Free Peggy Klaus by Brag!: The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It Page A

the fence for so long. Many times I was ready to give up, but every month I got in a call, just to banter and check on what he was up to and how business was going. When I saw news clip or a research report that I thought would be of interest, I sent it his way. Suddenly last week, out of the blue, I got a call from him. He had just received the funding he needed, and bingo, I was the first person he contacted. To everyone here, who feels frustrated, remember to keep plugging away. Persistence pays off.
    For the next six months, Gwen kept to this positive tone in her weekly status meetings. Before she knew it, her bosses were thinking of her as a “beyond the numbers” kind of gal. In fact, the way she inspired the group had the markings of a good manager and leader. And when one of her bosses was promoted, he recommended that she fill his shoes.
    BREAK THE ICE
    “Put me in front of five thousand people, but please don’t make me go to one of those corporate cocktail events!”
    Ask ten people what they dread most in business, even more than public speaking, and high on their list will be attending office social affairs or networking events where they know few of the other guests. One of my clients, an Alec Baldwin look-alike, works for a major oil and gas company and has just returned from a two-year assignment in Russia overseeing a new operation. He’s funny and charming—a man of many words—until he walks into a crowded room, and then suddenly all the life is sucked out of him. He becomes, in a word, speechless. The feelings he describes are similar to what I’ve heard from many other clients: “Dread. I feel like a lone animal in the wilderness. I can’t think of anything to say. It’s hard enough for me to even talk to people I know, and now you’re telling me I have to brag to perfect strangers?”
    But social phobia can be overcome. As I told Mr. Oil and Gas, set an objective that’s not too daunting. Make a promise with yourself that you will make contact with three people. There are all sorts of easy tricks you can use to break the ice. One is to acknowledge the elephant in the room—that is, to announce to the person next to you in the buffet line that you know absolutely no one and that it’s at these times you think to yourself “Why did I ever decide to leave home?” By being candid and upfront, you are taking the charge out of the uncomfortable situation, creating a very real and honest ground on which to extend the conversation. Another way is to go over and say to someone, “You look about as unfamiliar with this as I am.” On an elevator filled with other people attending the same event, try striking up a conversation with one of them, so when you enter the event you don’t feel so alone. Besides, by the time you get into the room you will probably still be talking and will likely end up sitting with the person and being introduced to his contacts.
    After you get beyond breaking the ice, the opportunities for promoting yourself will flow if you’re prepared. For Mr. Oil and Gas, we worked on several brag bites, his favorite being “I would gladly take the tundra any day over wearing a black tie.” It all comes back to a simple premise: The more people who know who you are and what you do the better, because you never know where opportunity is going to come from. To be a successful self-promoter you need to adopt schmoozing and cruising as a way of business, a way of surviving, and a way of getting ahead. Think of it as a career maker or breaker.
    “But … do I really need to brag 24/7?”
    Like the Scouts, be prepared … to toot at any time. That doesn’t mean, however, that you do it
all
the time or that you do it at inappropriate times or places. You do it when it feels comfortable. And learning how to make it feel more comfortable is what this book is all about.
    MAKE IT MEANINGFUL
    “I’ve sat in on way too many business pitches where the presenters are focused entirely on