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Career Learning
Troy Behrens, Ed.D.,
is executive director of SMU's Hegi
Family Career Development Center. He writes "Career Learning"
for SMU Parents online. |
 |
Brand You: Feel the Passion
“Discuss philosophy and the masses will walk past you in droves; whistle and dance the shimmy and watch your audience grow.” – Diogenes
If you have something important to say, show or sell, you have to add entertainment value. If you’re looking for a throng of followers or even one person to pay attention to you, waxing eloquent about any topic, no matter how interesting you think the topic or purpose or cause, will get you absolutely nowhere! Branding yourself becomes successful the minute you begin to appeal to the EMOTIONS of your audience. You can do this a number of ways – through drama, comedy or personal talent. The point is this: branding yourself is all about self-expression.
Bring energy to the interview
So, when you are in a position to present a seminar or interview for
a job, I am asking you to consider how you might add entertainment
value to everything you do and say.
Now, I’m not advocating that you “whistle and dance the shimmy” in your next interview, but I am suggesting you learn how to become vibrant, enthusiastic and animated. Why? Because part of the successful job search equation includes a person who is “energetic, dynamic and exciting.” I can’t even begin to recall how many clients told me that feedback from an interview gone bad included this phrase from the hiring manager: “You just didn't seem like you were interested in the job.”
The same is true with opportunities to speak in public. There’s an old saying about how your audience will never remember what you said but will always remember how you made them feel. Again, have a unique and interesting point but don’t wax eloquent about it. Add some humor and drama so your audience will truly remember how you made them “feel” about your point of view.
Smarts don’t cut it
It's sad to say, but being intellectual or even brilliant isn’t
always enough when it comes to building your brand. Of course, you
need to have knowledge that others don’t in order to have a following,
but you can’t ride that wave alone.
Colleagues of mine from days of yore thought they had knowledge that nobody else had, so they decided to start a small company and sell that information. It was great info, but the topic had to do with education and how to improve classroom learning experiences. That’s a tough market to crack and an extremely boring one (if you aren’t a parent or a teacher). So in this case, branding was more critical, yet they never got it right. They just rode the wave of their “superior” information, and it got them nowhere. They sat idly by as other companies hawked similar but “watered-down” information in a format that was “cute and funny” – even for adults and teachers.
Guess which version sold more units and made more money and got in front of more kids, parents and teachers? The cutesier version, not the intellectually “superior” product.
Remember, Brand You should be interesting, helpful, fun and exciting. Make them “feel” your passion for your point of view, make them feel like their lives have improved upon meeting you, make them laugh and get them excited – then you can be sure Brand You will be remembered!
Troy Behrens, Ed.D., is executive director of SMU's Hegi Family Career Development Center. Send your career questions to tbehrens@smu.edu.
