So... how was your weekend?

It’s Monday. You’ve just arrived at the office or logged into your first virtual meeting of the day when your colleague asks, “How was your weekend?”

This happens
ALL THE TIME,
doesn’t it?

It’s probably not obvious, but your answer to this question is another opportunity to reinforce your PERSONAL BRAND.

Image by Sezeryadigar from Getty Images Signature/Canva

Opportunities like this exist everywhere, but they are often overlooked.

In the latest Talk About Talk podcast episode, you’ll learn how to reinforce your Personal Brand through these less obvious opportunities:

your online meeting BACKGROUND
your GRAVATAR (what the heck is a gravatar?)
your ANSWER to, “How was your weekend?”

Let’s do this…

Look out behind you!

When you’re in an online meeting, do you ever look at the things in other people’s backgrounds?

Of course you do!
We all do!

Which means that other people are looking at YOUR background.

Image by AndreyPopov from Getty Images/Canva

You’ve probably already considered this on some level, especially if you work from home.

But there are a few simple things that we can all do to OPTIMIZE our online meeting backgrounds to help communicate our Personal Brands:

👩‍💻 Make sure your CAMERA is at eye level. We don’t want to be looking down at your forehead, or up your nose!

💡 Make sure your LIGHT source is in front of you. Think of it as a spotlight on your face!

🧺 Remove any CLUTTER behind you. You’ve probably already removed that basket of dirty laundry from view, but don’t forget about mail, items that display your personal information, or anything else you’d like to keep private.

📚 Add meaningful ITEMS that reinforce your Personal Brand, like books, artwork, or awards.

Get Your Gravatar

You probably already use a headshot or avatar on your various social media accounts, but you can up your game with a GRAVATAR.

What’s a Gravatar?

A Gravatar is a Globally Recognized Avatar – a headshot or image of your choice that follows you around the internet and appears whenever you post or comment on something.

I recently updated my own Gravatar with my newest headshot, and I encourage you to do the same!

What’s the advantage of using a Gravatar?

The main advantage is that you can present yourself online the way YOU choose.

So while other users are represented by their initials or a silhouette of a headshot, your online activity is identified with an image specifically chosen to reinforce your Personal Brand!

Prepare to Share

Ok, we’re back to that initial question: “How was your weekend?”

There are a few ways to handle this one. Some the most common defaults are:

1️⃣ The Deflection: “It was fine, thanks. How was yours?”
2️⃣ Venting: “OMG, you would NOT believe what happened…”
3️⃣ Focusing on Work: “I spent most of the weekend working.”
4️⃣ Implicit Bragging: “I was invited to this exclusive 5-star resort…”

Image by bernardbodo from Getty Images/Canva

But what if we used this as an opportunity to communicate our Personal Brands?

You’ve got 48 hours’ worth of experiences to choose from, so be strategic. You don’t need to provide a detailed accounting of every single thing you did.

Again, this isn’t about being manipulative. It’s about being strategic and conscious about what you are implicitly sharing with others.

My default is to share a positive experience, and then ask the other person about their weekend.

That’s it for this week! I hope this inspires you to consider new ways to communicate your Personal Brand.

You can listen to this episode directly on the Talkabouttalk.com website just by clicking ▶️PLAY. Or you can find the podcast on any podcast app. Just search “Talk About Talk.”

Enjoy the podcast!

Please forward this email to your friends who might like help with their communication skills and job-seeking. Thank you.

Have a great week.

Talk soon,