We are all familiar with the concept of brands and the power can play in influencing behaviours, especially buying behaviours, but we often forget that our personal brand is just as powerful.\u00a0 It will impact your success professionally and will follow you wherever you go.<\/p>\n
Your professional brand is made up of the attributes that people will remember you by.\u00a0 Are you committed to quality work? Do you work collaboratively? Are you focused on delivering great service? Sometimes how we perceive ourselves is not how others do. Being aware of how your actions influence perceptions of others, particularly managers, leaders and colleagues is imperative to living your personal brand.<\/p>\n
Your brand includes your skills, passions, experience, work style and more. How others will evaluate your brand will be impacted by your professional image, the results you deliver in your role, and your style. We are working with a client to help their leaders – seasoned and emerging – to identify the behaviours and actions they can take to \u2018live\u2019 their personal brand. Doing so includes several elements. However, none as important as:<\/p>\n
We can all improve our communication skills.\u00a0 No one is a perfect communicator all of the time.\u00a0 The challenge with bringing our personal brand to life is that often the way we communicate doesn\u2019t do our brand justice.\u00a0 We don\u2019t choose the appropriate medium or use the right style to convey our best selves.<\/p>\n
In a world where we are bombarded by emails, we rely heavily on electronic communication.\u00a0 The advantages of this medium are speed, ability to communicate one message to many and the ability to track and capture messages.\u00a0 The downside is that only 7% of our communication is delivered through the words we use. That means we are losing 93% of our effectiveness by only dropping an email.<\/p>\n
When building your professional brand or wanting to improve how others perceive you, opt for live connections as often as you can.\u00a0 Grab a coffee, attend a conference, have a meeting.\u00a0 By doing so you will improve your ability to reinforce your personal brand. Given that tone of voice represents 38% of our communication and 55% is made up of body language, any opportunity to improve communication through face to face connections will improve how people perceive you.<\/p>\n
The term “Professional Image” is one of those elusive terms. What does it really mean to present a good image? It can include how you dress, the way you carry yourself, the language you choose to use and whether your style of engagement is formal or informal.<\/p>\n
In our business etiquette course<\/a> we work with Gen Ys who are new to the workforce to ensure they are demonstrating the appropriate behaviours for each individual organization. If you work at a bank you may not be able to wear flip flops or expect to bring your dog to work. If you work at a funky design agency that might be appropriate. As the saying goes ‘you only have one chance to make a great first impression’ so make sure it aligns to your personal brand and that it sends the message you want.\u00a0 Even experienced senior level leaders need to be cognizant of their brand and image. This is especially true when moving to a new organization where there will likely be new norms to align to.<\/p>\n Body language says a lot through non verbal cues such as gestures and body movement.\u00a0 As noted, it represents 55% of your communication message.\u00a0 Demonstrating positive body language includes:<\/p>\n Taking up space: <\/strong>Sitting or stand with your legs apart a bit. \u00a0This will signify to others that you are at ease with yourself.<\/p>\n Leaning in:<\/strong>\u00a0Leaning in slightly when someone is speaking demonstrates that you are actively listening while leaning away signals that you are disinterested or disengaged in the situation.<\/p>\n Open arms:<\/strong> Crossing your arms is the visual clue that you are turned-off by what is going on around you. \u00a0Practice hanging your arms comfortably at your side or bringing your hands together in your lap to show others that you are open to what they are communicating.<\/p>\n Talking with your hands:<\/strong> This is an easy way to incorporate gestures into your conversation but be careful not to over do it. \u00a0Emphasizing words with your hands can lead you to appear more credible and assured.<\/p>\n A firm handshake.<\/strong> Your handshake is one of the most important nonverbal communication cues because it can set the mood for the entire conversation. \u00a0A firm handshake will give you instant credibility while a weak handshake will make you appear fragile. \u00a0Take care not to be too forceful with the other person\u2019s hand though.<\/p>\n Making eye contact<\/strong>. Keep your head up and look the person who you are having a conversation with in the eyes both when they are talking to you and when you are talking to them. \u00a0 Good eye contact lets others know that you are interested in the conversation.<\/p>\n Affirmative movements<\/strong>: You can show engagement and empathy with simple actions of agreement like nodding your head or smiling. \u00a0These actions let people know that you are on their side and that you can identify with their situation.<\/p>\n Taking notes<\/strong>:\u00a0Taking notes lets others know that you value what they are saying and that you are engaged in the conversation.<\/p>\n Slowing down: <\/strong>\u00a0Take a deep breath, hold it for a second or two, and let it out. \u00a0Focus on slowing down your speech and body movements. \u00a0This will make you appear more confident and contemplative. \u00a0It will also help keep you calm if you are nervous.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What is your Personal Brand? We are all familiar with the concept of brands and the power can play in influencing behaviours, especially buying behaviours, but we often forget that our personal brand is just as powerful.\u00a0 It will impact … Continue reading