“Tell me about yourself”

I work with many brilliant and funny women – but when I ask them to “tell me about yourself”, they look worried.

“Do you mean tell you about my work?”

or:

“I don’t know how to answer that.”

Then last week, the tables turned. A friend asked ME how I would answer that question... CRAP!

I told her, but it was unsatisfying...

I know this:

Our stories fade when we don’t pay attention to them. They get stiff, like nice clothes left un-worn in a closet too long.

“I've lost myself”

“I've lost my story”

“If I were on a panel, how would I introduce myself? I don't know what I would say.”

“I just talk about work and what I do at work. I don't know that that's any good...”

More and more as I do this work, I see that sometimes what feels like public speaking anxiety is really a gap in self-knowledge.

How well do you actually know yourself?

▶ What are you fascinated by these days?

▶ What surprises you about yourself?

▶ What do you love doing most?

▶ In a nutshell, what’s been your path up until now?

The more you know yourself, the more fun it is to be known.

And now, I’m going to get back to work on this myself.