Best way to answer the question: “Tell me about yourself”

We all have encountered this question a few times in our lives. It could be for job interviews, school interviews or at networking events. It may be implicit or explicit. Let’s look at this question from a job interview perspective. If you have not thought through this, it can seem like a straightforward yet loaded broad, open-ended question. You may find yourself rambling and saying whatever comes to mind. It is an excellent opportunity to leverage the answer to the best of your capabilities for your situation.

First of all, this question is not an invitation to narrate your entire life story. Neither is it meant for going through a checklist of your experience or your accomplishments. Instead, think of it as your first chance at an elevator pitch. An elevator pitch is a quick synopsis of your background and experience; being able to present yourself or your idea in a short time like during a chance elevator encounter.

You want to keep in mind that your intention in answering this question is to convince the interviewer that you are the best person for the job, while they are looking to understand how well you will fit into the role and the culture of the organization. Of course, you would have done the homework on the company and the position you are going after.

Take the time to think about what it is you have done in your experience or one of your strengths that will be a huge asset for the new role. For example, if developing and leading teams through building trust is your strength, when the interviewer says, “Tell me about yourself” – Begin by saying, I would like to start by telling you about this one time I was asked to suddenly lead a team which used to have a manager they really looked up to. I had to win their trust while improving performance at the same time quickly.

Keep it short. After this, narrate a brief current bio with tactical details. Make sure you share something personal about yourself too. For the rest of the conversation keep the format of Present, Past, and Future. Start with one to two sentences of each. If you are good at gauging people from their body language and presence, you may know which part they are most interested in. If not just ask, “What would you like me to elaborate more on?”

Remember throughout your answer focus on the experiences and skills that are going to be most relevant for the interviewer and also show your authentic self through your values and beliefs. After all you don’t want to work for an organization where your values are not in line with that of the organization anyways.

Most importantly, breathe and stay relaxed, share anecdotes and allow yourself to be funny; the person across want to know a little more about the real you.

Essentially, do not take this question literally. Use it to highlight your key strengths.

The author is the founder and CEO of Talent Power Partners a global Leadership Development company based in Bangalore. She is a Leadership Development Specialist, an ICF Certified Executive Coach [PCC] and author of the book Team Decision Making.

The views expressed in this article are not those of Fortune India.