Ever know people who have a collection of T-shirts? People who wear them constantly? Chances are those shirts say a lot about their personalities. If you’re a person fond of his/her t-shirts, you know they say a lot about you (or just realized they did now that I’ve got you thinking about it).
T-shirts are actually a great way to easily understand that important, elusive, yet over-discussed topic of personal branding.
Think about t-shirts. The purchase says something about you. The contents say something about you. Where you wear it, when you wear it, all say something about you.
A t-shirt is a giant signal saying “this is me!”
Which in many ways is what personal branding is about – making a statement about yourself. T-shirts are the same thing, just informal and at times with obscure LOL-cat derived humor.
So look at people you know who are t-shirt fanatics. Look at yourself for that matter.
What do they communicate about themselves – and do they communicate it in a good way, a bad way, or a neutral way?
When do they communicate it, and what can it teach you about timing?
What other other things are “t-shirt like” in that they’re common things that tell people about who someone is?
Ask how you – and others – may react to various t-shirts you’ve seen. How did you judge people?
These little moments of analysis teach you a lot about how t-shirts are, really, personal branding.
Now, how can you apply that knowledge to things beyond your latest teefury purchase? Well, just ask what you learned, and then ask what it teaches you about making the right impression and communicating the right side of you . . .
Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach for professional and potentially professional geeks, fans, and otaku. He can be reached at http://www.stevensavage.com/
Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach. He blogs on careers at http://www.musehack.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at http://www.stevensavage.com/.
