Who is telling your story?

LearningBranding

8 Jan

"If you aren't, someone else is filling in the blanks"

This is the question that Hamza Khan asks in his "Do Things, Tell People: The Power of Personal Branding" course on Skillshare.

The answer, he replies, is "if you aren't, someone else is filling in the blanks".

This really got me thinking. It's true - if you don't take the time to think about and share your own story, others will do it for you. Over the past few years I've been exploring this concept of 'Personal Branding' - and 'Branding' as well. Hamza defines a brand as "an idea, the essence of something".

It's easy to think of a brand as being just a logo - but it's obviously so much more. Brands (including personal ones) are tied to values - and the perception of your brand is incredibly important. The following questions can help in the pursuit of understanding how your personal brand is perceived:

- How do you see yourself?
- How do you want to be seen?
- How do others see you?

One great exercise that came out of this course as well as through advice I had received previously from Ozlem Tuskan was "Ask friends/colleagues/clients" to describe you in 5 words. This is honestly a great way to see if there is or isn't overlap with the questions above. If not - what's missing? What needs to change?

Anyway, to anyone interested - you can find the course here.(And if you sign-up with this link below , you can get a free month of Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3SbZVJC)