Effective public speaking can be developed by
joining a club such as Rostrum, Toastmasters International, Association of
Speakers Clubs (ASC), Speaking Circles, POWERtalk International, or
AllPublicSpeakers.com in which members are assigned exercises to improve their
speaking skills.
I can also build my skill by attending public
speaking competitions and watching and learning from presenters.
The key word in giving effective public
speeches is preparation. Successful speakers must be inspired and inspiring.
They must continue to learn and grow. If the speaking career is going to be
long-term, the speaker must be upto-date.
“Once you get people laughing, you can tell
them anything”
- Herbert
Gardner
I will
get myself a coach. Allpublicspeakers.com is a good place to find reputable,
well qualified, coaches. When I start my career, I should speak anywhere to anybody at any time under any circumstances where
they give me an opportunity. I would offer to speak free, if necessary. I
will treat these engagements like learning opportunities.
• join a club (allpublicspeakers clubs)
• read a book
• watch a video (youtube)
• network with fellow public speakers
• pay for a course (www.allpublicspeakers.com)
Personal Development is the greatest form of investment I can ever
make. It involves engaging in activities
which enable me to identify and develop my talents and skills to realize my
potential; and set and achieve my goals and dreams so as to enhance the quality
of my life and contribute to my people and my community. The first step is to
acquire knowledge, either through the people I meet, or the books I read.
However, just as the bible warns that, ‘faith
without action is dead”, so is reading and not applying counterproductive.
Indeed, just as the Quran advises that, ‘next
to knowledge must come action,’ the positive results will only come from
daily application of the lessons and strategies. I will focus on applying
what I have learned in the books I have already read. The
Buddhists are right, ‘to know, and not to use, is not yet to know’.
Whether I realize it or not the greatest
brand in the WORLD is me. It should be twice as important for me to build a
brand for myself. Concentrating on my own self-image will place I above others
who lack charisma, appeal, and influence, in order words, day and night I
should be thinking of new ways to better position myself by enhancing my
character, positively and confidently. Here's a list of what personal branding
can do for me:
o
Differentiate I from others
o
Position I on the minds of others
o
Develop loyalty from others
o
People will be clear of who I
amand what I stand for
Just like any business I should have a
strategy behind branding and recreating myself. It is important to find ways to
show that "I" are the total package in order to be desirable.
Remember being known for what I do differently is more important than just
being known. I want people to believe in I and have the impression that I amthe
best and perhaps the ONLY solution for what they need. Day in and day out I
amconstantly competing with others, whether it's for a job, a date, a
promotions, I amout there striving to prove that I amnumber one. But what image
am I presenting? Do I pay attention to the things that matters the most? Do I
walk around with my head down displaying a lack of confidence? How do I think
others perceive I? What can I do now to begin recreating myself? Be honest with
myself; determine who I amnow and determine who I want to be.
Believe that I ama work in progress. My
strategy should be trying to build my brand. Feel the power behind branding
myself. Once I have completed the self-discovery phase start putting together
the entire package, don't fall short of anything. Do what I need to do for
myself. Companies spend millions of dollars each year on the packaging of their
products and services. Why? Because like it or not people judge packages based
on appearances. I must look the part; remember someone is always watching, so
therefore packaging is everything. If I need to start by changing my wardrobe,
my hairstyle, the way I talk and the way I walk-DO IT-because like they say
"first impression means everything" and my number one goal should be
to display my confidence. Someone once said "If I am not appearing, I am
disappearing,". People recognize and reach out to confident people.
Began recreating myself today, write down
five things I want to change about myself; the key is to be honest. I suggest
starting from the inside out, which could mean letting go of the past and
looking ahead! I am my greatest brand, recognize my potential, I have nothing
to loose but an entire life to gain.
In life, as in business, branding is more
effective, powerful, and sustainable than marketing and sales and an effective
way to eliminate my competitors. It’s about influencing others, by creating a
brand identity that associates certain perceptions and feelings with that
identity. A person’s brand identity is there ‘image’ – their physical
appearance which reflects their inner perceptions, their social eminence and
their values. Rich Image believes that a person’s individual image is like a
‘business card’ on display twenty four hours. It communicates even when we are
totally unaware of its existence. It is observed, perceived and judged at all
times. We are all CEO’s of the brand called Me Inc. and as per the marketing
gurus – visibility is the key to success. It is up to us how we wish to be seen
and perceived.
Authenticity is the secret mantra for
successful personal branding. The image I desire for myself and the rich image
that may be designed for me, has to be in sync with the ‘real’ me. To create
that immaculate authentic personal brand for myself, I have to begin by knowing
precisely ‘who I are’ and be in love with that person. Abraham Maslow said: “We
can only respect others when we respect ourselves. We can only give, when we
give to ourselves. We can only love, when we love ourselves”. Without knowing
my true flavour, it’s very difficult to love myself and others. I need to make
a positive emotional connection with myself and find myself interesting first,
if I wish to be noticed and acknowledged by others.
A ‘personal brand’ is in many ways synonymous
with my reputation. It refers to the way other people see me. Am I a genius? Am
I an expert? Am I trustworthy? What do I represent? What do I stand for? What
ideas and notions pop up as soon as someone hears my name?
My personal brand reflect who I are, so I cannot
possibly brand myself if I am clueless about myself. This doesn't mean
navel-gazing, but rather a realistic assessment of my strengths and weaknesses,
what I love doing, and the skills that I've mastered or are working to master.
The law is very wide, I need to identify what area I will be known as good at,
and build my expertise here.
The single biggest mistake people make is
that they either brand themselves just for the sake of doing it or that they
fail to invest time in learning about what's in their best interests. The key
to success, and this isn't revolutionary, is to be compensated based on my
passion. In order to find my passion, I need a lot of time to think, some luck
and I need to do some research online to figure out what's out there.
Brand discovery is about figuring out what I
want to do for the rest of my life, setting goals, writing down a mission,
vision and personal brand statement (what I do and who I serve), as well as
creating a development plan. Have I ever been called intelligent or humorous by
my peers or coworkers? That description is part of my brand, especially if I
feel those attributed pertain to me. To know if I've discovered my brand, I
need to make this equation equal:
If I’ve been around for a while I’ve probably
already developed a personal brand. People recognize my name, what I am working
on, what I offer and what I am about. That being said, my personal brand might
be a little weak and disjointed. If I’d like to make it stronger, this article
will help give me the tools by outlining the components of a strong personal
brand. If I don’t feel like I have a personal brand yet, this wikiHow will show
I how to go about building one.
Look at my personal brand as an investment.
My personal brand has the potential to last longer than my own lifespan. While
the projects I am working on might get sold onwards or shut down, my personal
brand will persist and (hopefully) add value to each new project I create. If I
consider myself to be in this particular game for the long-haul, whether it’s
an online business, art, or selling cars, a good personal brand is an
invaluable investment. People will follow my brand from project to project if
they feel connected to it. When launching new projects, my personal brand has
the potential to guarantee I never have to start from scratch again.
Set goals for my public image. Because my
personal brand is built from the thoughts and words and reactions of other
people, it’s shaped by how I present myself publicly. This is something that I
have control over. I can decide how I would like people to see I and then work
on publicly being that image. Consider my goals for the brand. If I want to
sell an expensive course in watercolor painting I’ll need to be seen as someone
with the authority to teach others on the topic. If I want to get work for
high-end design clients I’ll need to be seen as a runaway talent with a
professional attitude. Two useful springboard questions are: How would I like
potential customers/clients to think of I?
How can I publicly ‘be’ that brand? This
question is an important one, but a tricky one. My personal brand is composed
of my public actions and output in three main areas:
What I am ‘about’. Think about the key ideas I
would want people to associate with me. Seth Godin is about telling stories,
being remarkable. Leo Babauta is about simplicity and habit forming. Jonathan
Fields is about finding ways to build a career out of what I love doing.
Expertise. Every good brand involves the
notion of expertise. Nike brands itself as an expert in creating quality and
fashionable sportswear. Jeremy Clarkson (host of Top Gear) is an expert on
cars. Even if I am not interested in marketing my advice, I need to create the
perception that I amvery good at what I do.
My style. This is not so much what I
communicate about myself, but rather, how I do it. Am I kind and unusually
enthusiastic, like Collis Taeed? Am I witty and raw, like Naomi Dunford? Am I
confident and crusading, like Michael Arrington? Hopefully I am none of these,
or at least, not in the same way. My style of delivery should be as unique as
any other aspect of my personal brand. This doesn’t mean I need to sit down and
brainstorm how to be different. If I don’t actively imitate anyone else, it
will happen naturally. Read widely and write a lot. If there’s one writer I love
and read all the time, I am probably going to ape them a little bit unless I
catch myself. We all do it.
Run a blog or website that is all me. It
doesn’t matter if it’s not my first priority, or even my second priority, but
it gives people a place to develop a stronger connection with me. (I might
already be doing this!) Here are some content guidelines: Include a mini-bio at
the end of each post, put time and effort into my About page and use it to
paint a picture of my ideal personal brand. People will only remember a few
things about I, so focus on telling the story that contributes most to my
brand. Use my personal story as the basis for my expertise.
Try to be personally ubiquitous without
over-stretching or over-exposing myself. If people hear my name enough they
will check I out (maybe not the first, second or third time, but they will).
Participate in social media. Help my projects become ubiquitous by writing
viral content and guest-writing.
Keep my brand fresh. No matter how good my
content is, I'll risk seeming stale and repetitive if I don’t continue adding
new elements to my brand. I cannot ride one idea forever. Keep adding new layers
to what I represent.
Continue learning and updating my knowledge,
especially if my expertise is based around the online world. The web changes
drastically from month to month. If I were an ‘expert’ two years ago but have
since stopped learning and challenging myself, I am not an expert anymore.
Don’t just agree with other people I admire.
In doing so, I am building their personal brand, not mys. Focus on topics where
I have something new to say or some more value to add.
Get people talking. Think about my personal
brand each time I interact with someone - or don’t interact with someone. What
impression am I leaving them with? If I don’t want to spend time responding to
tweets and emails there’s no reason why I cannot make this part of my personal
brand so that people do not expect differently. If I only have the time to
answer 1/4 of the emails I get, why not mention this (with apologies) on my
Contact page? The greatest source of negative feeling in these situations is
disappointment. If I make it clear that I intend to behave in a certain way
people have little right to be disappointed when I do so. Try to build
relationships with as many people as possible. See How to Network. Get to know
their real names and remember details about them. Not only is this fun and good
karma, it leaves a strong impression on the people who interact with me. The
ones who I know best and who feel most connected to I will talk about I to
others - this is how my personal brand grows stronger.
Build name recognition with influencers. In
this instance an influencer is any person with an audience that I want to
reach. Comment on their writing, keep track of them on social media, help them
when they ask for it, if they have a blog try to guest-post (it must be my best
stuff!). Not only do I have plenty to learn from people like this, but they are
also the people who can give me that killer testimonial when I launch my
product, who can tweet my links to thousands of followers, who can share the
best opportunities with me. That being said, don’t pester them and don’t ask
for more favors than I give them. If I am useful and not overbearing these
influencers will remember me. View this as a long-term process. I cannot expect
to become friends with influencers in a week. It takes months. (Tip: try to use
non-intrusive forms of communication. Don’t write things that require a
response in blog comments; that's what email/Twitter is for.)
Live My Personal Brand: The last and most important step is to live
my personal brand. A personal brand should be more than how I present myself to
the world. It should also be a real life description of why I am
awesome. So that’s what I should be.
Spend my time emphasizing the elements of my personal brand in my
life. Sometimes we don’t act like the person we want the world to see. We
think we’re motivated, but we spend a ton of time watching television and
surfing the internet. We think we’re
nice, but we gossip about others. A well thought out personal brand will help
me present myself to the world. It can also be a clear cut description
for who I should aspire to be in my day-to-day life.
I will iddentify the tools I plan to use to
help create my personal brand. Blogging tips and ideas, using social media to
start conversations, holding events and attending them, releasing books and
reports and offering my expert opinions to the media are all tools I can use to
develop my personal brand. Use these tools to position myself as a credible
expert. These are the contents of a rich
lawyers personal branding kit:
¯
Business/Identity
card: It does not matter if I am a college
student, CEO, or a consultant, everyone should have their own business card.
The card should contain my picture, my personal brand statement (such as Nairobi Financial Expert), as
well as my *preferred* contact
information and corporate logo. I can
create my own business card and sham It through my mobile phone. On the web,
there are social network sites for creating and distributing my personal
business cards.
¯
Resume/cover letter/profile/references
document: These are typical documents that I need for
applying for jobs and when I go on interviews (something over 2 million job
seekers do daily). I will take both my corporate and personal profile online,
promoting my brand to the world.
¯
Portfolio: Whether I use a CD, web or print portfolio,
it is a great way to showcase the work I have done in the past, which can
convince someone of my ability to accomplish the same results for the future.
¯
Blog/website: I need to
own myname.com for personal branding,
and or a company corporate, or even a blog that aligns with my name in some
fashion. Depending on who I am, how much time I have on my hands and if I can
accept criticism, I should either start a blog or stick with a static homepage.
Those who blog will have a stronger asset than those who do not because blogs
rank higher in search engines and lend more to my expertise and interest areas
over time. Professional networking sites
like LinkedIn, or Face book, profile is a combination of a
resume, cover letter, references document and a moving and living database of
my network. Use it to create my own personal advertising, to search for jobs or
meet new people. I will also, Twitter profile is a branding technique with a link to
either my blog or LinkedIn profile.
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Video resume: A video
resume is a short video of me talking about why I am the best for a specific
job opportunity. It could also be a corporate video profile of my company, or
my company products.
¯
Wardrobe: My personal
style is tangible and is extremely important for standing out from the crowd.
This also covers the wardrobe of my employees. I will select clothing that best
represents me because it will be viewable through my pictures/avatars online,
as well as when I meet people in reality.
¯
Email address: My email
address is a significant part of my toolkit. My email address poses a great
opportunity for my brand.
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