What's your signature topic?
Many of us have a signature dish we’re famous for amongst our friends and family - it's something we enjoy cooking, have a lot of experience with, and have added our unique twist to. Our choice of dish is often artfully simple, whether it’s our mother’s apple crumble recipe, or an omelette, we’ve found a way to master it, own it, and add an element or two that distinguishes it from everyone else’s and improves it.
Similarly, when it comes to personal profile, one should have a topic they can own: one that they are passionate about and have either mastered, or are on the road to becoming an expert in. Your topic should be aligned with your interests and expertise. In fact, chances are we’re already talking about it, or at least thinking about it.
If you don’t know what your signature topic is, ask your friends or colleagues for ideas about topics that seem a natural fit for you, which you love talking about, and already have a reputation for being an expert in. Your passion for the topic will naturally give it a unique spin.
The biggest clue of all is that your signature topic is likely to be something you are currently engaged with.
When people look to build their profile they often go out in search of a brand-new landscape to play in, thinking that they need to abandon the past and start afresh. The truth is this typically won’t work as effectively as starting with a point of familiarity and expertise, and building from there.
Ask yourself some key questions
If you’re stuck for ideas, here are a few questions you can ask yourself to help identify some life themes or your area of subject matter expertise.
Be deadly honest; there is no should here. When answering, don’t discount your full-life experience. If you are just starting out on your career, these experiences, even when you were a teenager, can offer big clues about your enduring areas of passion and expertise.
Listen for anything unusual that pops up, particularly things you are tempted to dismiss or push back into the background. That’s often the biggest clue about what makes you different, such as:
What business or life skill comes easily to you? And sometimes, it comes so easily that you are tempted to dismiss it. A clue for this is that it is possibly the thing that people often ask you to help them out with as a favour.
Is there a particular message or experience in your life that you have felt driven to share with others?
What are three positively defining moments in your life or career so far, and why?
What are the three greatest contributions you feel you have made to other people?
What is your favourite quote in life, and why?
Who is the celebrity or businessperson you most admire, and why?
Who is the celebrity or businessperson you relate to the most, and why?
Bonus question: If you created a music playlist for your life, what would some of the linking themes be across your favourite songs?
Did any recurring themes emerge from this exercise? Within these themes there’s a clue about your authentic personal brand. Pay attention to anything unusual that pops up from this exercise.
Digging deeper— your weirdness is your brand
We can spend years running from our unique background experiences, fearing they will result in rejection from the tribe. But in the end what makes us ‘weird’ is often key to what makes us great.
An X-factor is critical when it comes to standing out, and being memorable. But where does it come from? Believe it or not, we all have an X-factor. The trick, however, is first uncovering it, and then embracing it as part of our authentic public persona.
I have learned to listen closely to the weird and out-of-place stories—these are often huge clues about what drives a person and their talent later in life. What follows are a few examples from my personal professional experience.
The architect
In one of my personal brand workshops, a successful architect talked about nearly drowning as a kid. His Dad was looking away when it happened, and throughout his life he’s had dreams about venturing out into the deep ocean.
This emotional story was surprising from this quietest member of the professional group, during a discussion about milestone influences on our lives. It made more sense when he started talking about his struggle to venture fully into the creative design projects he craved, often playing it safe within the “shallows” of more predictable government planning work.
Did this childhood trauma wire him to believe his survival would be threatened if he tried something too adventurous? Rather than viewing his cautious disposition as a disadvantage, he went on to create a hybrid professional world that balances risk-taking with security, introducing distinctive new approaches to public sector work. His cautious instincts have schooled him in the art of navigating the risk-averse world of government to negotiate visionary outcomes. Today he is responsible for creating some of the most unique, dynamic public architecture in Australia. And, of course, that topic is a focus of his public profile.
The beauty influencer
A confident young woman I worked with entertains people with a story of how she had her dress ripped off her and eaten by a goat when she was six, leaving her naked and ashamed in front of her classmates (with a phobia of goats). The story sounds hilarious at first, yet there were other childhood issues which enflamed that experience for her. She had health concerns, wore an eye patch for years, and had wild, unruly hair that left her feeling weird and out of place as a child. These humiliating childhood experiences were formative for her.
As an adult she’s stunning, sophisticated, and highly fashionable. It’s no accident she’s ended up with a passion for work within the health and beauty sphere, and has quickly become a humble, but sought-after, identity within this space. And while she is graced with more than her share of natural beauty, she has worked hard to overcome many obstacles to create a career that provides beauty and well-being support to others. She radiates authenticity in that space, and her childhood experiences have had a lot to do with shaping her relatable brand essence.
My own weird share
Here is my own monument to weirdness: I grew up in a cult. It took me years to talk about that, until I realised that backstory has been one of the driving forces in my current professional life, and which now helps define me in a positive way.
I grew up in an environment where no one was allowed to stand out, and everyone behaved in a uniform way. Freedom of identity was denied. So, it makes total sense that I would go on in my career to help others gain visibility, profile, and an authentic, original voice (personal brand). I also am a great champion of entrepreneurs because they have the courage to break out of the mould and dare to do things differently.
I was denied my uniqueness—now
