This week, I've been posting some stats on LinkedIn about the power of humor in business. Ex:
91% of Executives believe a sense of humor is important for career advancement, and 84% agreed that someone with a good sense of humor does a better job.
The Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management published research showing that salespeople who use humor increase customer trust and achieve a 50% higher closing rate.
Companies that foster a positive and humorous work environment see higher employee engagement, including a 41% reduction in absenteeism and a 59% lower turnover rate. (Gallup)
The takeaway is people like working with professionals with a sense of humor... and one of the easiest ways to show you have one is on your social media bio.
Your bio, yourself.
Your social media bio line is an opportunity to show you’re not a boring suit and make a great first impression by showing you're smart, witty, and aren't too serious.
Do you have a snappy social bio? And if not, where to start?
Yourself.
Writing a bio is a great humor exercise because it gets your thinking about what's unique, fun, and quirky about you. Here's how to write one:
As always with me, it starts with a list. You will kick off this process by answering some questions about yourself. Really take some time, because in the end, you'll have a bunch of options to choose from which you can rotate in and out of your socials and email sigs regularly.
Feel the Prompt, Live the Prompt, Be the Prompt
Here are some prompts to build your list:
What's your personal philosophy? It can be sincere or silly. Start with "I believe." (Ex: “I believe all pets should have first and last names, but no "Ashleys" or "Justins."“)
What's your personal identity? (Ex: Familial, ethnic or social, like "Husband, Father, Sibling, Hispanic, Gay, Italian, Cat owner")
What's your profession? (Current or former. Extra points if you can deconstruct what you do at work. ie “I help hip hop artists find a reason to leave their smoke filled trailers.”)
Do you have a secret you can share about your past? (Ex: "Stood up at prom," "used to wear parachute pants.")
Where have you lived ? (Use adjectives like "proud," "former," or "escapee" to describe how you felt about that residency.)
What do you like / dislike? (Use strong adjectives like "obsessive" or "enthusiastic" or "hater.")
What's your sports affiliation? (Use exaggerated language like "loyal," or "ardent." Or if you are a Bills fan "consistently disappointed")
What is an odd biographical tidbit ? (Ex: "Once met Fabio," "changed oil in my car by myself... once... never again." )
Why are you here? (This is a silly one. For linked in something like "I heard this is where the cool kids hang.")
What are you good or bad at ? (Ex: "Diets," "going to the gym," "keeping your mouth shut.")
You should have an extremely long list now. Here's some from mine:
Showrunner, Executive Producer, Coach, Recovering Standup, Delayer of Diets, Stubborn Californian… Alumnus from Maine… Long Island Escapee, Pale and Proud, Youngest Person at a Steely Dan concert.
So now you have a list. Some of the things on it will be serious or factual, some will be silly, quirky or exaggerated. Here are 4 ways to mix them up and create a bio :
1) Serious item, serious item, silly item
Ex: Executive Producer, Exhausted Writer, Cried Twice During "Rudy."
2) Silly item, silly item, serious item
Ex: Toughskin Survivor, Youngest Person at a Steely Dan Concert, Coaching the Coachable.
3) Active language (-ing language)
Ex: Burning steaks ignoring laundry, transforming speakers.
4) Use your own original format.
Ex: Came here for the pizza
You can punch-up your bios by adding some strong adjectives. (ie, You are not just a "kid chauffeur" you are an "unpaid kid chauffeur" or “unappreciated kid chauffeur")
You now should have a bunch of social bios & email signatures you can test out. Be smart and don't write anything that will get you fired. (Or not hired.) You’ve been warned.
Chris McGuire is a TV comedy writer / producer with over 25 years of experience working with a-list talent. He helps speakers & presenters tell funnier stories through courses he co-presents with World Champion Speaker Darren LaCroix. The next one is Humor Boot Camp, a virtual 2-day seminar held on August 22-23 2024. Details here. Visit Chris at the Stagetime University Booth at the Toastmasters International Convention on August 14th-18th.
so good! I love all the practical actions, too!