Personal Branding for Introverts, With Goldie Chan

In her recently published book, “Personal Branding for Introverts,” Goldie Chan outlines how to remain true to yourself, while taking strategic steps to improve your network and reputation. Goldie previews the book and her session at StoryConnect 2026 in this episode.

Link to purchase the book: https://a.co/d/85WjjJa.

Creators and Guests

Host

Andy Johns

Vice President of Marketing

What is The StoryConnect Podcast?

StoryConnect features interviews with marketers, communicators, CEOs and other leaders at cooperative and independent broadband companies, electric cooperatives and municipal power providers. The goal of the podcast is to help listeners discover ideas to shape their stories and connect with their customers. It is produced by Pioneer Utility Resources.

Intro:
A production of Pioneer Utility Resources.

StoryConnect, helping communicators discover ideas to shape their
stories and connect with their customers.

Andy Johns:
What do introverts need to know about building a personal brand?

That's what we'll be talking about on this episode of The
StoryConnect Podcast. My name is Andy Johns, your host with

Pioneer, and I'm joined on this episode by Goldie Chan,
who is a creative keynote speaker and author.

She is a LinkedIn superstar with her creative video channel,
winning the LinkedIn Top Voice distinction and being called The

Oprah of LinkedIn by Huffington Post,
which is pretty cool to be the Oprah of anything,

but especially when the Huffington Post says that about you at
LinkedIn. Her first book,

"Personal Branding for Introverts," which is what we'll be
talking about today, is coming out in October,

and attendees at Pioneer's StoryConnect Conference coming up in
April will not only be able to get a copy of the book,

but will get a chance to hear Goldie speak in-person to our group
as well.

So Goldie, thanks so much for joining me on this episode of
StoryConnect.

And at the conference in real life,
coming up in a few months.

Goldie Chan:
Thank you. I'm so excited to join you at the conference.

I think it'll be a really good time.

I'm excited to talk more about how you can use personal branding
to make sure that you stand out in your career.

Andy Johns:
And it's perfect. I'm really glad that we found you as a
potential speaker.

Of course, the conference is in Tacoma,
Washington in April, StoryConnect.com for all the details.

Because our survey that we do, and we take our survey of our
attendees very seriously,

last year, they asked specifically for content for marketers who
are introverts.

And so we're like, where are we going to find a speaker like
that? And then there you were. So I think it's great.

I think this is a little bit of a foreign language for me.

Folks that know me know that I am a flaming extrovert,
but I have found a lot of my relationships in my life have

improved significantly since I have discovered that introverts
are real and learn to understand more about how introverts

operate and what they need. So I'm excited to get into a little
bit about that.

Let's talk just about the book. What gave you the idea,
or what inspired the idea to write a book specifically on

personal branding for introverts?

Goldie Chan:
Yeah. So I've been writing on personal branding for a lot of my
career.

You know, my column for Forbes was Personal Branding and
Storytelling in the Digital Age.

So I think everyone expected me to do a book on personal
branding.

And I really thought about and I thought,
what angle, right, on personal branding,

do I want to take? And then I thought about introverts,
and I am one,

and a lot of people don't think I'm one because I speak on stages
all over the world.

But I definitely am an introvert,
and I think it is so helpful for introverts to get

their version of how to build their personal brand.

And there's lots and lots of really great introvert books out
there.

But so many of them talk about introverts just being perpetually
quiet,

and that's their only trait. And I believe that introverts are
much greater than being quiet.

And Andy, I'm sure you know, introverts out there who,
you get them started on what they care about,

and they will talk your ear off.

Andy Johns:
Sure. Yeah. And like you said, a lot of folks that are,
and we have a couple of very talented speakers at Pioneer and

other folks in the industry that you see them on stage and you're
like, wow, that person's got to be an extrovert. And they really

aren't. But like you said, you find the right the right
situation, the right topic, and they're off the charts.

But before we get too much into that,
let's define personal brand,

because obviously you are one of the experts to talk about that.

But for folks that aren't as familiar,
for folks used to, you know,

representing their company's brand or,
you know, a lot of talk about branding out there,

but how do you define personal brand,
and what all goes into it?

Goldie Chan:
Sure. So I think the number one question that I get is what is
personal branding versus reputation.

So I'll define personal branding and reputation.

Andy Johns:
Sure.

Goldie Chan:
So reputation, let's start there,
is what other people say about you when you're not in the room.

Personal branding is the story that you have control of.

So personal branding is all of the elements that go into building
who you're known as specifically in your

career or your industry. So that's your,
if you have it, your LinkedIn profile.

It's the way you introduce yourself at a conference,
at StoryConnect.

It's the way that you present yourself at your workplace.

If you're still physically going into a workplace,
it is all of these different elements together that you have

control of. That is your personal brand.

Andy Johns:
Excellent. I think that's a good definition because like you
said,

you've got control over some of that,
but not all of it, so.

Goldie Chan:
Not all of it.

Andy Johns:
Makes sense. I think what's really interesting,
it seems like from the description and some of the early talk

from the book, is, you know, in some ways the world is kind of
set up,

particularly the marketing and business world,
is a little bit set up for extroverts.

But I think it's important. It doesn't seem like your book is
teaching people how to be somebody they're not.

Authenticity is a huge deal right now.

So unpack a little bit of that without giving away too much from
the book.

How do you suggest folks still stay true to themselves,
still stay authentic?

But if they are more introverted,
be able to operate, in an extrovert's world to some level?

Goldie Chan:
Right. So I think it all goes to the very core of it.

I also talk about the five C's of personal branding,
but without going into every single one of those letters,

I will start with why, which isn't even a C word.

But it is the why are you building a personal brand at all?

It is also, hopefully the why of why you do the work that you do
and the care that goes into your work and your career.

And when you start from there, when you start from the purpose
behind why you do your work,

that is a great place to start with building your personal brand,

and also it's a great place to start from.

Then you're less, I think, encouraged to be an extrovert at work.

And of course, there are many extrovert traits that are very
rewarded that are very helpful at work.

But there are so many introvert traits that I believe are
incredibly valuable at work.

Andy Johns:
Absolutely.

Goldie Chan:
For example, deep listening, right,
is one of them.

I'm sure you know, coworkers or folks that you've worked with
that are amazing at listening and hearing and digesting.

And that also, as a leader, I think a lot of extroverts,
unsurprisingly,

make up the majority of leaders in the workplace.

But introverts as a leader also are really fascinating.

They will be a team leader that really tries to help fit folks in
and make sure that they're being heard during the

meetings, etc. so introverts have so many strengths that they
bring to the workplace,

I think. And obviously so do extroverts.

So I hope that introverts, anyone out there listening to this,
that's an introvert.

I hope that you know that you bring really amazing and valuable
skills to your place of work.

Andy Johns:
I'm really glad that you touched on that,
because so many people,

you know, whether it's leadership,
but also, you know, to a degree,

marketing and communications, the word association there,
you know,

loud. And then there are other jobs and tasks that you associate,

quiet. And the same thing with introverts and extroverts.

But I'm really glad you touched on that,
because you don't have to be,

even though some folks we all know,
folks that don't quite get this,

but just being loud doesn't make you a leader.

There's a whole lot more to it than that,
and I'm really glad you touched on that.

Goldie Chan:
I'm so glad you said that. Yeah,
being loud doesn't make you a leader.

I think a lot, and I will say one of the keys of the five C's of
personal branding to me is confidence.

And I always like to reference that between confidence and ego.

And ego is when you shout who you are in a room,
and confidence is when you are who you

are in the room, right? You don't have to yell who you are,
you just show up,

and you're very confidently that person.

And I think we have all been in rooms where we meet somebody who
is very confident.

And I think just as human beings,
it is so attractive to be around those people because they aren't

insecure, they aren't egotistical,
right?

The two sides of the coin. But they just show up as they are,
and that's a very comfortable person to be around.

Andy Johns:
Let's talk about in that room. When you've got folks that are,
I mean,

most every scenario, whether it's a virtual room or in an actual
conference room,

you've got folks, team dynamics.

A lot of folks are on different parts of the continuum there from
extremely extroverted,

extremely introverted. I think the book gets into some of this.

But how can introverts and extroverts work together in peace and
and live together in an office setting?

What are some key ways to work together to get to success?

Because like you said, they're all bringing in the same way that
we talk about diversity of different kinds in the workplace.

You know, those different perspectives can lead to brighter
success for everybody.

Goldie Chan:
Yeah. So I've talked with a few different extrovert leaders.

Once again, extroverts outnumber introverts in leadership
positions.

And I talked with a few folks that I know who are extroverts,
and how do they lead a successful team full of introverts?

And a couple of ways that they do that,
first of all, one of them,

what he told me is he actually gave his team one day off
meetings.

So they have one day during the workweek where they have
absolutely have no meetings.

It's just a regular workday, but no,
especially team wide meetings.

No company wide meetings are going to be scheduled.

He does this to give people a little bit of a break.

I'm sure we all would appreciate a day without meetings.

Andy Johns:
Extrovert here, sign me up for that.

Goldie Chan:
Right. Raise your hand. And then the other person that I talked
to,

who's also an extrovert, was saying,
okay, one of the things that she does is she runs a team full of

designers. They're all introverts;
they're all quiet.

And what she does is she just makes sure that everyone has space
to talk to her outside of actually the meeting

itself, so she'll do a pre-meeting meeting slot where an
introvert can come into her office and say,

"I'd really like to express this during the meeting." So if they
don't feel comfortable saying it during the meeting,

they will tell her first, and she will bring it up as a "Oh well,

this is just something that we should talk about." And I think
that's really wonderful,

and I'd never heard that before.

But how helpful and powerful is that for an extrovert to do for
an introvert?

Andy Johns:
Yeah, I think that's an office hours approach like that makes a
ton of sense.

One more question about that topic before we move on to social
media,

but I guess it's all connected. The book also talks about
navigating in-person networking events like like StoryConnect,

and I have learned that there are two words that strike fear into
the heart of introverts everywhere, which is icebreaker,

at the beginning of a meeting. What are some of the tips that you
have learned and that you encourage folks to do when they are in

person? Obviously, so much of what we do now is virtual,
but coming up at an event like StoryConnect where they're going

to be there in-person, what are some of the strategies and ideas
that you've developed over the years to navigate those in-person

events?

Goldie Chan:
So I will also start with two other words that strike fear in the
hearts of all introverts,

much like icebreaker is small talk.

Andy Johns:
Oh yeah.

Goldie Chan:
Yeah. So they're cousins. I like to say that they're cousins of
each other.

Both tend to be unpleasant for introverts in general.

So I'll talk a little bit about both of those.

But I think it's helpful when you are at a conference that you
understand that you have a social battery,

and that social battery as an introvert,
probably is going to get drained pretty quickly by being at a

conference. So what do you do? Well,
it's the same thing that I suggest when you work in an office,

which is take ten minutes, take five,
ten minutes and go outside.

Just step outside of the conference venue.

Get some fresh air. Reset a little bit.

Don't be. Also, the temptation is to go outside and immediately,
right,

get on your phone and start the scroll.

Andy Johns:
Sure, sure. Right.

Goldie Chan:
But don't get on the phone. Literally,
go outside.

Take a little walk. Just be offline a little bit.

Be off socializing and that helps reset you a little bit,
so just having that.

Now let's talk about some of the tactics though.

When you're at a conference that are helpful for making sure that
you feel less overwhelmed,

and this is true for extroverts too.

One of the things that I suggest is instead of saying,
I want to meet 50 new people at this conference,

which is an undoable number for most of us.

Andy Johns:
That's a lot. That's a lot. Yeah.

Goldie Chan:
It's a lot. That's a lot. So I like to,
I actually like to keep this number incredibly,

incredibly small. I'll say for me,
whenever I go to a conference,

the number that I have in my head is I want to meet three new
people.

And the reason why I say three is,
is because when you meet 50 new people at a conference,

what are the chances that you remember anything about those 50
people?

Andy Johns:
Nope. Yeah. You're just collecting business cards.

Goldie Chan:
Yeah. You have. I was going to say,
exactly. We're on the same wavelength. You're collecting that

stack of business cards, and you don't even remember where you
got this.

Why you got this? When you got this?

Unless you're in sales, at which point,
you know, none of this is relevant to you probably.

But I think for the rest of us who are not so great with the
stack of business cards,

if you talk to three people, just the way our brains work,
you're more likely to remember those three people.

And quite frankly, if you have as an introvert,
a more in-depth conversation with those people,

they will be more likely to remember you.

And that's the power.

Andy Johns:
Wow, I like that a lot. Well said.

And I'm making a note that when I see you in April not to talk
about the weather or how the Dodgers are doing or,

you know, that kind of small talk stuff.

So, well.

Goldie Chan:
I will say this, I also in my book,
I have like a little list of small talk questions.

Sometimes I do a networking workshop at some of these bigger
conferences,

and I quite literally, and I do them for introverts.

So the last introvert session I did was introvert specific,
and it was a room full of introverts.

So you can guess how awkward and quiet that was.

No one spoke in the line when they were waiting to get in.

Andy Johns:
Oh no, I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it.

Goldie Chan:
Yeah, it was. You would be, you'd be just talking.

But it was funny because they get in the room,
and then I say, okay,

you know, halfway through it because I didn't want to throw them
in the fire right away. But halfway through I made them do this

exercise. I made them stand up and say,
hi, my name is ____.

Right, and the best part is for some of them there is a because I
paired them off,

they're like, hi, my name is ____. And then they needed me to say
"No.

That's where you put in your name."

Andy Johns:
Right?.

Goldie Chan:
This is where we put in the name. And then,
so you say, you know,

the person A says, "Hi, my name is ____".

And then person B says, "Wow, it's nice to meet you.

My name is ____." And then then we go back to person A and person
says,

"That's great. Where do you work,
or what do you do?" And then I was like,

that's a conversation. That's a small talk conversation,
and we practiced it at

the session. And it was funny because people were so
uncomfortable with just saying,

"Hi, my name is ____." And then the other person was like,
"Okay,

what's my line again?"

Andy Johns:
Right.

Goldie Chan:
And I was like, that's when you say your name,
you know, my name is,

right? Just a few words. So sometimes it's helpful for having a
script when you're also your brain goes a little

fuzzy.

Andy Johns:
Sure, definitely. Well, let's shift gears over to social media as
well,

because I know that's something that you also have a lot of
expertise.

We can talk a little bit about the book at the end,
but it's due out in October.

It's available coming up on Amazon,
and I imagine other retailers as well.

Anywhere in particular they should buy it,
or just wherever they normally buy?

Goldie Chan:
Definitely buy it wherever you can buy it,
but it's available at Amazon. It's available at Barnes and Noble.

It's actually available online at a bunch of local,
great local retailers that are really exciting.

I think, yeah, I was gonna say,
yeah, there's probably quite a few local bookstores that's

available, but definitely at Barnes and Nobles and definitely at
Amazon.

Andy Johns:
Got it. And it's called "Personal Branding for Introverts" by
Goldie Chan.

All right. Switching over to social media. So obviously the
Huffington Post calling you the Oprah of LinkedIn.

You know, you've got more than 100,000 followers on there.

What do you attribute your success to when it comes to that
personal brand on a platform?

We have seen from our surveys with our clients and everything
that while some social media platforms like Facebook have kind of

plateaued, still very strong. Others like X are maybe kind of
sliding a little bit.

LinkedIn is on the rise from from everything in our industry that
more and more folks are looking at LinkedIn as a spot.

So specifically on there, what do you attribute your success to
over the years?

Goldie Chan:
So I'll say the other nickname that I got,
which I laugh at is the Queen of Uncool,

because I decided to build my personal brand presence on what I
like to say is the most uncool

platform on the internet. But I do think,
Andy, that despite it being

probably the most uncool platform on the internet,
it's one of the most valuable platforms on the internet.

And to me, that's worth more to have a place where you can reach
decision makers.

You can reach people who have budgets.

You can reach people who are director level or above,
who will be able to help you with your business or connect you

with their colleagues. That is such a powerful platform.

So I care a little bit less about it being uncool,
and I care a lot more about it being a place where you can make

business really happen. And I think that's why it's on the rise.

More and more people are seeing LinkedIn as a place where not
only can you,

of course, get your next job, but you could also get your next
client.

But you could also get other opportunities by connecting with
your old colleagues and your old clients,

etc. it's where you can house your network.

So when I think about Facebook,
I think of extended family and friends are on there.

And I think when I think of Instagram,
I think that's the platform where we a little bit show off,

right? And then I'm not, quite frankly,
I'm on other platforms.

I'm on quite a few other platforms,
but I'm not as active in them as I could be.

But LinkedIn, once again, is to me so powerful and growing
because especially in what can be

just a very tough job market and maybe a tough economy,
it's helpful to have a platform that specifically

is focused on business, for better or for worse.

And I think it's a very good place to have a presence and to sign
up for a profile and to build out your business page if you

haven't already, because it's free.

Andy Johns:
Right? I have a good buddy that's not in the utility or broadband
industry.

He's in the banking industry, and I give him a hard time because
his Facebook picture and his LinkedIn picture are the exact same,

except LinkedIn he has on glasses,
and Facebook he doesn't have on glasses.

And I'm like, you're just trying to look smarter on LinkedIn.
But, you know, on a serious note there, how do you treat the

content differently? Are you you know,
it's awfully easy if you're in Hootsuite or Sprout Social,

just publish the same thing on all the platforms.

But do you treat your your LinkedIn content differently with a
different tone voice strategy plan?

How do you treat the platform differently?

Goldie Chan:
Yeah. So I will say if you're using those programs already,
you can do tailored content and still schedule it out.

So I want to throw that out there that yes,
it's easy to take the same post and then hit that publish button

across platforms, which is why they build the platforms like
that.

But I would gently suggest that maybe a better idea is to start
with a draft that's one draft,

and then to tailor that specific draft to the different platforms
to make sense and speak in the language of

those different platforms. I will say that for myself when I post
the same post on Instagram or quite honestly,

Facebook, because a lot of it is friends and family,
I will use a lot more of a casual tone.

I'll use slang. I'll use shortened words.

I'll use something funnier. And on LinkedIn,
because these are potential clients and potential folks that I

will work with, I do a more professional and business post.

I put on my virtual glasses like that guy that,
you know, and I do the same thing with my

copy and my content. I put the glasses that have no lenses in
them.

I put it on my content so it looks a little smarter.

I think that's also.

Andy Johns:
And it worked for the The Incredible Hulk is,
you know, we always talk about that, how –

Goldie Chan:
It worked for The Incredible Hulk and and you know,
it worked for Superman,

so.

Andy Johns:
That's true. That's true. So I think that's great advice.

One other question I had for you when it comes to social media,
you're in a lot of places.

You talked about how Facebook is a little bit more for,
you know,

for family and friends and LinkedIn.

I saw that you're also collaborating on a Spotify playlist for
introverts.

You've got the print publications that you're featured on. You're
on podcasts like this. It's hard to be everywhere.

Maybe it's impossible to be everywhere. How do you decide?

You know, on one side, you're everywhere.

On one spot, you do one thing really,
really well.

Where do you kind of figure out how to decide where to be when it
comes to online presence,

and where to put your efforts when it comes to personal branding?

Goldie Chan:
Yeah. So I always like to say start with one.

And this is true across the board of thinking about content or
thinking about platforms.

Start with a platform that makes the most sense.

Where does your audience live? For example,
if your audience lives on Pinterest,

then you should be developing a presence on Pinterest.

If your audience lives, if your audience of decision makers lives
on LinkedIn,

then you should be on LinkedIn. Now,
if they're on Instagram, etc.

So to me, it's a very common sense first approach which is which
platform are your clients or the

people that you're trying to reach,
where do they live?

And that is exactly where you should try to start to build your
personal brand.

Now I also think, okay, I am everywhere,
and that's more of a I'm just a curious person,

quite frankly. And when I see an interesting social network,
I join it.

But I will say that the majority of folks,
that's not a very sustainable or doable thing.

So I honestly, for most people,
I say you should be on 2 or 3 platforms tops,

and really try to develop out your brand over the course of six
months to a year on those three

platforms before expanding beyond that.

Because what will end up happening is,
and I see this all the time,

you get overwhelmed. You're on too many places.

You are doing too much. And I also want to bring up,
of course, what you talked about,

where you said, "Oh, I'm on this podcast. I'm doing this." Yes,
I just partnered with a brand called Epidemic Sound to do an

introvert playlist that goes along with my introvert book.

And I really like them because,
yeah, it's all human made music,

which is funny, a funny thing to say out loud.

Andy Johns:
Sure.

Goldie Chan:
But important to say. But when I'm deciding who to partner with
or who to work with or what content to do,

I always think what is the main goal?

So this comes back down to just thinking,
what are your goals?

Are your goals to grow your business?

Are your goals to solidify that you are an expert in your field
and in a very hyper specific either

area? Or that what you do for a living,
say you're in marketing,

that you are just the expert in marketing?

Or you're an expert in telecoms,
right?

So whatever that is for you, whatever that goal is,
you need to narrow down on that goal

before you take on a ton of stuff.

Because if you do everything without a goal,
then it ends up being a very muddled story,

and then you won't reach – obviously,
you won't reach the goal that you want,

because people won't know what it is that you want to do.

And so many people out there want to help you in your network.

But if it's unclear what you need help with,
they can't help you.

Andy Johns:
Yeah, I've been reading a lot about the difference between busy
and productive and being everywhere. Like, that's a great way to

be super busy and not very productive.

So I hear what you're saying. So right here on the way out the
door,

just some advice. Let's say there's somebody who's been listening
to this episode and they think, you know, I really do need to do

some work on my personal brand,
whether that person is an introvert or not.

What advice do you have for them as we close the episode here?

Goldie Chan:
So instead of thinking about all of these very confusing things,
I like to break it down into who are you talking

to? So start there. And I like to separate that into three
different buckets.

So the very top will be are you trying to speak to your clients
or your bosses?

Now the next step down will be your peers.

Are you trying to speak to, for example,
someone that does the exact same role as you?

Or are you trying to speak to someone who works in your industry
vertical like telecom?

And then right below that would be audience.

So are you trying to speak to someone,
for example, the amazing listeners of this podcast would be

audience. So first, figuring out which of those three buckets do
you want to speak to?

And then you'll know where you need to develop your personal
brand presence.

And then you'll also know what kind of content you'll need to
make that can address and speak to that kind of

person or that kind of entity. It's a helpful way to start that's
small and easy,

and it's always better to start with something easier.

Andy Johns:
Perfect. I like, I think that's a good summary and a great way
not to overdo it right out of the gate.

I like the approach there. Goldie,
thanks so much for joining me.

Goldie Chan:
Thank you so much for having me.

Andy Johns:
She is Goldie chan. She is a speaker,
creative, author with a book coming out in October.

She will also be a speaker at StoryConnect coming up in April.

We hope to see you there. Hope to give you a chance to to meet
Goldie in person and to hear what she has to say.

We're looking forward to it. And until we talk again,
keep telling your story.

Outro:
StoryConnect is produced by Pioneer Utility Resources,
a communications cooperative that is built to share your story.