Writing your Bio

How to write a biography

Face it, at some point in your career you will be asked to submit a bio, either as a panelist for a conference, a job, or a website. This guide will show you how to write a biography for multiple occasions.

It can be intimidating to speak about yourself. Who are YOU really? Know thyself and your purpose.

YOU must create the story of you, because relying upon someone else to create it for you can lead to embarrassing outcomes.

Whether you write it in the first or third person, e.g., “I am…” or “She is…” is really a matter of how the bio will be presented. Will someone else be reading it to an audience? Or, will it be placed on a website or an event notice? All of the following tips can help you tailor it to your specific audience.

Design your bio as needed …meaning… one size does not fit all occasions.

Target your audience

Your bio is an introduction. Target the reading & comprehension level to a typical 10th grader. Start with writing 3 sentences about the YOU this audience wants to know.

• What about you is relevant to the audience? Your title and role? A title or position? Schooling? A book?
• Exactly what does the audience want to know about you?
• Who are you becoming? What is your preferred outcome?

Be selective

Position your core competency directly to the specific reader or audience. Tell the audience who you are with respect to the context they will experience you and using, if possible, familiar keywords or their language.

Two examples,
1. Looking for a job: If you’re targeting a particular position, you should offer what your presence will mean to the target organization and/or the people on the team. Know what you want. What is your competitive advantage? How will you contribute to their success?

2. Subject matter expert: If you are writing your bio as an introduction to a specific audience, tailor your bio to the interests of that audience. Understand how they might see you and place your subject matter expertise to catch their interests.

Keep it simple

A good bio is a branding statement with two sides to it – subjective (who you are) and objective (what the reader needs to know).

Examples,

1. Lawyers might include where they went to school, who they clerked with, what law reviews written, and the ranking of peers.
2. Your clients likely want to know, “Will you return calls promptly? Do you have experience doing exactly what I need? Where is your blog? What do you clients think of you? And, social media profiles, such as FaceBook, Instagram or Twitter?”
3. Board of Non-profit: Write something that is relevant to how you came to be associated with the NGO. Then, share something in your life that connects you to the audience. Write how you will advance the mission or purpose of the organization.

Think carefully about your audience and write your bio to their needs and interests.

More tips:

° Have you taken a personality test, such as MBTI, DISC or Gallup Strengths finder, recently? If so, use these categories describing yourself.

° Illustrate who you are with an example. Make sure your FIRST illustration is exactly what the audience wants to know about you. When you are writing this sentence or section of the bio, answer the question, “What does this audience most want to understand about me? is there something that would make them most comfortable hearing from me?” More than 3 illustrations – unless they are obviously synergistic – are too many.

° Finally, an excellent rule of thumb is to remember that the best bios are short and powerful not long and wordy. Everything you’ve done will not be on every bio. You are selling not summarizing your life/work.

Go ahead, try it, get started.

The difference between who you are and who you want to be, is what you do. Bridge that gap with your bio.