𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗮 𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗸𝗲𝘆𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲? 𝗔 𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼.

When event organisers ask for a bio, I always double-check why.

The last thing I want is for them to introduce me by reading it out loud.

Sure, my past roles matter — they’ve shaped how I think — but if people only listen because of my CV, I’ve already lost them.

A bio’s fine for the 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘦 (though even then, I like it to hint at 𝘸𝘩𝘺 the audience should listen, not just where I’ve worked).

But when it comes to the 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, I say: '𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦.'

What made you think I’d have something this audience would actually find useful?

That’s what people need to hear, not a list of job titles.

Something like:

'I invited him here because he brings a perspective we don't have. You're going to laugh, but you're also going to find yourself re-thinking how you do Compliance'

If they really need a scripted intro, I’ll send one; I’ve got a fun version tucked away. 

But it’s 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 when they make it their own.

If the content doesn’t make people curious enough to 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 to know who I am afterwards, no bio will fix that.