Own your personal brand | Jenni Flinders | TEDxBellevueCollege

Few would argue that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Certainly not Jenni Flinders. A former Microsoft executive, Flinders looks through the lens of her personal experience to demonstrate the importance of expressing your personal brand.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

How many of you woke up this morning

and consciously thought
of your personal brand

or coming here and making
a great first impression?

Anyone?

I didn't think so.

(Laughter)

OK, you know that time
when you're lying in your bed,

it's early morning,
it's still dark outside.

In fact you shouldn't even be awake.

But guess what? You are.

You probably have a job interview
or a big exam, and it's making you nervous

and your heart's racing
just that little bit faster,

and you know that any minute now
that alarm clock to going off violently

next to your bed, right?

And guess what; reality sets in,
and you can't escape the day.

Many years ago
in the beginning of my career

I found myself lying in my bed
comfortable, warm, and safe

but knowing that I had
a big day ahead of me.

I had my first marketing strategy review.

And what made it worse?

I was presenting to an international team
of very senior executives.

And guess what?

They're smart, they're hard
to please, and fast to decide.

So as I'm getting ready,

I realize, not only do I have to tell
this compelling story today,

but I have to look the part, professional.

So I grab one of, what I call,
my power suit,

and no, it doesn't have a cape,
or spurt out pixie dust,

it just looks good.

So, I'm in my power suit,
and I get in the driver's seat of my car,

and I drive to the office
silently rehearsing my opening comments.

Now here's the deal; I decide to get
to that conference room 30 minutes early.

Do you want to know why?

Not because I just want
to be on time and prompt,

it's a little bit smarter than that;

I want to gauge the room.

I want to observe the body language,

and I want to get a sense
of the mood in the room,

so if necessary I can adjust my delivery

because I'm not the only one
that's been presenting that day.

The agenda moves on, it's my turn.

I walk into this room holding my head
up high, up to the presenters table.

Even though my nerves are killing me,

the palms of my hands are even
getting a little bit clammy,

but you don't show anyone, right?

You just keep it together,
those shoulders are straight,

and I walk in, and I present everyone
with this warm welcoming smile.

I'm still keeping my shoulders back

because you want to have that power pose.

And I deliberately make eye contact
with the executive panel in front of me

that I'm about to present to.

And I begin my opening comments,
looking at them straight in the eye

with confidence
because I'm going to own this.

Well guess what, it works.

I capture their attention, and I keep it

while I tell them about this business
problem and a very creative solution.

Basically all I'm doing is I am telling
a story that is painting a picture

on the opportunity that I just created.

Well, guess what?

The next thing I know, I'm being promoted
and moved to another continent.

So I wanted to share
that brief example with you

because that is how impactful
and how powerful

making that first great impression can be.

If I mess that up who knows.

You don't get a second chance.

And under a few seconds,
people will make observations

about other people, situations,
or environments,

and turn those observations into opinions.

And we do it so quickly.

Then you add to it the pace
at which technology is evolving.

It's absolutely incredible.

I just mention the words "social media,"

and I'm sure I'll get
a smile from all of you.

Social media has given you
a new platform to promote yourself

and represent yourself.

And you'll agree with me

that there's pretty much an app
for anything out there, right?

Here's what you won't be able to order
online or download via an app today:

your image,

your personal brand,

and your ability to correctly apply
professional etiquette

in the work environment.

So guess what?

For the next few minutes I'm as close
as you're going to get to that app.

So put your phones down,
start to download now.

And here's the reason:
For the last 25 years

I've built relationships across the globe.

And to do that well, I had to really
consciously develop my social smarts,

I had to develop the ability
to create these great first impressions,

and most importantly,
to build my personal brand.

Today I run seminars,
and I think I've got the best job

because I work with people and help
them identify what their brand is,

by, not only by what they do

but why they do it,
and why it matters to them.

When you need to show up

I'll help you bring the best version
of you that you can.

You know this, building trust-based
relationships today doesn't happen

by the click of a button.

It is a process that requires
human interaction,

authentic human interaction.

And you'll agree with me,

relationships both in your personal
and professional life take a lot of work.

So here's the thing; the way you show up,
the image you project,

the first impression you create
will ultimately inform people

how you want to be treated.

Because they're going to look
at the non-verbals:

What's your body language, your attire?

Do you have eye-contact,
or the lack thereof?

Are you really listening?

The tone of your voice.

So you're probably sitting there
in your seats going,

"That's not completely fair.
So, people think about all of these?"

Well yeah, they do.

You know how the old adage goes, right?
"Judging a book by its cover"?

Well, guess what; we all do it,
it's human nature, and the reason being

is our brains, our imaginations,
first of all, are so powerful.

Our brains are filled with data points
that become these preferences

for how we perceive others
in that first encounter.

Think about the minute
you first fell in love.

That was your preference.

It's incredible, as humans we will take

an image,

an object,

a situation,

and we will start to fill in the blanks

based on what we see, what we don't see,

or guess what, what you want to see.

It's human nature; we all do it.

So okay, you get it right?

First impressions matter.

But so does your personal brand,
and that matters even more.

So what do I mean by personal brand?

Well, I'm a brand.

You're a brand.

Collectively in this room we are a brand

whether you are consciously
building it or not.

In this case, your personal brand -
think about it - it's the intellectual,

visual, and emotional impression
people have when they think of you.

That would be their summary
of you in their mind,

in an unspoken instance.

Now, your personal brand can
be so powerful and impactful;

it can sell you, differentiate you,
and set you apart from others.

But you need to ask yourself:

is the personal brand
that I have right now today

the most accurate
and impactful one for me?

See, here's the thing; we can all -
you can do it, I can do it -

we can all fake those first few seconds
of that first impression, right?

We all know how to show up well
when we want to.

We know how to do that,
so you can fake that.

Don't ever fake your personal brand;
that has to be authentic to be accurate.

It's got to be authentic to be accurate.

And in this case you want
your personal brand

to be the result of a sustained effort

to be the very best version
of you that you can be.

So, if you're at version 1.0,
how do you get to 1.5 and 2.0 and 2.5

as you grow your career
and your personal life?

All experiences that you will gain
throughout your life

is only going to add to your brand.

So where do you start?

Well, I'm sure you've all
researched a project this week,

maybe some of you have
researched a recipe or a book.

But how about you start
doing research on yourself?

I'm going to share with you
a couple of questions

that you can actually ask yourself
and start writing these answers down

because they will be very leading

into helping you identify
your personal brand.

And it's only a subset
of what we can really dive into,

but I think you'll get my point.

So start with you first.

And it's easy to say,
"What are you passionate about?"

"I love red cars," well, no.
That's not it.

What are you really passionate about?
What do you love doing the most?

Think about that, because sometimes
it's not that easy to answer

when you really think about what you
want to be passionate about in life.

And then start thinking about
what are your strongest attributes.

What sets you apart?

What do you rock at?

If I were to ask you to summarize you
in a little two minute story for me,

what would you say?

Think about that.

Now I want you to take a step
outside of yourself for a second,

and think about
how others will perceive you.

Do they think you're as good
as what you think you're good at?

Do they know what your passions are?

How would they describe you
when you're not in the room?

How would somebody summarize you
if they are referring you

for a job or an opportunity?

What would they say about you?

Think about that: Have you ever
thought about that?

So here's what I will implore you to do:

Go and seek the feedback

from family, friends, work colleagues,
people around you that know you,

and ask them to tell you
how they would describe you.

That should give you a good summation
of what your current brand is.

So you think about those questions,
you write those answers down,

and you start describing yourself
as an own brand.

You have to start doing this,
you have to start living it.

And I mean really living it
because the more you practice,

the better your ability is going
to get to tell your story.

You got to be able to tell your story.

But here's a word of caution:
I mentioned social media earlier?

Please be consistent
across all your social media profiles

in how you articulate you and your brand.

Do not work on a professional brand

and have your social media accounts
demonstrate something different.

I think you know what I mean. Right?

I say you are what you post.

Be careful.

Be smart.

Think.

And if you have any doubts,
don't hit that button.

Don't post it.

Think about it, but make sure,
please, across all these platforms -

and we have so many
social media platforms -

that you have a consistent profile.

Your profile should very briefly describe
you and peak people's interest.

And then the hard work starts

because now you have to start
nurturing networks around you

that are going to be
influential in your life.

And people are going to refer to you,

because your brand is going
to become your trademark,

and people will refer to you
based on what your brand entails.

So take some time and assess
where you are with your current brand

and start thinking of ways
that you can make it better.

So now it's your turn.

If ever you find yourself in a situation
like I did, and I'm positive you will.

Make sure to take that deep breathe,
observe the environment around you first.

Raise that conscious
awareness of yourself:

social and situational smarts.

And when you need to show up,
make a great impression.

Be able to articulate your brand
based on experiences.

And here's the thing;
life is just a series of moments.

Here's what I ask of you.

Show up well, build a brand
that is authentically you.

If you do that, you can make
every moment count.

Thank you.

(Applause)