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Lee Wilkinson

TEDCRED 20+

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Why do we sell ourselves so badly?

I have just finished being part of a team of interviewers for a major corporation and the main thing I noticed was that people in general do a poor job of selling themselves even when give the opportunity and encouragement to do so. It seems like a built in system that stops us from being our own best promoter and we default to putting on the brakes. Why is this? Are we hard wired to default to self destruction instead of self promotion?

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      Lee Wilkinson 20+

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      Jan 27 2012: Edward, I don't usually get into the yahoo style of rhetoric but I find it rather presumptuous of you to assume that I nor any of us are quite as ethereal as you. Like many people who frequent the annals of TED I have spent much of my life attempting to understand my fellow traveler and, while I have come across many such people they still remain in the minority. So I ask again why is it that so many of us have a difficult time promoting ourselves when the need arises?
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        Colleen Steen 500+

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        Jan 27 2012: I don't know what "yahoo style of rhetoric" is, there certainly are people like Edward describes, and it doesn't sound particularly "ethereal" to me. I think/feel that the way we talk, move, smile and make connections with others always projects how we feel about ourselves. Many times, that type of person doesn't need to "interview" because s/he has proved to be dependable, responsible and is welcomed into a team and/or working situation. Perhaps if we can understand what these people have, and how they offer those qualities, it could help answer the question "why do we sell ourselves so badly?" I believe this type of person projects confidence, as I've written in my other comments:>)
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      Gisela McKay 30+

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      Feb 3 2012: Unfortunately, this level of charm is often a trait of sociopaths.

      Ted Bundy, Paul Bernardo, etc. smooth talkers who were able to appear as you wanted them to appear.

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