One-Minute Communications Tips Archive
September 2008

How to Blow Your Own Horn

Tooting your own horn successfully calls for sensitivity and balance. It's important to strike the right note between being too timid and too aggressive.

Here are ways to extol your accomplishments effectively and tactfully:

• Make it a habit. Give regular updates to your bosses and team members.
   
• Weave your subject matter into a short story with a beginning, middle and end. Everyone loves a tale with a happy ending.
   
• Stick to the facts. The less drama, the better. Cut out embellishments; go easy on the adjectives.
   
• Be on the alert for opportunities to brag. But don't force the issue.
   
• Add the occasional bit of self-deprecatory humor. It goes a long way.
   
• Be prepared. Every few days, rehearse a 30-second update of your activities and achievements. Then, when you bump into your CEO in the elevator at 7 p.m., you'll sound like someone on top of things.
   

© Arun Sinha, Access Communications. Access Communications is a marketing communications and technical writing firm based in Stamford, Connecticut, USA. Sign up for Access Communications's One-Minute Communication Tip at http://www.AccessConsultingInc.com. Once a month, you'll receive an actionable idea or technique on an aspect of business communications, distilled into about 150 words.

Warning: include() [function.include]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in /homepages/15/d391948431/htdocs/communication-tip-archive/2008/blow-own-horn.html on line 65

Warning: include(http://www.accessconsultinginc.com/communication-tip-archive/communication-tips-archive.php) [function.include]: failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found in /homepages/15/d391948431/htdocs/communication-tip-archive/2008/blow-own-horn.html on line 65

Warning: include() [function.include]: Failed opening 'http://www.accessconsultinginc.com/communication-tip-archive/communication-tips-archive.php' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/lib/php5') in /homepages/15/d391948431/htdocs/communication-tip-archive/2008/blow-own-horn.html on line 65