Children should be seen and not heard!

Were you ever taught as a child, to stop bragging about what you can do?  Have you ever told your own children to stop showing off?

Of course there is nothing worse than an arrogant, gloating little kid
who demands to be centre of attention, and yet we find it absolutely adorable when a child is naively unaware of how talented they are.  But to protect the children from being put down by other people, moms ‘put them in their place’ first.  We are taught as children to be respectful, unassuming, polite, reserved.

The consequence, hopefully, is polite children.  And then 20 years later we are adults, most often women, who find it next to impossible to promote ourselves when we have to.

Whether we are in business for ourselves, or trying to develop a career, it is so difficult to get over our inhibitions that have been taught to us, to put ourselves forward and say “Hey.  Hello there.  I have skills and talents that will serve your organization and be profitable for you.  Choose me.”

It is not bragging or boasting to state plainly what it is we can do and can do well.  If we have studied or have experience in an area and can provide a product or service that meets the needs in our prospects lives, then we should be proud enough to step forward to offer our service and be recognized for our ability.  Just imagine how much more efficiently the other business will run with your assistance, or how much joy or relief your product can bring to someone.  But how will they know if you don’t tell them?

We don’t need to be pretentious, but we don’t need to be unnecessarily humble either.  Our moms aren’t around to blow our trumpets after teaching us to be polite, and no one else is going to do it for us.  We can't hire agents to promote us.  Our only resort is to find a way to be shameless self promoters.  Find a way to communicate your true value to the market place, make sure you fulfill that value, and stop being so unassuming.

And try not to make it too difficult for your children to learn this lesson when they grow up.  Build them up every day.  They world is going to give them enough knocks anyway.

Charlotte Kemp is a speaker and trainer and runs Niche Training and Development.  She explores the elements of success and failure, and presents a workshop called How to Craft a Powerful Verbal Business Card.