Russell Bodner

If you’re being interviewed, you want the job, you have done your homework and researched the company. How do you think you fit into the position, you need to know what the job is and what it’s not. You know what you bring to the table and step one is to determine if this is a good fit for you. This line of inquiry demonstrates critical thinking that the interviewer should recognize if experienced, they want to evaluate what’s not on the resume and that’s Who YOU really are.

Trust is earned-always. Reputation is trust currency and others with expertise can vouch for you. Unless you’re a master of the sale, you must be earnest and weave a strong story that brings the audience to accept your command of the topic or presentation. Experts never hit you over the head with their knowledge, just the opposite, they lead their audience to understanding with passion and simplicity.

Tell your research story as you would any good tale, introduce the characters, describe the questions and conflicts to be resolved, weave the plot, share the key realizations and important results, and set the stage for whatever lies ahead. Bogging down and losing momentum is always the enemy.

Tell them who you are, and how you got interested in your area. Let the audience know how this is meaningful in their lives. Tell them what you are going to explain to them, explain that, and summarize what you just told them. Aim for 1-3 take home points and leave in depth areas for questions.

You don’t know who may find your primary content valuable, just as you don’t know what valuable content you can create that others will resonate with. So experiment, be it with personal pieces that share yourself and your life, associated topics that you enjoy and want to share, or recognizing people, places, and ideas that bring meaning to you and your community. It’s a wonderful laboratory to explore and if a message misses the mark, learn and move on. Enjoy the creative process and that joy will be appreciated.

Audience, content, and format. Play to your strength and commit to share yourself within your message. Only genuine counts, you can be quirky and that’s ok but indistinct or blatant commercial pitches are sure to disappoint. Write if you like, video if that’s you