Learning to Talk About What I Do
An Australian friend and I were talking recently about self-promotion. She said she isn’t good at it because Australians tend to be self-deprecating, while many of her US colleagues are more outspoken.
I told her I 100% related. When I was in the corporate world, I tended to work hard in the background and assume the quality of my work would prove my value. The people I worked with directly knew what I was contributing, but people farther up the chain didn’t always know.
She said, “That’s not very American of you.” 😊
We all know people who have no problem making sure everyone knows what they’ve accomplished, but I’ve never been particularly good at that. My problem isn’t believing in what I do. I know I’m good at it, I’ve helped people, and what I’ve built has real value. I do sometimes worry about how it looks when I talk about what I do.
I don’t want people to wonder whether I’m being friendly because I want something from them. I don’t want every post to feel like a sales pitch, and I don’t want to sound pushy just because I’m telling people what I offer. I don’t know that anyone has actually thought any of that about me, but I worry about it anyway.
This Feels Hard for So Many of Us
I know plenty of other people who struggle with this too. People in corporate jobs who do excellent work but are uncomfortable making sure the right people know about it. Women building businesses who hesitate to talk about their services, lower their prices before anyone has objected, or wait for someone to ask instead of telling people what they offer.
I’ve done every one of those things myself. I’m better about it now than I was two years ago, although it’s still a work in progress.
What I’m much more comfortable with is having a real conversation with someone. I love hearing about what people are doing, what they’re struggling with, and what they’re excited about. When my own work comes up, I can talk about it with genuine enthusiasm because I love what I do. Sometimes the person is interested in what I offer or they know someone who might be, and sometimes it’s just a really nice conversation.
Reflection Question: Are you comfortable making sure people know what you’re good at, or do you tend to hope your work will speak for itself?
✨ If this spoke to you, I’d love for you to subscribe to my blog or connect with me on LinkedIn. And if you know you have something valuable to offer but struggle to talk about it confidently, coaching can help you find a way to be more visible without feeling like you have to become someone you’re not.
