Have you ever encountered someone whose life story seriously blew you away? And you thought, “What a jerk!”
Bragging is not something new. We hear it almost every day. There’s always someone boasting about their new house, new car, good relationship, and so many other good things. On the one hand, we deserve to talk about these good things, because they’ve improved our lives. But do we have to talk about them all?
The thing is, there’s a fine line between bragging and genuinely sharing your success. Most people can’t tell the difference, so they end up being classified as a jerk, even when they actually are genuine. In case you’ve no clue how to share your success in a humble way, we’ve got 7 pointers for ya:
Be Grateful
Showing a little gratitude won’t hurt. Make it obvious that you don’t believe that being a decent person automatically qualifies you for luck. You can express your thankfulness by stating things like, you’re grateful for the opportunity given, or thankful for those who helped you. A small act of thanks will demonstrate your practicality and genuineness.
Avoid Humblebragging
Humblebragging is the act of subtly boasting about an accomplishment while making it appear more difficult than it actually was for you. It may be tempting to follow up your compliments about yourself with a self-derogatory statement. In fact, humblebragging makes people seem disingenuous. Therefore, refrain from passing off self-promotion as a complaint if you want to leave a good impression.
Keep It Simple
When discussing your accomplishments, keep it simple and always thank the individual who complimented you. At most, you might think about including a brief tale about a difficulty you faced or a lesson you learnt along the route to further emphasise your diligence. Beyond that, refrain from going into great detail about the challenges you overcame or the skills you required to be successful. This can give off the impression that you have arrogantly assumed no one else could have accomplished the same thing.
Don’t Belittle People
First of – this just makes you look mean.
Be careful not to criticise other individuals. Making statements like “No one else has made half as many sales as I have” won’t advance your position. Instead, you’ll only come out as rude. If you can, avoid making comparisons. It’s acceptable to state you were first if you were the first person to do or achieve something, but don’t mention or criticise other people.
Be Open
Most people love to share only the good part and leave out the part where things got ugly. When in actual fact, if you were to brag, you should include even the downside of your route to success. There were undoubtedly some mistakes along the way to your triumphs. Don’t be embarrassed; discuss them! Remember to express gratitude for any support or obstacles you received along the route. Sharing your route to success makes it easier for others to support you rather than discount your achievements. If you take all the credit and look for compliments, it’s simple to come out as arrogant. Tell us why you deserve to boast so that we will support you.
Don’t Overshare
Ok, whatttt?
I know we’re talking about how to brag politely, but still, there needs to be some limit. Some things need to be allowed to develop gradually. It’s possible that this will prevent someone from sharing something unique and memorable about you, but that’s okay. Just enough should be provided to make you distinctive and intriguing without overwhelming the individual you are speaking to. The very last thing you want to do is try to fit in a feat which has no relevance. Instead of forcing your successes into discussions solely to brag, work them in where they naturally belong.
Focus On Your Tone
It’s so easy to sound like a total show-off if you’re not paying attention to your tone. How you present your accomplishments greatly affects how they are accepted. There is a big difference between saying, “Wow, I’m actually really proud of myself for that,” and saying, “Yeah, actually, I knew I’d be able to do that anyways.” Focus on avoiding matter-of-fact tones to prevent your tone from coming across as haughty. Maintain a cheerful, appreciative, and light tone.
