How to Sell Yourself

CHAPTER 1

Selling Yourself

 

 

There are three things we all need in order to sell ourselves:

■ Competence.

■ Likability.

■ Luck.

The first two will almost always deliver the third. But having competence and likability isn’t enough. Most of us already have them. What’s needed, and what this book will emphasize, is the audience’s perception that you’re competent and likable. It isn’t about faking it, or fooling the audience. The con man and professional liar already know how to do it. They’re the ones who helped the stand-up comic create the line “Sincerity: Once you learn how to fake it, you’ve got it made.” Real people, including you and me, need to learn some basic techniques that will let us be our real selves in the presentation situation. ...