only lies with him! If he hadn’t acted like an idiot in the first place then he wouldn’t have anything to hide. And that is a lesson to us all.

If you do happen to act in a way that betrays your reputation, then surely on a personal level you need to learn from this. One of the first lessons of crisis management is to own up. Once you admit that you have made a mistake and that you are sorry, you are showing a human side. And that alone may gain you respect, merely for your honesty despite what you may have done. But trying to hide it, suggests that you are ashamed of your behaviour and that you know it was wrong. That is fuel for gossip and will only make things worse.

If we act is a way that is in line with our view of ourselves and reinforces what we want people to think about us, then there is no story.

So, has the transparency of social media affected how you behave? Are you more mindful of what you’re doing BECAUSE others have a window in on your life? Leave a comment below.

In the current information age where many of us are communicating, working and selling ourselves mainly through the digital space, how we present ourselves online is becoming more of a concern. The need for our digital brand to reflect our real-life brand is essential in order for us to present a consistent and authentic image. But how do we go about this? This presentation shares my thoughts on:

• Understanding what your own personal brand is
• Why it matters to present a clear personal brand
• How this can be translated into the digital space
• Online tools and networks that can help
• How to use the online space effectively

Whenever I get an alert of a new twitter follower, I always take the time to read their bio. And, depending on what I read, I may click through to read their recent tweets. If their tweets seem interesting at that point I may decide to follow. But, not always. Just because people are interested in what I’ve got to say doesn’t mean I’m interested in what they’ve got to say. Right? It’s worth pointing out as not everyone gets that.

So, with all the bios that I read, I continue to be amazed at what people choose to say in the 160 characters that Twitter have given us.

Now, before I start, it’s probably worth mentioning that I’m assuming that people want followers. Not in a ruthless silly numbers kind of way, more an organic gathering of loyal engaged followers. After all, why would you spend time tweeting if it’s just to yourself?

So, back to the bio. You’ve got 160 characters to make an impact and let other people know WHY they should follow you. For me this means that every word and comma needs to earn its space in your bio and add something. Just like with a CV. There’s no room for flouncy indulgence here!

The key thing is to ensure that your bio helps to communicate who you are. So this might be things like what you do to earn money, what you like doing when you’re not, what you’re aiming for, great stuff you’ve done, how you help people. You get the drift. It’s also worth conjuring up a bio that helps you to stand out so that people will remember you. People who stand out are more likely to be followed back. Blandness does not tend to draw people in.

Now, you probably want to read a post that tells you how to create the perfect bio, but I’m not going to do that because we’re all different and formulas don’t work with individuals. So, instead I’m going to tell you what to avoid.

Your family status

I’m talking about words like husband, father, mum, dad of 4, husband to lovely wife. Seriously. We’re not interested. We all know people like that. So what? How does that make you interesting? What unique perspective does that give you on the world? When you introduce yourself to people you don’t know, is the first thing you say “Hey, I’m a great wife to my gorgeous hubby, and a loving mum to my 4 boys… and you?”.

Where you live

For a start, Twitter gives you a dedicated spot to tell us just that. So to reiterate the fact that you are “based in Solihull, West Midlands, UK” is just being silly and shows that you’re just not paying attention. That’s 36 characters that you could have used to tell me more about you.

Social media enthusiast

What the hell does this mean? It’s a bit like saying you like socialising and talking to people. Social media is just another way of communicating. The fact that you’re on twitter kind of suggests that you might be into social media. But beware – if you only have a handful of followers you can’t really be that much of an enthusiast. Or maybe you’re just late to the party, and now you’re here you think it’s fab. If this is you, be careful. There’ll be another fad waiting for you just around the corner that you’ll get really enthusiastic about too and then you’ll talk about that. Put your stick in the ground!

Proper long and windy sentences

“I am a husband and father to three gorgeous girls who really likes to go for long walks and drink fine wine. I am also a social media enthusiast and entrepreneur.” Jeez! It’s OK. You’ve only got 160 characters, so we’ll forgive you if you want to be a bit more punchy and concise.

Now, this list is just for starters. I’m sure there are many more! But, I just had to get these ones out of my system. If you want to add any to my list, go right ahead!

If you want help working out what makes YOU unique and different, then get in touch. That’s what I do! I help people to find their story and tell it with confidence.

This question “Is personal branding a fad?” came up on Quora recently so I thought I’d give my view which I’m happy to share here.

The term personal branding may be relatively new, but the concept has been around much longer. There is some misconception that personal branding is all about the hard sell and this is where the term gets a bad name (Obnoxious?). The reality is that we’re ALWAYS selling ourselves. Selling in this sense means trying to influence others to buy us / believe us / like us / hire us etc.

What’s changed is the environment in which we’re now able to do that. And it’s this that is forcing us to be much clearer as to how we choose to define ourselves. Before, it was adequate to merely be mindful as to how we presented ourselves in the flesh. This kept it pretty simple, as long as we dressed and spoke consistently in line with our image of ourselves and what we wanted to project, that was fine. But now we can present ourselves online in endless ways – blogs, personal sites, YouTube etc. And it is because of the extensive possibilities of online presences that we need to think a bit harder about what we want to say about ourselves. We cannot escape the harsh reality of earning cash. Nor can we escape the fact that we are all naturally nosey. So, if we are presented with the opportunity of possibly working with someone (hiring them, buying their stuff etc), we are going to seek out information about them. Just as we would before purchasing a product. Hence the need to be clear as to what you want to say about yourself and to present that consistently. We know from the world of corporate brands that to be bought you need to build trust, and this is done through communicating a consistent message and delivering upon a promise consistently. So it’s no surprise that people are now adopting these practices. Let’s not forget the fact that the world is more competitive in terms of jobs, and those that have grasped this are those that are getting the work. So, it will soon be a neccessity for the majority if they want to keep up.

So, to answer the question, no it’s not fad. At least the concept isn’t. It’s here to stay.