Since Matt’s a teacher, he’s been home and watching unholy amounts of TV in the other room all summer long. His new favorite show is The Graham Norton Show, an English chat show that’s available on demand. There’s one recurring segment — ‘That’s All We’ve Got Time For‘ — in which random viewers are placed in a giant red chair and asked to tell their best story to Graham.
If they start with something boring, like, “I was walking down the street in Wales, and it was a really nice day out…” — Graham flips the chair back and they’ve lost their privileges to tell any more of their tale. It gets a big laugh because well, there’s some poor soul being booted around in a giant chair.
Setting isn’t nearly as important as you’d think, so no one is allowed to waste time on details relating to it. “When I was on the tube two months ago…” and “I needed a job, so I thought I’ll get a part time job, so I got a job in sales…and…we got trained…” were both miserable failures.
BUT.
If you’ve got a really great leading line, you’ve got a chance.
“This one time I shared the loo with David Beckham…”
“Well, my boyfriend’s nickname is Dickey Danger and…”
“One day I was running very late and didn’t have time to put my underwear on. So…”
“I was just trimming my pubes when there was a knock on the door…”
The same idea applies to your story-type bio. Keep us entertained or we’re going to be bored. And we’ll assume that if your bio is boring, YOU are boring. Which is completely unfair, you know.
To start your bio off right, tell me:
What was the defining moment? The moment you knew you just had to get out of your last job to start this new venture?
Make that moment dramatic, and let it speak volumes. Then lead me to the career you’re in now.
Completely true example bio: I had been called into the principal’s office for the last time. This was my fifth trip to the dreaded room in one week, and dammit, I was the TEACHER. I quit my job on the spot and had precisely 14 days to find a career I liked better. Photographer seemed as good a job as any, and I was hired with just 2 days to spare.
What terrible/horrible story can lead directly to changes that you’ve implemented in your business?
Something awful happens, and you have a moment of realization: you can do better! You can change x or y and create a better experience for your clients! Tell me how it happened.
Completely fake example bio: I used to do graphic design for a corporate behemoth and create 12 logos a day. TWELVE. One day, I realized that individual focus and luxurious attention were more important than having a safe ol’ corporate job. So I quit, and Debbie Designs Dallas was born.
What’s the most memorable/life-changing moment you’ve had in your business — the moment you knew you were doing what you were meant to be doing?
Maybe it’s photographing a birth, having an image to use for a funeral (it’s happened to me, unfortunately), making a special Mom cry with gratitude, giving a speech to a group of gorgeous brides, or receiving a big box of bon bon’s and a thank you note in the mail. Lead with that moment, and tell us why it matters.
Another totally true bio option: “It’s a boy!” the nurse called out, and the tears of joy that mother cried were the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. After 27 hours of labor and an emergency C-section, I was there. In the room. To capture the instant a little soul arrives in this world.
Let your one great line lead to a paragraph that sums up your career choice, and you’ll be well on your way to convincing readers to get all the way through your bio paragraph.
Check back for part two of the series on Thursday, my dears, as we whip that one great line into an even greater bio.
Want more bio writing goodness? Check out my recipe for bio writing fabulosity and how Taco Bell can lead to a better bio.
hmmm… you’ve given me quite a bit to think about!
Today's post reminded me of the age-old "pick-up line"… that first impression can be suave, corny, sweet, stalkerish (yikes!), smooth, desperate, or "perfect"…. which pick-up line will WE be?
I L-O-V-E this! And it goes right along with a lot of the journals & tasks in Becoming. I may have to spend some time working on a new bio…again.
By the way, I am addicted to checking my “rewards” every time I visit to see how many points I’ve earned! I’m #6 on your board now! It’s silly, but I get all giddy & excited when I jump ahead of somebody else.
love. as always.
Wow, great info and so true! Thanks for all of your insight. Time to look at revamping the bio!
And now is the moment when I realize that even my recently revised About page may once again need an overhaul. Thanks for these prompts.
The baby one actually happened to me! Only it was 26 hours of labor and I wasn’t the one taking the pictures, that was my mid-wife.
As for my bio, I think I’m going to write a bit about when I realized I hated computer science and wanted to be an artist instead. I was 20, had been married for about 3 months, and was one year away from my BS in computer science. My husband came home after work and I just blurted out, “I don’t want to do CS anymore! I want to go into art!” And he said, “I know.”
Ooh, that gives me chills, Courtney!
Thanks!
Love this post!!!
This is great. And exactly the direction I needed to get working on my bio page. Thanks!
It is entirely possible that I’m actually boring… But I did use this article to start my bio about newborn photography off with a story about being a night nanny to newborn twins in Montreal. Surely that’s more exciting than what I planned on saying as my opening line.
i think the pressure of being booted out of that red chair would help me with this gosh darn bio writing block for sure! off to brainstorm.
There is this one moment in my IT career that will always stick out as the point I had had it. It is a funny story and I think it will be great for my opening line! It involves me as the quiet IT girl who goes crazy one day and ends up slamming a keyboard against my desk
Thank you for helping me tap into the part of myself that can be a better writer!
Oh boy! Now I have to come up with something humorous
What if you’ve known that you wanted to be a photographer since you were 7? There really isn’t much of a defining moment there? At least not that I can remember.
Thank you so much for writing this post! I believe it really will kick my ass in gear to work on my bio line!! Also, wanted to thank you for your continuing to blog, even after the hardship a bit ago. Though I don’t get to read your blog every post, I do save them in my google reader until I have a moment to really read them.
Oi… This is going to take some work.. How to find a nice way to say “my husband was dying and I wanted my kids to remember him…” and then he stopped dying and now we have tons of pictures
Thank God I found this post. My bio is awful! This will surely help me get off to a better start. Thanks!