What Is Your Brand? "yes, you have at least one!"
Personal Branding is typically represented in both affirmative and active terms; it expresses - through visual, auditory, and kinesthetic forms - what you think is best about the data that your Personal Operating System continuously processes. Branding is used to describe the unique mix of your tangible and intangible goods (social style) and how you physically manifest those goods through your communication portals.
In describing you, friends or acquaintances may use partial branding terms or phrases such as: 'life of the party', 'jack of all trades', 'go-getter', 'super woman', 'old soul', or 'Renaissance man' to capture some observable elements of your P. O. S. Branding can run the gamut of the serious to the silly and the brash to the benign, but - ultimately - it helps to present a clearer and deeper understanding of just who you are. It explains why you can have friends who connect with you but who are very different from each other.
Listed below are some examples of personal Brands. The brevity of their descriptions belies the fact that Brands are indeed complex mixes of: likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, talents and skills, experiences and interests, as well as personality and social style. Be mindful to establish personal honesty at the core of your Brand mix. In so doing, you help prevent your Brand(s) from becoming faddish or complete imitations of those with whom you socialize, admire, or favor. Your Brands should represent a clear understanding of the message(s) that you feel comfortable broadcasting publicly.
Try these alliterative descriptions of Brands on for size:
Liberal and lively
Conservative and charming
Smart and stylish
Confident and classy
Unpredictable and urbane
Honest and humble
Worldly and wise
Artistic and active
Loyal and loving
Driven and dramatic
Idealistic and intense
Cheerful and comforting
Bright and beautiful
Sassy and sagacious
Talented and timeless
Soulful and sapient
Outspoken and original
Bold and brilliant
Funny and flirty
Intelligent and introspective
Elegant and engaging
It is good to remember that most celebrities have become successful by learning to use their Brand(s) in ways that clarify their personal lives as well as enhance their public and professional images:
Can You Have More Than One Brand?
The answer is an unequivocal YES! Most of us have multiple brands depending on a mix of any number of factors such as: our lifestyle, our level of maturity, our employment, our current social circumstance, our immediate mood, or a particular occasion. It is important to understand that gaining clarity on your Brand(s) is the key to identifying (visually), describing (verbally), and expressing (physically) you in simpler terms known as word pictures. Your brand 'mix' always manifests itself physically and is revealed in combinations of the following twelve expressions:
Your walk, Your talk, Your writing, Your clothing, Your grooming, Your body art, Your social affiliations, Your music and books, Your hobbies and interests, Your personal vehicles, Your sports and pets, and Your home dcor
Try selecting at least three 'brand' descriptors (from the list above) that you think most closely represent how you - and others - tend to see you. You can mix and match the various adjectives to create the most accurate word pictures. If you are able to verbally express to a friend your choice of descriptors and how they best represent who you are, you have successfully understood that we all have more than one dimension. It is healthy and purposeful for each of us to continually evolve and - sometimes - to even reinvent ourselves. Our friendships and relationships can grow more meaningfully when we are able to find acceptance. Unfortunately, socio-economic influences, the fears, the restrictions, and the judgments of others can hinder our journey to self discovery.
The objectives in identifying, verbalizing, and living your Brand(s) are to enhance and to experience healthy rapport with others. Your Brand(s) make it easier for like-minded people to recognize 'you' and to initiate or respond to attempts at establishing a mutual rapport.
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