So I’m doing a presentation. And of course, as part of the process, I am going to stand up in front of my audience and say the formulaic “Hello, my name is Sophie and I’m a…” User Experience Architect. You’re disappointed, I know.
This is a two-fold post. Firstly, I would like to confess that I have added “social media evangelist” to the collection of labels linked to me. I had “Creative”, I’ve done “web designer”, and I am, in fact, a “geek”. But “Social media”? and “Evangelist”? Those of you who truly know me will say “well it’s about time!” Just ask me what twitter is about next time you see me. You’ll understand why it was just a matter of applying the label… the damage was already done. I will tell anyone who wants to know how amazing twitter is for connecting people, for customer service in an era I’d cringe to call web 3.0, and generally for sharing all the cool, happy, sad, exciting, news-worthy or otherwise forgettable moments of our lives with anyone who might care. The value of social? It’s in its users, and the people we know. But more on that another time.
For now, a bit more about those little labels and introducing oneself. I had to practise it four times today. I think I finally got it right when I added “and I’ve recently confessed to being a social media evangelist”… Not just because it’s true, but because it’s intriguing. So. What do you say when you want someone to listen to you?
“Hi, I’m Sophie and I’m a User Experience Architect. I have been tinkering with websites since 1997, and love how technology enables communication. I am always learning about how humans process information, and have recently confessed to being a social media evangelist.”
So now you know my name, that I’ve been actively constructing websites for 15 years, and that I not only care about information and user experience, that I love it. And it’s bled over to my daily activities, so much so that I have had to confess to being a social media evangelist. Oh, this post is me confessing it, by the way…
Ok, I’ll admit, I was told that was a cool bit. I have no idea if it really is, but if it’ll grab people’s attention, I’m using it!
How can you do the same? Easy. Start with your name. Then, establish experience. Have you worked for known brands? For a long time? Have a particular specialisation? Use them. And lastly, something cool about yourself. I chose social media. For you, it could be how skydiving took away your fear of presenting. Whatever it is, you have 20 seconds to convince them that listening to you for a bit longer is worth their while. Tick tock!
