7 tips for self-presentation from the king of rhetoric

We all want to reach new heights and be successful, if, of course, we have goals and the desire to fulfill our dreams. Naturally, everyone’s path is different: someone climbs the career ladder, someone runs their own business, someone chooses “free flight” and learns to earn money and realize their plans without depending on anyone. But, one way or another, in almost any field we need to be able to competently and effectively (and even effectively) introduce ourselves to other people.

When getting a job, meeting potential partners and, in general, people who are interesting to us and from whom we can and want to get some benefit (we think you will agree with us that there are plenty of such situations in life, and there is no point in being modest), we should be able to create the right impression about ourselves - the one we need. It allows you to influence people, encourage them to take certain actions, etc. And to create such an impression, perhaps the best way is self-presentation.

“Natural” and “artificial” self-presentation

It’s interesting that we make self-presentations literally every day of our lives. Despite the fact that we may not even be aware of it, self-presentation projects are already embedded in our subconscious. Thus, by choosing an image for ourselves, putting on this or that clothing, showing specific manners and communication style, we bring these projects to life.

This phenomenon is called “natural self-presentation”, because. we implement it automatically. However, it is not always effective, and therefore requires correction through our own efforts. Such self-presentation is conscious, planned, subordinated to a specific algorithm. And this is exactly what everyone who sets themselves the task of learning how to present themselves well should master it.

Appearance

Regarding the selection of clothing, it is necessary to be guided by the rules of respect for listeners. You should not allow yourself to look sloppy, as well as clothes that are not suitable for the occasion. An inappropriate choice of clothing can be interpreted as disrespect and also as bad taste, which in no way contributes to creating a good impression.

If we are talking about self-presentation in business, you need to choose a wardrobe using classic elements of business style. Makeup and hairstyle should not be flashy - they should only slightly emphasize your advantages. “Combat” makeup or an overly frilly shirt are unlikely to be appropriate and will be perceived as a manifestation of a frivolous attitude.

The importance of self-presentation skills

In the process of communicating with other people, we always try to demonstrate ourselves as best as possible. And this is not surprising, because live communication tells us much more about a person than thousands of completed questionnaires or a banal listing of one’s positive qualities.

When you interact with someone, especially if this person is a professional interviewer or, for example, a personnel manager, your way of thinking, ability to talk about yourself and manners are what he will pay attention to first. And the main task of self-presentation is to show oneself as a holistic and adult person.

Of course, you should always remember that an effective aid to self-presentation is an appearance that is appropriate to the situation, appropriate behavior, tact, literacy and self-confidence, as well as following the rules of etiquette. Therefore, in any situation where you know that you will have to talk briefly about yourself, try to take care of these things in advance and prepare adequately. The rest is a matter of technique.

Determine the main idea that you will stick to throughout the entire speech.

When you are writing the text of a speech, make sure that it clearly shows the main idea of the speech - as succinct as possible.

The message of Qahtani’s own speech is simple and as easy to understand as possible: we must be aware that the words we speak are endowed with enormous power. But the responsibility for how we use it, for good or for harm, is entirely on our shoulders.

www.youtube.com/toastmasters

Preparation is the key to successful self-presentation

The beginning of any communication is acquaintance, and how well it went will determine all future communication. If you are applying for a job and know that your candidacy will be put up for competition; if you are talking with a promising customer for whom you will subsequently develop a website design; if you enter a prestigious international university, etc. – you need to keep in mind that this is all part of your life, and therefore you should not frantically bite your nails or start smoking one after another.

All you need to do on the eve of your upcoming meeting is to think about the most appropriate option for presenting information about yourself. To do this, you need to work out in detail all the information related to the subject of the future conversation. Your story about yourself should only be a few minutes long, but it should skillfully include everything about your experience and personal achievements. We recommend creating a structured story plan and writing short essays about yourself.

Keep in mind that the focus should be on specific facts, not on long-winded thoughts. The primary facts, as should be understood, are of paramount importance. It is equally useful to surf the Internet to understand what is most valuable to the person or group of people with whom you are communicating. The information received can serve as the basis for self-presentation, supplemented by facts from your personal and professional life. It will also be useful to get acquainted with additional materials:

10 most common interview mistakes
Interesting tasks that are asked during an interview

The skill of presenting yourself is important for a student, a specialist, a businessman, and a freelancer. And your success in the field depends on how carefully you prepare and work out the structure of your story. By the way, there is one short video on this topic from public speaking coach Dmitry Buzovsky.

But preparation is far from a guarantee of a successful presentation, and you need to know how to professionally demonstrate your best features to your interlocutor in order to seriously increase your chances of success. The seven golden rules of self-presentation will help you with this.

Prepare your speech in advance

Use the techniques of professional speakers and communicators to make your story interesting and understandable.

See also: How to increase stress resistance

Scientists have found that the human brain remembers information best in the format of stories. Try using storytelling when you tell something:

Any story must contain an emotional component. It doesn’t matter if it’s a presentation at a conference or a monologue in front of your partners - think in advance about how to make them experience the emotion you want.
Highlight the main thing in the story - formulate the main idea in one sentence. Repeat it throughout the story - for example, start with this thought, say it in the middle and end the speech with it.
Create a story pyramid. Rely on Barbara Minto's pyramid principle from her book The Golden Rules of Harvard and McKinsey. First, bring the listener up to date - identify the situation, illustrate the problem you are talking about, pose a question that arises after that and answer it, offer a solution.
Fill the story with the smallest details - they are the ones that inspire confidence in the listener and help him understand that the narrator really knows what he is talking about.

Sample of self-presentation

This sample is based on the example of a job interview, but it can be used for other situations, because any self-presentation, like an interview, is a meeting and conversation with people, communication with whom has a specific purpose.

During this communication, people need to understand how suitable they are for each other, whether they are satisfied with what they offer each other, and whether any further joint activities are possible. Even the most seemingly insignificant details can affect your prospects. Based on this, there is an optimal procedure for self-presentation and things that should not be done when talking about yourself, under any circumstances.

Procedure for self-presentation:

Introduce yourself
Smile
Tell us about yourself, your experience and skills
Tell us about your successes and achievements
Tell us about your goals and aspirations
Explain why you are offering your skills and your time (why you want to work for this particular company, study at this particular institute, collaborate with this particular person, etc.)
Tell us about the benefits of working with you (what you can give, why you are unique, etc.)
Thank you for your attention

If there is a need, and the situation is conducive to a more confidential conversation (and also if appropriate questions are asked), you can talk a little about your family and hobbies, how you spend your leisure time and other personal things. Don’t forget that you can safely include interesting stories from your personal experience in your self-presentation.

In addition, when making such a presentation, you should try to eliminate possible errors. Let's briefly talk about the most common of them.

Types of presentations

You can convey information about yourself to people through self-presentation. They are divided into groups:

In relation to the audience towards the presenter.
According to the form of implementation (oral, in the form of text).
According to the purpose of the event (promotional, informational).
By audience size (private, chamber, public).
Self-presentation theory suggests that human behavior is aimed at creating a desired impression. We want people to see us a certain way.

Three components of successful self-presentation:

How to tell about yourself

the speaker must be motivated to have a special effect on the minds of the listeners
the speaker must have the cognitive ability to know what specific behavior will produce the desired impression
must be able and willing to accept the desired behavior

Successful self-presentation involves a balance between benefits (presenting the most useful image for the situation) and credibility (ensuring that the image will be perceived by others). By being aware of these factors, people tend to change behavior according to audience expectations.

Basic mistakes in self-presentation

In total, we have identified ten main mistakes in self-presentation. To some extent we have already touched on them, but now we will talk more specifically. These are the errors:

Avoid eye contact , i.e. not to look into the eyes of your interlocutor or the audience, but to run your eyes around the room, look at the text, out the window and anywhere in general. Lack of eye contact is a sign of self-doubt or some hidden thoughts, which negatively affects self-presentation.
Talk about “no one” . For example, you start like this: “My previous place of work is . There I was a personnel manager. The manager performs the functions…” and then you continue about the functions. But here the object of presentation is lost, i.e. You. You need to do something like this: “I was recruiting applicants for various positions and conducting interviews. I also analyzed the candidates, discussed the results with the authorities...”, etc. Self-presentation is a story about yourself - remember this.
Use the same self-presentation template . Different situations require different approaches: presenting yourself to an employer is one thing, to friends is another, to a partner is another. Depending on the specifics of each specific case, think through your speech, behavior, and information that you will present.
Use too many negative words and expressions . The particle “not” is perceived negatively by people on a subconscious level. If you insert a lot of “not” into your story, your interlocutor will not like it, and he himself may not even understand why. Think through the narrative so that it does not contain negative statements, and communication will become much easier.
Use closed poses . We have already mentioned non-verbal means of communication. Crossed arms, etc. – a symbol of closeness, protection and uncertainty. This is a sign of nervousness and fear. By using such gestures and postures, you are setting yourself up for failure, so strive for open communication and the use of nonverbal signals of readiness for it.
Fuss and gesticulate a lot . We also talked about this, but we’ll still remind you. Such manifestations as fidgeting in a chair, twisting a pen, bending paper clips, winding hair around a finger, etc. serve as a sign of nervousness, fussiness, confusion of thoughts. Moreover, such manifestations can occur even if we do not notice it. Be careful what you do when presenting yourself.
Not understanding the purpose of self-presentation or not setting it at all . If there is no goal, speech and actions become meaningless, because... have no clear direction. Hence the awkward movements, uncomfortable pauses, and jitters. It's not very pleasant to listen to such a person. But to avoid this, you just need to clearly understand why the self-presentation is being arranged and what result you want to achieve.
Ignore the needs of the interlocutor or audience . Even before starting your self-presentation, it is advisable for you to find out what is interesting to the person or people you are speaking to, how you can help him or them, and in what form it is better to present information about yourself. And here again we are talking about different categories of people - self-presentation for a student and presentation for a teacher (or someone else) are two different things.
Embellish information . Everything you say must correspond to the real state of affairs. When talking about yourself, don’t talk about what you don’t know, what didn’t happen, what didn’t happen to you. Even if you are able to achieve initial success using such tactics, in the future everything will fall into place anyway. You just need to know about your advantages and skillfully present them.
Do not react to what happens in the process of self-presentation . When you talk about yourself, remain attentive to your interlocutor or audience. If you feel that your interlocutor is tired, take a break; if you see that he feels bad, find out if everything is okay, etc.

Also note a few things that you should not do during the self-presentation process:

You should not bring up negative experiences (at your old job, with former colleagues, in your previous company, etc.)
Don’t speak negatively about people (former boss, colleagues, clients, etc.)
No need to answer phone calls
Don’t rush your interlocutor or point out a lack of time
It is not recommended to answer questions with phrases like: “I don’t know”, “I find it difficult to decide”, “I can’t”, etc.
Don't do or say anything that might indicate your unprofessionalism or incompetence.
Don't talk about being nervous or feeling out of place.
Under no circumstances should you swear, shout, or make trouble, even if something seemed unpleasant or offensive to you
There is no need to talk about your problems or difficult family circumstances (pressure on pity, making excuses)
Don't be afraid to ask questions or remain silent
If we are talking about employment, then it is undesirable to ask about vacation and the list of benefits provided, point out an inappropriate schedule, ask what happens for lateness or absenteeism, and also say that hiring this job is a matter of life and death for you

And as a conclusion and a small addition to the above, we give a fairly simple, but very good example of self-presentation, in which there is nothing superfluous, but there is everything necessary.

Control your voice and breathing

Words alone are not enough to create an impression. It is necessary to transmit important signals in other ways, for example, by voice. If your tone is too uncertain, the audience will feel false. The opposite is also true; if there is too much pressure in your voice, the listener will feel pressured and may think that you are trying to manipulate.

Arlene Kuncic, author of Focus Therapy, recommends practicing diaphragmatic breathing. Practice in advance - put your hand on your stomach and take a breath through your stomach. Inhale slowly for 10 seconds, try to “fill your stomach” with air. Then exhale, also slowly.

Gradually learn to breathe like this without using your hand, add speech to your breathing. If done correctly, you will be able to control the tone and level of your voice, such as speaking higher or lower.

An example of a simple self-presentation

Let's take the employment situation again. Imagine that you are an employer. You invite a candidate to your office for a vacant position. A good candidate's self-presentation will look something like this:

- Good afternoon. My name is Vladislav Ignatiev. I work in software. I have been working in this field for ten years. I recently took several advanced training courses.

Graduated from the Polytechnic University. Despite the fact that I went there at the insistence of my parents, over time, studying there became very interesting to me, and I began to devote all my free time to studying software development.

I understand testing methodology and test design practices, I know the programming languages Java, Python, PHP. I work freely with TFS, SNV and other version control systems, as well as with bug tracking systems.

At my previous job, I conducted and automated testing, worked alone and in a team, and studied several project management systems in detail, such as Kanban, Scrum, Agile, PRINCE2 and several more.

You probably want to know about my strengths, so I’ll say right away that I like to solve problems and do it with pleasure, I know how to motivate and discipline myself. I can work effectively alone, but I also work well in a team, including as a manager. I easily find a common language with people and quickly adapt to changes.

As for my weaknesses, I would not like to talk about them, although, of course, like everyone else, I have them too. However, I am always for self-development, learning and improving my personal qualities and professional skills. I always strive for self-improvement.

The primary task for me is to benefit people in general and the company where I work in particular. This also includes career growth. And if we talk about long-term goals, I would be glad to be one of the reasons why your company continues to achieve success and remain a leader in the market. It would be very interesting for me to work with you.

I think that's enough about me. Thank you for the opportunity to tell about yourself.

Such a self-presentation will take your candidate a matter of minutes, and you will most likely remember him for at least several hours, especially if he did not make mistakes and adhered to the rules discussed.

As you can see, there is nothing prohibitive or super complicated in self-presentation. It is only important to understand the essence and practice a little. Then success will become your faithful companion, which is what we sincerely wish for you. Be successful and achieve your goals!

We also recommend reading:

Storytelling
How to Deal with Difficult People
Self-presentation: brief, useful, effective
Effective communication techniques: a selection of useful materials
Why is it important to be literate?
Preparing for an interview: what is it and why is it necessary?
Social skills: what they are, what they are and how to develop them
Devorah Zack “Networking for Introventors”: Summary
Tips for working effectively with your audience
Learning your native language: a selection of useful materials
How to make a good first impression

Key words:1Rhetoric

Use visual imagery

Qahtani is convinced that the quality of public speech will suffer greatly if it is memorized word for word. Instead, he suggests visualizing some parts of it using visual images while performing on stage. This helps you become familiar with the subject matter so much that you can talk about it in a relaxed manner.

Let's summarize. Is the topic you will be talking about with your audience important? Undoubtedly. Do the words you are going to use matter? Without a doubt. However, one of the most important elements of successful public speaking is the speaker’s confidence that people believe and, most importantly, trust his opinion. Only in this case will they leave the auditorium with hope for the best, and this is the most important thing.

Control your body language

Add body language to your words, appearance and voice. Let the audience subconsciously read the necessary signals and get the right impression of you. Here are Arlene Kuncic's tips:

Stand up straight and control your posture - this will make you look more confident and inspire more trust.
Try the superhero pose—place your hands on your hips, lift your chin, and stretch out your chest. Also called the power position, there is research showing that it helps increase self-confidence, triggers a surge in testosterone, and thus reduces stress.
Don't stand still. You don’t need to move quickly around the stage, this will create the impression of anxiety, but you shouldn’t freeze in one place either. Walk calmly in front of the audience, try to look a little relaxed.