Unless you’re an expert at writing biographies, writing a personal statement is not a skill that you have much practice in. In fact, many people dread writing about themselves. It can seem daunting because you cannot choose exactly what about yourself is most intriguing. You are probably thinking, “What story about my life could help me to earn this new position?” Honestly, that is what it’s all about: writing a compelling story about yourself to convince others that you deserve a shot at what you're applying for!

A personal essay is a moment to be introspective. It is a moment to captivate the mysterious people that hold your college entrance, your scholarship, your internship, or your next job acceptance in their hands. When you’re asked to write about yourself, you have the power to let these important people know more about who you really are. Don’t think of at it as an intimidating exercise. Think of it as a moment to learn more about yourself. While you’re at it, use these tips and tricks to write the personal statement that you never knew you could.

1. Interview someone about yourself

Schedule an interview to learn more about yourself. Who is someone that knows you better than anyone else? In fact, list two or three of those people. Take them out for tea. Grab a notepad or a voice recorder and have a serious conversation with them. Ask them to describe you to you. Some great questions to ask include:

• What are my strengths?
• Describe me in three words.
• What surprises you about me?
• How am I making a difference in this world?
• Where do you think I’ll be in 5 to 10 years?

Even if you know yourself better than anyone else, taking the time to understand how other people see you can be very beneficial. The people nearest to you can point out qualities about you that you may gloss over because you are humble. They can point out flaws that will make you want to improve. This person may even tell you something about yourself that you never before. Talking with them could even help you to develop a storyline for your personal statement! Look at yourself through someone else’s eyes to help write a more dynamic essay.

2. Tell a story

The best way to connect with others is through storytelling. Marketing teams do it, people preserve their history with it, your favorite blogger does it. Telling an intriguing story has the power to draw people in and fascinate them when it is done right.

An easy method to remember to help you tell a good story is to:

• Highlight a struggle or accomplishment
• Explain how you were inspired and how you overcame
• Leave the reader with a moral or message

3. Be succinct

This step is for the people who LOVE to talk. Some people are natural-born communicators that love to talk about great memories and fun life experiences. If that is you, GREAT! Draw from that love of talking and write it down. Write until your heart's content. Then, edit yourself like crazy. Enlist the help of a peer or someone else you trust to help edit your writing, as well. Cut out any fluff or extra words that don’t serve a meaningful purpose in your essay.

For example, let’s say you decide to write a scholarship essay about the time you volunteered at a nursing home, and how that experience made you want to become a nurse. Don’t include the part about how you saw a baby cat outside and almost wanted to go to school to become a veterinarian, but changed your mind because it’s mom came along and saved it. Cute story, but that is very unnecessary. Stick to the points that really matter. A great story can be short and sweet.

4. Be vulnerable

For the shy and reserved, this step is especially for you. Shyness can get a bad rap sometimes. Some people believe that if you're shy, you won't succeed because you're too afraid to participate in life. It may be hard to share the story that you believe has had the most impact on you. However, shyness is not equivalent to a lack of talent. You can be shy, confident, and successful at the same time.

Here’s a spin: why not talk about your shyness? There are many great qualities that come along with being shy. Shy people can be observant, have great discernment, think tactically, and more. This is a chance to look at what others may perceive as a flaw, and show the beauty and strength in it. Stories like that make for an excellent manifesto.

5. Develop a writing prompt

A personal statement is an extremely open-ended article with very few requirements set forth. If you work better when given a more clear-cut set of instructions, why not create your own? Having a set of rules, or even just a more detailed writing prompt, may help you to create a better autobiographical narrative. Examples of prompts that you could create for yourself to produce a noteworthy reflective essay include:

• Share your personal characteristics or skills, and tell a story that highlights them
• Share your career goals and how they came to be
• Tell why your life story is unique
• Talk about a challenge you faced and how you overcame it

Have you started writing yet? If not, what’s stopping you? Now that you have these simple steps to help you, use them to create a winning statement. Remain humble, yet let your light shine in your writing. It is all about you and how you can be a great addition to the organization that you are applying for, after all. You have everything that you need to write a great personal statement already within you.