My friend, Mary, was recently in a community theatre production of The Mikado. She was asked to write a bio for the printed program. This being her first role ever, she had little to say about herself that related. So in the 250-word blurb, she “humorized” on the concept of a bio, sidestepping the usual “this is what I’ve accomplished” in favor of “this is how I see things”. She ended up saying more about who she is than any of the other cast members did with their bios. Not only that, but Mary’s bio is the one we recall, giggle over and share because it’s just too funny not to. Mary made herself memorable.
There’s a clue for the rest of us here. If you haven’t noticed, it’s become very difficult to stand out from the crowd. Being a creative has become “normalized” and there is a lot of competition for design jobs, clients and projects. How do you get noticed? By taking a different approach. Do things differently. Don’t just say you’re creative. Prove it up front.
Over on Seth Godin’s Blog, he addresses the issue of being remarkable and offers a few suggestions for extraordinariness (is that a word? It is now!).
I’m taking his advice. And I’m re-reading Mary’s bio for additional inspiration.
Thanks, Mary!
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Thanks for drawing out this lesson on creativity. Inspiring!
I wrote a song 10+ years ago called “ordinariness” …
since so much emphasis was placed on being extraordinary, that the concept of being ordinary was quite appealing. admitting ones own ordinariness makes them real, and people being real always makes a great impression on me.
cool.