Have you ever found yourself on the receiving end of the prompt: “Tell me about yourself?”

Or, “So… what do you do?”

These questions are innocent enough, and usually well-intentioned, but the open-endedness of them can be daunting!

So, today I want to introduce you to my secret weapon for answering questions like these, and give you an invaluable new tool to add to your personal branding toolbox: the 2 Sentence Story. 

What is a 2 Sentence Story?

A 2 Sentence Story is a 2 sentence summary of your past and present professional efforts. It’s a simple, memorable way to introduce yourself that succinctly conveys the primary arc of your professional journey. Your 2 Sentence Story is powerful component of your personal brand that you’ll find you use time and time again. 

What is a Personal Brand?

The idea of a “personal brand” gets thrown around a lot these days, but essentially a personal brand comes down to: Who are you and what are you working toward?

Your personal brand is your calling card – it’s a way for others (namely colleagues, potential employers, professional connections and acquaintances) to get a handle on who you are.

Your personal brand (and active promotion and perpetuation of this brand) can be an incredible asset for advancing your career, furthering your cause, and moving positively forward in the direction of your goals. 

The more specific, memorable, and unique your personal brand, the more you will be able to leverage it as a tool for success.  

Why You Need a 2 Sentence Story

A good 2 Sentence Story accomplishes 2 objectives:

1. Arms YOU with a way to easily and quickly explain who you are to others
2. Gives OTHERS a way to easily “get” who you are (and as a result, have a better sense of who they can connect you with, where they can hire you in their organization, how they can use your services, etc) 

So, in defining your 2 Sentence Story and having it in your back pocket at all times, you are going to be able to better communicate with those around you, and – as a result – increase your ability to get what you want. 

When to Use a 2 Sentence Story

Here are some examples of where and when you could and should use your 2 Sentence Story:

• At the top of your resume
• In your LinkedIn profile
• In your Instagram or TikTok bio
• On the homepage of your personal website
• In conversations at networking events
• In a job interview

Example of a 2 Sentence Story

Here’s a personal example of a 2 Sentence Story – mine! 

Left my 9-5 marketing job at age 29 to follow my acting dreams. Started my own coaching business to help others do the same. 

How did I arrive at this 2 Sentence Story? First of all, with a LOT of self-reflection. But ultimately I asked myself – “what do I want someone to know about me when I first meet them, that really defines WHO I am, and how I got to this point in my life?”

Well, I want people to know who I am professionally (my business), but I also want them to know WHY I do what I do. For me, that came down to the fact that I starting my own business as a way to help others follow their dreams  – to realize and pursue their own personal version of success. This realization – that I wanted to help others while also pursuing my own artistic dreams – was a big turning point in my life, so naturally it makes sense that it would be a part of my 2 Sentence Story.

How to Create Your 2 Sentence Story

Everyone’s story is different, and therefore everyone’s 2 Sentence Story is different. So I can provide some examples and helpful tips, but ultimately, creating your 2 Sentence Story is an inherently personal process. Yours may look totally different from mine (and to be honest- it should!) 

Here are some questions to help you find “ways in” to creating your 2 sentence story:

• Why do I do what I do? 
• What is the biggest contributor to where you are (or where you hope to be) in your life?
• What is the MOST important thing for someone to know about you?
• What makes me UNIQUE?
• What is my WHY? 
• What motivates me in life?
• What gives me a sense of purpose? 
• What impact do I desire to have on the world around me? 

The beauty of a 2 sentence story is its brevity and directness. So, this might take a while, but I encourage you to keep “going deeper” in getting to the HEART of what’s most important for you to share with others. 

Think about it this way: you have about 3-5 seconds to make a first impression – so what’s the ONE thing you want to share in that time to get the message across about who you are? 

Your 2 Sentence Story is just one potential tool in your personal branding toolbox, so it may help you to work on defining other aspects of your personal brand, like your Mission, your Identifiers, and your Professional Summary, as a way to keep narrowing down to 2 succinct sentences that you can use to share your story.

Need Some Help Creating Your 2 Sentence Story?

If you’re struggling to come up with some ideas fr your 2 Sentence Story, it’s likely because you need to do some more work to connect with who you are – self-awareness is a key that unlocks many doors, but it’s something you really have to work on, and work on consistently. 

If you’re ready to dive into your journey of self-discovery and work towards architecting an authentic personal brand, then I encourage you to schedule a free Discovery Call with me! I’d love to get to know you and see what we can do to help further you towards your unique goals.