How to Toot Your Own Horn Confidently and Easily

Bragging is a way of looking and feeling confident in front of others.  How can you let others know what a great job you’ve done without tooting your own horn? If you keep the word “I” out of your vocabulary here are ways of letting others know your skills and abilities while staying professional in tone.

Content:

• More “we” and less “me”. It pays to talk about the team you worked with. Your peers will appreciate it even if they did very little. Praise others.
• Talk about the skills and abilities you used.  Was this an opportunity to call on your extensive network?  Your global experience?  Mentioning these is great bragging.
• Make sure that the mention of your accomplishment fits into the conversation. 
• Put your initials and the date on the footer of your work. This makes it harder for your boss, or others, to claim the work as their own.
• Talk about what you can do for the good of the organization/department/team in the future based on your experience.

 

Confident and composed:

• Speak to be heard in short sentences.
• Hold your head high.
• Smile slightly; you are proud.
• Look directly others when you speak.
• Hold your hands in the American “football” position when you speak with others, even at a conference table.
• Dress well, like the senior management.
• Don’t complain; stay positive and upbeat.
• Don’t explain; speaking too long makes you look less sure of yourself.

If you’re an American, culturally you can do more bragging than most of the rest of the world.  We are individualists who feel comfortable talking about ourselves.  When in other countries, be very careful about your bragging.  Cultures can be sensitive about it, especially the British. Keep your bragging a description of actual events when needed.

Reference:  Brag! The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing it by Peggy Klaus