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People often say how much they dislike having to market their own or their team's accomplishments at work and wish that their  results could just speak for themselves. But because of that thinking, many miss some of the easiest opportunities to get their work known.

Think about this. Within the last couple of weeks, how many times have you run into leaders at work who've asked, “Hey, how are things going?” or "What's happening?" And all you were prepared to say was, “great, “fine,” or “not too much” and then hurriedly move on? If that's happened more than twice, you're losing a prime-time spot for giving them a close-up on what you're involved in.

What everyone needs for these chance encounters are sound bites – those 15-second responses that give leaders updates on what might be of interest to them in your world relative to their world.

Not being ready with information that these leaders would find interesting or useful for their own work is one of the biggest professional mistakes you can make. Because while you're hurrying on by, many of your co-workers likely are stopping, if only for the moment, to let those leaders in on what's happening with their projects, with their teams, or what's new on the horizon. And that's how they get known and how you might not.

If you want to be sure that the outstanding work that you're leading gets cast in the right light to the right people, one way to make that happen is to put your sound-bite strategy in motion. When you do, you'll never be caught without a well-placed answer again. Here's how: 

1. Important People. List the 3 most important people who should know about you/your work/your team's work and who you're likely to run into in the hallways, elevator, cafeteria, in a meeting, or elsewhere on your work campus.

2. High-Profile Projects. Next, list the 2-3 high-profile projects you're working on right now. Catalog the top 2 recent accomplishments as well as the key 1 or 2 milestones you're expecting to accomplish and when. These are highlights only – sound bites – not a long list of what's going on.

3. Events/Meetings. Then, jot down the professional events you'll be attending or where you've been invited to present or speak, whether inside the company or outside at a professional event, and any important meetings or events you've got planned or are facilitating.

4. Sound Bites. Finally, get your one or two 15-second sound bites ready for each of the 3 people on your list.

Here's an example of how well this worked for one of our clients who wrote:

“I was riding in the elevator just this morning and saw a very senior person, he said what's up, and I said - 'I am very excited to be holding our first ever xyz meeting today that covers abc.' And he said, 'Where and when?'and he came to support me – amazing!"

Update your sound bites regularly. And with this plan in place, you can be sure that the next time you run into one of these important leaders and they ask, “Hey, how are things going?” you'll have a ready response.