Take inventory: Be sure to assess who you are and what your area of expertise is before you begin writing your bio. Literally take a look at yourself, i.e., “I am Ann Johnson, a business development consultant in the commercial real estate industry.”
Be brief: Preparing a short bio means it should be, well….short. Don’t feel as though you have to include everything you’ve ever done. If people want to see your entire resume, they’ll ask for it.
Don’t go in chronological order: Attention spans today are short and people lost interest when there’s too much detail. People are looking for a snapshot of you—they want to get a sense of what you and your accomplishments are all about. The exception to this is if someone is asking for a list of publications, etc.
State what you do right away: Don’t leave your reader wondering exactly what it is you do. Think like a journalist and include the most important information first.
Consider your audience: Who will be reading your bio? Introduce yourself as though you have never met the person reading your words. Different audiences may be interested in different aspects of your experience and expertise—target them.
Prepare three versions: Draft three versions of your bio for different audiences, or consider preparing a 50-word version, 100-word version, etc. If you will be speaking in front of a group, you may wish to prepare a brief speaker introduction, for example.
Edit, edit, edit: Be ruthless! Once you’ve got a draft down in print, edit out all of the unnecessary details. Have a friend or colleague review your bio and give you feedback, or step away from it for a day and then re-review.
Differentiate yourself: It’s true, you’re writing a compressed version of your life story, but remember to include whatever makes you stand out from the crowd.
Polish it up: You’ve finally got it all written down: now’s the time to refine and polish your work. After all, you only have a short space in which to tell your audience who you are, so make sure your writing is tight.
Tell the story: Last, but not least: people want to know who you are. They can find out all of the necessary details later, so skip those things and give them what you want them to hear.
