Since no one reading this article can recall a time in their life without
radio or TV, I can safely write that all your life you’ve received
audio/spoken messages about products. You’ve also received many written
messages about products (such as in print ads and direct mail). Now we can
add the Internet as another source of verbal product information!
Contrary to what most people believe, the word “verbal” refers to both spoken
and written words. (If you went to college in the U.S. and took the SAT
entrance exam, you remember the exam has two parts: math and verbal.
The verbal part of the test is not oral, it’s written. So the word verbal
can mean written or spoken words.
All of the messages tossed at us about products are intended to persuade us to buy.
A product’s verbal messages are part of its verbal identity.
Brand managers focus their product’s verbal identity to be one or more of the
following: relevant, distinct, consistent, memorable, entertaining, or emotional.
How a product’s verbal identity is intended to persuade us to buy
(when we are its target market) depends on who we are as a target market,
what we will respond to, and what the product actually is.
Branding yourself also involves creating a verbal identity. Your
brand messages come together in:
- the names & titles you give your ideas & projects
- your voice
- your name
- your title
- messages or sound bites used to back up your projects and ideas
- anything you say at meetings or presentations
Similar to a product, your personal brand’s verbal identity needs to be relevant,
distinct, consistent, memorable, entertaining, or emotional.
Think of your projects and ideas from the past. What would have been good titles
or catchphrases for them? What projects do you have now or in the future?
I live in a part of the U.S. where many of us have a Chicago accent. It sounds
nasal because we speak with our tongue too high in the back of our mouth. To change
this, I’ve taken speech lessons and I have a tape from Dr. David Alan Stern,
which helps me change my accent.
Some of you may have regional accents that are fine. You may, however, need to work
on the strength of your voice (I’ve done that, too). If tweaking or strengthening
your voice in some way would help improve your verbal identity, see the link at the
end of this article for Dr. Stern’s website.
Meetings and presentations are a great way to showcase your verbal identity, whether
you lead them or not. This article is too short for a comprehensive discussion about
what you can do to enhance your brand’s verbal identity. However, whether you’re
leading or contributing to a meeting, developing a plan for what you say will help
you come across as relevant, distinct, consistent, and memorable (and maybe even
entertaining!).
Believe it or not, your name and how it sounds can add to or detract from your brand’s
verbal identity. Is your name very common? (like football coach John Smith who added
his middle initial to become John L. Smith). Are you a woman whose name sounds fine,
but your husband’s last names doesn’t sound as good with our fist name as your maiden
name? (I had a friend in college whose name was Beth, maiden name Brownawell, who
married a guy named Piff. Yeah. Beth Piff.) My youngest brother hated the fact
that he was “the third” and that it is part of his formal name, until he graduated
from college and let the school list him in the program with “III” after his name.
Now he knows it’s distinctive. Is there something about your name you could tweak
to make it distinct and memorable?
When I was in my 20’s, I thought corporate titles were written in stone. You know
what? They’re not. Does your title help or hinder your brand? Study
the titles of people at different types of companies, such as technology companies
and others that like to be on the cutting edge with their products and services.
What are some great-sounding titles that stand out to you? What would be a better
title for you than the one you have right now? Who has the authority at your company
to change titles?
As a final thought, think of some people who have a strong, positive verbal identity
that fits their brand well. Study them. What else can you pick up to make your
brand’s verbal identity relevant, distinct, consistent, memorable, entertaining, or
emotional?
This self-branding thing can get really involved: there are a lot
of steps to discovering, creating, and marketing yourself as a brand successfully.
To help you out, I’ve created a “Brand Yourself! Coaching Program”.
It is a self-paced coaching program you can purchase directly from Borgeson
Consulting. I’m very excited about this program! Since it is self-paced,
it is very affordable - less expensive than traditional coaching by telephone,
and you complete it at your own pace.
The “Brand Yourself! Coaching Program” has 10 modules, taking you
through each of the essential elements of personal branding. Call (630-653-0992)
or e-mail (info@BorgesonConsulting.com) to find out more about it.
I also give a keynote speech, “Brand Yourself Without Getting Burned: Know the Secrets
to Finding the Right Brand for You!” Contact Borgeson Consulting to find out more
© 2007 Borgeson Consulting, Inc.
Glory Borgeson is a business coach, author, and speaker, and the president of
Borgeson Consulting, Inc. She works with two groups of people:
small business owners (with 500 employees or less) to help them increase
their Entrepreneurial IQ, which leads to increased profit and
decreased stress; and with executives in the
“honeymoon phase” of a new position (typically the first two years)
to coach them to success. Top athletes have a coach; why not you?
Click here for Borgeson Consulting, Inc.
This article was originally published in The Business Express, Borgeson’s
free monthly ezine. You may subscribe by clicking here:
Ezine
Tags: brand, branding, career, Personal, self-branding, success
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