Personal Branding
Personal Branding
That’s a picture of my Nana, on her 80th birthday. She’s always been a brightly colored dresser, and always accessorized in a colorfully classy way. While our styles are different, I learned to embrace pops of color and to dress to enhance my confidence and personality. I’m here to help you with the same!
Nana’s personal brand has always been: family first, honesty, loving and caring for others, dependable hard work, enjoy the simple pleasures in life like a good chocolate pie, a fun card game.
Components of Personal Branding:
APPEARANCE
Let’s face reality. Your appearance is what people first judge you on. What does your hygiene, clothing and accessories convey to the world? Do they convey organization, poise and confidence? Do they show that you care?
OR
Do your hygiene, clothing and accessories convey that you don’t care to put forth effort into your appearance, thus you wouldn’t perceivably put forth the effort into a job, a project, a friendship, a conversation, a business?
COMMUNICATION
We have two ears, one mouth. Do you listen:talk in this natural 2:1 ratio? Or, do you do a tremendous amount of talking, and very little listening?
“You’re a good listener” is one of the highest compliments, in my opinion. I’ve learned this in the school of life, as a student, observer and teacher. At the base of it all, people have a very deep and wide need to feel seen and heard. But, we’re often so busy talking and listening simply to response, not listening to hear the other person, that we forget to absorb what they are saying.
Listening is a gift to give to others, in every facet of your life.
Speaking is an opportunity to share a compliment, nuggets of wisdom, validation, conversation, warmth, kindness, instruction, meaning, care, love, beauty, or the opposite of all of those: disrespect, disregard, ignorance, frustration, anger, hatred, disgust, impatience, ill intent, etc. How do you speak to yourself? You friends? Your co-workers? Your pets? Your children and family?
Excellent listener
Engaged and enthusiastic body language!
BODY LANGUAGE
Stand up straight, hold your shoulders back, keep your chin up.
Sound familiar?
These are but a few bodily communications we can change in a pinch, to change our energy and our attitude.
Shaking hands firmly, making eye contact, walking with confidence and poise, using the right utensils, keeping ourselves clean and tidy, controlling our facial expressions with intention, maintaining full body awareness and so much more are all within our control of how we present ourself to the world, and to ourselves. Sure, it takes some mental awareness and slight reconfiguring of your posture, but the benefits far outlast the short-term habit forming foundation.