Personal identity

There are at least three forms of presenting oneself to the public. As any form of presentation the form of introduction you use depends on your audience but also on your language skills.

A) Basic introduction of people

An A1-A2 student is already happy if she or he can answer basic questions about name, origine, place of living and some formal data required to fill in official application forms. Further, it would be useful to have some basic answers on questions about personality which can be found here.

Throughout the level B1-B2 learners become able to diferenciate more on the look of people, including gestures, manners, style, behavior and ways of thinking.

B) Brief presentation with impact - the USP

At the level of C1-C2 however, something very different is expected from you. CEF names categorizes it under the category ambition and career building. It is all about image management.

Image management is basically concerned with a few essential questions:

1. Who are you, what do you want and what are you offering to the society? 
2. Who is your audience, he society or group you offer your presentation to?
3. How can you answer these questions in one single and compelling sentence?

The result of these three questions is a Unique Selling Proposition (USP).

C) Your life story

Once the USP has been accepted and people want to here of you, the moment for your life story has come.

A life story is not a fairy tale. It is not an anecdote, neither a resum of your curriculum. It is a grand story that includes a single message about who you are through specific events in your life, told in less than 10 minutes. Find an example from the 2nd place winner at the Toasmasters International (TMI) Speech Contest 2012.

Would you dare to try and tell your own life story?