Your Executive or Personal Bio
Writing a Professional / Executive Bio In this article, Certified Mentor Coach Barbra Sundquist provides a detailed template for how to write a professional bio. Although the example used here is for a professional bio for a small business coach, the template can easily be adapted for any kind of professional bio. Why do you need a professional bio?  You'll use it for a range of networking and marketing purposes: listing yourself on coach registries; summarizing your expertise for people introducing you at a speaking engagement; attaching to the end of an article you have written.  Your professional bio is not a resume.  Think of it as a little advertisement for your business.  Ideally, it addresses what I call the  “four reader questions” (4RQs).  These are the four questions that readers want answered in your professional bio: 1) who you are... 2) your expertise and how it addresses... 3) their problem or goal, and how they can... 4) contact you Look at the sample professional bio below and see if you can identify the 4RQs: Jane Smith is a small business coach who helps women make the transition from full-time mom to successful entrepreneur.  A grandmother now, Jane started her coaching business in 2002 to help other women deal with the sometimes overwhelming prospect of starting a new business while still running a household. Prior to raising her family, Jane spent over ten years as a teacher, corporate trainer and workshop leader.  Today Jane  offers a wide range of coaching programs and services – from individual coaching, to seminars and keynote speeches. To contact Jane, please visit her coaching website at http://www.janesmart.com Were you able to identify the the 4RQs in this professional bio?  Here is Jane’s professional bio again, with the 4RQs identified: Jane Smith is a small business coach (who Jane is) who helps women make the transition from full-time mom to successful entrepreneur (their problem or goal).  A grandmother now (Jane’s expertise – shows she has been a mother and is now older and presumably wiser), Jane started her coaching business in 2002 to help other women deal with the sometimes overwhelming prospect of starting a new business while still running a household (how Jane helps them overcome their problem or achieve their goal). Prior to raising her family, Jane spent over ten years as a teacher, corporate trainer and workshop leader (Jane’s expertise). Today Jane  offers a wide range of programs and services – from individual coaching, to seminars and keynote speeches (how Jane can help). To contact Jane, please visit her website http://www.janesmart.com (how to contact Jane).  Here are a few more tips to keep in mind for writing your professional bio: keep your professional bio short be selective - don't list your entire professional background be very specific about who you work with and how you can help them don't be bland - let your personality show follow the professional bio template below Professional Bio Template: Below are some sentence starters for writing a professional bio.  Limit a short professional bio to three or four sentences (a short professional bio is one that you would use when being introduced as a speaker, or at the end of an article you have written).  For a longer professional bio (e.g. for your website) use as many sentences as you like, but make sure you break the bio up into paragraphs of no more than three sentences (short paragraphs increase the likelihood of people reading your professional bio). ______________ (your name) is a _________ (the type of coach you are) coach who helps _________ (your target clients) to  ___________ (a problem or goal your target clients have). Prior to establishing her/his coaching business, _______(your name) spent _______ years as a ________________ (your relevant experience). ______________ (your name) offers a wide range of programs and services – from ___________, to __________ and __________ (your services) ________________ (your name) specializes in coaching ______ (target clients) to ___________ (problem target clients want to solve, or goal they want to achieve) After a successful career __________ (what you’ve been successful in), _______ (your name) now coaches other people to achieve the same success. ________________ (your name) is no stranger to ________ (the industry or problem you coach).  She/he spent ___ years as a ________ (occupation:  e.g. mother of three, professional dancer, corporate executive). Her/his book ________ (book title) was published in ____ (publication year) and has since helped _______ (number:  hundreds?  thousands?)  of people to _______ (problem book solved for them, or what it taught them) To contact _______ (your name) please email ______ or go to _______ (your web site) Copyright 2005 by Certified Mentor Coach Barbra Sundquist,
Writing a Personal Bio
by Terje Johansen Are you a nobody in the world of writing, or a respected personality whose opinions are listened to? The answer is up to you, in a degree that might surprise you. The information you feed people about yourself is vital to their understanding of you, and as a writer, respect is vital. Respect radically increases the odds of your work being read again by the reader next time he or she stumbles over your name while skimming lists of articles or stories. As a writer you usually get to (read: have to) write your own bios and blurbs. There are many ways to write these bios, but some factors remain important: write in third person list facts, not wishes cite relevant experiences belong somewhere write tight add a hook Write in Third Person People automatically give more trust to what is said of one person by another, than to what people say about themselves -- even when they know that the bio was written by the author. Elementary psychology, and used by everybody who needs respect. In addition, the third person creates a little distance that allows the reader to feel less intruded upon. List Facts, Not Wishes If you are a lumberjack and/or a housewife, you are free to say so or refrain from doing so. You may also say that you only write as a hobby, but don't bother to explain that you hope to be a full time journalist in the future -- the reader is unlikely to be interested in your dreams at this point. Neither is it recommended that you overdo the posturing -- you may be an excellent writer, but that is for the reader to find out. Every superlative used in your bio will reduce the reader's trust in the objectivity of that bio, and hence of your material. It shouldn't be necessary to tell of the dangers in actually lying in a bio -- being caught in a lie is a major breach of trust and can do irreparable damage to your reputation. Cite Relevant Experiences If you have an education in some field of writing, then mention it. Any earlier experiences in the writing game is worth mentioning, be it being published in New York Times or an amateur e-zine. If you haven't been paid for any work yet, it IS acceptable to list the articles you gave away to some amateur e-zine or put up on your own homepage... just don't go into too many details. Once you have two or three references, you can stop; keep it down to a few good ones. Belong Somewhere If you are a member of any writers' community, mention it. Many writers have found it useful to belong to a group for training, local or social purposes, but there is also the added benefit of having a reference of relevance to your craft. Even if your only connection with a writer's guild is that you pay the membership dues, it is worth mentioning and increases trust among the readers -- they know that others are able to give more information about you or get hold of you if need should arise. Write Tight This is a good rule in all your writing, and particularly in your bio. The reader is checking out your bio only for a moment, and mostly only in order to estimate the value of your work. Write more than a few lines, and you have lost him. Add a Hook You should include one or two bits of information that help give your bio that extra little colour that will make readers remember your name next time you meet. Perhaps you can mention an unusual hobby, or something else that will twitch the reader's smiling muscles? Keep your bio down to one small paragraph, write honestly and to the point, and you will have a pretty good chance of being remembered. Copyright © 2001 Terje Johansen

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