You have two options with the final
screen of the exercise:
-
Print, and look
for patterns as to where your strengths lie.
Take advantage of them in presenting yourself to others, and in how
you can compensate for short-comings
-
Copy and paste
each section into word processing.
Then edit the four groups into a document that you can review as
above.
Four components of your personal brand:
-
Appearance:
Your body language,
clothing attire and overall posture.
-
Personality:
Your behavior,
communication skills and attitudes toward people.
-
Competencies:
Your special skills fulfilling task requirements.
-
Differentiation:
What separates you from others and leaves a lasting memory in the
minds of others.
Make good use of your first impression,
whether in the real or digital world. Decide what works best for you
and then go out and do it.
Prepare, know the path, enjoy it and be yourself. 1
In person:
In just a few seconds, with a brief glance, a person unfamiliar with
you will evaluate who you are based upon your appearance and
personality.
This first impression is critical, not only with
employment, but also in your social life.
Think of yourself as a
delivery mechanism. When you begin to identify, enhance and
integrate/increase the importance of these positive elements into
your personal brand, you can think of it as packaging who you are,
what you have to contribute, and how you interact with others.
By
strengthening these elements, you also strengthen your confidence
level in operating from the vantage point of what is familiar and
true to yourself.
With groups
Your public image is critical when you are addressing your class or
a larger group. People generally retain or remember 4% of the
content of any presentation, speech or talk, but they always
remember 100% of how they felt about it.1
Integrate these elements in order to build your core personal
message, unique to you.
-
Be
well-prepared, then write out or outline what you have to say.
Recognize the importance of writing to the sequence of what you have
to say. Sort out the main ideas, then prioritize them so your
audience can follow your train of thought.
-
Practice what you have to say in front of a mirror.
You make think
you make beautiful music, but others may just hear noise.
You’ll feel a bit strange at first, but eventually you’ll see and
hear yourself as others, and so work out the stumbles.
-
Work out what type of “guide” you need in presenting,
whether a script, note cards or projected outlines, whether with
illustrations or images.
-
Develop supplemental materials:
a business card, hand-out with
references and resources, contact information, etc.
Online/networking
When you package yourself online, whether in a personal or community
Web site, consider this your public image and remember that you are
not there to interpret what others see, and read.
Remember that
your presence on the Internet is archived (www.archive.org) and will always be
available to anyone, employer or social group, who search for it.
-
Pay attention to how you present
yourself.
Keep your personal life private, especially on the Internet and
World Wide Web
-
Develop a
personal/professional logo and use it on your
business card, presentations, and digital profiles
-
Develop a Web page that you control,
whether professional or personal, as your portfolio.
A personal Web site will also enable you to have a related
personalized email address!
Keep the URL/address simple, content up-to-date.
Include work
history, accomplishments, interests, etc.
-
Coordinate what you put online,
whether in social Web sites (i.e. Facebook), or your pesonal Web site. Be aggressive in projecting your strengths and a positive image.
Research do’s and don’ts!
Social Web sites include
MySpace,
Facebook,
Nexopia,
Bebo,
Hi5,
Tagged,
Xing,
Skyrock,
Orkut,
Friendster,
Xiaonei and
Cyworld.
Frequently review
Wikipedia for the latest.
Professional
Web sites include
LinkedIn,
careerbuilder.com,
Jobfox, and organizational Web sites that may enable you to list
yourself.
When these assets are integrated, they
become your core personal message, unique to you.
In order to
impact those around you, use your personal brand to differentiate
yourself and make a positive impression.
You will also strengthen
your confidence level since you will be presenting from your position
of strength.
As you develop or cultivate your brand, you
become in charge of how you present yourself and act.
Begin
with an honest assessment of where you are at, then determine where you need
to go.
A brand is not static, but constantly in development,
altered by situations and accomplishments.
Beware:
In the era of the social Web,
everything we create and share online is open to discovery,
interpretation, and feedback – positive, neutral and negative.
Remember that you are not there to interpret what others view and
read.
1.
Adapted with permission from
Dan Schawbel and
Lou Longo:
Personal Branding Comes to the Rescue when
Speaking Publicly
Flash exercise
based upon the research and guide by Joe Landsberger, Flash
design by
Lukas Mills, Interactive Media DHA
5341 Fall 2008, Interactive Design; Brad Hokanson, faculty,
College of Design, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN; Flash
coding assistance
by Steve
Kladstrup, Independent Flash
Developer,
Minneapolis, MN.
Website overview: Since 1996 the
Study Guides and Strategies web site
has been researched, authored, maintained and supported by
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as an international, learner-centric, educational public service. Permission is granted to freely copy, adapt,
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