How do you answer the “What do you do?” question
In conversation over lunch a friend mentioned that she finds the “what do you do?” question really hard. We discussed the answers that wouldn’t remotely cover the elements of who she is as a person and talked about how difficult it is to summarise a work history especially if you have a portfolio of work. .
This brought to mind a conversation with another very good friend in the early days of my business. She had mentioned that she was meeting me and had been asked what I was doing now . She said that she realised that she couldn’t tell them what job(s) I did but she could tell them that I was creative and someone who would deliver on what I promised. At the time I was troubled by that. How on earth could I sell my services to clients and potential clients if they did not know what those services were?
So I focused on answering the question with a short story about what I had been doing most recently or what was most relevant in the context of the meeting and found that that worked. Saying I was a coach kind of brought the conversation to a juddering halt – but talking about working with youngsters in schools on projects really got things going. Saying that I teach public speaking skills gets one reaction – telling a story about a participant on one of the programmes gets a whole lot more.
A huge advantage of having a real live online presence nowadays is of course that after meeting someone for the first time – or even before meeting someone new – you can check out their profile(s) and take it from there
I appreciate we are all advised to have an “elevator pitch” ready so I say my business is getting people to talk – as a coach and teaching communication skills that is exactly what I do!
I would love to hear what you answer when you are asked the “what do you do” question. Please share!
I just say I run a professional development company, then when they ask what does that mean…I go into one!!!!
Great opening line…and it gives you the permission to tell your stories! Thanks Dave
Hi Jackie, I normally say I do business make-overs, then when they ask what that is I talk about graphic design and brand identity etc.
I get so befuddled by this I’m sometimes embarrassed to call myself a marketer. Over the years I’ve learned that my brain refuses to settle on a single answer and so I’ve thought through a number of ways to open and discuss based on the type and profession of people I meet. All ends up meaning the same thing, but the lead changes with the circumstances. It’s also a skill that gets so much better with mirror practice, especially when one is a bit on the shy side.
I like that Janis..I expect that an opening, intriguing line like yours usually leads to curious questions!
Your comment made me smile Fred because I suspect that a lot of people in business are – as you describe it – “on the shy side” but have to cover that up in some way. And it sounds like you have found a way to get round that. Is it that you are confident that you have found that way that puts you at ease?
I answer the question like Fred, a bit differently each time depending on the audience. Perhaps that’s because “what I do” changes depending on the audience, perhaps I’m just changing my mind, perhaps I haven’t found a good answer; but it’s fun testing new explanations.
I like the idea of having fun with this Taylor – too many people get really hung up about “perfecting” the answer – there are bigger things to worry about surely?
Thanks for coming by
Although my work has now broadened out into helping folk with less than perfect relationships amongst other things, for a few years my line was I’m The Divorce Coach! It never failed to be a conversation starter – mainly as a source of amusement and awe that such a job might exist!
Unfortunately, the downside was that very few would take my business card home with them just in case their partner found it!!
Oh Jackie that last comment made me laugh. But yes I can imagine that it would lead to some very interesting conversations! Thanks for taking the time to comment.