Practise your story before you need it

Have a clear, genuine two-minute narrative about who you are and where you’re headed.

Why it works

When asked "so what are you looking for?" most people give unfocused, rambling answers — not because they lack substance but because they’ve never organised and practised their own narrative. A clear, practised story signals that you know yourself, makes it easy for others to advocate for you accurately, and gives the conversation a foundation to build on rather than a vague starting point.

How to do it

1. Write out a two-minute version of: where you’ve been, what you’ve learned, where you’re going, and why it matters.
2. Practise it until it sounds natural, not rehearsed — the goal is fluency, not memorisation.
3. Test it in low-stakes conversations before high-stakes ones.
4. Update it as your direction evolves; a stale story is worse than no story.

Evidence

Narrative identity research shows that clear self-narratives improve both self-understanding and others’ ability to form accurate impressions. Practised self-presentation is a standard finding in interview and social skills research. (mechanistic)

The mechanism is well-supported in general; the specific format (two minutes, this structure) is practitioner heuristic rather than a studied protocol.

Common mistake

Practising your story only in formal interview contexts — it should be available in casual conversations too, which is where most career opportunities begin.