How to Describe Yourself - Your Positive & Effective Qualities

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Why being able to describe yourself & others is helpful

Being able to describe yourself and others accurately is something we usually have to learn. This seems to be especially true in most western cultures where being honest about our skills, qualities and attributes can be confused with being arrogant, "blowing your own trumpet" and being excessively self indulgent.

(Below you will find a list of around 180 adjectives to help you describe yourself.)

I know from my experience of facilitating confidence and self esteem programs, that when participants are asked to state just five of their best qualities a hushed embarrassment fills the room. "I don't know," is the most common response. Conversely, we're all a lot better at listing our faults and failings and can get onto that task without any difficulty! It's like most of us haven't even dared to think about the question, "What's good about me?" - if that's you, then it's even more important that you read on.

Well ask yourself now! "What's good about you?"

How many descriptive words can you come up with? Knowing how to describe yourself is something that comes in very useful especially on resumes, job aplications and in job interviews. On top of that many of us now use dating websites, forums and have profile pages on various websites that ask us to describe ourselves or provide a bio. An added bonus to knowing how to describe our positive qualitities, is that it helps us combat all the negative talk that goes on in our heads - the voice that continually tells us what and where we're going wrong.


Why "good" is not so good

If you are a leader, manager or teacher

One of things that an effective leader will do is help others to identify their positive qualities, because people that feel good about themselves, will be better team members. Instead of using the word "good" all of the time think about a more descriptive adjective you could use. How about, "the way you got round that problem was really creative", or, "you're a brilliant mediator - the team works so much more effectively when you are around."

If you are a parent

As parents it's our job to help our children recognise their unique personal attributes. Again, being a "good girl" (or boy) is not very descriptive and will not do much to add to your child's self knowledge, sense of identity or confidence. One of the reasons most of us are so poor at describing our own positive traits is because our parents did not help us identify them. Next time you are thinking of praising your child, why not consider if there is a better word you could use instead of "good".

If you were looking for information on how to describe yourself physically then I'm sorry because you won't find that here. What we're going to do is get to the nitty gritty of who you are and help you find the words to describe yours and others unique qualities.

Words to describe yourself

Because we could all identify with 90% of these adjectives in some situation or other, I'd suggested picking 10 - 15 words that describe how you are most of the time, regardless of the situation. It might be helpful to think about who are you when you are on your own, doing your own thing? There will be very few other people who will identify the exact same combination because we are all different.


Honest

Assertive

Attentive

Direct

Broad-minded

Committed

Conscientious

Dynamic

Hard Worker

Persistent

Mature

Methodical

Motivated

Objective

Tenacious

Sociable

Friendly

Realistic

Reliable

Resourceful

Respectful

Responsible

Creative

Confident

Traditional

Trustworthy

Unconventional

Unique

Ecclectic

Inventive

Exciting

Thoughtful

Powerful

Practical

Proactive

Productive

Professional

Quality

Quick

Balanced

Achiever

Knowledgeable

Leader

Literate

Logical

Initiator

Original

Outgoing

Particular

Patient

Active

Positive

Consistent

Compassionate

Incredible

Independent

With Integrity

Mediator

Emotional

Cheerful

Forgiving

Sensuous

Generous

Sporty

Devoted

Candid

Rebellious

Cooperative

Industrious

Interesting

Racy

Meditative

Understanding

Quirky

Quixotic


Optimistic

Accomplished

Adept

Analytical

Articulate

Artistic

Self Disciplined

Contraversial

Individual

Tolerant

Naive

Green

Unselfish

Sophisticated

Stable

Strong

Successful

Tactful

Talented

Team Player

Fun

Intelligent

Changeable

Passionate

Intense

Intuitive

Upbeat

Vibrant

Funny

Constructive

Customer-oriented

Dependable

Direct

Loyal

Curious

Competitive

Political

Social Consciousness

Modest

Courageous

Enthusiastic

Enterprising

Entrepreneurial

Facilitator

Focused

Genuine

Open Minded

Wise

Sensitive

Sense of Humor

Sensible

Sincere

Skilled

Solid

Communicative

Helpful

Fast

Responsible

Results-driven

Results-oriented

Self-reliant

Organised

Knowledgeable

Logical

Personable

Pleasant

Flexible

Adaptable

Persuasive

Perceptive

Insightful

Trustworthy

Easy going

Good listener

Imaginative

Warm

Ambitious

Diplomatic

Leader


What's good about me?

These are the words I think best describe me:

  • perceptive
  • down to earth
  • open minded
  • knowledgeable
  • logical
  • analytical
  • tenacious
  • quick learner
  • genuine
  • warm
  • inventive
  • rebellious
  • direct
  • generous
  • insightful

Your list of positive qualities

So how did you get on? How does it feel to identify your positive qualities? Good I hope!

If you thought of any other positive descriptive words then please leave them in a comment below so that I can add them to the list.

Remember to bookmark this list in case you need to come back to it - you never know when you will be required to tell someone who you are or what's good about someone else.

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By inoow at 1:32 AM

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