Have you missed the three part webinar by Stefanie Sword-Williams*, organized by our partner community Girls in Tech Switzerland, on self-promotion and self-awareness? Then you are in for a treat today!
While we enjoyed Stefanie’s webinar live and had the great opportunity to ask her our very own questions, we also learned so much about self-promotion, self-awareness and how to getting comfortable with it. The webinar was split up in 3 parts:
Let me blow your mind!
Starting off with the first part of the webinar, it was all about getting comfortable with self-promotion and self-awareness, being unapologetic and proud of your achievements. Feel comfortable means also to understand, that actually other people do feel uncomfortable with your achievements and not you. So don’t let the feelings of other impacts you! However, to be able to do that, you first have to figure your story to self-promote yourself.
In order to be noticed, you have to have a story you can be noticed for.
Ask yourself, what are your dreams? What is it that you want to be known for? During the webinar, Stefanie presented 5 Key learnings, which helps you to find your story:
Love thyself
First of all, you have to let go of your Fear Of Sounding Stupid (FOSS). There will always be people who do not agree with what you are and your story and call you on out it. However, these are people who suffer of FOSS and will always limit themselves to what it is expected off them and not, what they really want in life.
Rather, you should pay attention to the Fear Of Being Generic (FOBG). While everybody is using the same words to describe themselves, they won’t stand out! Love yourself enough to stand out, use words that aren’t generic and describe yourself in a way, no one else does!
Key Learning: Don’t let Society limit you!
Be memorable
Being generic also means, being forgettable! I am sure you all remember the guy who made everyone laugh at the last party you went to or the very personal story a keynote speaker was telling at the last conference. These people shared something everyone will remember. What is it that makes you memorable? To help you find out, how you can be memorable, write down an opening profile. Think about, what people would like to remember about you and write down things, no one else can say about themselves (pro tip: it is always helpful to have an opening profile on hand).
Key Learning: Don’t let labels limit you.
Sell your benefits
Now that you know how you want to be remembered and how to stand out without being generic, it is time to bring your input to life. You have to tell your story, how everything happened. Not always does your work speak for itself and you have to share the process along the way. If you do know your goals but have not yet reached them, it is time to start to write your story. It might take some time but when you know what you know, you can start the process and write your story. Think about, how you want to get involved, or even are already. What kind of impact do you want to have and how can you change your industry that is publicly noteworthy. Look back on what you have done and celebrate your achievements.
Key Learning: Stop commentating, start storytelling.
Don’t be in hiding
Have you ever googled yourself? If not, do it right now and see what the web has to say about you! Is it in line with what you want to be recognized and known for? To start with, you need to have a space where people can see what you have reached in life. It does not need to be just one channel but if you choose more than one, make sure you link them. It is easy to share the same article, pictures and stories across all your channels. Provide regular updates on what you are working on. Start with a simple article about why you do what you do, the beginning of the story that you want to share. When choosing the channel you want to be on, think about where your industry is active, what style of work you have and how best you can reach people. Make sure you become an expert on this channel.
Key Learning: Be searchable.
Care less, share more
Once you have everything in place, be sure you share what you can do and not just talk about it. This can be done for example with a banner on LinkedIn that talks about what you do or some Instagram posts. Get comfortable with pitching yourself. Own your achievements and be really proud of it, you deserved it! If you worried that people see you as arrogant, be a cheerleader to others, applaud to their achievements and show your support to them in public. Start by writing down one achievement and think about, how you can share it.
Key Learning: Be your own best hype-woman
Self-promotion shouldn’t be a dirty word
Are you ready to self-promote yourself? Now that you have all the insight, start building and sharing your story. Don’t feel ashamed and be proud – blow people’s minds!
This was the first part of the F*ck being Humble webinar on self-promotion and self-awareness with Stefanie, sign up for the newsletter to learn more about part II – coming soon!
Recommended readings:
- The Dream Manager (Matthew Kelly)
- Start with Why (Simon Sinek)
- The Confidence Kit – Your Bullshit-free Guide to owning your Fear (Caroline Foran)
- A pro wrestler’s guide to confidence – TedX
- The Dots.com (Digital Visual space to credit what you did)
* Stefanie Sword Williams is the founder and author of F*ck Being Humble. She set up the platform to encourage self-advocacy and individuals to be unapologetically proud of their achievements. Named as Forbes 30 Under 30 in Europe in 2020, she has delivered workshops for global brands such as Unilever, Warner Music, Google, ASOS and internationally at Cannes Lions Festival.
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