Speak For Yourself: 10 Ways To Communicate Your Personal Brand

Your personal Brand is your promise of value. It separates you from your peers, your colleagues, and your competitors. And it allows you to expand your success. Personal Branding is not about building a special image for the outside world; it is about understanding what is truly unique about you - your strengths, skills, values and passions - and using that to differentiate yourself and guide your career decisions. Achieving your professional goals requires understanding, nurturing, and, of course, communicating your unique personal Brand.

Here are ten areas well worth considering when working to communicate your Brand.

Use Power Tools for Remodeling (Your Image)
Developing an identity system for your communications will help you stay on-Brand. Here are some examples: Develop a logo or design for your Brand and apply it to your personal communications. Come up with a tag-line that communicates the essence of your Brand. Create personal business cards that are unique to separate you from your peers and competitors. Design a truly differentiated resume. Do something cool with your portfolio.

Be a Refined Individual
Take your existing communications tools and refine them to be more consistent with your Brand. For example, redesign your mail template to include your photo, an appropriate image, a Brand tag-line, contact details, or some other information important to expressing your Brand. You can do the same with your voice-mail greetings, etc.

Pick Your Tools Wisely n>From Blackberry to laptop, Bic to Mont Blanc, every tool you use says something about you. Does our briefcase reflect your Brand? What do you carry to meetings? Take a look at the tools you use. Consider the difference between hard-copy "to do" lists and a Palm Pilot? Which is consistent with your Brand image? And which do you use? If your answer is the same to both questions, you're on the right track.

Fashion Makeover
Make sure your fashion reflects your Brand, and is equally appropriate for your target audience. You may even want to develop a trademark. Sally Jesse Raphael has her red glasses, Richard Simmons has his tank tops, Tom Ford has his black suits. What do you have? Whatever you choose, ensure that it's on-Brand!

Seek and You Shall Find
Just because you're working for one part of an organization doesn't mean you can't support a project in another part. Search out projects consistent with your Brand wherever they may be. Or come up with your own initiatives. Identify needs within your organization, or the larger corporation, and develop a plan to satisfy them.

At the Office
What does your office say about you? What makes it speak in your unique voice? Have you moved to a completely e-office, or are you surrounded with paper? Are there items that communicate your interests, passions, talents, values, and strengths? Whatever your answers, be aware that what you have about you reveals a lot about you.

At Your Leisure
Your extracurricular activities are an important part of who you are. That includes travel choices, hobbies, clubs, sports, and any other outside interests that form a part of who you are. Work can not - and should not - be isolated from the rest of our lives. What TV shows do you watch? Where are you going on vacation? What do you do with your free time? The answers say a lot about you. Make sure they say what you want them to say.

Get the Message Out
Think about the many ways you can get your ideas out, further promoting your personal Brand. Considering e-publishing articles that connect your Brand with a relevant topic. Write for your internal corporate newsletter. Contribute to local community and professional organizations, and content-rich websites. Publishing will increase your visibility, highlight your strengths, and enhance your credibility - not to mention your portfolio or resume!

Speak Out
A great way to enhance your visibility and communicate your Brand is through public speaking. Presentations are most effective when they are authentic, delivered with your true voice, your true personal Brand. Volunteer for speaking opportunities at your office or with professional organizations.

Be Part of the Community
Volunteer. It's great way to give back to the community while you build your Brand. Choose an organization and an assignment that may offer the potential for future projects. Quite simply, volunteering is a wonderful way to do something great, and feel great doing it.