417: The 3 Key Elements for Your Transformational Personal Brand

Show Notes

We’re diving into what makes a personal brand truly transformational. If you’re working to build a brand that’s memorable and impactful, whether you're an entrepreneur, a leader, or someone looking to expand your influence, this episode is for you.

In this episode, I share three essential elements that go into creating a transformational personal brand: being remembered, relevant, and relational

 I’ll walk you through how to identify what makes you unique, why staying in tune with trends matters, and how building genuine connections can fuel your brand’s growth.

Here’s a peek at what we’ll cover:

1. Why "Transformational"? - Your brand isn’t just about what you do; it’s about who you are and how you show up—even when you’re not in the room. It’s a combination of your expertise, values, and the mission you’re passionate about. We’ll talk about what it means to have a brand that inspires change and how that can elevate both you and your audience.

2. Be Remembered - People remember those who make an impact. I’ll share some personal stories, including an unexpected moment at a political fundraiser where I reconnected with someone from years ago because I was memorable. I’ll guide you on how to make sure people think of you when they talk about topics related to your mission and values.

3. Stay Relevant - We’re in a fast-changing world, and it’s critical to adapt. I’ll explain why I’ve been deeply involved with AI, how this aligns with my mission, and why being relevant means more than just following trends—it’s about resonating with what matters in today’s society.

4. Build Relational Connections - Relationships are the heartbeat of a strong personal brand. I’ll discuss why building offline relationships can be just as powerful (if not more) than online connections and share tips for growing a network that helps keep your brand top of mind.

 

Plus, I’ve created a free workbook to help you start building your transformational personal brand. You can download it at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/personalbrand/.

 

I hope this episode inspires you to think about what makes your brand transformational, to make sure your message isn’t just heard, it’s remembered and felt.

 

Links:

Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/417/ 

Download the free personal brand workbook that goes with this episode: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/personalbrand/ 

Apply for our B.O.L.D. Brand Intensive retreat in London Summer 2025: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/london/ 

Enroll in our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/ 

Connect on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox

 

Related Podcast Episodes:

• Episode 416: The Secret to Authentic Connection with Your Audiences is Your Brand Voice with Ashleigh Harvey

• Episode 410: 7 Essential Questions for Your Brand Story with Elayne Fluker

• Episode 408: Connecting Your Personal Brand and Your Thought Leadership

 

JOIN US: Our in-person Speaking Accelerator Workshop is coming up in Downtown Orlando on October 30, 2025. Create and practice your signature talk in one day using our proven framework, so you can confidently share your message and attract more opportunities. It's a fun, supportive environment where you get personalized feedback, professional photos, and more. Limited to 15 attendees. Get the details and secure your spot at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/orlando/.

What is Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies?

It's time to escape the expert trap and become an in-demand speaker and thought leader through compelling and memorable business presentations, keynotes, workshops, and TEDx talks. If you want to level up your public speaking to get more and better, including paid, speaking engagements, you've come to the right place! Thousands of entrepreneurs and leaders have learned from Speaking Your Brand and now you can too through our episodes that will help you with storytelling, audience engagement, building confidence, handling nerves, pitching to speak, getting paid, and more. Hosted by Carol Cox, entrepreneur, speaker, and TV political analyst. This is your place to learn how to persuasively communicate your message to your audience.

Carol Cox:
What do you need for a transformational

personal brand?

That's what we're talking about on today's

episode of the Speaking Your Brand podcast.

More and more women are making an impact by

starting businesses, running for office and

speaking up for what matters.

With my background as a TV political

analyst, entrepreneur, and speaker, I

interview and coach purpose driven women to

shape their brands, grow their companies,

and become recognized as influencers in

their field. This is speaking your brand,

your place to learn how to persuasively

communicate your message to your audience.

Hi there and welcome to the Speaking Your

Brand podcast. I'm your host, Carol Cox.

Today we're diving into what makes a

transformational personal brand and the

three key elements that go into it.

First, if you haven't yet listened to last

week's episode, I talked with Ashley Harvey

all about your brand voice, especially when

it comes to your writing.

So it's social media, email newsletters,

your website, sales copy and so on.

Definitely go back and listen to that

episode after you listen to that one, if you

haven't already.

Now, if you think about your personal brand,

it's not the same as your company brand.

Now. They could be very much intertwined and

align with each other. Like my personal

brand is very much intertwined with speaking

your brand, because speaking your brand is a

very small business, and because I am the

face and voice of the company.

But your personal brand is not quite the same

thing as your company brand because your

company brand could change.

For example, I've had different iterations

of my career over the past 20 years.

I had two different technology businesses

and then started speaking your brand about

nine years ago, and I'll talk a little bit

more about that in just a moment.

So your personal brand will evolve as you

evolve and even as your career or your

businesses change.

So your personal brand, you can think about

it as the collection of experiences,

knowledge, expertise, values, points of

view, your personality, all of that, that

make up who you are and how you deliver your

work or your message.

It's also about how you show up because

everywhere that your personal brand can be

seen, heard, experienced and talked about is

you showing up whether you're there or not,

because you want people to be talking about

you even when you're not in the room, even

when you're not around, you want them to

mention you and also to refer you, whether

it's for prospective clients or for speaking

opportunities. I intentionally included the

word transformational in front of personal

brand, because I really feel like the work

that you do when you think about who you

want to work with, the message you want to

share, how you are the messenger for your

audience, you're really transforming

yourself as much as you're transforming the

audiences that are hearing you or reading

your content. If you think about what a

transformation is, it's learning more about

yourself and then making a change, or

learning more about an industry or a

community or society as a whole, and wanting

to have a positive impact to make some type

of change. So you're doing that yourself,

and you're also helping your audience do

that. So you're advancing the mission that

you have along with growing your business or

advancing in your career.

I mentioned that before I started speaking

your brand as a company in 2015.

I had had technology businesses, so in the

early 2000, during the.com boom, I got into

software development and built large

technology systems for fortune 500

companies. That was one aspect of our

technology business.

I also had another aspect where we built

software for political organizations and

candidates. So voter files, fundraising,

volunteer management websites and so on.

I've had some recent experiences just in the

past couple of weeks that have reminded me

how powerful a really clear and consistent

personal brand can be.

So I mentioned that there's three key

elements that I wanted to share with you for

what makes up a transformational personal

brand. So this is what I have come up with.

The first key element is that you want your

personal brand to be remembered.

Again, you want people to talk about you, to

refer you, to mention you when something

comes up that's related to what you do,

that's related to either what you do in your

business or your career, or that's related

to the overall mission that you have or

those values that you share.

So I want you to think about right now, who

is someone's personal brand that is

memorable to you, that you really like or

that you follow? And why is it?

What is it about them?

What is it about the kind of content that

they create or their personality, or how

they show up that makes them memorable and

makes them even aspirational to you?

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a

political fundraiser that was held on behalf

of four women who are running for office in

the Central Florida area where I live.

I'm always a big advocate of donating to

women who are running for office, because

women tend not to get as many donations as

men running for office, and they tend also

not to get institutional support.

I always say, if you find find women in your

local area to support whether they're

running for Congress or school board or

county commission and so on, and help them

out, whether it's a donation of $50 or $100

or more, it really does help.

I was at this.

I was at this fundraiser, and I was talking

to some of the candidates and some of the

other people who were there, and one of the

candidates went over and introduced me to

two men who were standing on the side.

And so I had my name tag on, and I introduced

myself, and one of the guys said, oh, Carol

Cox, I know you.

You did our website for when I was the

chairperson of one of the Democratic parties

in a neighboring county.

And I was like, wow.

And he said his name. And as soon as he said

his name, I recognized his name.

I just didn't recognize him because this was

probably 14 years ago, maybe 12 years ago,

that I had last had an interaction with him

when he was a client of that prior business

that I have. And the reason he remembered me

is not just because my company had built the

website for the county party that he was

running at the time, because I was such a

fierce advocate not only to support the

candidates who were running for office, but

to make sure that they had the technology

and the tools to make them competitive.

The second key element to think about for

your transformational personal brand is to

stay relevant.

As trends change, you want to make sure that

whatever you're talking about, whatever your

personal brand represents and stands for,

whatever your mission is, is also reflecting

these trends.

Because I have this background in

technology, and also because I want to make

sure that we have more women of influence

and leadership in tech and business,

politics and so on.

When ChatGPT came out two years ago now, I

was all over it. I want to make sure that

women are at the decision making table and

in leadership positions.

When we think about how AI is going to

affect all of us, from our work to our

education and so on.

So that is a trend I that I am infusing not

only into the work we do at speaking your

brand, but also into my personal brand.

It could be AI for you, it could be other

trends that are going on, such as

sustainability and environmentalism related

to climate change.

It could be about workplace culture and say

multiple generations that are in the

workplace now could be about wellbeing.

So there are trends that kind of ebb and

flow. For example, obviously when the

pandemic happened, it was very much about

remote work and then it became about hybrid

work. So you want to make sure that whatever

you're talking about, not just in your

business, but also your personal brand, so

you're speaking engagements and so on are

relevant. Connect to trends, connect to

things that people are interested in.

Recently, I was asked to be on a panel on

AI, and the reason is because the person who

had asked me to be on a panel saw me do a

virtual presentation, an online presentation

on AI. So this is another tip is to make

sure to say yes and to show up whether it's

for virtual engagements or in-person

engagements. The more that you say yes and

show up, the more and more people will see

what you're doing, and then you'll get asked

for other speaking opportunities, other

panels, media opportunities, and so on.

So I went to the event where I was going to

be on this panel, and I saw there someone

who I have known for the past 20 years, but

I haven't seen in person, or maybe at least

ten years ago.

Back 20 years ago, he owned a video

production company, and I was one of his

first clients for some videos and

commercials that we made at the time.

And so not only did he remember me, and I

remember him because he also has a personal

brand that's very memorable as well, but he

is staying relevant with I, which is why he

was asked to serve on this panel.

And I also am staying relevant with AI,

which is why I was being asked to serve on

this panel. So that's the second key element

is make sure that your personal brand is

relevant. The third key element for your

transformational personal brand is

relational. Make sure that you're building

your network, not just online.

I know it's easy to just be on LinkedIn and

just to post things and connect with people,

but really build your network offline as

well. Show up at meetings, at groups.

Go to conferences, whether the local

conferences or industry conferences.

The more that you show up, the more that

you're building your network.

You're building those relationships.

Relationships that I've had now for 20

years, as long as I've been in this

community here. And I see now people that

I've known for so long and they remember me

because of this strong personal brand that I

have, because my mission has always been so

clear and because I've always shown up so

consistently. For example, on election

night, which is just a day after this

episode airs, I will be back on the TV news

commenting on the election.

This will be the fifth presidential election

that I've done this for, starting in 2008,

all the way through now into 2024.

And the reason that I'm invited back on the

TV news is because of the relationships that

I built, relationships that I built with the

news directors and the reporters at

different stations, but also with my fellow

political commentators who also recommend

me, and I recommend them as well.

So the three key elements for your

transformational personal brand is that you

want to be remembered, relevant and

relational. Okay.

So now I'm going to give you some very

tactical, practical things that you do.

I've created a free workbook that goes along

with this episode with some of the things

that I'm about to share with you now, so

that you can actually work on them, and you

can get that free workbook at speaking your

brand.com/personal brand.

So altogether speaking your

brand.com/personal brand, the link is also

in the show notes. So here's how to actually

think about doing this to make sure that

your personal brand is remembered, relevant

and relational.

The first thing is that you want to map out

the spokes of your personal brand.

You are a multi-dimensional.

I'm sure you have different interests.

Maybe you've had very different things that

you've done in your career like I have, and

your personal brand is not just about your

expertise or about what you do in your

business or your career.

It's also about the things that interest

you, the conversations that you want to be a

part of. For example, the spokes of my

personal brand include things like speaking

and marketing. They also include history,

feminism, politics and tech and AI.

So at first glance, you may think, okay,

well, I kind of get how marketing speaking

going together and I get how history and

feminism go together.

But what about politics?

That seems like an outlier in tech, and I

definitely seems like an outlier.

But this is what makes me multi-dimensional.

This is what makes me interesting, and this

is also what keeps me relevant.

So how I connect these different spokes.

The connecting thread that I find is that

I'm always looking for the women in the

stories or their absence.

This is why I studied history, because I

wanted to find out what women were doing,

whether it was in 1850 or 1900 or 1940.

I wanted to know what were they doing and

why weren't they in my history books?

I also want to make sure that women have a

voice in decision making, in leadership, in

all of these different areas, and that I

also recognize the importance of

communication and advocacy in advancing

gender equality. I'm a big believer that

more women who have a public voice, who are

speaking on stages and in the media, that

that is a way to advance gender equality.

So you can see now then, how all of those

different spokes connect much more.

Again, you can get the worksheets that I'm

talking about here in that free workbook as

speaking your Brand.com slash personal

brand. So that's the first thing is to

define the spokes of your personal brand.

The second thing is to lead with your

mission and values, and you want to define

what your brand voice is, because your brand

voice is not just your tone and your

personality. It is that.

But it's more than that.

It's also your mission, your expertise, your

methodology, and your experiences.

And I have this brand voice canvas framework

that I created last year.

And in that workbook you can fill that out.

So for example, under the Brand Voice

canvas, for me under mission I have my

mission is to amplify and champions women's

voices and stories to have more women

influence in key positions in different

industries. My expertise is public speaking,

thought leadership, personal branding, my

methodology. I have these different

frameworks that I've created, whether it's

the brand voice, canvas, signature Talk

canvas, Escaping the Expert Trap, and so on.

And then experiences are the stories that I

share. So I share about speaking successes

and failures. The three stages women go

through when we use our voice, and so on.

So you can fill out the brand voice canvas

and see my example.

The third thing is to think about what your

brand story is.

So what is it that you stand for?

What is your unique viewpoint and

perspective for your industry or for the

work that you do?

What do you do or believe that's different

or challenges the status quo?

And what are those hard won lessons that

you've learned that you can share with

others? These questions are in that workbook

as speaking your brand.com slash personal

brand. So I want you to think about how do

you want your personal brand to be

remembered, relevant and relational.

And this work can be hard to do on your own

because you're so close to your own content

and to yourself because you're in your own

head. And also I often see is that we second

guess ourselves. We want to put something

out that's bold or maybe counterintuitive or

challenges the status quo, but then we back

down. Plus, it's really helpful to have

others to be a mirror and a sounding board,

and to have a coach to ask you the right

questions and to help you to see the bigger

picture and the connecting threads.

We do this in our online program called the

Thought Leader Academy.

We work with you both one on one and in a

small group on zoom, because this is online

on zoom. You can join us at any time.

You can get all of those details as speaking

your Brand.com slash academy.

And we have something very special coming up

in the summer of 2025, we're hosting a four

day in-person retreat in London, England,

that is designed to help you develop a brand

that's authentically you powerful, magnetic

and transformational.

You're going to have workshops and

activities. You're going to have one on one

coaching with us, feedback, practice

sessions. We're going to help you to really

develop your brand, your personal brand, but

also intertwine with your company brand if

you do have your own business.

All around our bold framework and you're

going to leave not only with your brand and

your brand voice defined, but also creating

brand assets that set you apart and draw in

those opportunities that you're looking for.

And of course, we're in London, so we're not

just going to stay inside and do workshops.

We're going to go see a play at

Shakespeare's Globe, we're going to do a

women's history walking tour and so much

more. The retreat is limited to 12 women, so

it's nice and intimate.

You're going to have an incredible time not

only working with me, with Diane and with

Ashley Harvey, who was on the podcast last

week. So go back and listen to that.

But also meeting incredible women leaders

just like you, who want to elevate their

impact. The dates of this four day retreat

are June 20th 9th to July 2nd, 2025.

You can get all the details as speaking your

Brand.com slash London again that's speaking

your brand.com/london.

You can fill out the application and then

schedule. We're going to schedule a zoom

call so we can talk.

I can find out more about your goals and

answer all the questions that you have.

I want you to have a transformational

personal brand, because I know that there

are incredible things you want to do in the

world, and having a brand that's remembered,

relevant and relational is a way that that's

going to happen. Until next time, thanks for

listening.