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Tips For Self Promotion for Women How to Brag Successfully So You Don't Look Like a Show Off.

Nine Tips for Self-Promotion for Women
How to Brag Successfully so You Don't Look Like a Show Off

Here are nine tips for the best way to brag in a politically correct manner and how to
successfully and gracefully self-promote.

1.  Be fearless and speak well of what you have done.
Yes, there is a gender-based difference in how men who self-promote are perceived and how women who say their accomplishments are perceived. It can change, but the research still shows that in traditional gender stereotypes men are admired for their work, physical and monetary accomplishments and women for their relationships, nurturing, social accomplishments But, that perception can ONLY change if women are courageous and speak well of their accomplishments without fear.  A good rule of thumb when sharing your success is to see how, when and what men are sharing about theirs and by balancing what you share about yourself with admiration and others. By seeing what others do that you respect, and admire and complimenting them directly and speaking well of them to others even when they aren't there. 

2.  Choose to do things that are worthy of self-promotion.
Be courageous, take risks. By this, I don't mean take on more tasks and be a workaholic, I mean be thoughtful in your choices. Spend your time wisely and with integrity. Volunteer for important projects. Help other team members. Work on committees, (You can choose to be on committees with important people.) Speak up at meetings with great ideas. Take the lead position on projects, suggest and spearhead innovations.

3.  Learn to tell a short self-promotional story.
 “Last week the most fantastic thing happened... “I had the best week this week……”, “I feel so great about something that happened this week...” and then tell about one specific success. Don’t preface it with how tired you are. Don’t list all you did, or how busy your week was. Tell one very brief story. A hero’s journey is interesting.  A recap of your to-do list or rundown of all the things on your outlook calendar is boring. If you have not read, "The Power of Myth" find it or at least read about it so you know what a hero's journey looks and sounds like. Make sure you include brag bites―pieces of relevant facts, such as clients that you’re working with, how long you’ve been in the industry, or a project you’ve recently completed.  

4.  Be very careful of your tone and nonverbal delivery
Look at how men get excited and make the telling of their hero’s journey into a fun journey for the listener.  Don’t be haughty and don’t hog too much time. Think how men share a sports success story, “I hit a home run, I caught the ball, I made a hole in one." People actually ENJOY listening because they feel the pleasure, excitement of the adventure and challenge along with the storyteller. But remember, women have a narrower band of acceptable delivery options so you can't be over the top and again you must tell a shorter story than a man. 

5.  Send a thoughtful email to a specific person about your accomplishments.
Men will email what they have done to accomplish their projects and you can do it too. If you see a good example of someone stating an accomplishment in an email you receive the model it. Don't send a group email listing your checked off to-dos. If you are not sure how it sounds read it out loud or try it out on someone who can be brutally honest with you about how it sounds.  

6.  Make your work visible by spending time with people.
Talk to people who can recommend you. Take influential people out for coffee or lunch, stop by people’s offices and ask what they are up to. Spend productive time-sharing and visiting in the break room.
  
7.  Compliment and "brag on" other women. 
When you focus on others accomplishments and notice what is worthy of praise your energy is focused in the right place and you learn what matters. One simple way to give praise is with an introduction. For example, when you introduce your female friends, coworkers and business friends to someone new share their name and an accomplishment. "Jim, this is Sara Beckman, she just headed up the committee for our new quarter sales meeting and it was fantastic." "Tom, this is Morgan Tyler, she just spearheaded the new marketing project." "Karl, this is Veronica Mann, she works with our top client Prudential."

8.  Ask other women to brag for you.
If you have established healthy, reciprocal, working relationships with other women it is perfectly acceptable to ask them to help you by giving a brag boost. You can even ask someone to share something specific to someone specific. But if you do this, I advise that you always reciprocate. Be the person that says and shares positive things about others.

9.  Be a good listener.
We like people who listen to us and often imbue them with good behaviors. If you want people to listen to you share your successes, be the best listener for them. It will not only make you more discriminating about what and how you self-promote but more importantly it is just gracious behavior.

For other ways to look good at work you can check out other articles.
Five Ways to Give a Great First Impression
http://www.pattiwood.net/article.asp?PageID=11491
Nonverbal Cues of a Good Listener
http://www.pattiwood.net/article.asp?PageID=2323
How Do We Know Someone is Credible within Seconds of Meeting Them?
http://www.pattiwood.net/article.asp?PageID=10452

On a personal note:
When I was in my late thirties, I was at a party with my fiancé at the time and someone asked me what I did for a living. I said, "I am a body language expert and professional speaker."
Later my fiancé chastised me for saying I was a body language expert. I remember going through a cascade of different emotions and revelations at that moment.

First I felt shame at the thought that I could have been inappropriate and a braggart. But then I realized that was not what I should feel.  I should feel proud of being an expert. Then a stronger emotion took over and I was angry at my fiancé for not seeing me for all I was. Then I felt disappointment in myself as I realized that he might not even know all that I had accomplished. I had never told him.  
But, I did manage to do with him, something I had not done well until that moment, brag. I said, “I have several degrees in nonverbal communication, I taught body language at two universities. My body language class at Florida State averaged 150 students each semester and was voted one of the most popular college courses in the country. I have been researching and consulting on the topic for many years. I have written a book on body language. And I have been speaking on the topic to the top companies around the world for many years. I am an expert!”
I may have been inappropriate and given too much of a laundry list, but by god, I bragged.  It was a seminal moment. A watershed if you will, where I consciously took pride in what I have done and what I do.                                                      


Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at www.snapfirstimpressions.com. Also check out Patti's YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.

Do People Make You Tired? Introversion and the People Battery Drain Connection

Does being around people make you tired? You may like being with them, but you feel like all that talking and socializing drains your batteries. Depending on your personality people time can energize you or make you want to go home and not talk with anybody.  I just read this blog post from an introvert. I get it, According to the Myers Briggs Personality Assessment I am an Introvert. Yes, that is a big surprise, a professional speaker and body language expert who is introverted. But many performers are introverts. We love performing! Its enormous fun. It just means for me that after I speak and socialize with my audience I need to take time that night or the next to recharge my batteries. I do that by reading a book on the plane home! I love training on both the DISC Personality training and Myers Briggs Personality.  It gives great insights for teambuilding, sales, customer service and dealing with difficult people. Here is link to another introvert's blog post.





Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at www.snapfirstimpressions.com. Also check out Patti's YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.

Read a Real Book Before Bed to Get Better Sleep

Ever since I was a little girl I have read just before I go to sleep. The books have changed over the years but I still love to read a real paper book every night. But now I have developed a new habit that could be effecting my sleep.
If I watch TV in the evening prior to going up to bed, while I watch a movie I look up on my cell phone or Surface computer the director or the actors or the screen writer and that quickly devolves into me no longer watching a terrific movie, to looking up every interview of said, director, actor and screenwriter. Suddenly, I look up at it is 12:00 midnight and I have been staring at a blue light screen for hours. We know we shouldn't look at TV screens and computer screens or cell phone screens before we go to bed, but we do. It is interrupting our melatonin production thus the quantity and quality of our sleep and dreams. Here is the research.

Online survey reveals new epidemic of sleeplessness.

Date - April 3, 2014

Source - University of Hertfordshire

Summary

Nearly six in ten (59%) people in Britain are sleep deprived, new research shows. 78% of people are exposed to disruptive blue light from computers and smartphones before going to bed, and only 10% of people strongly agree that they have pleasant dreams. A new article outlines some steps people can take to improve their sleeping experience.

New online research, conducted to coincide with the publication of Professor Richard Wiseman's latest book Night School, suggests that nearly six in ten (59%) of adults in Britain -- over 28 million people -- are now sleep deprived and getting seven hours or less sleep each night. This is a significant increase on the 2013 figure of thirty-nine per cent taken from a previous study.




Richard Wiseman, professor in the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, commented: "This is a huge rise, and the results are extremely worrying because getting less than seven hours sleep a night is below the recommended guidelines, and is associated with a range of problems, including an increased risk of weight gain, heart attacks, diabetes and cancer."
To assess one potential cause of the sleeplessness epidemic, respondents were also asked whether they used a computer, smartphone or tablet in the two hours before going to bed.
"The blue light from these devices suppress the production of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin, and so it's important to avoid them before bedtime," commented Wiseman.
Seventy-eight per cent (78%) of respondents indicated that they use such devices during this period. Among 18-24 year olds this figure increases to a remarkable ninety-one per cent (91%).
"The 2013 survey revealed that around 57% of people in the UK were using these devices, so we are seeing a significant rise in the amount of blue light before bedtime," said Wiseman.
The survey also suggested that the vast majority of people's dreams are far from sweet, with just ten per cent (10%) of respondents strongly agreeing with the statement 'I would describe my dreams as pleasant'.
Professor Wiseman noted: "The dream data revealed considerable variation across the UK, with those in London and the Southwest agreeing the most, and those in the Northwest and Midlands agreeing the least."
Ten science-based tips have been compiled by Professor Wiseman to help the country get a better night's sleep.
10 science-based tips to a better night's sleep:
1) Banish the blues: Avoid using computers, smartphones or tablets in the two hours before you head to bed. The blue light stimulates your brain and prevents you feel sleepy.
2) The list: Make a list of all of the things that you have to do the next day or that are playing on your mind. This helps prevent you lying in bed thinking about these issues.
3) Tire your brain: If you are struggling to sleep, make your brain tired by thinking of an animal for each letter of the alphabet ('A' is for 'Ant', 'B' is for 'Bear').
4) Move your bed: You have evolved to feel safe when you can spot danger early and have time to run away, and so will feel most relaxed when your bed faces the door and is furthest from it.
5) Reach for a banana: Eat a banana before you head to bed. They're rich in carbohydrates, and these help relax your body and brain.
6) Reverse psychology: Actively trying to stay awake actually makes you feel tired, so try keeping your eyes open and focus on not falling asleep.
7) Wear socks: If you have bad circulation, your feet will get cold and cause sleeplessness. To avoid the problem, wear a pair of warm socks to bed.
8) Avoid the lure of the nightcap: Although a small amount of alcohol puts you to sleep quicker, it also gives you a more disturbed night and disrupts dreaming.
9) The power of association: Ensure that the same piece of soporific music is quietly playing each time you fall asleep. Over time you'll come to associate the music with sleep, and so listening to it will help you to nod off.
10) Do a jigsaw: If you lie awake for more than twenty minutes, get up and do something non-stimulating for a few minutes, such as working on a jigsaw.
UK Dream Data
The percentage of people in each region strongly agreeing to the statement 'In general, I would describe my dreams as pleasant' was as follows: London 13% South West 13% Scotland 12% Yorkshire and the Humber 12% North East 11% South East 10% East of England 10% Wales 9% North West 7% West Midlands 7% East Midlands 6%

Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by University of Hertfordshire. Note: Materials may be edited for content and leng


Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at www.snapfirstimpressions.com. Also check out Patti's YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.

Why You Should Bragg and Tips for Self Promotion

                                                                   

My friend Sue and I have known each other since grad school and have always supported each other’s success. She is a wonderful and talented author and beloved English professor and I am a body language expert and professional speaker. Sue arranged for me to speak to the student body of her university. 
On the day of my speech, we went over my intro and I showed her how to turn on my 40-secound intro video with snippets of newscasters and TV show hosts introducing me on their show.  We got the room early and I put little bios and business cards on all the seats in the auditorium. As professors and students came in I introduced myself, “Hello my name is Patti I am your speaker today.”  I gave my speech and then spent another half hour with students gathered around me asking questions. 
All these were things that I did for every speech, but my friend said, “Patti, watching you do those things changed everything I thought about my career.”  "At first, I thought, “Goodness, Patti is going over the top with all this bragging about herself in the intros and then I noticed how people responded to you even before you started speaking." "I have watched 100’s of speakers in that same Venue but they were treating you with a feeling of honor and respect that I have never seen. I had thought originally the video and intro was too much, but I could see them get excited and lean forward in their seats during the intro."  "During your speech, you gave brief specific examples of how you used your body language expertise to solve a client’s problems used it to analyze the president for the Today Show or CNN. Each example illustrated a learning point, and gave you an increased level of credibility with the audience."  "But here is the funny thing Patti is I have had the opportunity my entire career to promoting myself the way you did and I have never done it because I thought I was bragging!

 I told her she was a remarkable author and speaker and should own it and start self-promoting because men do so all the time!  If the word bragging calls it self-confidence, call it, self-promotion. I shared that for years I wanted to be a successful speaker but,  I never bragged and was too shy too fearful of being seen as cocky. I worked hard, but I not in the big leagues.   I looked around and realized that the male speakers would talk about their success all the time. I noticed when I spoke the men would actually stand around before and after meetings and brag about the terrific job they did on a project, the great deal that they just made or the golf game or their new car. For men, it is a way of showing their colleagues what they can do so that their peers feel confident in recommending them for projects promotions and jobs.  It is an effective way to communicate.  Sue quickly started using the same self-promotion techniques. Doing this, and her hard work, led her to earn a tenured position and the raise she had long wanted and deserved.
                                                            Tips for Self Promotion
1.       Yes, there is a gender-based difference in how men who self-promote are perceived and how women who say the same kind of things about themselves are perceived. But, that perception can ONLY change if women are courageous and speak well of their accomplishments without fear.

2.       Learn to tell a great short self-promotional story.  “Last week the most fantastic thing happened... “I had the best week this week……”, “I feel so great about something that happened this week..” and then tell about one specific success. Don’t preface it with how tired you are. Don’t list all you did, or how busy your week was. Tell one very brief story. A hero's journey is interesting.  A recap of your to-do list or passage from your outlook calendar is boring. If you have not read, "The Power of Myth" find it or at least read about it so you know what a hero's journey looks and sounds like.   

3.       Be very careful of your tone and nonverbal delivery.  Look at how men get excited and make the telling of their hero's journey into a fun journey for the listener.  Don’t be haughty, don’t hog too much time. Think how men share a sports success,  “I hit a home run, I caught the ball, I made a hole in one" story and people actually ENJOY listening because they feel the pleasure and excitement the adventure and challenge along with the storyteller.

4.       Men will email what they have done to accomplish their projects. If you see a good example of someone stating and accomplishment in an email you receive and model it.
5.       Do things that are visible to others. Get on committees with important people. Speak up at meetings. Talk to people who can recommend you. Take influential people out for coffee or lunch, stop by people’s offices and ask what they are up to.

6.       Get another woman to brag for you. Tell other women what you have done and ask her to brag for you. Reciprocate. Be the person that says shares positive stories about others.
7. When you introduce your female friends and coworkers and business friends to someone new introduce them along with an accomplishment. "Jim this is Sara Beckman, she just headed up the committee for our new quarter sales meeting and it was fantastic."


Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at www.snapfirstimpressions.com. Also check out Patti's YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.

Robert Wagner Talks about Natalie Wood's Accident is He Deceptive> Body Language/Stress Test

I have heard him talk about this incident before. He always talks about it with decorum. I watched the whole interview. He does not vary in any suspicious way from his baseline behavior when he is asked about the event. He does not evade the questions concerning the incident.
In this interview he does talk about it gently as an “accident” and he truly feels it was. His eyebrows go up and he is truly expressive at one point.
He does not seem overly rehearsed. He seems to me to behave as a gentleman who has dealt with his grief and has had to answer probing questions about this event for years.  It has been many many years since what we call in deception detection the “event.”
It is appropriate that he is not overly emotionally about it so that should not be misinterpreted as any indication that he is in any way guilty. 

Below is the link to the interview.


Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at www.snapfirstimpressions.com. Also check out Patti's YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.