YOUR BUSINESS CARD SHOULD BE LIKE YOU!

As a student you share many of the same attributes of someone in the business world. You may meet people in the course of a day whom you do not know and who do not know you.

It is not always possible to spend a great deal of time talking with and getting to know the people you meet. Even when you do have time to talk, people are not always going to remember everything they learned about you.

People you see everyday - teachers, other students, parents, and family members - may not know things about you that you'd like them to know. When business people meet they exchange business cards. These small pieces of paper usually contain a person's name, the name of their business, and a title or description of the work they do, and a way to contact the person, such as a phone number or address.

Task

Create a business card for yourself. Your card should help others know and remember you. Ideally it should convey a sense of who you are, what you do, or your interests - cheerleader, history buff, teacher's assistant, class president, hall monitor, avid reader, or the only boy in a family of seven girls!

A business card generally focuses on a single facet of an individual or business. You may be a cheerleader who also raises rabbits and tutors younger students afterschool. Create a business card for just one of those aspects of your school life or extracurricular activities.

Steps

1. First, decide what you want your business card to tell others. Do you want to focus on your activities with the Art Club or do you want to announce that you are Class Leader? It may help to list everything about yourself then pick one topic.

2. Describe yourself. After deciding on what aspect of your school life or activities that you want to focus, make a list or write a description that tells about that part of your life.

3. Decide if you want a "serious" or formal card or something more light-hearted or informal.

4. Lst the major components of your business card. If appropriate, come up with a title for yourself. To put everything you want on this small card you may need to come up with different ways to say the same thing. Look for shorter words in place of long ones. Use a single word in place of two or three different ones. Experiment with abbreviations.

5. Look at sample business cards you or your class have collected. Identify those that have a style you might like to imitate or borrow.

6. Sketch out some rough ideas of how you want your business card to look - including any graphics you think you want to include.

7. If you can, transfer your rough sketches to the computer. Your may have software with templates or wizards that will provide you with even more ideas. If you cannot, send what you have to us along with other ideas you may have. We'll draft an online proof, then iteratively adjust it until you are happy, free of charge.

8. Print your final design and show to colleagues and friends so that you may get an overall impression of the card on paper.

How to evaluate your cards.

1. What is the focal point of this business card? (What part is supposed to catch the reader's eye first?)

2. What job, role, or activity does this business card describe?

3. Is this supposed to be a formal (serious) or informal (casual) business card?

4. When you first look at this business card what catches your eye first? (the graphic, the name, the color, etc.)

5. From reading this card, what job, role, or activity do you believe this person does?

6. Is the business card easy to read? Is the type large enough? Is there too much information or not enough information on the card?

7. Do you feel that this is a formal (serious) or informal (casual) business card?

8. Do you like this business card? Why or why not?

Conclusion

It is not easy to condense yourself down to the size of a business card but doing so may help you to focus on the most important aspects of yourself. It can also help to develop your vocabulary as you search for new words to describe yourself. It should also be clear that it is almost impossible to tell everything there is about a person from a single piece of paper.

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