What Is Your Personal Brand Story and How Do You Find It

In this episode, I unpack how to identify and communicate your Personal Brand Story after questions from last week’s episode on the five elements of personal branding, starting with positioning. 

Your story isn’t your CV, achievements, or a polished highlight reel, and it doesn’t require a dramatic startup-style pivot or manufactured vulnerability.

It’s the through line connecting what you’ve done, what you believe, and what you’re building so people understand why you do what you do and why you’re the right person. 

In this episode, I explain three essential parts: 

1- A specific, personal “why”

2- Proof you’ve earned your perspective through lessons and observations (not credentials)

3- Direction: Where you’re going and why it matters. 

I share an exercise to find the through line and a weekly assignment for alignment and clarity. 

------

RESOURCES:
- Subscribe to my Newsletter: https://ranamouawad.kit.com/signup
- Free Resources: https://www.ranamouawad.com/resources
- Work with Me: https://www.ranamouawad.com/workwithme
- Get in Touch!: https://www.ranamouawad.com/contact

KEEP IN TOUCH!
- Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ranamouawad/
- Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rana.mouawad/

Transcript

Story Questions Recap

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Last week we talked about five elements of a personal brand. And I got some DMs and um about that episode, about that video. And some of most of the questions were around this topic of I understand it was really clear the elements of the personal brand, but I know that we need to start with a story, and I just don't know what my story really is and how how do we tell it. The story is really important because one of the elements, the first element that we talked about last time, was about positioning. So really good positioning is about understanding who you are, what do you serve, what transformation do you do. And so it makes sense to understand what your story is, and this is what we're going to get

What Your Story Is

SPEAKER_00 0:54

into in today's episode. Okay, so your personal brand story is not a CV. Okay, so your actual CV, your resume, it's not your personal personal brand story or your origin story. Some people call it that. It is not the highlight reels that you have. Some people do on social media, it's like their achievements. It is not that as well. It is not the clean and polished version of your career or of everything that you have done. And it's not the clean and polished version that we all put on our websites. Your personal brand story, your urgent story is the through line. It is basically the thing that connects everything that you have done, everything that you have done with everything that you believe in and with everything that you are building, that is going to make an impact and that is making sense to the right person that you are targeting, or to your to the target audience, if we want to use that, to your tribe. When people understand not just what you do, but also why do you do it and why you are the right person and not somebody else, this is the difference between a personal brand that gets trust and one that just is just a content and visibility project. Okay, so I really hope I was clear about it. So your story, your origin story is everything that you have done with everything that you have you believe in that it kind of serves, or it's the reason why what you are doing right now, and what kind of impact or what kind of transformation or what promise that you are putting out there that actually makes sense to the people that you are trying to reach and trying to connect with. I hope that simplifies it. Okay, and because your story is the why, your positioning it becomes the explanation of why you are the right person and why people should work with you, and why your methods are different and gives the impact and delivers on the promise.

Common Story Myths

SPEAKER_00 3:42

All right. So to make it even easier, let me start with what is not the personal brand story, what is not the origin story. All right. So let's clear that up. There's I know because there's a lot of different advice out there, it's circulating out there. So let's know what is not your personal brand story. So your personal brand story is not an origin story in the startup sense, the startup business environment sense. It is not. You don't need a dramatic pivot or a rock bottom moment or anything that is drastic to have a compelling and a strong personal brand story. I'm saying this because most founders that I worked with, they have quiet stories, if I can say that. Okay, so quiet stories, but they are powerful stories because they are quiet. There's something in them that makes them powerful, and it's because of that that they have a strong personal brand story. So I want the first thing, you know, for you so that you know what is not a personal brand story, is that it is not an origin story from the start-up realm or point of view. It is a story that if it does have some kind of pivot or anything, that's your story. But it's not necessarily a requirement to be a personal brand story because a lot of people would say, you know, like I had a really normal childhood and I had a really normal education, and I've done really great in my previous jobs and in my career, and I decided to do that pivot and to build this business because of this. Is there is nothing dramatic, there's no movie, you know, behind it. And that's fine. That is your personal brand story.

No Manufactured Vulnerability

SPEAKER_00 5:48

So remember that, and remember that your personal brand is also, it's not a performance, it's not the movie that we talked about. Because I know I I'm saying this, and I because I see a lot of people there, they're unfortunately because of the advice that is circulating, they kind of try to kind of manufacture some kind of emotion or vulnerability that is not real, it's manufactured, and they do that not out of being malicious, but they do that because they've been told that this is what builds that kind of connection online. And I want to be really clear: the performance of vulnerability, it's really very transparent. People kind of recognize it now, and this kind of behavior erodes the trust much faster than if you just say nothing, if you don't talk about your story and what got you where you are, and what your plans, and what your promise, and what your why is. So that kind of manufactured behavior, like really try to step away from it as much as possible because it honestly is something that is much clearer than than you think, and people can sense it. At

Your Story Evolves

SPEAKER_00 7:11

the same time, do remember that your personal brand story is not static, because your story, you're writing it all your life, it grew with you, it evolved with with you, it it changed with you, it became, it has nuance, it has context, it it's it gets built as you are building new things, and it gets deeper because your perspective becomes deeper. So your story is not just those a moment in life, it's a it's an accumulation of moment and context and nuance and perspectives and depth. So think of it like the entrepreneurs or the founders who confuse people online are usually, usually, from what I see out there, are the ones who have basically locked a certain story, and it's been locked in that time bubble, and they have evolved and they have changed, and maybe their business also changed, but the story is still the same, it's still in that certain time bubble. So people start getting confused, you know, because that's the story, that's the origin story. But where are we today? And how what there's a gap there because they've never updated

Three Core Elements

SPEAKER_00 8:42

it. Okay, so let's talk about how do you do, how do you write, and how do you try to communicate your personal brand story and how does it actually work. Okay, okay, a personal brand story that is the type that builds trust and kind of impacts your career and it impacts your business, it drives business forward, is a story that is made of three very important parts. Now, they're not necessarily in a certain order, but there are three three important elements in the personal brand story that kind of needs to be present in it to become an impactful personal brand story.

Element One Your Why

SPEAKER_00 9:29

The first element is the why behind your work. Okay, and Simon Sinek always talked about why. There is a why, the the why has to come at one point or another. I mean, we're talking personal brand, it's the human, it's the human behind it, you know? So, one of the elements of having a really strong personal brand story is the actual why behind the work that you do, and that particular why should not be like abstract or like motivational sense, where it feels like almost unrealistic, almost something that is not personal. So specific specificity that was a big word. Okay, so being specific in your personal brand uh story is important when it comes to the element of the why. Okay, what problem have you seen repeatedly that you felt compelled to solve in your business or to solve in your style or in your methodology if you are a senior executive? For me, let's give me a let's give me as an example. For me, was my big why of the things that I do is basically watching really incredible founders and entrepreneurs who really were brave enough to take that leave to be completely invisible to the audience or the people who needed them the most. And it was not because they lacked the expertise or they lacked the substance. It was because, unfortunately, they lacked strategic communications, some kind of foundation in their communication that will make their expertise and their the substance that they have and the vision that they have and the services that they have, it makes it legible and understood to the world, to the to their world, towards their tribe or towards their people. And this is why I like to do what I do. This is the why for my work. And that particular why has been consistent even as everything around has evolved. So before LinkedIn became what LinkedIn is, that was still my why. When I started my consultancy 15 years ago, Instagram was not what it is, the way to network was not what it is, everything was not what it is, but my why stayed the same. Because no matter what the changes are, till this day we still have great founders and great experts out there who really have the substance and they have the expertise, but somehow there's that gap. And that gap is what I know best and what I have experience in, and that is the strategic communication for them to be able to best articulate who they are and what do they do and their genius to the audience that needs that the most. The

Element Two Earned Proof

SPEAKER_00 12:58

second part is in having a really good story, the second element basically is the proof that you have earned that perspective. What do I mean about that? This is where your experience lives, but it's not like a list of credentials, it's basically your perspective exists because there were a series of observations or a series of lessons in your origin story, in your you know, your personal brand story. It as we said, it's it's a it's a list of experiences and observations and lessons that kind of shaped how you think. So it's not a list of credentials. I did this, I worked there, I did that, but actually the experiences in everything that you have done that kind of earned you this perspective, or it kind of shaped your methodology, your perspective, your point of view, and also shaped the way that you think. So if we think about it again, uh giving myself as an example, I've been 20 years, I have 20 years across being in the on the agency side and working in global inside big companies and global brands and multinationals. And then I have done something on my own that was very different. It was on the creative side, very different from everything that I've done before. Like I've done fashion design and I've I've done uh worked with retail and worked with factories and worked with buyers and all of that. All of that kind of taught me things along the way. It's not the list of my credentials, it's the lessons. It these are lessons that I did not learn in a classroom, and these are lessons that I didn't learn because I was part of a specific organization or a specific brand. It's the accumulation of things that I learned while I did the campaigns, while I worked within teams, while there were some challenges that happened that were environmental or outside that we need to like firefight. All of these things together, it's um changing my perspective. It's the mentors that I met along the way, it's the people who were opposing, for example, my growth that I learned uh from my challenges and all of that. It's uh it's watching the landscape of media and comms and everything change and evolve and reshape the way people communicate. So it's all of these different experiences that were kind of put together that gives me the perspectives that I have. Like when I sit here and I say, your visibility is first and foremost, is not the number of followers, it's actually your perspective and your positioning. I'm saying that it's because there were multiple examples in different contexts that made me learn that lesson very, very clearly. All of this is the place where I learned that the most trusted brands are usually not the loudest, but they are the brands that is this is the observation I think that I've learned is that they are the brands that had a foundation that was so strong that built everything else that results in them being loud and earn that let's say loudness later, and earn that very strong voice later. There, there's it's not because they started by being loud, but they built a really strong foundation that kind of makes it makes it very easy for them to build higher and higher and higher from there, and that taught me everything. Okay, so

Element Three Direction

SPEAKER_00 17:05

the third element of having a great or a really strong personal brand story, it is basically your direction. Where are you going to? So your story is not just about what you have done, not only about your perspective and your why, but also it's about what are you building? Where are you going? And why does it matter? Why does you know this way forward and your vision and your mission matter? This is the part that most founders that I've worked with leave out. They concentrate and they think that a personal brand story is the past and maybe the present, like the why or the reasoning, okay, but they kind of ignore that it is also important to have a really well-rounded personal brand story. It's also to have a direction and to kind of point at that direction and say, why does this matter? and why I chose this to be the way forward. People don't just want to know who you are. Like, really think about this. They don't want to know who you are, they want to know what is moving you and what is the way forward that you see, and what are you moving towards? And that will help them determine whether they want to come along with you or not. This is the personal brand story. It's the it's bringing all of these three elements together where people can get to decide, do I want to join? Yes, this makes sense. I want to make sense to me, I want to come along on that journey. So

Find Your Through Line

SPEAKER_00 18:55

now that you've understood what are the main elements that make a really strong personal brand story, let's the next thing is to find that through line. Because, as I said, a lot of people would say, Oh my god, I've done a lot of things, but the way forward is a bit different, and here I am. We need to find a through line. There is something in your journey, in your why, and in your mission forward that has it's an exercise that you need to find the through line that will make this whole story come together and actually make sense. And that through line is usually the part where a lot of my clients get stuck. And we have this really easy exercise.

Three Question Exercise

SPEAKER_00 19:40

Usually I tell them, okay, let's write three things down. First, let's write what is the problem that you find yourself solving over and over again. Okay, what is that particular problem, even when it's not technically in you know, in your job description, or when it's not technically something that you are usually responsible for? What is that first thing that we can we can pinpoint? And we can pinpoint it across different parts of that story, so we can, you know, we can find that, we can then identify the places of the through line. The second thing that I would I would ask is that what is the perspective or the belief that you hold about your industry or your domain that most people in the space that you are working in disagree with you or don't see eye to eye, or at least they don't feel comfortable about that opinion. Okay. And the third thing to also help in that through line is to ask yourself, what are you building right now that kind of connects everything that happened in the past and connects all of these points together, which makes it like logical that this is the way forward, this is your direction. What exactly are you building that kind of connects all of these points? And by doing, by kind of answering this, you really find the moments in your experience and the moments in your and your thoughts to finding your why and everything that kind of connects everything together. It just becomes logical. It's the it's that intersection of all of those answers and all of those points and all of those moments that is where you find your through line. Okay, and what happens is that the through line becomes the spine of your personal brand story.

Through Line Example

SPEAKER_00 21:50

Again, let me give myself as an example of that. So the problem that I kept, I keep on, I kept like I saw myself solving. A lot when it was not my job description. I was not even a consultant at the time, is that I found a lot of capable founders or really capable people who are in the you know their career-focused professionals, let's say, who are basically invisible. And the reason was always their communication strategy. Something was missing, something was out of whack, if I can say that. So this is the this is these are the moments where I found people approaching me and I can see it. It's just you see brilliant people that are that are basically invisible or brilliant business owners that are basically invisible, and it's always because something is just missing in their communication. So that's the first element for my through line. The second thing is that you know, what is something that I believe in that is, let's say, people in my industry find uncomfortable, is that, in my opinion, this is what I think that's my point of view, I believe that a personal brand has nothing to do, or it's not the core to do with content and social media, and more to do with reputation architecture, more to do with reputation building. And I like architecture because it's it's really precise. And this is what I really believe in. It's the um, and I've talked about it in so many, so many videos and episodes. I really believe is that it's not as surface thinking like you know, it's just content and visibility on social media, it's it's much deeper than that, especially if you are a business owner. Especially actually for everybody, especially if you are a person who is like growing in your career and you want to reach a certain level of seniority. It is much more than content, it is reputation architecture, and there are so many elements other than content that are much more important that you need to work on to build and create and control the narrative, and certain things that you need to highlight and have the communication skills and capacity to build that reputation. That is something that I believe in that a lot of people in my industry find extremely uncomfortable. So that's the second point, and the third point of what am I building right now that connects directly and everything together is that I'm building something other than my consultancy that I've built and the people that I've helped, and the the people who saw transformation in their uh in their career, in their especially in their businesses, and their inbound leads, because they were able to better articulate the message and their personal brand became more clear. Is that I'm working on something that is really important that I believe that a lot of people, everybody, are in very much in need of that, is very much linked to communication, and this is something that I will be sharing and announcing very soon in the next couple of weeks. But this is an accumulation of years of working with brands and years of working within agencies, and years with working with um you know content creators and all of that, plus the years that I've done, you know, worked as a consultant. So all of my previous experience in the corporate world and as a consultant put together is kind of leading me into that direction, which is something I'm gonna be announcing very soon. But that is what I am building. In the meantime, if you look at the body of my work the body of work that I put out there, all of the material that I put out there explains and shows that this is constantly what I'm thinking of. I believe that we are all here to make waves in this the environment that we are in, in the community that we are in, maybe in the markets that we are in, and that a personal brand is one of the most important things to have and to do and to work on to create that wave. And I'm not going to gatekeep any information, and there's there's you know multiple podcast episodes and content that is out there to prove it. So this is my this is what I always say about is you know, let's everybody's here to make waves, and it starts with a strong personal brand, and that's the direction that I'm doing through my content, through the type of clients I work with, and in this new thing that I will be launching very soon. That was the through line. Do you see all of this? So when I'm sitting down to pull things together and to write my story, you can already see the through line. It makes sense. It makes sense to say, okay, I see, I identify it that way. And to sum it up, everything that I create connects back to these three points, and that is what makes everything that I do coherent, and it's also that is what it makes people feel like they kind of understand where I am, even if they don't know me, even they even if we never met in person. That's

Why This Matters Now

SPEAKER_00 28:02

an important thing. Now, why did all of this your personal brand story? What are the elements to build a really good personal brand and a really strong and attractive personal brand story? How do you find the through line so that it's kind of coherent and it makes sense and it kind of logical to your target audience or your tribe? Why does all of this matter right now, especially this time, if you're a business owner? All of this happens, and this matters a lot because you are building something right now. If you are listening to this show, if you are watching me and you are a founder or if you're an entrepreneur who's really serious about what you're creating, what you're building in your business, and you're seriously about building a reputation around everything that you have done and to grow that business, then this is what why this is really important. Your personal brand story is not a nice to have. Um, your personal brand story is the difference between people who find you and they immediately understand why you know your why, why you're the right person for them and why they should work with you, and between people who find you and have no um sense of who you are and what you do, and basically they feel nothing. That is the difference. The clarity in your personal brand story is what makes referrals easy. Clarity in the personal brand story is what makes a podcast host say yes for having you as a guest speaker. It is what makes an event organizer ask you to become a guest speaker at the event. It is what makes a potential client feel like they already know you and they already trust you before they even speak with you and you know, and discuss the way forward with you. This is the work that it takes for you to really nail down uh your personal brand story. So you cannot cover it up with, as we said before, with like more content and that manufactured type of vulnerability or a manufactured suspense and like movie-like in on social media. Getting the story right makes everything that you create after that like become real and make you and your vision really stand out.

Founder Reality Check

SPEAKER_00 30:50

I want to say something before closing today because I know exactly what you're juggling, a lot of things, and how does that feel? Most of you who are listening or who are watching me on YouTube, that you're you're not just business owners, you're not just building a business. You're my tribe is not just entrepreneurs or not just founders. I know because I know that you are managing responsibilities at home, showing up for people that you need, that sorry, showing up for people who need you, running different operations and having a lot of things that you need to juggle, and you're you're trying to also build something that is really meaningful. It is it kind of encompasses your why and you're putting it out to the public, and that's a lot. I know because I was because I'm I'm like you, I had the same thing, and I know it because I live it. I think that founders who navigate this really well, they're usually the ones that are not, they're usually the ones who didn't really figure it out, but who have who are at least clear on what do they stand for. They are anchored in really strong values, and they are willing to keep moving forward and learning and pivoting and and finding the right next step, the right way of moving to the direction of their goals, even when nothing is really clear yet, and even when the picture is not really complete. So I really believe that because I was in it as well, and I am still in it because I'm creating also something new. And this is how we make waves. That is how we make waves. It is because we are anchored in our values, we're really good at what we're doing, we have a very clear vision, and we're willing to learn and to keep moving forward. We're not here waiting until everything is perfect, but you're moving anyway, but you're moving with very clear intention.

Weekly Action Steps

SPEAKER_00 33:14

So, here is what I want you to do this week for the personal brand story. Take some minutes, take like 20 minutes, 15, 20, 30 minutes if you want, and really think about those three question exercises that we, you know, I talked about today. Write them down and write down your answers, and you don't need to edit it. You just write whatever comes first on your mind, and then once you're done writing, just look at your last 10 posts that you've you've done on social media. So you have that write-up and then open social media, whatever your platform is instagram, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, whatever it is, and look at your last 10 posts, look at your bio, look at your website, and look at all the material that you have out there, and then ask yourself: Does everything that I've written down that I've put out, does that is that being reflected in what I'm putting out there, what I'm putting publicly out there? Is that mirroring this? Is the information, is the emotion, is the intention really being mirrored in the public content that I'm putting out there? Is there a through line? Is it clear? We need to kind of critique ourselves sometimes. We need to put ourselves in the audience's shoe and really see it because I know sometimes it's everything in our head and we're not really sure how to think that we're really clear, and then we're not really sure why people are misunderstanding us and why our our story and our uh our mission is not really clear.

Wrap Up And Share

SPEAKER_00 35:02

So, really do that exercise and really reflect on it. So, if this episode was useful, do share it with a founder who is also struggling to articulate what do they do and what is their why and how do they do their brand story. They might be missing one of the elements that we talked about or even the through line in their story. And all I can say is till next time, keep making waves. Bye for now.