People connect with PEOPLE, and building connections with people involves exposing parts of your personal and professional life. One of the best ways to connect with people is through commonalities – which often link back to our personal interests or hobbies. These can also be memorable and set you apart from others.
Why connecting is important
A big part of connecting with people, and a core principle of influence, is that we work with people we know, like, and trust. When it comes to likability, it’s based on similarities, empathy, or understanding of others and getting to know people. If your brand is too professional, you miss the opportunity to really connect with them on an emotional and real level.
This is why résumés often include a section for hobbies and interests – because this creates connections and helps potential employers to get to know you.
Power Tip:
If you have personal interests or interesting things that you can share about yourself, this can actually be more memorable and build a deeper connection than all of your professional accomplishments. While we focus a lot on credibility and professionalism, the things that people often remember about you are personal – even in a professional context.
How to connect with others
The most successful personal brands reveal and share parts of their personal lives based on the image they are trying to craft. Consider what makes you interesting beyond your work to make your brand more relatable and compelling.
- What are your passions? These can be both personal and professional. If you had nothing else to motivate you, what would you get out of bed at 5:00 AM every day?
- What are your personal values? For example: Balance, being the best, agility, calmness, challenge, decisiveness, perseverance, drive, honesty, integrity, pragmatism, sensitivity, structure, teamwork, sharing, vitality, zeal.
- What are your hobbies? What do you like to do in your free time?
- What interesting things have you done or accomplished personally? What are you most proud of?
- What parts of your personal life are off-limits, or do you not plan to share?
While you certainly don’t want to share every detail of your personal life, and different people have different approaches on what they share about family, hobbies, and politics or other personal matters, finding aspects of your personal life that you are comfortable sharing is key if you really want to connect.
The is taken from an excerpt of “Launch Yourself”, by Krista Neher. For your free action planner and bonus resources, visit www.LaunchYourself.com/book.
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