How to Write a Short Bio with Flair

Need to write a short bio for an upcoming meeting or presentation? A professional bio is one of the most important things you’ll need to have in your marketing arsenal, so it’s important you take some time to put together your thoughts. After all, a bio is your calling card in your professional life, so it needs to be polished and include all those important highlights that make you special.

Short bios – which is what we’re discussing here – are perfect for presentations or for a company website. Many follow a standard format, which might include the following info:

1. Strong opening statement in the beginning paragraph
2. Introduce yourself and your current position or title
3. Follow through with highlights on your expertise
4. Concluding statement that highlights some personal information about you (such as family or hobby info)

Short bios give top level highlights. Remember, most people will be scanning your bio, so you need to engage and wow them with what you’ve accomplished quickly and succinctly. Don’t put too much in there that the reader will just scan over. Get to the important stuff quickly.

Here’s a good example of a short bio that engages the reader quickly:

Growing up in Salt Lake City, Utah as the daughter of successful entrepreneurs, Jenny Smith always understood the value of hard work and dedication. As a Loan Officer for Security Mortgage, her own hard work has certainly paid off in spades. She is currently ranked the #1 loan officer in Salt Lake County, and ranked #53 out of 125,000 loan officers nationwide. Her ability to make her clients feel at ease, as well as her ability to think outside the box has earned her a stellar reputation among her clientele. In just the last year, Jenny’s team has funded over $60 million in transactions. She attributes her team’s enormous success and growth to her strategic alliances with realtors, who appreciate her commitment to service. Jenny has enjoyed being a resident of Salt Lake City for the last 8 years. While she’s not busy helping her clients, she enjoys cooking, swimming, and spending time with her young daughter Sydney.

So how do you prepare an opening statement that will wow your reader? This is where you need to think about your most important attributes.

1. What will sell you?
2. What sets you apart from others in your industry with similar work experience?
3. What characteristics do you possess that makes you a star at what you do?

Take a few minutes to think about this.

A personal touch in the first sentence is always best. As in the example, incorporating the family connection, with the parents being entrepreneurs, naturally connects to the idea that Jenny learned her work ethic by example. This gives the reader a strong sense right away of her character and mindset. This needs to be established right away, especially in a shorter bio.

Here’s another example of a short bio that brings in the personal touch right away:

Award-winning chiropractor Dr. Gerry Blanco, DC, CCSP, is a board-certified chiropractor and certified chiropractic sports practitioner. He has been taking an unconventional approach to chiropractic medicine for the last 30 years. Going beyond the simple adjustment, Dr. Blanco delves into neurology and other disciplines in order to treat his patients and restore overall health and well-being. Dr. Blanco’s ability to think outside the box has served his patients well, who seek his services for a wide range of needs, from therapeutic massage and sports injuries to pregnancy wellness. He has assisted with sports performance testing with several professional sports teams, including the Dallas Stars hockey team. After graduating with a B.S. in Chemistry from Texas State University, he earned his Doctor of Chiropractic from Parker University in Dallas. Dr. Blanco resides in Fort Worth with his wife Carolyn, their two children, and three dogs.

Watch our short instructional video for some tips on how to write a short bio. 

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