TEN STEPS FOR THROWING A BRAG! PARTY

Improve your bragging while having fun with friends. Throwing a BRAG! Party is something like having a book group meeting, but with hands-on activities added for practicing your networking and self-promotion skills. Here are some ideas for getting started:

1. Send a few friends to this website.
   
   
2. Set a time and place to get together to work on your self-promotion and networking skills.
   
   
3. Ask everyone to bring some treats to share!
   
   
4. Read the book, BRAG! The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It.
   
   
5. Complete the Take-12 Questionnaire and bring to the BRAG! Party.
   
   
6. When you get together, start off by talking about what you read in the book. Give everyone a chance to say what caught their attention the most and why.
   
   
7. Ask each person if they are more likely to brag badly or not at all.
   
   
8. Go over the bragging myths from the book, and talk about which ones get in the way the most.
   
   
9. Next, take some time to create individual bragologues by using your Take-12 answers and the suggestions in the Create your own Bragologue section of this website.
   
   
10. Practice using your new bragologues by pairing off and doing the following exercises:
    

• One Minute Quiz - Person A tells Person B about their proudest accomplishment. The response should be within 60 seconds. Was the answer fascinating and easy to remember? If not, help them deliver with more enthusiasm. Now switch and have Person B do the exercise.
  
  
• Mock Interview - Pick one of the following interview situations: job, internship or college admission. Person A tells person B why they would be the perfect person to hire or accept. When they talk about themselves, do they sound like a robot reading from a resume or application? Not a good sign! Remind them to talk about their strengths as if they were telling a friend an interesting story. Now switch and have Person B do the exercise.
  
  
• Practice! - Take turns practicing in front of each other by delivering your bragologues the way you think your favorite movie star would, with a foreign accent, or by singing it instead of saying it.

After the BRAG! Party, continue to practice often with friends, parents, teachers, little sisters or brothers, the dog, the people at your cousin’s wedding, etc. The more comfortable you can become talking about yourself (in interesting and fun ways, of course!), the better you’ll be at self-promoting when situations come up that really matter. If you are a teen, parent or educator who wants more ideas for throwing a BRAG! Party, contact us by clicking here.