There is an interaction I love from Blackadder – right around the time that Blackadder discovers that George can paint – which might be a way out of the trenches.
 | Blackadder: George! These are brilliant! Why didn’t you tell us about these before? |
I love it because in it’s simple way it sums up so many of the concerns we have in business – especially if that business is centred around a product or service that we ourselves deliver. I don’t know if it’s a British thing, but all of a sudden our so-called modesty overcomes us and we seem unable to share not only what we do, but how great we are at it. In fact we sometimes seem to doubt that we even ARE that good at it!
We suddenly get afraid that people are going to judge us, think that we are bragging, or making it up – as if there is some sort of trumpet-police. Or we suddenly think that what we are great at, isn’t as good in the face of what everyone else is telling us they are great at.
So I am here to tell you today that there is no trumpet police – and that as the Canadian Athlete Wayne Gretzky is famously quoted as saying ‘You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take’. You NEED to tell people about yourself and your business to be successful – so getting your trumpet ready in advance is a great idea!
So what can you do to practically prepare for your trumpet blowing? Well I always recommend a couple of things.
The first is to be super clear on exactly what you are amazing at – and an example that proves it. So if you are a Digital Marketeer then you might come up with something that says –
“I’m great at reaching exactly the audience that you are looking for with your brand”
And then the example to support –
“For example while working with company x I was able to grow their Facebook reach by 25% – most importantly these additional fans were of the right demographic and location for their offering – which offered them a great return on investment.”
If you spend a little time on this you can absolutely do it – and my suggestion is you put it on a nice laminated card and keep it in your pocket / wallet etc. Laminated because it doesn’t matter what everyone else is great at, it doesn’t matter how much they know, it doesn’t matter what they do. It doesn’t change that you are great at these things.
The second is to have a practice – with your friends, family, work colleagues – even in the mirror. Practice saying these things with conviction – because they are true! Look yourself in the eye and really OWN what you do and why you are great at it. Make sure you are really fluent, so that when the conversation comes round to it its easy for you to work your trumpet blowing in!
My last piece of advice is actually just to relax. We’ve all felt like that occasionally, and we all mess up – I still remember being so intimidated meeting someone I really admired that when they asked me what I did I quavered “Sales. Sales….stuff…”. I not only didn’t blow my trumpet, I didn’t even let him know I had one! The important thing is that if you do drop the ball to make sure it doesn’t happen again… and if you’ve got the nerve, pick it back up again!
So get out your trumpet and get ready to tell the world that your great – what makes you special, unique and amazing! I’d love to hear what you come up with…..
We suddenly get afraid that people are going to judge us, think that we are bragging, or making it up – as if there is some sort of trumpet-police. Or we suddenly think that what we are great at, isn’t as good in the face of what everyone else is telling us they are great at.
So I am here to tell you today that there is no trumpet police – and that as the Canadian Athlete Wayne Gretzky is famously quoted as saying ‘You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take’. You NEED to tell people about yourself and your business to be successful – so getting your trumpet ready in advance is a great idea!
So what can you do to practically prepare for your trumpet blowing? Well I always recommend a couple of things.
The first is to be super clear on exactly what you are amazing at – and an example that proves it. So if you are a Digital Marketeer then you might come up with something that says –
“I’m great at reaching exactly the audience that you are looking for with your brand”
And then the example to support –
“For example while working with company x I was able to grow their Facebook reach by 25% – most importantly these additional fans were of the right demographic and location for their offering – which offered them a great return on investment.”
If you spend a little time on this you can absolutely do it – and my suggestion is you put it on a nice laminated card and keep it in your pocket / wallet etc. Laminated because it doesn’t matter what everyone else is great at, it doesn’t matter how much they know, it doesn’t matter what they do. It doesn’t change that you are great at these things.
The second is to have a practice – with your friends, family, work colleagues – even in the mirror. Practice saying these things with conviction – because they are true! Look yourself in the eye and really OWN what you do and why you are great at it. Make sure you are really fluent, so that when the conversation comes round to it its easy for you to work your trumpet blowing in!
My last piece of advice is actually just to relax. We’ve all felt like that occasionally, and we all mess up – I still remember being so intimidated meeting someone I really admired that when they asked me what I did I quavered “Sales. Sales….stuff…”. I not only didn’t blow my trumpet, I didn’t even let him know I had one! The important thing is that if you do drop the ball to make sure it doesn’t happen again… and if you’ve got the nerve, pick it back up again!
So get out your trumpet and get ready to tell the world that your great – what makes you special, unique and amazing! I’d love to hear what you come up with…..
