Personal Brand: Maximizing Personal Impact

Abigail Van Buren, the writer of Dear Abby, once said, “There are two kinds of people: those who come into a room with the attitude, ‘Here I am!’ and those who have the attitude, ‘There you are!’”

This course is a two-day exploration about the type of impact we want to have in life and work. Participants will consider and define the influence that they can have on their life and work. They will also learn skills for success and how to create those circumstances.

• Speak in terms of the impact and influence that you want to have in life and work
• Understand your personal style in terms of your personal brand
• Develop skill in areas like focus, concentration, and communication to support your brand
• Build credibility and trust by living your brand
• Take ownership of your image, both online and in person

We will spend the first part of the day getting to know other participants and discussing what will take place during the workshop. Students will also have an opportunity to identify their personal learning objectives.

First, we will define what a brand is and what its elements are. We will also explore how to define the wow factor and what success means.

Next, participants will complete an assessment to help them define their brand style.

First impressions can have a big impact on a brand. In this session, participants will learn how to dress for success, show proper etiquette, and monitor their voice.

This session will help participants develop skill at concentrating, getting work done, and building their confidence.

If participants really don’t know what they want, it’s hard to represent their brand and have the desired impact. In this session, participants will use the SPIRIT framework to set some brand-related goals. Techniques for developing flexibility and resiliency will also be discussed.

This session will give participants some ways to use networking to build their brand.

Good communication skills are another important part of personal impact. This session will explore speaker and listener biases, active listening skills, and difficult communication situations.

Credibility can make or break a brand. This session will give participants five ways to develop trusting relationships.

In this session, participants will learn about the different elements of a personal brand. They will also start designing and outlining their brand standards.

Next, participants will discover ways to demonstrate their brand.

In this session, participants will learn how to find out what people are saying about them online and why it matters.

This session will share persuasion, negotiation, and negation techniques to help participants have real impact.

In order to have a real impact, we must be able to work with all types of people. This session will give participants a framework to get to the heart of any problem. They will also learn some strategies for handling common types of difficult people.

In this session, participants will learn how to make the most of public speaking and meetings.

At the end of the course, students will have an opportunity to ask questions and fill out an action plan.