4 MINUTE READ

Three types of recent media exposure that I am incredibly proud of for very different reasons.

Sometimes we forget as business owners that we have a phenomenal amount of expertise and that we have a sense of humour. Perhaps it is the serious side of business that keeps us tethered to that professional appearance in person and online. Then there are people like me who try to be super professional and fail miserably like Bridget Jones. I think the “clutzy” behaviour comes with the territory for me as we all feel imposter syndrome that holds us back. Knockbacks do not assuage the problem, however I have mastered my “inner critic” these last few weeks. It is a term used often by Life Changes Consultant, Jacquie Case who highlighted the issue. As I said to my friend at the weekend over coffee, “My subconscious has not caught up with conscious yet.” So I am still reactive and only consciously competent.

Therefore, having my second interview with Valiant CEO has come at a good time– as I reflect on how personal branding is critical for success. It has been a hectic few weeks as I begin my CIPR Professional PR Diploma and I attended a 72 hour course on Crisis Management before I started. Added to delivering my keynote speech at the FSB Business Bootcamp last month, I have recognised how integrated personal and business brands have become and how that can alleviate the impact of crisis. Having spent a year and half through lockdown working remotely in communications I discovered my own strengths. I would not want my clients to have issues that were insurmountable and hate the idea of firefighting crises like “Whack-a-mole.” That is why I describe myself as a consultant, because I can read visual communications as an expert. I have written academic papers, I have created easy-read and plain English documents, written persuasively, adapted to press releases and pitches and have ventured into emotional intelligence in a series of co-authored books. That meant that writing an article for the FSB after the event through the lens of a guest speaker felt natural as a contributor to several magazines.

So what does this have to with humour? Absolutely everything. It is important to lighten the load sometimes and enjoy what you do. When I saw a Tweet from Lilly-Ann Gilmore @LilyNewsUK “looking to speak to people who’ve had a funny experience meeting a celebrity for an article National Mail” I smiled. Yes, that’s me. I met David Beckham. Was it funny? I will let you be the judge of that as this is the article entitled “I met David Beckham in Tesco car park and I didn’t recognise him at all.” This memory brighten my day.

I have seven critical areas for building a strong reputation and personal brand.

Here are the three that are most relevant to this blog and humour:

• Consistency – Be consistently YOU.
• Authenticity – Being authentic means being true to yourself. It’s about being genuine and honest with people.
• Visibility – “Out of sight, out of mind.”t is still me. It is still my personal brand. As I wrote the Valiant CEO article I had

I have further insights including the other four in a blog for PROWLY about “7 Qualities of Personal Branding That Define Crisis Management.” Thankfully I have had moments to breathe within all this activity and look forward to adding value to further media outlets and organisations. If you are thinking that you have a story that is timely, has prominence, proximity, human impact, perhaps controversial or future impact then do let me know. Have a think about what you do. Go beyond your marketing message, dig deep and access your “inner expert” not your “inner critic.”