You don't need a bigger audience. You need a braver send finger. A few weeks…
How to answer “What do you do?”
Every time someone asked what I did, I gave them the perfect answer to make them stop asking. Two words: “Not much.”
Picture a networking event. Nice venue. Name tags. Slightly warm chardonnay.
Someone turns to me, smiles, and says the words I should have been ready for: “So — what do you do?”
And I said, “Not much.”
I want to tell you that was a one-time slip.
It wasn’t.
For years, every time someone asked me that question, my brain evacuated the building. I’d mumble something vague, wave my hand like I was dismissing the whole topic, and watch their face shift from curious to confused to politely checked out. They didn’t know what to say next. I didn’t either. So we both looked at the appetizer table.
I told myself it was humility. I didn’t want to be one of those people — all bravado and business cards, talking to you for 20 minutes about their personal brand strategy.
But here’s what I know now: it wasn’t humility. It was social awkwardness in a blazer. And it was costing me.
I’m someone who thinks deeply, teaches boldly, and genuinely loves what I do. For years, no one knew it. Because the first thing they heard from me was “not much.”
Eventually I had to get serious about it. I memorized my elevator pitch. I practiced it until it felt like mine. And when I finally said it out loud — clearly, specifically, without the hand wave — people leaned in. They smiled. They asked follow-up questions. A few of them hired me.
Here’s what I learned from that process.
Principle #1
Clarity is a kindness.
When your answer is vague, you’re not being humble. You’re making the other person do the work of figuring out who you are. That’s exhausting for them — and invisible for you.
The same is true on LinkedIn. A headline that says “Experienced Leader | Passionate About People” tells someone nothing about who you help or why they should care. Be specific. Name what you do and who it’s for. That’s not bragging. That’s respect for the reader’s time.
Principle #2
Your story connects before your credentials do.
I didn’t nail my pitch by memorizing a formula. I nailed it when I stopped leading with my resume and started leading with something real. Credentials tell people what you’ve done. Stories tell people who you are. And people hire who long before they hire what.
Your LinkedIn About section is not a bio. It’s not a job description. It’s the place where NORA — your ideal client — decides if you get her.
Principle #3
The impression is happening whether you manage it or not.
This is the one that got me. I thought silence and vagueness were safe. They weren’t. They were still an impression — just not one I’d chosen.
Right now, someone is clicking on your LinkedIn profile. Someone is reading your headline and deciding in eight seconds whether you’re worth a DM. The only question is whether you’ve crafted that moment, or left it to chance.
This week inside the Next Chapter Visibility Collective, every new student receives a LinkedIn Profile Audit — an $800 consulting value — included when you join before May 17th. I’ll go through your profile personally: your headline, your About section, your banner, your featured section. We’ll make sure the first impression your profile gives is actually working for you.
Cheers,
Leanne
P.S. The “not much” era is behind me. If yours isn’t yet — let’s fix that.
P.P.S. My real-life newsletter goes deeper – more insights, more goodies, and more of the good stuff you won’t find anywhere else. If you want in, you can subscribe right here. I’d love to have you.
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