Too many professional bios are stiff, formal, stodgy, plodding and downright boring.
More potent than Ambien.
It isn’t often when you see personal facts—really fun details that paint a picture—inserted into someone’s professional bio like the way like Stephanie Sammons inserted them into hers.
Stephanie helps financial advisors, business professionals and executives build their online influence. That’s the gist of her bio on her About page. She also included a separate section called “Other fun facts”:
Can’t you just see her wearing her cowgirl boots, eating pizza and washing it down with good wine, while Sugar is lying at her feet?
Stephanie also shares her other world—the world of music—by including this photo of her with her guitar:
Click on it and you’re taken to her profile at OnStage.com, a social platform and leading destination for discovering new music from undiscovered artists. You can even listen to the streaming audio of her music. Fun facts, by the way, are great when used in a press kit.
Invite People to Connect
Stephanie’s professional bio includes something else that’s missing from most other bios: Links to social media profiles and a very friendly invitation to connect.
I found her page so inviting that I emailed her from her website, asking for permission to use her photos here. She replied and asked me more about what I do. Others might find her website so friendly that it prompts them to call her for speaking engagements or consulting.
If you’d rather weave fun facts about yourself into your professional bio instead of presenting it as a separate section, you can do that like I did in the long version of my bio on the press room page at The Publicity Hound website. My website is being rebuilt from scratch, and I’m borrowing Stephanie’s idea and including fun facts.
What Makes YOU Interesting?
I had a devil of a time coming up with anything that other people might find interesting about me. If you have the same problem, here are some ideas to get you started:
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Your hobbies
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Pets
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Clothing
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Travels
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Favorite books
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Your favorite line from your favorite movie
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Thins you love
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Things you fear
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Cherished childhood memories
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Your best friend
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Your bucket list
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A favorite singer or group you love to dance to when you’re all alone in the living room.
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Your hairstyle
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Your elevator pitch
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The most unusual thing in your office
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A nickname
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The car you drive
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Something you collect
- Your hero
Does your bio include fun facts? If it does, explain in the Comments below and link to it.
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*face palm* … like all great ideas, so simple!
That’s right. Sometimes we’re close to our own websites to see the obvious.
Okay, I’ve been putting off re-doing my bio for long enough. This was just the inspiration I needed to go get it done. Terrific article. Thank you both, Joan and Stephanie!
P.S. Do you think it would look entirely too weird to include the fact that in my distant past I did leprosy research with armadillos? Now THAT’s a cocktail party nugget for you :-).
Elizabeth, if I read in anyone’s bio that they did leprosy research with armadillos, I’d be dying to know more. By all means, use it!
I am VERY careful when using humor (or what I think are fun facts) Some people have a very different sense of humor than I do. Everyone is sure they have a sense of humor, but I find some senses of humor are down around their ankles. Grin
That’s a good point, Allen. Fun facts don’t have to be humorous. They just have to be interesting.
Hi Joan,
I am a big fan of offering fun facts in your bio because it helps build know-like-trust. People today are doing business first and foremost with PEOPLE, and we have to know-like-and-trust them in order to want to do business with them.
My “about” page features bios of varying length from shortest to longest, and the personality profile is showcased, too. What I find is that when folks like the first few versions, they keep reading. And that is a sign that they are “eyes wide open” and leaning in to learn more. That also means folks are that much closer to wanting to engage in some way, and that is the big idea here.
Here’s a fun fact about me. My biggest indulgence is driving my grocery cart down the aisles at Whole Foods and putting amazing and delicious things into my basket without looking at the price — a rare pleasure!
You can find all my bios here: http://www.authenticvisibility.com/about
And, oh by the way, I am looking forward to our call on Feb. 14 for your folks so we can guide everyone to say bye-bye to their boring bios and hello to stories that engage and invite opportunities. This is the link to register for that call:
http://www.authenticvisibility.com/BioDocisIn214
Nancy, I love your “About” page. Six bios, all different sizes! Can’t wait for Thursday’s webinar with you.
Help! I need to figure out how to find fun facts about myself. I’m not sure how to pull it all together? I enjoy shopping, crocheting, baking, watching Investigation Discovery, listening to others and giving them advice. I work with special needs preschoolers. I have a B.A. in Psychology and a Master s in Educational Studies with a concentration in Special Ed….How can I build on what I’ve achieved and enjoy doing to make me sound interesting?
Sincerely,
Melva
Melva, fun facts are very specific things about you that are unusual, curious, funny or interesting. Examples: Tell us a fun fact about your childhood. What was your favorite toy, and why? Who was your favorite elementary school teacher and why? What was the most important life lesson that your mom taught you? What was the most endearing quality of your best friend? Did you have a secret hiding place in your house or neighborhood? As an adult, why do you love watching Investigation Discovery?
Here’s an example of 5 Fun Facts I wrote about myself:
https://publicityhound.com/blog/5-more-things-you-didnt-know-about-me
Notice that they are not all-encompassing. They are random facts plucked from my life. Hope this helps. Good luck.
Thank you a lot for writing such an interesting and live article. You know, there is an interesting question in your article: “What makes you interesting?”. And answers are pets, hobbies, clothes, favorite movies, books you like, funny and strange stories and so on and so forth – everything of that shows that you are not only the person which needed to write a short bio for a new employee, you are also a person with fears, weaknesses, funny sides and experience. So, including funny facts is a good idea. But as everywhere we should be careful adding information and we shouldn’t turn a bio into an anecdote.
Harrold, I’m not suggesting that the fun facts replace the actual bio. They are in addition to the bio. Thanks for stopping by to comment.