6 Uses for the Bio

The story of your professional life is known in the PR business as a bio. Your bio describes your major goals, your struggle against strong odds to achieve those goals, the climax of your eventual achievements and what you have learned or realized from your experiences.

A bio tells much more about you than a resume or a simple chronology of where you were educated and what companies you have worked for, owned or sold. These elements are part of the bio, of course, but they are the skeletal structure, not the flesh-and-blood.

To draw out your own story, ask yourself the following questions:

• What is important to you about your family and heritage?
• What drew you to your profession or industry?
• Did you have a mentor? What did that person teach you?
• What is the most fulfilling aspect of your work?
• What is your most powerful dream?
• What is extraordinary about you? How do you stand out from others in your line of work?
• What struggles have you been through in your personal and professional life?
• What accomplishments are you most proud of?
• How do you give back to your community?
• Are you active in professional organizations? Which ones, and what have you accomplished for those organizations?
• What awards or honors have you won? Which ones would you like to win?
• Where do you plan to be in five years? Ten years?
• What advice would you have for others, especially young people, who are just starting out on the same road you have traveled?

Write your bio in the third person, referring to yourself by name and as “she” or “he.” Once you have captured the main elements of your personal story, polish and streamline until you have no more than two or three pages of double-spaced text.

If we said that your personal brand is like your “house,” then your bio is its “foundation.” To reach the media -- even the broadcasting media -- you start out with a written bio. From this bio, you will eventually create many other documents:

1. An “About” blurb for your news releases and published articles
2. Nomination letters for awards you want to win
3. Talking points or sound bites for radio, TV, podcast, media interviews
4. Sample interview questions to hand to a journalist
5. Two-minute speech for someone to introduce you as a speaker
6. Web site “About Us” or “About Me”

All of these documents are distilled from the bio. Everyone has a story, but some stories are more heroic, riveting and moving than others. You want to be among the latter.