This week I was coaching a client who wanted to know whether to put "Content Creator" or "Brand Influencer" on their business card. So I told them this story:
Many years ago I was delivering a speech for a group I hadn't worked with before. Their event committee hired me after seeing me somewhere else, speaking to a current client, and two rounds of interviews. I wrote a special program for their event and they'd even asked to review my slides. An interesting process, but by the time I'd arrived, I thought we had established good rapport.
Certainly they hadn't just seen my marketing and placed an order.
A few minutes before opening, the organizer ran over flustered. "We didn't print your bio to introduce you," she said. "Did you bring one?"
"That's okay," I said. "It's not really about me. Just say I'm someone you know, who has been in the business for a while, and will share some ideas to help them grow."
"Oh, no," she said. "That won't do. They need to know all about you. All your titles. Your awards. I need you to write something down fast."
I thought to myself: Either I'll earn their trust with what I share, or I shouldn't be here. They'll stay and listen based on how I perform, not because of a long list of credentials. Nobody showed up today just because of a title I had five years ago, or a video that once went viral.
Even though I'm on stage, I'm not the main character of the work.
It's not about me: It's about them.
So I decided to do a little experiment.
On the back of the program, I listed five items. The first four were official titles. Degrees, positions held, industry titles, and so on. The last one was completely made up:
I handed the "bio" to the chair and took a seat where I could see the audience and the stage. After the room filled up, I shook hands with people at my table and got them talking about themselves and their careers. When the music began, the chair took to the podium and began reading the bio:
She read the first four items with pomp and circumstance. And then she read the fifth one without skipping a beat:
"And, Matthew is widely known as having invented the paper clip."
She didn't blink an eye; and neither did the audience. Nothing. No puzzled looks. No mouths open. No giggles. They just sat there waiting for me to be introduced and -
Do my thing.
Back in the here and now, my client slowly said, "So, you don't think I need to overdo it on my business card."
"Stop trying to claim influence and just make sure you deliver the goods," I said. "Tell people how to reach you. That's enough. But WHEN they reach you,
Make sure you deliver the greatest YOU!