By Claire Quarrell
The Message Maven

Workshops, seminars, intro sessions, networking nights, meet and greets, product pow-wows. You run events to gather your tribe and share your message. Whether it’s a ’one-off’ deal or a regular gig, they can be a powerful way to showcase your personal brand and connect, convince and compel your audience (and, when done right, they can be a whole lot of fun!).

Below are some practical tips to build rapport with your audience from the beginning so your personal brand shines bright – clearly, authentically and consistently.

Send out a welcome email

Start connecting with your tribe by sending out a personal email when they book. This will give your audience a sense of who you are and what they can expect so you can build rapport, anticipation and excitement.
SHINE Bright:

• Use names! Theirs and yours (don’t just sign off ‘The team’)
• Let your personality shine through – make sure the tone of your email aligns with you, your brand and your core message
• Include information that will make it easy for them to attend (travel, parking, what to bring etc.) so they arrive ready and raring to engage (not nervous and flustered)
• Make it a conversation – invite them to ask questions, rate their interest in the topic or share a story with you (and if they do…make sure you respond)

Be the ‘Hostess with the Mostest’

On the day, ensure your participants feel aligned with you from the start by helping them answer their unspoken question ‘am I in the right place?’ (with a resounding yes).
SHINE Bright:

• Give yourself enough time to have everything set up long before your participants arrive – you don’t want their first impression to be of you messing around with the tech.
• Welcome participants with branded, directional signage and stand outside the door of the workshop room to greet them as they arrive. By the time you get up to present they’ll feel like they know you (and you’ll feel like you know them)
• If your guests don’t know each other help them feel comfortable by making an introduction or directing them to an activity (name badges, coffee, finding a seat etc) before things get started. This eradicates their awkward ‘what do I do now/was this really a good idea?’ feeling.

Brand everything (and do it consistently).

Brand everything, from your welcome email to your signage to your slides to handouts. Your branding is the visual realisation of your message, and consistent branding demonstrates professionalism, credibility and commitment.
SHINE Bright:

• Use a consistent brand approach. Your colours, logos and tag lines should be the same in every piece of communication your participants see. It’s a great idea to have someone else check over everything, as often we miss the inconsistencies when we’re too close to it (i.e. old logos). If you’re using templates, don’t stick with the default theme – modify it to your colours, logo and style.
• Don’t announce that you’re rebranding before you’ve done it. Or that you have rebranded but don’t have new business cards/flyers/materials yet. This makes the audience feel like they’re missing out on something better.
• Do create ‘keep worthy’ handouts. These are the tangible artefacts that people take home and, hopefully, keep. Make sure there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that they came from you. Include your name, logo, website and contact details. Even better, make them so practical and beautiful that people want to so display (Note: No one puts a PowerPoint print out on their wall). These should act as double duty to reinforce your message and brand, and to create further promotion.

Presentations take effort, and, when done well, that effort can pay off my amplifying your personal brand. Applying these practical tips will ensure you build rapport and memorability with your audience so you, and your message, can shine.

Claire Quarrell
The Message Maven