Most weeks I am asked for my ‘bio’ either for a podcast, an article or a talk. Each time I write it fresh, yes I know what a waste of time! But it’s not to me. In 2020 I created one bio and used it for everything and at times it felt stale, unconnected, almost a waste of space.
So now I have my core themes and depending on what I’m doing I personalise, and it’s a good way of asking myself what am I doing, who am I being? Sounds a bit indulgent but if someone is spending an hour of their time interviewing me for their podcast the least I can do is connect with what they are doing, and that personalisation helps.
And - that’s what I’d also say about writing your CV or a pitch.
Yes of course you need to nail your story, your achievements, who you are but the final bit, which is where you connect with someone, is how you demonstrate you understand who they are too.
So your bio / story is not just about you. It’s about your connection to the reader / audience / viewer.
At this point you might be thinking you don’t need a bio with what you do, but I think we all have a secret bio internally that we have pre written. Because sometimes the read / audience is ourselves. Who we think we are, who we are not. And we write other people’s bio, who we think they are, or are not.
And don’t even go there with the anxiety of Bio headlines. How many times does our internal voice fear a weak headline. I certainly feel this. I’m not a best selling, multi million business owner, 100k followers, $50m revenue, came back from near death experience to gold medal athlete kind of person so often our internal bio can make us feel small. I remember writing my bio for The Mind Valley podcast. If you have ever listened to it every episode is launched with the host sharing outstanding facts about the guest. I had nothing, literally no stats for them to use. Fortunately I thought it was funny and wrote a slightly humorous intro ‘she has no followers, no big business success, and absolutely no clue why she has been invited on here but…’ They didn’t use it but it gave me confidence to lean in and get on with it.
We think we have to be all the flashing lights and signals to earn our place, and that means we don’t apply for jobs we really want, we don’t ask for promotion, we don’t pitch for dream clients. Our internal bio that we haven’t written keeps us in that small place. And we loose connection with it.
So the one thing you can do to help you rethink how you achieve your goals is rewrite your (internal) bio. What is the most fabulous Bio you can write today? What would be the best Bio in future?
How does it feel when you think about your Bio?
eleanor
You want more space to explore? Join Rethinkers > Click here for more info
I've recently had to give a verbal potted history of me to my new boss; looking back a couple of weeks later I don't think it was potted enough. If I had written myself at least one bio beforehand then I might have been a bit more succinct on the day. Might give it a try