Join Matt Abrahams, a lecturer of Strategic Communication at Stanford Graduate School of Business, as he sits down with experts in the field to discuss real-world challenges. How do I send my message clearly when put on the spot? How do I write emails to get my point across? How can I easily convey complex information? How do I manage my reputation? Whether you’re giving a toast or presenting in a meeting, communication is critical to success in business and in life.Think Fast, Talk Smart provides the tools, techniques, and best practices to help you communicate more effectively.
165. Building Your Personal Brand Makes a Promise: Are You Keeping It?
Create more meaningful communication by defining your audience.
Before you even think about communicating a message, defining a brand, or developing a strategy, Seth Godin says you have to ask these questions: “Who’s it for? What’s it for? And what’s the change [you] seek to make?”
As a best-selling author, entrepreneur, and marketing expert, Godin understands that effective communication rests on purpose and intent. “Branding is not logoing,” he says, but a “promise” that an individual or company makes about who they are and what others can expect of them. By intentionally defining who we are and who our audience is, Godin argues we can create more meaningful connections and drive real change.
In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Godin and host Matt Abrahams explore how we can be more deliberate in our communication, using storytelling, clarity of messaging, and defining the impact we want to make on our audience and the world.
Episode Reference Links:
- Seth Godin
- Seth’s Books: This Is Strategy / This Is Marketing
- Ep.64 Best of: Techniques for Managing Your Reputation
- Ep.118 Maximizing your Personal Brand: Communicating Who You Are to Help Get What You Want
Connect:
- Email Questions & Feedback >>> hello@fastersmarter.io
- Episode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart Website
- Newsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.io
- Think Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube
- Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn
Chapters:
(00:00:00) Introduction
Matt Abrahams introduces guest Seth Godin, a best-selling author, entrepreneur, and marketing expert.
(00:00:51) Defining Branding and Marketing
The importance of intentionality in how individuals and organizations present themselves.
(00:02:32) The Role of Status in Podcast Growth
How the perceived status associated with sharing content can drive organic growth.
(00:04:41) Storytelling as a Powerful Tool
Ways effective stories can create emotional connections that resonate with audiences.
(00:06:21) The Smallest Viable Audience
The role of intentionality in personal branding and how it ties to empathy and promises.
(00:07:54) Clarity in Messaging
Crafting clear, consistent messaging that resonates with the target audience.
(00:10:11) Strategy Defined
Strategy as a philosophy rather than a roadmap, detailing four essential components.
(00:13:34) Developing Effective Strategies
Where to begin when creating a strategy, emphasizing individual clarity and assertion.
(00:16:10) The Final Three Questions
Seth shares how philosophy influences him, a communicator he admires, and his recipe for successful communication.
(00:20:17) Conclusion
- (00:00) - Introduction
- (01:35) - Defining Branding and Marketing
- (03:16) - The Role of Status in Podcast Growth
- (05:25) - Storytelling as a Powerful Tool
- (07:05) - The Smallest Viable Audience
- (08:38) - Clarity in Messaging
- (10:55) - Strategy Defined
- (14:18) - Developing Effective Strategies
- (16:54) - The Final Three Questions
- (21:01) - Conclusion