Brag Your Butt Off :: Much Ado About You – a Service of Collective Discovery, Inc.

How can you brag your butt off… without being a pain in the a**?

Let’s be honest here: talking about yourself feels pretty good, right?

Probably.

Your personal stories:

doing your best work — always.
- Deliver stellar work to have something significant to brag about.
highlighting only your top accomplishments and achievements.
- Don’t highlight everything. Even when you want to.
focusing on contributions, not accomplishments.
- How are you making a difference? What failures have you overcome that can help others?
making it useful.
- Share value learned while accomplishing your goal.
keeping the story short.
- If they want more information, they’ll ask.
sticking to the facts.
- People can make their own conclusions about how great you are, based on your results.

asking “Do I need to be the one to share this?”
- Will this be more effective if shared by someone else?
asking “Do I really need to share this right now?”
- Not everything needs to be shared the moment it happens. Can you wait a bit?
realizing it’s OK to hold back for a short while.
- Why not bask in the attention of a just-shared win before sharing something new?
connecting with others before bragging.
- Make a connection, build rapport, and the conversation will present an opportunity.
not highlighting the same accomplishment too often.
- Repetition doesn’t make it more impressive.

practicing your story.
- Get used to talking about your achievements out loud.
leading the witness, but not sharing the entire story unless they show interest.
- Drop a hint about your accomplishment. Does the other person express interest?
not bragging without a good entry into the conversation.
- If someone asks, offer a small brag. But don’t proceed if the conversation isn’t heading that way.
planning for a transition.
- After sharing your story, ask a question to pivot the focus back to the other person.
letting the other person go first.
- Even if someone else talks first, you’ll still get your chance.
talking only as long as your conversation partner.
- Note how long they talk about their work or accomplishment. Don’t talk any longer than they did.

showing gratitude.
- Express thanks for an exciting opportunity. Name names. Give public thanks.
giving credit whenever you can.
- Was your success due to someone else’s referral, suggestion, nomination, or encouragement?
sharing via the words of others.
- Let others do the talking. Share thank-you notes, emails, testimonials, reviews, or comments.
highlighting others deserving attention.
- If you receive recognition from an organization, can you highlight their value and accomplishments?
sharing your friends’ accomplishments.
- The win is shared, the accomplished person isn’t bragging, you’re the hero celebrating your friend!
bragging about your clients.
- Be genuinely happy for others. Even if you had a part in their success, don’t mention it.

making it fun.
- Use jokes, stories, and photos. Get your readers laughing with you.
using metaphors or unusual framing to make your story memorable.
- I compare my writing services to baking cookies. What’s your unique framing?
talking about feedback instead of the action prompting feedback.
- Feedback can be more engaging than your action to elicit it!

showing humility.
- Explain how you got there via hard work, effort, commitment, and follow-through.
being wary of the humblebrag.
- No one is fooled by bragging masquerading as a complaint or humility.
sprinkling in a little self-deprecation.
- Sometimes it’s OK to say “well, it’s not really that big of a deal…”
thinking twice before name-dropping.
- Will it add relevance to your accomplishment, or look smug and self-serving?
not comparing yourself to others.
- If you won, don’t point out how far ahead of the other competitors you were.
avoiding downplaying your accomplishments or credentials.
- Constantly downplaying your success backfires if people think you’re hiding something.
not starting off with “I hate to brag, but…”
- This says you know it’s bragging, but you’re saying it anyway.

tracking your achievements.
- You don’t need a fancy system, just keep a list.
having bite-sized brags ready to go.
- Be prepared to quickly and casually mention accomplishments.
preparing your big story brags for key moments.
- Have your shiniest, most impactful stories prepped and ready to impress at the right moment.
working up bite-sized brags AND big story brags for the same accomplishment.
- Bite-sized brag: “I’ve written 100 articles.” Big story brag: “Writing 100 articles taught me…”
documenting numerical proof.
- Know your proof numbers and milestones.