(1 of 3) Personal Brands: Do you want yours to be accidental?

In this short series, I’ll explain how you can repurpose techniques that many professional actors in TV and film use for their craft and career development.

There is a lot of advice out there on how to develop and promote your personal brand. They usually include a personal mission, a personal narrative, credentials, and how to communicate them. But to make all that as impactful as possible, you need to start with what your brand is, and potentially what you want it to be. In this short series, I’ll explain how you can repurpose techniques that many professional actors in TV and film use for their craft and career development.

What you may not realize is that you already have a personal brand. It’s not about the words you say and write. The nonverbal elements are just as powerful, if not more so. People notice how you carry yourself, how you speak, and how you move. They’ll use that, either consciously or unconsciously, to make assumptions about you based on their own experience and perhaps even stereotypes. All this is your brand. It may not be the brand you want, but make no doubt about it, that’s how people see you.

In Hollywood, good actors tell you a lot about their characters without uttering a word. Consider two completely different characters played by the amazing John Turturro: Mr. Monk’s brother Ambrose in the TV show Monk and Jesus in The Big Lebowski. Ignore their lines and clothing. If you watch only their silhouettes and hear only their speech patterns, there is no mistaking one for the other.

Just as each of those characters is unique and distinct, so are you. You have a unique set of life experiences, and that’s what makes you you. There is no one else on the planet exactly like you, with your intelligence, attitude, dreams, and fears. And that affects the way you walk, stand, enunciate your words, project your voice, and express with your face. This is how you come across as a person. Who you are is being projected as part of your brand all the time, whether you like it or not.

If you want to change this accidental brand, the good news is that humans are malleable - if you’re willing to work at it. More about that in future posts.

TL;DR

• You are absolutely unique. No one else in the world shares exactly the same life experiences as you.

• You unconsciously project a version of who you are just by how you speak, move, or even sit.

Actions

• Try the “adjectives exercise.” Get it here.

Question

What are some of the adjectives from the exercise? Did any of them surprise you? Drop them in the comments!