HR Seminar London: Building Your Brand

On the 26th of April Elliott Scott HR UK held their first seminar of 2018 in partnership with Arcadia Consulting and LinkedIn. Arcadia is a professional services consultancy specialising in sustainable, behavioural and cultural change. Following an introduction from Ben Tunstall at LinkedIn, Sophie Steel, Principal Consultant at Arcadia, delivered an engaging presentation on ‘Building Your Brand’ to our network of HR professionals at the LinkedIn offices in London. 

Your brand is what other people say about you when you are not in the room. Through various activities involving the participation of the whole audience, the seminar looked at how you build a brand around yourself and how it is portrayed to others. Here are some key areas to consider in order to ensure a consistent brand image. 

• First Impressions Count - and you have seven seconds to leave a positive one. The way you greet someone is imperative to forming the right connection, so before introducing yourself, it’s important to be in the right frame of mind, as your emotions will determine your behaviour, and thus the impression you leave. Presenting the right body language is crucial to this, so adapt a posture which shows you’re engaged. 
• Know Your Trait F Management Strategy - You have many traits that make up ‘you’ and we want people to take all of these into account when meeting us. Subconsciously, however, we might be portraying one trait in particular. If it’s not positive, it can be at risk of becoming a fatal flaw. You can often gain insight into this from peer feedback. 
• Eye Contact is Key - to being a good communicator, particularly in being a good listener. Being present in a conversation by focussing on the person you are speaking to makes them feel valued. 
• Adapt Your Energy - there are four archetypes with which to communicate: the professor, motivator, counsellor, and sergeant major. Different situations require different methods of communication in order to connect with and create an impact on your audience. How you say it is almost as important as what you say, as body language and tone of voice make up 93% of the connection you forge, while actual words you use only make up the remaining 7%. 

You can use these tools in many areas of your life, including interviews, networking, meetings and presentations. They will help you to find your authentic voice and develop your personal brand and presence. 

The evening closed with further networking over drinks and canapés where the guests mingled with the Arcadia, LinkedIn and Elliott Scott HR teams. The next seminar in our 2018 HR series with Arcadia Consulting will be held in July. If you are interested in attending, follow us on LinkedIn, where we post regular updates, or get in touch with me at kh@elliottscotthr.com to find out more.