Presenting Yourself Effectively
A big part of presenting yourself effectively is showing that you know the appropriate information about your subject. However, you also need to come across as a professional.
110
Creating a Professional Persona
Your persona is how you appear to your readers. Demonstrating the following four characteristics will help you establish an attractive professional persona.
Cooperativeness. Make clear that your goal is to solve a problem, not to advance your own interests.
Moderation. Be moderate in your judgments. The problem you are describing will not likely spell doom for your organization, and the solution you propose will not solve all the company’s problems.
Fair-mindedness. Acknowledge the strengths of opposing points of view, even as you offer counterarguments.
Modesty. If you fail to acknowledge that you don’t know everything, someone else will be sure to volunteer that insight.
The following paragraph shows how a writer can demonstrate the qualities of cooperativeness, moderation, fair-mindedness, and modesty:
In the first three sentences, the writer acknowledges the problems with the plan.
The use of “I think” adds an attractive modesty; the recommendation might be unwise.
The recommendation itself is moderate; the writer does not claim that the plan will save the world.
In the last sentence, the writer shows a spirit of cooperativeness by focusing on the company’s goals.
This plan is certainly not perfect. For one thing, it calls for a greater up-front investment than we had anticipated. And the return on investment through the first three quarters is likely to fall short of our initial goals. However, I think this plan is the best of the three alternatives for the following reasons. . . . Therefore, I recommend that we begin implementing the plan. I am confident that this plan will enable us to enter the flat-screen market successfully, building on our fine reputation for high-quality advanced electronics.