The Way You Talk About Yourself Is Either Making You Money Or Costing You Money

Mess up your intro—and people will forget you.

Fast.

Because the first thing anyone asks is:

“So, what do you do?”

“Tell me about yourself.”

And just like that—you freeze.

Not because you don’t know who you are.

But because you don’t know what matters to them.

You don’t know how to frame it.

How to say it without rambling, bragging, or sounding like everyone else.

What you need isn’t a script.

You need a guideline you can flex.

And yeah—maybe a little guts.

If you read Part I, you already know the deal:

Job titles are dead ends.

They don’t connect.

They confuse.

They kill curiosity.

They slam the door shut.

In that post, I showed you a sharper way in—four questions to help you ditch the fluff and say something real:

1. What you do

2. Who you help

3. How you help

4. Why it matters to you

That formula works.

Always will.

But today, you’re getting a second tool for your kit.

Something just as simple.

Just as clear.

Just as human.

It’s called the Present–Past–Future—a way to build trust in under 60 seconds, without sounding like a robot or a résumé.

Here’s the idea.

Present: Start with where you are now.

Not a title. 

Not your industry.

Say what you actually do.

Who you help. 

What itch are you scratching?

Past: Then go back to where you came from.

What led you here? 

What’s your background? 

What did you study or used to do—and why did it stop being enough?

Future: Say what’s next.

Where are you headed? 

What are you building, chasing, changing?

Put all three together, and you’ve got an intro that does more than inform.

It connects. 

It hooks. 

It lands.

It’s a story. 

And a reason to lean in.

Want to see it in action? 

Here’s mine:

I’m Marian Chrvala. 

I study the world’s best communicators and share what I’ve learned.

Not to impress.

To arm you.

I help leaders sharpen their thinking and say what they mean in plain words—clearly, boldly, and with zero fluff.

So they stop rambling, start landing, and show up like they own the damn room—on stage, online, or across the table.

I spent years in corporate rooms, sat through the meetings, read the decks…and watched brilliant ideas die slow deaths—buried under slides, jargon, and buzzwords.

That’s where I learned what makes people tune out.

And what makes them lean in.

It’s not polish.

It’s not perfection.

It’s guts.

If your message feels messy, or your pitch gets polite nods but no real traction, we’ll fix that together.

We work side by side. 

You bring your perspective. 

I help you sharpen it until it’s as bold as you are.

We’ll cut the crap, keep the soul, and build the kind of clarity that gets people to lean in.

Not tune out.

It’s clarity for the bold, not the bland.

We’ll write, speak, rewrite, rehearse.

In real time, with real stakes.

Why?

Because nothing drives me more than seeing a smart person with a great idea finally get the response they deserve.

Not just a clap.

Not just a click.

But a hell yes.

That moment when their words land and something shifts in the room.

That’s why I do this work.

The right message, said the right way, doesn’t just move people.

It moves the world.

I want more thinkers, rebels, and disruptors to realise this:

In an AI world where content is cheap and everyone sounds the same, your edge comes from saying what others might not, can’t, or won’t.

You can’t just share ideas. 

You have to own one. 

Win hearts, minds, and markets by saying something real.

Loud and clear.

Step up.

Bring your message. 

I’ll bring the punch.

Hell yeah.

Clean.

No buzzwords.

No waffle.

Notice the structure—but also the soul.

It’s not polished to death.

It’s honest, fast, and true to the work I actually do.

“OK Marian, but which one should I use—4Q or PPF?”

Use both.

Try them, tweak them, see which one feels more like you.

They’re not rivals. 

They’re just tools.

Different vibes for different days.

You don’t bring a hammer to every job, right?

4Q gets you sharp and straight.

PPF gives you shape and depth.

Some days, you need lean and punchy.

Other days, you need flow.

Both work.

Neither includes “I’m a project manager” followed by dead silence.

Now that you have seen how I use PPF for my intro, build yours.

Present.

Past.

Future.

Write it.

Say it out loud.

Own it.

And for the love of clarity—stop hiding behind job titles that don’t say a damn thing about who you are.

Because if you can’t explain what you do in a way that sticks, you’ll never give people a reason to care.

And when someone asks, “So, what do you do?”— you’ve got a mic-drop answer ready to go.

PS. Do you struggle to set yourself apart from your competitors? Does your tone of voice lack a little personality? Either way, get in touch and I’ll help you become remarkable. Or get more communication advice that doesn't suck here.