How to Answer the Question: "WHAT DO YOU DO?"

How to Answer the Question: “What Do You Do?”
By Penelope Trunk | July 21, 2011

So what do you do?

It’s the question that people are often asked. Some instinctively know how to answer it well. But most don’t. The fact is, the question is so open-ended that it’s almost like a trick question. Any answer is right, technically, but most answers are boring and so therefore, probably detrimental to your career.

The problem for most of us is that our lives are long and complicated, and it’s hard to know what’s most important.

Here are some tips:

1.Talk fast.

When someone says to you, “What do you do?” it’s an invitation to you to give your elevator pitch about you. And elevator pitch, it should be noted, is called that because you should be able to start and finish the answer to the question in the time it takes to ride in an elevator.

Entrepreneurs have to be ready at all times to catch someone in an elevator who can fund their company, and then pitch that person, on the spot, to convince them to hear more about the company later.

So the answer to the question should be only a few sentences. If they are good sentences, the person will ask for more info. If you can’t give a good answer in less than a minute, then you have no idea how to talk about yourself when someone wants to talk longer.

2. Convey self-respect.

It’s hard to cover up self-doubt when you feel it. But talking about yourself in a framework of self-doubt does not make you honest - it makes you boring. Because we all have self-doubt. It’s natural to have self-doubt. It’s an accomplishment to figure out how to work around it and still get things done. What it interesting about each of us is how to get around the self-doubt. Talk about that.

When I was married to my ex-husband, and people would ask me what he does, I’d say, “I don’t know.” I think my answer revealed the inevitable demise of our marriage. Because having an answer to the question is a sign of self-respect - for ones spouse or for oneself.

3. Know your audience.

There is no one, single, right way to describe “what you do.” The key is to tailor your answer to your audience. And the way to know which answer is best for which audience is knowing your list of possibilities. Then, you can choose your one-sentence summary from the list you have in your head. For example, if you paint at home and you are a sales person, your summary of your life includes painting AND sales if you’re interviewing for a sales position at an art company. But if you’re interviewing at a software company? Your summary does not include painting.

4. Leave out boring stuff.

When people ask you what do you do, they are really asking, “what is interesting about you?” So you don’t need to confess that you stay in bed until noon and then watch movies for five hours. Retail may be a great way to support yourself when you are trying to figure out what’s next. And moving back into your parents house is a smart, conservative step in a wacky economy. But you don’t need to tell people this stuff. It’s not going to reveal interesting things about you.

Talk about that one hour, toward the end of the day, when you finally motivate yourself to do something. What if your most interesting work occurs outside of your day job? That’s okay. You should talk about what excites you and what you’re passionate about, even if this is something you don’t get paid for. People are not asking about money when they “what do you do?” they are asking about passion.

5. Show off your expertise.

Trying lots of jobs on for size is a great way to figure out what you want to do next. In fact, dilletantism might be the best career change tool around. But it should be a path to specializing. Because ultimately, specialists are the people who are most successful in the work world.

So you might be tempted to tell people how you do a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Don’t. But instead, force yourself to talk about your career like you’re a specialist.

6. Hire a career coach to help you tell stories.

I think everyone needs a career counselor at some point in their life, and the reason is that they need help shaping their story. We should each make choices that feel right at a given time and not worry about our story, but then we should be great at crafting our story to make sense of our lives after the fact.

Most people have coherent stories, but they don’t see it. Their resumes are a mess and their elevator pitch is a bore. Hire a professional to help you make a story that makes sense for where you want to go.

And, in the end, the only way we get where we want to be is to tell ourselves stories of what we look like on that path. So if you want to chase your dreams, first chase that elusively enchanting elevator pitch.

MY THOUGHTS

That's something that's worth learning-the elevator pitch. What can be more concise than that? Brief. To the point. Hitting the right spot. At the right time. With nothing else but the most crucial of details.

TELL A STORY WHEN GIVING A PRESENTATION

TELL A STORY WHEN GIVING A PRESENTATION

from the article 'Every Presentation Should Tell a Story'
By Geoffrey James | February 8, 2011

"According to the latest neuroscience, the normal, non-autistic, human brain organizes EVERYTHING into stories, because that’s how we understand the meaning and context of everything around us. Because of this, the best sales presentations ALWAYS tell a story.

But how do you do that? One way is to borrow some story telling from Hollywood and start each story with something interesting, introduce characters with whom the audience can relate, and then make sure you have a satisfying ending.

For sales presentations, that means following these three rules:

1. RULE #1: Starts with an “heart-stopper.” Every movie, TV show, or novel starts with something that captures your attention (i.e. captures your emotions) and holds your interest while you “get into” the story. Without a “heart stopper,” the audience’s mind will wander. Trust me.

2. RULE #2: Talk about the audience… not about you. The story connects emotions to the audience’s current situation so that that a decision becomes inevitable. You (or your firm) can play a “best supporting actor” role, but the main role is always the audience and what happens (or might happen) to them.

3. RULE #3: Ends with a “risk-remover” and a “close.” The risk-remover eliminates any remaining reluctance to make a decision. The “close” pushes the audience over the edge and essentially forces them to make the decision, right now."

"Needless to say, you’ll need to have plenty of data and reality behind the various points in the story. And, for this to work in a sales situation, you’d have to meet one-on-one with many of the participants to get your ducks in a row, as they say.

Even so, this is the kind of presentation that’s going to create emotion and persuade the audience to make a decision. And it’s certainly going to work better than the dull stuff that most people throw up on the screen."

MY THOUGHTS

If you've listened to a really excellent sales presentation then you know what this article is talking about. However, I don't think these presentation tips is for sales alone. It would do us good to follow these presentation tips no matter what kind of presentation we're giving. After all, every presentation is supposed to be selling something. If not an item, then the principles or the ideas and points you want your audience to buy into.

DO AWAY WITH THE PODIUM

Break Away From the Podium to Connect with Your Audience
By Sean Silverthorne | March 25, 2010

Like many top teaching institutions, Harvard Business School invests heavily in training faculty to become dynamic classroom presenters. Observing the best of them at work is like watching a master actor take command of the theater.

HBS professors rarely stand still, often sprinting from student to student to tease out insights on a case study. Their hands fly over a half-dozen blackboards that raise and lower for emphasis. There may be a podium in the room, but the teacher is not behind it for long.

Leaving the podium lectern behind, getting physically nearer your audience, is one key to making sure you’re being listened to. In particular, you want to get within 12 feet of at least some of your audience, and the closer, the better.

Why 12 feet? It’s biology. If someone is a dozen or more feet away from us, our automatic personal security system regards them as non threatening — another way of saying they’re far enough away not to be of interest, reports speechmeister Nick Morgan:

“Standing behind a podium means that you’re almost guaranteed to be more than twelve feet from everyone. That means that no one is very interested in you, at the unconscious level,” Morgan writes on HBR.org. “So one of the easiest ways to up the ante on your performance is to warm up the connections between you and your audience by leaving the podium and entering into carefully chosen audience member’s personal space.” Personal space is defined as between four and 12 feet.

One simple technique: When making an important point, move toward your audience or particular audience members. Move away to signal a change in subject.

“This choreography is a simple, easy way to enormously improve the connection you make with your audience, without even raising your voice.”

MY THOUGHTS

i hate podiums. and microphones. unless they are wireless and will allow me to move around. podiums seem to create a wall between the speaker and the audience. i don't want that. i want my audience to feel like we are in an informal environment having informal conversations.

BEGIN YOUR SPEECH IN THE MIDDLE

Begin Your Speech in the Middle
By Sean Silverthorne | February 8, 2011

How many times have you sat down anxiously to hear a talk, only to be stultified with blah-blah-blah. “Thanks for coming. I’m honored to be here today. Thanks specifically to Dennis and his team for bringing me to Acme Anvil to talk about developing marketing strategies in a global world. First, let me tell you a little bit about myself.”

The audience is already reaching for its collective Blackberries.

That’s why speech expert Nick Morgan advises executives to begin their speech in the middle. Here’s a great opener.

“Many people watching tonight can probably remember a time when finding a good job meant showing up at a nearby factory or a business downtown … That world has changed … The rules have changed. In a single generation, revolutions in technology have transformed the way we live, work and do business. Steel mills that once needed 1,000 workers can now do the same work with 100. Today, just about any company can set up shop, hire workers, and sell their products wherever there’s an Internet connection.”

Unfortunately for President Obama, who delivered those words at the State of the Union last month, they didn’t open the speech. They came after minutes of greetings to people in the audience and platitudes about democracy and jobs. He should have started his speech in the middle.

How can you tell what needs to be cut? Morgan advises:

“You can tell when rhetoric is empty — and therefore should be cut — because it would never be possible to say the alternative. Could a president begin by insulting the Speaker, ‘dissing’ a tragically ailing representative, trashing the democratic process, or coming out against jobs? Of course not. Therefore, nothing is being said. Speeches are much more interesting for the audience when they dispense with the polite nothings and get right to the meat.”

For more valuable advice, read his HBR.org blog post, How CEOs Can Improve Speeches.

I agree completely with Nick. If you want to capture the audience from the starting line, don’t begin with the obvious, the expected, the empty words. My BNET colleague Geoffrey James, who writes the terrific Sales Machine blog, takes up this theme as well. He says sales presentations should start with a “heart stopper,” such as telling a company they’ve just lost $100 million, and here is what can be done about it.

How do you begin your speeches? Do you futz around or get down to business?

MY THOUGHTS

the message is clear - if you're going to deliver a presentation or a speech, strive to be unique. start with a bang that makes your audience sitting on the edge of their seats. and wanting to hear more. tall order but possible. do away with the welcome remarks. jump right in to what people came for.

PART 3 - HOW TO BE A GREAT STORYTELLER

How to Be a Great Storyteller and Win Over Any Audience - Part 3
By Steve Tobak | January 12, 2011

Part III: The Delivery

While research and content are key, so is delivery. If you really want to engage your audience in an experience they’ll remember - which means they’ll remember your story - here are eight tips to follow:

1. Don’t read what’s on the slide. If you’re pitching from a slide presentation, don’t read words off a slide. Instead, know the pitch cold (without having to look except for a brief cue) and speak in your own words.

2. Don’t block the audience’s view. Don’t step in front of the screen or block it from view, except for the occasional walk-across. Gesture with your hand, but don’t touch the screen. Don’t use a pointer unless you must.

3. Engage the audience by asking questions. If they don’t respond, try offering an answer and asking for a show of hands or ask easier questions. Make the audience part of the experience.

4. Be accessible. Don’t stand behind a podium. Use a wireless mic if needed. Get close to the audience and move from place to place while maintaining eye contact, but only from time to time. Do not bounce around like a ping-pong ball.

5. Pause for effect and emphasis. Practice being comfortable with silence for two or three seconds. It’s the most dramatic way to make a point. Avoid ahs, uhs, and other fillers of uncomfortable silence; they’re annoying and detract from your presence.

6. Make eye contact. But only for a few seconds per person. Too short and you’ll fail to engage; too long and it becomes uncomfortable. Don’t bounce your eyes around constantly.

7. Use hand gestures. They’re engaging and interesting. But when you’re not, keep your hands at your sides. Don’t fidget, hold onto things, or put your hands in front of you, behind you, or in your pockets. Avoid nervous habits.

8. Don’t overuse props. Frankly, the most important thing for engaging an audience and telling a memorable story is you, the story-teller. So don’t do too much to distract the audience from you. I know it’s a little scary at first, but you’ll improve with practice and experience.

Part IV: The Close (wait for the last blogon this topic)

MY THOUGHTS

deliver it from the heart. that's all i can say. preparation is key. but presenting what you have prepared from the heart have been known to touch and impact even an unfriendly audience.