6 Tips to Take Bios From Boring to Brilliant

• Make it real by asking team members to draft their own bios to guidelines you provide.
• Advise them to write in third person (as if someone else is writing it for them) — this enhances the professionalism and makes readers more willing to trust what’s being said.
• Use a conversational tone.
• Split bios into short paragraphs to make them easier to digest, and for online versions, include supporting information as links whenever possible.
• Skip nonessential details such as hometown and all degrees.
• Add a personal end note as a finale. This is the kind of info that readers can relate to quickly on an emotional level.

These Clean Water Action team bios are clear, friendly, brief, and highly effective in establishing comfort and a sense of the organization. I was particularly engaged by the personal end notes. Here’s one that helps me get a real sense of Michael Kelly, communications director: “You can usually find Michael wandering through any of the Smithsonian Institutions (Free! Museums!) when he’s in DC. When he’s not in the District, he works from home in Seattle where he lives with his long-term partner Lauren.”

4. Incorporate these elements in each bio. (Share this list with your colleagues as they draft theirs.)

• Introduce yourself as if you’re meeting a stranger. Lead in with your name. People need to know who you are before they hear what you’re all about.
• Talk in the third person.
• Immediately state what you do. If you are “communications associate,” don’t wait until the last moment to say it. This establishes your role or niche right away. Your most important details should go in the first sentence.
• Touch on your most important accomplishments, rather than listing them all. A bio is not a résumé.
• Include items of professional interest. Make note of your most important or relevant professional designations, associations and awards. These show you have deep connections in the field.
• Make sure you mention speaking engagements and/or published articles or books. Such credibility boosters are subtle third-party endorsements.

5. The photo makes the initial connection — make sure it’s a good one.