BEING AWESOME

AWESOME – If this is how you want to present yourself, give Image On Camera a call. We work with reporters, entrepreneurs, politicians, executives, news anchors and talk show hosts to achieve the positioning they desire. We train clients for public appearances, oral presentations, and important video presentations. We are sensitive to the vulnerability that participants may feel during training, so our approach is gentle, proactive, and positive. We provide refinements and feedback to help train participants reach their personal best in terms of message delivery, nonverbal behavior, energy, and overall image. To discuss your training needs, call Polly Meyer at Image On Camera, 651-343-5849 or email at PollyMeyer@ImageOnCamera.com.

Your Foundation to Building a Strong Personal Brand

Your Presence + Your Image + Authenticity + Marketing Yourself = Personal Brand.

What IS a Personal Brand and what does it have to do with your Image? As an executive, they run hand-in-hand.

By definition, a personal brand is the practice of marketing yourself and your career as a brand. Personal branding concepts teach that success comes from self-packaging. Your Image IS that self-packaging. View your personal brand as a trademark; an asset that you must protect while continuously molding and shaping it. Having said that, a personal brand is NOT about boasting or self-promotion, but the image and value you deliver to others on a consistent basis.

A well-executed personal brand is strong and should represent the value you are able to consistently deliver to those whom you are serving. Personal branding is common among celebrities and politicians. Think Hoda Kotb, Michael Buble’ and Oprah Winfrey. Each has an established and consistent personal brand and represents it with their signature look.

 Personal Branding consists of these basic elements:

•  Value: What do you stand for?
• Distinction: What makes you stand out?
• Marketability: What makes you compelling?

The importance of identifying these values is essential. Once they’ve been clearly defined ask yourself, “Am I reflecting those values in my brand, customer’s experience, language (both verbal and body), content, wardrobe, and presentation?”

Keeping those values in mind, apply the following elements to achieve and maintain your Strong Personal Brand;

Wardrobe – Dress the part. Be that person who shows up in a way that attracts the RIGHT kind of attention. The kind that makes others wonder who you are and what you’re up to. While it is important to express your individuality it’s equally valuable to dress in a way that attracts your clients. Ladies, keep in mind that your clothing choices should be tight enough to show that you’re a woman, but loose fitting enough to show that you’re a lady. Men, visit a department store that sells quality Men’s suits and ask the associate to educate you on suits and the best choices for you.

Social Media – Focus on interacting with your friends/followers. Keep in mind the quality and value of what you share and post. Remember that you’re building your brand and reputation. For example, you can do an education based marketing tip of the week. It will help brand you as a thought leader and generate a following.

Speaking – Speaking positions you as an authority and thought-leader in your industry. The stage is a platform to share your expertise, express your individuality and create buzz. If you need a place to practice your speaking skills look into a local Toastmasters Chapter – or contact Image On Camera. We can help you become a fearless, engaging, dynamic speaker in no time.

Be Responsive – One of the best ways to build a positive personal brand is to take the time to engage with others. When people email or message you with a question, answer it. When someone asks you a question at a networking group, follow up and provide a resource.

Consistently developing and executing these elements WILL get results. It does take time, but creating a strong personal brand is worth the effort!

Moxie Cycling Catalog 2015 Polly Meyer

Moxie Cycling 2015 Catalog Polly Meyer

Moxie Cycling Catalog 2015 Polly Meyer

Success – Is it Luck or Your Executive Presence that Brings It?

You have the right contacts, you work hard, yet you still haven’t reached the level of success you were wanting. Could it be that you’re still not looking at how you are perceived by the corporate world? In the content of your work, in the way you behave and present yourself, and in your image and attire – the little details matter. Even when minor details seem inconsequential, the truth is they all contribute to the whole of your success.

Harrison Monarth, author of Executive Presence, hits the mark when talking about the importance your personal brand impacts your success. “In business and in life, we like to think that we create our own breaks, go after what we want, and earn our respective fates. However, the truth is, you have to put yourself in the way of approaching opportunity. You need to create a pathway on which luck will walk into your life. Your personal brand – your executive presence – is the primary element of the process of attracting good fortune or what others perceive to be pure blind luck.” Harrison Monarth

Whether in a first impression through attire or conduct, or a lasting impression with your quality of work, details always matter. These details will add up to give you a competitive edge and enhance your Executive Presence.

 

 

9 Basic Steps to Create a Personal Branding Strategy

Creating any sort of brand is a tough job, it takes a lot of work and time. Your brand has to offer something different and something people want, it basically has to be cool. When creating a personal brand the thing is to be cool, yet authentic and personable. People have to like you for something and you have to offer something people want. You have to be interesting. The 9 steps below in the infographic are basic steps on creating a strategy to building a personal brand.

 

Image On Camera can help you in developing and showcasing your unique personal brand when giving presentations or when you’re in front of the camera. Call us today at 651-343-5849. (Infographic found on UltraLinx.)

Believe in Yourself

Be Fearless 2

Your life is a reflection of what you believe. If you really believe something or someone can stop you, it can and it will. But you already know that. What you may not know is that what you tell yourself about yourself, about your life, about your limitations, you will believe. Replace the negative self talk with positive words that bless your self worth and self esteem. What you believe is the foundation of what you do and don’t do. Be fearless!

Be Fearless

Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone

We all experience nervousness when we step outside our comfort zone. But that is where all the wonderful things happen. Be Fearless.

Be Fearless. Be Beautiful. Be Daring. Be Courageous.

Touch: The Secret Weapon of Compliance

Using the power of touch as a means of persuasion.

An Awesome CEO and Client!

I’ve worked as a producer on many video production and commercial sets. Directors often have me work directly with the talent that’s acting in front of the camera. Sometimes, the “talent” isn’t a professional actor, but the CEO of the company that hired our production crew. CEO’s are used to commanding a company, and understandably come onto the production set with their own agenda of how they will do things. That’s fine, but their agenda rarely helps them come across powerfully on camera. Instead, it often does the opposite, and the CEO comes across the lens as stiff and aloof. The Director’s goal is to have the CEO come across as confident, natural, credible, and like-able. To achieve this, my job as the producer is to break down any barriers, gain the CEO’s trust, and get them to follow my directions in a very short amount of time. On a production set, time really is money.

The fastest way to turn a reluctant CEO (or any client) into a compliant one is through non-sexual touch. Once a CEO is on the set, I engage them in conversation and look for any opportunity to lightly touch them on their upper arm or forearm. As we go over scripts, I’ll ask if I can brush away a piece of lint from their shoulder that might show up on camera; ask if I can adjust their tie to make it straighter, fix a an errant strand of hair. Its all very subtle and non-threatning. The more opportunities I make to touch the client, the more compliant they become to my directions. They see that I’m genuinely there to help; through touch I gain their trust in a short amount of time; and they willingly follow the directions I give them that help them come across powerfully on camera. The Director is happy. The CEO is happy. I’m very happy.

This isn’t anything new. Wardrobe specialists and makeup artists on production sets all know that to get an actor to relax and follow directions is to find reasons to touch them – adjust a piece of the actors jewelry, put some powder on their face while instructing them. And there are many studies that back up how touch increases compliance.

So, how does this help you in the corporate world? Well, think about it for a minute. If a non-sexual (and non-creepy) touch on the forearm or top of the arm creates compliance, this strategy can ultimately persuade a supervisor to pull you in on a project that’s important to your advancement within the company; gives you more leverage to get the backing you need from a colleague on an important issue; or potentially get additional funding from a corporate sponsor.

Using touch for compliance is one of many skills used to persuade others. However, think of this technique as a Jedi Mind Trick. Use it to influence others, but it can only be used for good.

Polly Meyer is Lead Consultant at Image On Camera. If you want to learn more about how to come across powerfully on camera or how to give dynamic presentations, please visit our website at www.ImageOnCamera.com

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