Of all the things we could teach children, personal branding seems unlikely, and it is almost like an attempt to overdo things. I agree that deciding to teach children about personal branding is odd, but we probably said the same about buying devices for preschoolers a few years ago.
I’m a toddler mum and every year on children’s day, I stop to marvel at how fast they grow and how much they know. I mean children learn etiquette before they even turn two.
We teach them to say “please”, “thank you”, and “sorry”; and they get it. They get it fast. The capacity of their brain is clearly much bigger than their physical size.
So, if times have changed and our children are brilliant, why would we think we shouldn’t expand the range of conversations we have with school age children?
Many parents tend to overlook, or assume that children will “pick up” these skills in school, or learn what they need along the way. They will learn for sure, but you can give them a head start. In fact, you must! Your child is going into a world where people make hiring decisions based on what they find about job candidates online.
Showing up on time and obeying rules is no longer enough. The future of work requires some new set of skills - skills to do the work, and skills to get the work.
If we successfully teach children about personal branding, they’ll:
- Be memorable
- Open to opportunities
- Stand out to employers
- Know how to take advantage of their strengths
In this article, I share tips for doing so without necessarily saying “sit, let me teach you personal branding”. More importantly, I know that you are not a child. So, you’ll get some adult personal branding tips as well.
6 Ways to Teach Children about Personal Branding
#1: First Impressions
Have a conversation with your child about the importance of first impressions. They’ll get many opportunities to make first impressions in life, but it only takes a second to do so. So, it is worth taking the time to teach how to be thoughtful at managing first impressions.
Talk about the importance of body language, eye contact, empathy, and confidence. Though, I believe that confidence is something anyone can cultivate, you could actually give your child an advantage in that area.
Go deeper to talk about digital first impressions and the need to think before posting. Give guidelines for using digital media and why it’s important to be careful about what you say online. You can use this opportunity to add some lessons about online security and safety too.
You can’t stop your child from browsing the internet. They have several opportunities to do so, and they most probably will find a way. Instead, be proactive. Write a brief one-page digital use agreement with a few points that you and your child will sign as a reminder of how to use internet access.
#2: Reinforcing Strengths
Personal branding is really about differentiating yourself and each of us was born with strengths that can help us not only differentiate ourselves, but also excel in any chosen field.
However, by the time most people reach adulthood, they’ve ignored or learned to downplay their strengths. This is a disaster because if you don’t value your strengths, others won’t value them. People don’t demand what they don’t value and that’s the simple reason many brilliant people are ignored or passed up for opportunities.
Acknowledge the strengths of your child - not just in your mind, but to their hearing. It’s good for confidence, but it’s also good for identity.
Your child doesn’t have to be the best in school to have strengths.
At the end of the day, personal branding is about acknowledging your skills, channeling them where they bring the most value, and articulating the value in a way that it’s desirable to the right people.
"“If you don’t know what you have, it won’t matter what you have” - Emmanuel Iren
#3: Relationship Building
The ability to build and nurture relationships directly affects your personal brand because every person you meet has information or access that can help you. Thankfully, anybody - regardless of their personality type - can build relationships if they know what to do.
Relationships are built on mutual value. Good thing that as you do #2 above, your child knows her value. For relationships to be mutually beneficial, each person must be open to giv