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Welcome to Jon Michail’s Personal Branding Masterclass. Jon is the founder and CEO of image group international, an award-winning image consulting and personal branding pioneer established in 1989. This podcast will bring you old-school wisdom, inspiring ideas, strategies and hacks for the new tech world. Here you will learn everything about personal branding: the system, the techniques and the right mindset to have a successful personal brand, image and reputation.

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Hello, everybody. Welcome back to my show. I'm John Michael, your host and today's topic is the role of visual identity in personal branding. Before we embark on this journey, stay connected with me on Twitter X, as John underline Michael on LinkedIn as John Michael and on Facebook as image Group International visual identities have potent force in shaping how your personal brand is perceived. It is Bartleman shaping perceptions when we meet somebody in person, of course, and in this case, the digital will the way you present yourself visually can leave a lasting impression. We know that Albert Mehrabian, the renowned UCLA professor in his landmark communication perception study found that the way you look including body language, grooming and clothes accounted for 55% of the perception compared to the tone of voice that was only 38% and 7% of your words, and what you actually said. So although we're not saying words, that mean anything, what we're saying is the visual power overtakes everything else. And we know that in the first five seconds how you are perceived, your image will be rated in the eye of the beholder. So perception is virtually virtually everything. When engaging with others face to face, let's talk about the tangible visual elements that contribute to your personal brand. So I'm going to share some of them with you today, we know that your presence matters. But don't feel intimidated when you hear about this, you know, the power here is to really embrace the power of this A, you can bring out your best version of self, in my experience, your wardrobe plays the role of your second skin, so why not learn how to maximise it, who doesn't want to bring out their best selves to a party, and sample, it might be work or personal. And this is very important, because when you look at it that way, again, the opposite of that doesn't sound too encouraging. So your clothing is a significant visual element, the colours, the styles and overall intention of your presentation. And the attire communicates messages about your personality values, and of course, professionalism. So choosing outfits that align with your personal brand and the context of the interaction. And the results you're expecting I think is very important. Now what that means is we are talking in the professional world right now. But even artists, for instance, and if you think about artists, creatives, designers, etc. They were, in many cases, all black. That also is what we call is a uniform, it's a wardrobe as per the results of the impressions, the perception that they want to create out there.

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So we all wear uniforms might be sometimes we haven't thought about it in that manner. You might be thinking results that I'm expecting what is that? Well, your wardrobe? Is your choice to make impact in all relationships, personal, workplace, business, etc. Yes, you have the power to project an image to the world, that you want it to be congruent with who you are, okay, not what they telling you out there, but who you are. And this is very important. And why is clothing so important? Well, if it didn't matter, the president of United States would face the media in a T shirt and shorts, jokes. However, he knows that that's not how leaders present because it communicates a lack of gravitas. They could be any president, by the way. But in the current zone. Of course, if you have a look at the President of the United States, currently, that's Joe Biden, he always presents at the highest level in reference to suit including the pocket square that he wears. And of course, when you compare him to the rest of Congress, he is the sharpest dresser in it. I did say sharpest dresser, maybe not the sharpest from a cognitive perspective, but certainly from an MCC point of view. And this is the irony of all of this where specifically they know that in his leadership position right now, okay, he's not the most cognitive. So of course, what they do is that balance that with the visual to at least in this case, what I would say from a propaganda point of view is distract. Now, nonverbal cues are powerful components of visual identity. How you carry yourself, your posture, your gestures contribute to the overall image you project. Maintaining positive and confident body language reinforces a strong personal brand. So let me explain your grooming habits are part of your visual identity, whether it's your hairstyle and skincare routine, paying attention to these details reflects a commitment to personal excellence. Uh, you know, and this is the interesting thing, when, at times over the years, I've had people fight back on that it's like, you know, do you want to put out your best version of that you want personal excellence? Or do you want me to go? Why don't you just go for the best, you know, most of you would know, my philosophy around Life is too short, not to maximise your value. So well grim, that appearance enhances your overall brand image. Now, also, how do you sort of link this to the digital world, you know, in the digital world, again, like the real world has, of course, similarities, but probably the digital world is, it's even quicker, because in a personal world, at least, if you make a mistake, or something goes up centre, for instance, you can fix it up fairly quickly, especially if you're authentic. In the digital world, it's a lot harder, because you're missing out a lot of cues, right? So digital worlds, I would argue probably even more important today. And I think a lot of people don't know that, especially younger people that have bought a lot of the myths from a social media perspective. And now, you know, they grab a task, they personal power, is going down the proverbial and this is no joke. I mean, I have to say this, because I do actually work with young people. And I see that quite frequently. And it's not because there's something wrong there. It's just that they haven't been educated how to do it with effectiveness from a digital perspective. And with gravity is a key word. Now talking about the digital world, your profile picture, is often the first visual impression you make.

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So it's ensuring that it's brand congruent, depending on your values, of course, and the messaging that you want to present, ask yourself this, is that professional? Does it reflect my personality, my position, and of course, my message and position I mean, this, if you're a leader, yes, levers have a certain look, or get even creative leaders have assert more. So this is not about taking away your personal identity and your creativity and all of that it's actually designed to enhance that. But you can only do that when you know, at least what the rules of the game are. What happens is people love breaking the rules, but they don't know the game rules. And that's the important message that I want to sort of leave with you. So learn what the rules of the game. And then of course, you can make decisions, how you get a break to circumnavigate them, et cetera. And so consistently using the same though and similar images, for instance, across different platforms, enhances recognition, definitely. But over the years of the same, also can devalue over time. So you might say currency, it's okay to actually, you know, change them over time. And of course, their jobs. If you followed his history, and his positioning and his brand. Over the years, of course, he wore a black polo top, black pants, black shoes, etc, or even sneakers. But the thing was, that was his uniform, that was a conscious decision for him to present that way. But I gotta give you the tip. And I've mentioned this in other podcasts, he always walk quality United normally walk quality tops that he bought in Japan, Silk Mohair superfine rules, as opposed to what people think was, you know, achieved $6 top that sort of looks the same on camera, but definitely does not feel the side where you wear it. So remember, even in a digital age, the exchange of business cards also is relevant. Because although a lot of businesses and a lot of business people have dropped that as a concept, what they've done is replaced and will electronic versions, right. But I wouldn't say this doesn't matter what version you decide to adapt, or there's some ditch them, especially in the tech sector. And tech, of course, has influenced a lot of other industries that have been replaced with other versions, you know, that was save a really a similar purpose. And this is the important bit. So if you're going to do it, you're going to need it somewhere. But of course, it also has to be called with your brand. So if it's printed or digital, make sure it aligns with the visual identity, house games, of course, logo placement, etc. So finally, I want to share with you a story that reflects the importance of visual identity and personal branding. And this is a personal story. And I'd like to call this story, the tale of two pitchers. 

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A lesson in keeping cool. Well, I just had to share this because although it's from a long past pitch meeting, it was cringe, comedy gold from moments of the past. And I think I'm gonna share this with you tonight because, you know, I want you to also learn that we also make mistakes and the you know, and if you think you've seen your greatest presenter online, and you've seen the perfect cut out version, the scripted version with no mistakes, just be clear that that's a scripted version, no different to Hollywood. This is all real. So if you're talking about authenticity, that's what I want to share with you today. It's a pitcher this weekend, my colleague general collaboration, let's call him in his case, Mr. Desperate, we get up to present to one of our biggest potential clients, the scene was set up for a classic showdown of poise versus panic. As we walked into the room, I felt like I was stepping onto a stage right I remember a pitch is no different to a stager presenting, obviously to your clients in this case could be investors, it could be any situation it could be to attract the new lover in your life, you know, it's still a form of pitch, but we'll keep it to business today. Although the personal aspects is very important as well. I know for a lot of you, so it hurts my part. I knew every one of my presentation I was being professional and of course, I was dressed to impress. I would say without sounding too cocky I was the epitome of cool right fairly calm collected and without sounding too cliche but James Bond you know, ready to save the will the PowerPoint so I was very, very confident. My colleague, Mr. Desperate Well, enter Mr. Desperate for suffer the moment he opened his laptop, it was really a comedy of errors. First of all, he didn't look like he belonged, meaning his visual look and look like the word indicates desperate in life. Never look desperate. Never sound desperate. Never put a feeling out there, you know that you're gonna basically collapse. If that's the issue, you got to deal with it away from the public eye, you gotta go behind the scenes, go and see somebody, some professional etc. I'm friends even. Right, but don't do it. Of course, in this case, it was a client say looked at a place he fumbled through his opening spilling water. Thankfully, none of the clients and his notes look like a tornado had hit them. Every slide was a suspense thriller. Each click, you know, times over I thought, well, you know, one of those moments, bit of a potential disaster. It was like watching a tightrope walker in a hurricane. exciting to watch but you couldn't help but fear for your life. Again, it felt like that sort of cringe moment. So midway through the pitch while I smoothly transition from one slide to the other, right? highlighting our successes and strategic insights. Mr. Desperate was frantically trying to charm the clients with off the cuff jokes that landed like what I would say, lead balloon stuff. The important thing is to remember is this while would guide through this scenario, it wasn't like I was perfect as well, again, although what pitch was spot on. Of course, the nervousness of having a colleague present like that as well at times will be awful. Now I kept my pool. And of course, I put a face that you know, everything was perfect. And I sort of avoided hooking into any of that drama because I knew what my role was for that particular moment. So going back to Mr. Desperate, his attempts at humour were met with awkward silences that was so palpable in times that's favoured II. I don't know the air conditioner seemed to stop in sympathy. Really. It wasn't so good by the end, but without I couldn't decide if we were in a business meeting or a stand up comedy child night, when my colleague Mr. Desperate was the only one who didn't know the punch lines. Needless to say, my cold demeanour, trust me, I couldn't do much else that particular day shone through though like a beacon of hope. 

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Okay, because I had to take it back to the possibilities of the whole pitch. Of course, the week the chaos that was considered. So the moral of the story was this wasn't a success. Yes, we're not on the die. Truth be told what save that die. Was that connection to the top leaders? Well, you know, our particular collection, Mike, connection to the top leaders, so we had to go work behind the scenes to rectify a situation and times when, right? They knew my past history. They gave us another chance. But this is the big one. However, right? I never did a presentation together again with that colleague ever again, because and this is the bottom line not because he wasn't a great guy or anything like that. Because he was not coachable. His ego did not allow him to open up to the new possibilities that I always talk about. Okay.
I worse than that he would say the right things in follow me and then do something behind my back. Okay? And that is not the energy I want my life. So I'm very clear about that you got to be really clear about that as well. And if you've got mister desperate or miss desperate in your life, Get really clear about that because they will bring your reputation down. So I wasn't gonna risk my reputation ever again with someone that was not open to show the best face to our clients. Bottom line. If you really think about that, right? Why wouldn't you show your best face? I mean, there's a million insecurities I can bring up, but it's like, okay, if you want to do that great, but do it on your own time. Don't do it with why time and of course, why reputation at stake. So as we wrap up today's episode, consider how visual identity aligns you know, with the personal and business brand you want to convey, and I may share more tales in the future and future episodes because of course a lot of our listeners and clients have actually asked us to do that. If you found this episode insightful, please rate us on your preferred podcast platform and connect with me on social media. For more information on our brand and me coaching programmes please email Patricia at image group.com.au Until next time, thank you for joining me and cheerio.

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Jon Michail’s Personal Branding Masterclass Podcast is sponsored by Image Group International, a global team of practical, digitally savvy personal brand and image strategists based in Australia, committed to maximizing your impact, influence and authority in the business world. To learn more and apply for your personal coaching, seminars and group workshops, please visit imagegroup.com.au or call 1800 631 311.