The Art of Bragging - Adopt The Apprentice style

As you know, I am a great fan of The Apprentice: it is great entertainment, and I spend a great deal of the programme laughing and cringing. I know that the contestants are exhausted and stressed, and that the programmes are very cleverly edited, however, some of the contestants' comments are risible! Of course it takes a particular person to even apply for such a show. I came across the link below, from the BBC, which highlights the communication style of some of the contestants.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13338023

Of course it is difficult to judge how much to 'brag' - particularly when you are in a contest with other people. There has to be an element of self promotion within any business situation. Whilst we could ask for referrals, there is nothing like 'selling ourselves' or our services. BUT, as seen on The Apprentice, there is a balance, and showing off, or making ridiculous comments, only backfire.

Marketing of celebrities and musicians, is a particularly dangerous area; I am sure I am more cynical because I know an awful lot about this industry, but claims of "The world's best voice", "The most beautiful voice in the world", "You are another Nina Simone - that good", "The best singer song writer the world has ever seen". The problem with these comments are that a creative PR company or X Factor judge has put out a comment about their client. Before we know it, this is quoted as true for that artiste. The artiste has a long way to fall, and in some cases starts to believe the hype.

TV companies that are wanting to publicise an underperforming show "The popular show", "The rating winning show", "The cutting edge, cult show" - even though these programmes have 10% viewing on prime time TV and their viewing numbers are beaten by repeat daytime shows.

Another comment I've recently read "Possibly the best ********** winner we've ever had". - either he is the best or he isn't.

I wonder if individuals are mixing a dream or vision with reality. It is perfectly okay to dream that you are going to set up and run a business, with ultimately a £1M annual turnover. But to say "I'm running a global organisation with a £1M turnover", when you are in startup and the only part of your global empire is your website.

So my tip is: self promote - yes, but always be able to back up what you say with evidence!!!

Good luck.