“I'm stuck in "professional mode" and know my audience would react better if I showed more of myself...How do I do that?” 

This was a write-in question I got from my newsletter community. And it's right on the money.

How many of you feel like you'd do well to show more of your personality, but you're confused or worried about how to achieve that on LinkedIn? 

Maybe you feel like showing more of you will be met with, “Get over yourself, this isn’t Facebook!” Perhaps you feel your employer or clients will be confused, or your audience at large will perceive you as less than the credible expert that you are.

On the other hand, you see your favorite LinkedIn creators thriving by being their authentic selves - sharing content that not only flexes their know-how, but their unique voice. You wonder if you wouldn’t be met with a more enthusiastic perception if you dropped the corporate veil and let audience members get to know the “real you” at scale through your content. 

Why is this so dang hard?

If the above sounds like you, allow me to share a big secret…

You’re part of the majority of professionals on LinkedIn.  

We’re in a “weird” transition of a time where we see several shifts playing out all at once:

- The push and pull of more seasoned professionals holding onto behaviors they believe display professionalism and Gen Y and Z who are adept at sharing (sometimes to the point of detriment) their full selves online.

- Covid’s impact on professional norms. The before and after “work uniform” transformation is obvious (athleisure is now acceptable in the office?), and being in people’s homes on Zoom calls is typical

- The “era of authenticity,” where this word is thrown around so much, people can be more confused about how it plays out than they are clear on how to do it

When artifacts of what constitutes professionalism are conflicting generationally and at a heightened pace due to a global crisis, “What does it mean to be both professional and personable?” is understandably a question with an answer that feels as clear as mud. 

The truth is, though, it doesn’t matter your age, profession, or industry; balancing your unique voice and personality with your expertise and professionalism is a skill you can learn. It isn’t something that you either “have or don’t have.” And today, friends, we’re going to expand on how to do that so it feels like the *full* you can shine— where you need not put on pretense and sharing brilliance in both a credible and personable manner becomes your “default mode.”

Strategy One: Content Pillar Ratios

Consider that every personal brand consists of three core content pillars, whether you realize it or not. The degree to which you share content from these pillars will effortlessly root your knowledge in a personable and engaging manner. Here’s the breakdown:

~ 60% - "Professional Advice & Stories"

The majority of your content should focus on providing wisdom, stories, strategies, and tips to your audience as to help solve the problem they're challenged by in your industry.

 ~ 20% Personality Posts

These are vignettes from your career/professional life that show how you navigated through something. Since it's a first-person experience, it's a bit easier to express yourself naturally. You're not spouting off theory, after all. You're sharing your experience!

~ 20% Passion Posts

This is content that reflects your personal values and interests. For example, I focus on personal branding, but I'm wildly passionate about women-owned small businesses. I write a lot of content expressing that.

When you get clear on what topics go in each of your pillars and you ratio them out, you naturally anchor your brand in a way that integrates professionalism and personality. You sound less like a corporate robot and more like a fully-baked, natural person — the type your audience likes to buy from and do business with.

 Strategy Two: The Three-Word Brand Method 

In the past few years, the TikTok community went wild over a wardrobe approach called “The 3 Word Style Method,” coined by wardrobe consultant and stylist Allison Bornstein. Basically, Bornstein advocated people choose 3 adjectives — one practical, one aspirational, and one emotional to describe their style, then use this filter to shop with. This felt much more liberating and clear to shoppers. Instead of “Elegant” (???) people started saying they were “Timeless, Casual, and Luxe.” In this way, they could start shopping under those parameters to create a personal style.

Wardrobe expert I am not, so I’m not trying to do a 1:1 correlation here, but the idea behind this viral strategy can be as helpful to striking a balance with your personal brand as Bornstein disciples found it to be for their wardrobe. 

To do this, get out of your own ego’s way and ask trusted colleagues, clients, friends, and family members to write down 3-5 adjectives that quickly come to mind when thinking of you. Find the common words, distill them down, and keep that card or poster right in front of you to audit your content with. This helps you be more consistently “you” in your content.

Strategy Three: Let Content Walk Your Talk

Good writing is a reflection of how we communicate in “real life.” Unfortunately, when we sit down in front of a screen or notepad to pen content, all of a sudden, we feel we need to be Ernest Hemmingway going for a Pulitzer prize. Unintentionally, our language gets stilted, high-brow, and corporate-washed. AKA the perfect formula to make someone breeze right through it on the feed.

So instead of training to write like you speak, just “speak your content.” Take your phone out, record voice notes (even better if you do it while explaining a concept to a friend - it will ensure you keep it relatable), then transcribe and clean up the voice note.

Et voila! The you that shows up in conversations, not doctoral dissertations, is on display.  

*Example: That “et voila!” above? It was me saying this part of the article out loud and then transcribing it.* 

The Takeaway?

When you deploy these three methods — content ratios, 3-5 word exercise, and “speaking your content” — you end up with a balanced, knowledgeable, and relatable personal brand steeped with authenticity. 

Give it a go, and let me know what you think!