"We are what we repeatedly do." – Aristotle. The word 'brand' might not have crossed Aristotle's mind when he said this. But nevertheless, your cumulative identity and the impression that you create in people's minds is actually your personal brand. Impressions matter in every circumstance and at every touch point with people. Personal branding allows you to show the world your best true self. Essentially, your personal brand is the way in which others remember you -through your actions, your expertise and the emotional connections that you make.
Whatever you do and whoever you are, success in your field and in life depends a lot on how you make others feel. It is not just your occupational deliverables that matter or determine success.
A strong and favourable personal brand can help you stand out among others. But what exactly is a personal brand and how can you build one? Well that's exactly what we are going to discuss here.
A personal brand is the unique combination of skills, personal traits and experiences that make you who you are. It is the way you present yourself consistently to the world and the impact that you create. Creating a winning personal brand requires thoughtfulness, knowledge and the right set of attitudes. Broadly, there are these three things to remember- self-awareness, tell and live your story and deepen your relationships.
Know brand YOU
Everything starts from the original entity that is your true self. At a given point of time, we all are a product of our learnings, the environments that we have been in and the experiences that we have gone through. Therefore, it's important to have a neutral understanding of who you are. Your looks, habits, deeds, tribe, culture, strengths, weaknesses and your friends in life are what make you who you are. However, a clear assessment will lead you to an understanding of what all you need to retain and what you need to tweak inorder to build your compelling personal brand.
Be authentic
There's a saying, "Be you, the world will adjust". This denotes/reiterates that the individual characteristics that shape you and make people recall you in a favourable manner are the ones which need to be retained (at the core of you as an entity). That is what makes you authentic. Authenticity is also about acknowledging the 'non-changeables' in our lives. Trying hard to be someone that you are actually not will only depreciate your image. The most successful personal brands are those that are authentic and genuine. You just have to be passionate about all that you do and you will automatically shine through.
Be truthful and trustworthy but remain interesting
People spend time with and buy from people who are trustworthy yet interesting. Nobody fancies a reliable, matter-of-fact person who's a complete bore. Truthfulness is sacrosanct, but how you connect with someone on a human level is very critical in being likeable and memorable. To achieve this, you don't have to be a magnificent entertainer. All you need to do is to understand that you are dealing with a human being and not a robot. The rest will follow.
Be as good a communicator as you can be
Respect, empathy and clarity- these are the ingredients of effective communication. When you give due importance and respect to someone, you tend to listen to that person carefully. Come across as an 'empath' in your verbal and written communication acts (whenever required) as empathy is the veritable oil in the machinery of effective communication. When it comes to driving a point home or sharing anything, a clear message with a pleasing demeanour always translates to a potent combination. Your personal brand's equity depends quite heavily on your communication skills.
Be consistent, but stay relevant
At the end of the day, your consistency in terms of thinking process, behaviour and actions go a long way to build your unified persona. For people to certify or vouch for your endearing and commendable qualities, you need to do them again and again. But here is the catch. Ignoring social, cultural developments and current trends will make you a fuddy-duddy. So, being contemporary in your personal style, vocabulary and sensitivity and simultaneously balancing this with your core is the real trick.
Develop a personal style
Somehow, perfect is boring. Besides, who decides what's perfect? An interesting hairstyle, a signature perfume, a dressing-up sense that's fascinating or some clever personal accessorisation- all these or one of these will help to create that differentiator in your brand value.
But care should be taken not to make yourself the butt of any joke. A weird body language or an extremely bizarre clothing sense has the potential to turn you into a laughing stock; unless of course you are a hip hop star.
Develop a good sense of humour
You might say that sense of humour is inbred. Since learning humour is one of the ingredients of language development for a child, one's sense of humour can be further developed as an adult too. Humour is a great lubricant in the wheels of social interaction. People having a great sense of humour are normally pleasant. Humour happens to be a great leveler. It's almost impossible to remain angry with a person who has the capability of making you laugh. People with sharp wit and a formidable sense of humour tend to be intelligent and sharp. Know which joke to share/forward and to whom on social media.
Be prudent and social on social media
You can't afford to ignore social media in today's time as part of your personal branding strategy. Being present and active on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn gives others a chance to know more about you. Ultimately, social media is what you make of it. What you post, how you respond to others, what you avoid responding to, and what you laugh at, all these give signals to people about your thoughts, beliefs and attitudes.
Read. Watch. Listen.
A well-read person always shines in any inter-personal or social conversation. The depository of information and knowledge in you comes into good use when you talk, write or speak on a public platform. Reading across genres, watching and listening to enlightening contents on electronic and digital platforms and making apt use of the valuable nuggets at the right place and in the right context is a sure shot winner for your personal branding endeavour.
Building a winning personal brand definitely takes time and effort, but it is well worth it. By definition, your personal brand is unique to you. So use your sense, creativity and imagination to make it stand out. Personal branding is not about projecting a glossy, make belief persona to the world; it's about being true to yourself yet remaining interesting for the world.
By: Md. Anisul Hoque
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