- Don’t brag about things that people can contradict in your profile. For example, if you write that you love to dress up, you better have pictures proving it. Or, if you write that you are a grammar nazi, you better not have any grammatical errors.
- Often when people brag, they use congruent body language and/or tone of voice. If you would say it in person with a big shit-eating grin, don’t use it online.
- A better alternative is almost always false modesty, otherwise known as a humblebrag which at first glance is a putdown of yourself, but is actually a brag. However, this will backfire if it is too obvious. For example, Last time I got up for karaoke night, the only people that complimented me were people over 50 or Some days I accidentally put my phone in the freezer and wonder how I got into Stanford.
- Phrasing. It’s usually acceptable to brag outright about something that’s happened to you, versus something you’ve accomplished. For example, which sounds better: I’m an awesome chef and recently made the best beef wellington, or My mom used to make me recite the ingredients for dishes she would make me, so I’m a pretty awesome chef.
- Is this something you actually want to brag about? Talk about things that are objectively attractive to females, not the fact that you’ve beaten Final Fantasy 10 times.
- Perform an eye-roll check. If you’re embarrassed to say it to friends, or think they would roll their eyes, you’ve got a problem.
