The Art of The Brag – 7 Effective Ways to Toot Your Own Horn

Do you get tongue-tied when asked about your strengths on a job interview? Are people often surprised by your skills? Would you rather eat glass than risk sounding like a braggart? If so, keep reading!

Tooting your own horn (gracefully) is a vital business competency. This age of hyper-communication does not reward obscurity. Nevertheless, most of us still don’t know half of the best things about the people around us. That’s kind of sad, isn’t it?

No one knows exactly what you can do faster, more resourcefully, more precisely or with as few end-user problems, as you do. If your boss (or prospective boss) your clients or your customers don’t know what you’re capable of, they may find someone else to do it. You would tell them about an issue that put them at a disadvantage, wouldn’t you? Well, they have just as much of a right to know what you’re great at.

You can get more buy-in, strengthen your network, become the go-to person in your specialty and garner more respect and trust if you follow these 4 principles:

1. What you can do is only relevant to someone who needs it. It’s about your skill, not about “you”. Know who your audience is and target your message to their needs. You may not need to tell your coworkers you doubled your sales from last year, but the VP of Marketing may benefit from knowing how you did that.

2. Give credit where credit is due. Nobody achieves greatness alone. By acknowledging others’ contributions, you also point to your role in the achievement. It can be more powerful to let that be implied, rather than stated outright. No harm in making that acknowledgement in front of your boss, though.

3. Have a third party, your resume or your website do your bragging for you. It takes the pressure off everyone when they don’t have to give feedback in the moment. It also comes across as more neutral and factual when another source is bragging on your behalf. Make sure your resume or website are up to date. If you are willing to give glowing referrals and testimonials when warranted, people will be often be very generous with you as well.

4. Noblesse Oblige. Or, to whom much is given much is expected. Give back, by sharing information, making introductions and referrals, and being as generous with your time as you can. You’ll feel good and people will feel good about your success. Mentor others. Give some training. Be one of the people who make the world a better place.

Where there’s a Do, there’s a Don’t. Use your judgment and sensitivity, but when in doubt remember these 3 points:

1. Don’t rub anyone’s nose in it. It isn’t your fault if someone feels bad when they hear about your accomplishment, but it’s smart to be sensitive to the possibility. Your friend may believe that the Universe is abundant and limitless, but if you share that your book just went best seller right after she lost her stock portfolio she may have temporarily forgotten. Don’t be afraid to take yourself down a peg if it helps. You might tell her you should have written about how to be more sensitive to your friends.

2. Stealth bragging is still bragging. Complaints like “I don’t know how I’m going to fill all these orders” when your coworkers have none, is bragging in disguise. False modesty is also bragging, because if you imply that your major accomplishments were easy, you may offend the people who suspect it would not be easy for them to do the same thing.

3. Don’t take unfair advantage of your networks and friends. They will be there for your career if they can, they’ll forward your newsletter and marketing mailings, but they still might not want to read posts about your business in social media like Facebook and Twitter all day. Don’t turn off the people who help you the most. Those 15 website links on your email signature may be a bit of overkill, as well.

If you stick to these principles, you aren’t likely to offend anyone with obnoxious, superior boasting and you’ll be in better shape for meetings or interviews where you really have to brag. If you haven’t done it in awhile (or ever) practice bragging with someone you trust. Try some over the top bragging, then bring it back down to earth. You’ll be amazed to discover what you’ve been holding out about!

By: Mim Nelson-Gillett

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