Students’ Reflections on Personal Brands & Stories II
Hey there!
If you caught my last blog post, you’ll know that a new content series is underway. The students from my workshops – who are encouraged to reflect on their personal brands and invest in their life stories – deserve recognition for their fantastic contributions. That’s why I’m delighted to use this platform as a space to celebrate their work.
In the upcoming articles, different students will share their perspectives (and aspirations) on who they are, and who they want to be, drawing inspiration from the course materials.
Dear Storyteller, I’m thrilled to present three fresh, thoughtful testimonials today. I hope you take as much from their insights as I did.
Discussion topics:
What is your vision of your personal brand, now and in the future? Is this something you've already thought of?How will storytelling help you define your personal brand? In which occasions?Testimonial #1
“I believe my personal brand has two layers to it: the one I show in professional/more serious environments and the one I show to everyone else. I will like to focus more on the second, as it is the most authentic one. I’m the girl who goes far more than expected to please people. I’m not saying I’m a pushover or someone who tries to be someone she’s not. I truly appreciate doing small things that cause an impact on someone else’s life (for instance, I may be walking around the supermarket, find a bar of chocolate I know one of my friends enjoys, and bring it to him/her the next time I see them). I get a lot of pleasure from making others happy and being a supportive friend. I’m reliable, trustworthy, joyful (in a goofy way) and enjoy making other people laugh and feel good. When someone is happy, I take up their happiness. If they’re sad, I take up their pain and try to help them as much as I can.
Storytelling will definitely enable me to pass on this side of me to every single person I encounter throughout my journey in life. It will help them make sure that they have a friend in me, no matter what. That’s something I truly value and it sure makes me get out of bed in the morning.”
Testimonial #2
“Personal branding was never really on my goal list, to be completely honest. However, at the same time, I can imagine myself creating a brand that would revolve around the principles that I stand for and around the things that I’m passionate about. In this fast-changing world of ours, we can observe a tendency to lean towards material things and forget the beauty of art, theatre, languages, literature… One of my biggest wishes would be to be able to communicate this wonderful world to others, show them how these things make us rich without any money included and how much our horizons broaden. And isn’t storytelling directly connected to literature, languages, theatre? Perhaps it’s precisely storytelling in all shapes and forms that can save our society from this fast rhythm life that we try to maintain. Storytelling makes us stop for a second and reflect on ourselves.”
Testimonial #3
“I believe that my personal brand today is related to my intrinsic characteristics, which is a really good sign. I realized that after doing a reputation map exercise (in which I asked people that knows me from different places and situations the most relevant characteristics of myself). This exercise was just one more proof that I am staying true to myself, that means, family, friends, colleagues from work, clients, and others have the same image and opinion about me, and I agree with every single characteristic they mentioned.
In the future, I would like to build different characteristics (and be perceived by them). I want to have more authority as a professional and be recognized in my field. I want to get more knowledge and be more prepared to work in the business environment. I want key aspects/characteristics to be correlated with my personal brand. So now what I need is to create my action plan. In this way, I will be able not only to be a better version of myself but also to leverage my brand.
My storytelling will help me along the way by telling my truth to the world, connecting me with people, and targeting my audience (the people who identify with my story will be the ones listening to me afterward). I hope to tell my story in every single relationship I build and in every opportunity I have to present myself.”
What makes these reflections so powerful isn’t just their honesty – it’s their universality. We all wear different layers. We all wonder who we are and how we’re seen. And we all carry stories waiting to be told.
Now it’s your turn. How would you define your personal brand, not just in a CV, but in a conversation? Is it something you’ve already reflected on, or something you’re just beginning to explore? And how might storytelling help you share it with the world?
Whether you’re a seasoned storyteller or just starting to make sense of your narrative, this is your invitation to reflect, write, and even share.
Because every brand begins with a story—and yours matters too.
P.S. Before publishing any reflection, I always obtain the student’s permission to share their individual testimonial, ensuring complete anonymity. Under these terms, no personal data is ever disclosed.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this blog series – Students’ Reflections on Personal Brands & Stories – are solely those of the contributing students, and do not necessarily reflect my own. As such, I, Tomás Varela Pinto, cannot be held responsible for their content.
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