Quotes
Delightful… wry…. Always on target.
She provides solid advice to help readers promote themselves without coming across as obnoxious and egotistical.
- SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS
Brag is an entertaining, anecdote-rich book with immediate and concrete daily relevance for every one of us.
- WOMEN’S BUSINESS MINNESOTA
It's not enough to just perform well and expect to be rewarded with a promotion -- you have to make your superiors aware of your achievements.
Klaus isn't advising you to become the office blowhard, cornering co-workers with long-winded stories of how you landed a big account or finished a project under budget. Instead, she coaches clients on weaving their successes into discussions without hogging the conversation.
- NEWHOUSE NEWS SERVICE
…hard work and humility might be rewarded in heaven, but not in the work place.
…good communication is much more than just good jokes or good body language.
- USA TODAY
…if you don't speak up for yourself, who will?
- FINANCIAL TIMES
Brag: To talk shamelessly or with excessive pride about achievements. Read "Brag: The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn without Blowing It" by Peggy Klaus
- DETROIT NEWS
"Klaus shows you how to self-promote by sharing your passion and vision with grace and dignity, an all too rare occurrence in today’s corporate environment. Packed with smart advice, BRAG! is a refreshing read for anyone at any level."
- Dr. John C. Maxwell,
founder, The INJOY Group,
and best-selling author of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and Thinking for a Change
"Klaus briskly removes bragging from the list of deadly sins and sets it squarely among the corporate virtues. With pithy anecdotes and insight, she invites us to communicate our identity through well-timed, intelligent, and artful bragging. If this book jolts you into the recognition that bragging is necessary for survival, it is worth the price."
- Harry Kavros, associate dean, Columbia Law School, and
former COO, Global Economics and Fixed Income Research, Credit Suisse First Boston
"BRAG will change your life....it did mine and so many others' in our organization of successful female professionals"
- Dana Hall, CFA, Lighthouse Partners, LLC
Managing Director, Founder, President of the Board, 100 Women in Hedge Funds, Inc.
"Brag! is a whip smart tool kit--one that tampers with our beliefs about humility by defining bragging as an act of authenticity. This is a book that will change the way you think about the slippery skill of selling yourself.”
- AMAZON
"Always on target.... Klaus provides solid advice."
- SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS
" …communicated clearly and wittily written."
- LONDON SUNDAY TIMES
"Start Bragging... if you don't speak up for yourself no will."
- FINANCIAL TIMES, London
"after an hour of Peggy...everyone realizes that a good bragger is actually a pleasure to listen to..."
- USA TODAY.COM
"Brag is an entertaining, anecdote-rich book with immediate and concrete daily relevance for every one of us."
- WOMEN’S BUSINESS MINNESOTA
"...a master of artful bragging…Klaus’s persuasive writing style and authentic tone combined with real-life anecdotes show off the transformative effect successful bragging can have on a career."
- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"Go ahead, make some noise! Brag master Peggy Klaus can show you how."
- WORKING MOTHER
“Klaus isn't advising you to become the office blowhard, cornering co-workers with long-winded stories of how you landed a big account or finished a project under budget. Instead, she coaches clients on weaving their successes into discussions without hogging the conversation.”
- NEWHOUSE NEWS SERVICE
"Masterful!"
- GLAMOUR
"No other book has touched my heart and motivated me to change behavior as much as Peggy's BRAG! The Art Of Tooting Your Horn Without Blowing It.” It is life changing!”
- Julie Ellis
Director, Leadership Education and Development PLC at Arrowwood
BRAG! Quiz
Adapted from BRAG! The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It by Peggy Klaus, Warner Books, ©2007 Klaus and Associates.
By answering the "Take-12" questionnaire, you'll have the beginnings of what I call your "Brag Bag," a colorful collection of personal and professional information that you can use to create your bragologue—a brief, pithy, conversational monologue that talks about you (what you do, your accomplishments, etc). Bragologues can range from a ten-second "elevator pitch" to a one-minute introduction at a networking event, a client pitch, or a cocktail party, just to name a few. Whatever the situation, your bragologue should be memorable, entertaining and make the listener eager to hear more.
Once you've written out your bragologue, set aside a small amount of time (10-15 minutes to start) in a quiet space where you will not be disturbed. Begin walking around the room to loosen up your body and get your energy moving. Continue this "warm-up" by saying out loud phrases such as "I can't wait to tell you this" and "Wait 'til you hear this!" and "I’m so happy to tell you this!" in a very excited and exaggerated manner—or what I refer to as Over-The-Top. Then, start with small chunks of your bragologue (just a few sentences) and paraphrase (saying it in lots—and I do mean lots—of different ways) many times until you are comfortable with the meaning and the flow. You should sound conversational and spontaneous and not like you're reciting something you memorized. Remember too, that you need to tweak your bragologues for different audiences—no one size fits all. And last, but not least, good bragging takes continual preparation and practice and is something that you will be working on your entire life.
- BRAG Take-12 Questionnaire for Professionals: Download a printable PDF of the questionnaire here.
- BRAG Take-12 Questionnaire for College Students: Download a printable PDF of the questionnaire here.
- BRAG Take-12 Questionnaire for Teens: Download a printable PDF of the questionnaire here.
Professionals
BRAG! “Take-12” Self-Evaluation Questionnaire For Working Professionals
- What would you and others say are five of your personality pluses?
- What are the ten most interesting things you have done or that have happened to you?
- What do you do for a living and how did you end up doing it?
- What do you like/love about your current job/career?
- How does your job/career use your skills and talents, and what projects are you working on right now that best showcase them?
- What career successes are you most proud of having accomplished (from current position and past jobs)?
- What new skills have you learned in the last year?
- What obstacles have you overcome to get where you are today, both professionally and personally, and what essential lessons have you learned from some of your mistakes?
- What training/education have you completed and what did you gain from those experiences?
- What professional organizations are you associated with and in what ways member, board, treasurer, or the like?
- How do you spend your time outside of work, including hobbies, interests, sports, family, and volunteer activities?
- In what ways are you making a difference in people's lives?
College Students
BRAG! “Take-12” Questionnaire for College Students
- What would you and others (friends, teachers, parents, coaches, etc.) say are three of the best things about you?
- What are the five most interesting things you have done or that have happened to you in life so far?
- What do you think is your strongest ability and how did you end up being good at it?
- What do you like/love most about your life?
- What are you most proud of having accomplished recently or in the past?
- What new skills have you learned in the last year?
- What difficulties have you overcome to get where you are today?
- What important lessons have you learned from making mistakes?
- What training or educational experiences have you completed and what did you gain from those experiences (academic, athletic, artistic, etc.)?
- What groups are you involved with (school clubs, church groups, teams, etc.) and in what ways (member, officer, captain, etc.)?
- How do you spend your time outside of school (hobbies, interests, sports, friends, family, and volunteer activities)?
- In what ways are you making a difference in people's lives?
Teens
BRAG! Take-12 Self-Evaluation Questionnaire for Teens
- What would you and others (friends, teachers, parents, coaches, etc.) say are three of the best things about you?
- What are the five most interesting things you have done or that have happened to you in life so far?
- What do you think is your strongest ability and how did you end up being good at it?
- What do you like/love most about your life?
- What are you most proud of having accomplished recently or in the past?
- What new skills have you learned in the last year?
- What difficulties have you overcome to get where you are today?
- What important lessons have you learned from making mistakes?
- What training or educational experiences have you completed and what did you gain from those experiences (academic, athletic, artistic, etc.)?
- What groups are you involved with (school clubs, church groups, teams, etc.) and in what ways (member, officer, captain, etc.)?
- How do you spend your time outside of school (hobbies, interests, sports, friends, family, and volunteer activities)?
- In what ways are you making a difference in people's lives?
Six Tips To Insure You're Introduced With Impact
Make Sure Your Fans Get It Right!
Six Tips To Insure You're Introduced With Impact
Contact: Jane Rohman, 413-848-1407, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
MAKE SURE YOUR FANS GET IT RIGHT!
Six Tips To Insure You're Introduced With Impact
By Peggy Klaus
As an entrepreneur, I have counted on numerous friends and family members to be important sources for contacts and to spread the word about my business. Over the years, I've discovered I must literally put the exact words in their mouths to ensure they convey an accurate message about who I am and what I do. Well I guess it just shows that no matter how well you know the lesson, you can always screw up - because that's exactly what happened the other day at lunch.
I recently offered to put together a meeting to introduce a writer friend to some clients of mine - four partners in a well-established marketing and public relations firm who were looking for a freelancer. I thought I had prepared for everything - from a restaurant close by to everyone's office to a pre-lunch email outlining three things we were going to discuss. The one thing I failed to plan was a bragologue about my friend. Bragologues are succinct, story-like monologues that memorably capture and portray a person's interests or accomplishments. So when my introduction of her tumbled out, it was less than stellar. I tangled the details of my friend's job experience so badly that by the time I was done, she had worked for 79 years. Also, I was uncertain about her current projects and so incorrectly placed her at a job she left more than three months ago.
My friend graciously transitioned into telling her story without so much as a raised eyebrow or dirty look. Fortunately, after an hour and half of great damage control by the two of us, the partners asked her for a follow-up meeting the next week. As I was driving home, relieved that things had ended well, I couldn't help but reflect back on the situation. I realized my mistakes: I should have checked in with my friend prior to the meeting (and not just when we' were walking to the table). I should have written down her information and turned it into a bragologue. And I should have practiced several times out loud, paraphrasing the facts until they felt comfortable rolling off my tongue. Okay, so that's where I goofed. However, as much as I blamed myself, I had to admit my friend was also culpable. After all, it was her big chance to sell herself, so she should have given me articulate, entertaining, and up-to-the-minute bragologue material to work with. Truth be told, the couple of times I had asked her to go into more detail about her professional background, she sloughed it off saying, "Oh let's talk about something more interesting." Not a good sign!
The day after the meeting, when I called to apologize for my mishap, my friend asked for feedback about how she had presented herself. I suggested including more about the exotic places she's lived in, flushing out one or two of the most interesting articles she had written, and dropping the names of a few of the prestigious publishing houses she's edited for. And when at her next meeting with the partners, she did all of that - it worked! They commented about her breadth of expertise and gave her the coveted first assignment.
I can't stress enough the importance of making sure that people who are slated to introduce or talk about you - at a luncheon, an industry panel, a keynote speech, or even a cocktail party - have the facts straight. We tend to believe we have little control over what our friends, relatives, and colleagues say about us. Yet when others introduce you, they often either repeat what they have heard from you or make something up. So get your bragologues down, keep them current, and repeat them often. And make certain that everyone around you has the most up-to-date version. Remember: A successful word-of-mouth bragging campaign is contingent upon getting the right words in the mouth to begin with.
TIPS FOR GREAT INTRODUCTIONS
- Weave the details together in a story-like fashion to create a memorable bragologue.
- Be succinct.
- Keep the content fresh and updated.
- Be clear with others about what you want them to emphasize about you.
- E-mail your bragalogue to everyone who might need it. Don't get lazy about preparation - even with your spouse or best friend.
Peggy Klaus is a Berkeley, CA based Fortune 500 communication and leadership coach and the author of BRAG! The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It (Warner Books; Paperback, May, 2004, $13.95; Hardcover, May, 2003, $24.95).
BRAG Teen Mentoring
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE* TIME SENSITIVE
April 5, 2005
To arrange press clearance, please contact in advance:
Selena Morris, Media Relations, Merrill Lynch, 212-449-7283,
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Jane Rohman, Publicist for Peggy Klaus, 413-848-1407,
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Harlem Teen Girls Team Up With Wall Street Female Executives For BRAG! Connections Party on Monday, April 11th at Merrill Lynch
Communication guru Peggy Klaus will lead a "BRAG! Connections Party" with 65 high-school juniors from the Young Women's Leadership School of East Harlem (founded by Ann and Andrew Tisch) along with about 65 senior Merrill Lynch women and hedge fund executives who are members of a prominent philanthropic group called High Water Women http://www.hedgefundwomen.org.
The private event will be held on Monday, April 11th, 11:30am-1:30pm in lower Manhattan at the offices of Merrill Lynch, 250 Vesey Street, between West Street and North End Avenue, 3rd floor.
BRAG! Connections Corporate Outreach is an innovative cross-generational program that pairs aspiring youth with seasoned professionals to teach critical networking and self-promotion job skills to the employees and consumers of the future.
Innovatively expanding the line-up of BRAG! programs into the realm of corporate outreach, BRAG! Connections events are similar to the BRAG! parties and workshops that Klaus initially designed for business professionals. These interactive, meet-and-greet affairs allow participants to network and fearlessly practice tooting their own horns while Klaus reveals key self-promotion techniques interspersed with fun, experiential exercises.
"It's important for girls to take pride in their accomplishments and to believe in themselves," said Nancy Gleason, Director, Merrill Lynch. "BRAG Connections help girls learn the art of self-promotion, a skill they may not learn at home or school or that may even be discouraged, but that is critical in life."
"While we've come a long way baby, even teens raised on Britney are uncomfortable promoting their accomplishments at school, on the sport field, and ultimately in the workplace," say Klaus, a Fortune 500 communication and leadership coach, and author of BRAG! The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It.
Ann and Andrew Tisch founded the Young Women's Leadership School in 1996, in partnership with New York City's Board of Education. They believed it would offer public school families an appealing alternative to the larger, zoned public schools where girls' voices are often unheard.
More About Peggy Klaus:
www.peggyklaus.com
www.bragbetter.com
President of Klaus & Associates in Berkeley, CA, Klaus has spent nearly a decade advising some of America's top Fortune 500 executives in the art of self-presentation and promotion. She reaches thousands of professionals a year through speaking, coaching, and workshops on workplace and management communication topics for leading organizations including Levi Strauss, Disney, JP Morgan Chase, Booz Allen Hamilton, American Express and NAFE, among others.
Klaus has led over 100 BRAG events at a variety of corporations and organizations including SC Johnson, General Mills, Credit Suisse First Boston, Ladies Home Journal, Count Me In, GraceNet, Menttium, and the Harvard Business School Alumni Association
Also well regarded in higher education, Klaus has lectured on communication to students and educators at the University of California Berkeley's Haas School of Business and School of Public Health & Sciences. Most recently, she has served as a lecturer at Wharton's Executive MBA Program. She has also mentored and presented to teens on communication and leadership issues through the Professional Business Women of California (PBWC) and The CrossRoads Foundation/Backyard Project.
Learn How To Brag!
GRADUATES: IF YOU REALLY WANT TO GET AHEAD, LEARN HOW TO BRAG!
Contact: Jane Rohman, 413-848-1407, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
IF YOU REALLY WANT TO GET AHEAD, LEARN HOW TO BRAG!
By Peggy Klaus
As commencement day approaches on campuses across the country and as graduates set out to fulfill their life's dreams or to simply find a job, I have one piece of advice something that most commencement speakers will fail to mention: If you really want to get ahead in the world, you better be willing to brag!
Yes, brag-that four letter word that makes you cringe and conjures up unpleasant images of obnoxious, self-aggrandizing, pushy people. With recent studies showing that self promotion is essential for career advancement and that those who don't "toot their own horn" will most assuredly stall or derail in their climb up the success ladder, you've got no choice but to brag - the right way of course! Fortunately there is an artful way of turning the spotlight on yourself that will not only feel natural and comfortable to you, but to those on the receiving end as well. You start by learning to talk in a story-like manner about your interests, ideas and accomplishments, making your life sound interesting and entertaining. This is what I call a bragologue and it can be designed for any audience, for any length of time - from a 15 second introduction or a two minute answer in an interview. And when you deliver your bragologues with passion and enthusiasm to interviewers, I guarantee their ears will perk up and that they will listen intently to your story.
You see, now that you are out on your own, you won't land a job simply by wearing your best suit and your best shoes-or even by having a $50-an-hour writer put golden touches on your resume. You no longer have the advantage of a ready made cheerleading squad of parents, grandparents, teachers, and coaches to toot for you. And you shouldn't assume that your college placement office knows everything there is to know about getting a job. Unfortunately, my second-hand experience leaves me more than just a little wary of the advice being offered at many such offices. Let me give you an example. The daughter of a client, a soon-to-be graduate, came to me for some interview advice a few weeks ago. She had already attended three seminars at her university's placement office on "How to Get a Job in this Difficult Market." Their advice to her (and thousands of others) was full of "don'ts." Don't draw attention to yourself in a job interview. Don't wear clothing or jewelry that might make you stand out or distract the interviewer (women in particular!). And definitely don't use humor - applicants should answer all questions in a serious tone to appear older and more mature. Can you believe this advice? If after four years of higher education you don't have enough sense not to wear a halter-top to a job interview, you should have your diploma rescinded. For this young woman, the placement office advice resulted in her wearing an oversized, gray flannel suit-more befitting a 60-year-old matron than an attractive and petite 21-year-old newly minted graduate. And when I asked her to respond to typical interview questions, her delivery was so lifeless that I could barely stay awake. She projected such an unassuming, self-deprecating personality that I felt annoyed just listening to her talk. Is it any wonder that out of her five interviews to date, she hadn't received even one offer?
Absolutely not!
So before you leave those hallowed halls, make sure you have your bragologues in your back pocket at all times, ready to pull out at a moment' s notice. You never know who you will meet in an elevator, at a party, or standing in line at a check-out stand. Someone might just know someone who knows someone who heard about a great job in Chicago that is perfect for you. Make your story memorable, and I promise you will find getting a job much easier. Then after landing one, you can brag your way to the top, directly into that promotion or raise you will undoubtedly deserve.
Peggy Klaus is a Berkeley, CA based Fortune 500 communication and leadership coach and the author of BRAG! The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It (Warner Books; Paperback, May, 2004, $13.95; Hardcover, May, 2003, $24.95).
