The Humble Brag Issue

Last week's little thing was all about those agenda slides...

This week's little thing is all about how to avoid the perception that your presentation is just one long humble brag....

Nothing turns an audience against you faster or more vehemently than a presentation packed with humble brags.

What's a humble brag?

Here's my definition: an ostensibly modest statement delivered with the actual intention of drawing attention to something of which someone is proud.

We have all sat through one of these presentations. Humble Braggarts say things like:

"Last week I was with a client - a major Fortune 500 company - who sells automobiles - the company name starts with an F and ends with a D... I can't say the name - but anyway, I was sitting in the boardroom with the CEO and... blah blah blah..."

Or, Humble Braggarts say things like:

"Let me show you what I did for one of our clients... I completely redesigned their website... I spent hours working with them to determine exactly what they needed, and here's the design I came up with... I've won a number of design awards for this project and I'm so proud that the website I designed converts at a 150% higher rate than their last one..."

I know this seems counter-intuitive and maybe even a little too soft-salesy for you, and I totally understand. However, do this little thing and you'll thank me in the long run and the audience will thank you immediately. Let's talk about ending the humble brag.