The 55% Rule

Your Personal Brand Might Speak Louder Than Your Words

The Science Behind Personal Brand

Personal branding has always been something I have probably spent way too much time thinking about. Because of this I have believed how you carry yourself often speaks louder than your words. UCLA psychology professor Albert Mehrabian's research backs this up with his 7-38-55 rule: only 7% of communication comes from actual words, while 38% stems from tone and 55% from body language and facial expressions.

Managing by Walking Around

Managing by walking around was something I embraced. When you're out there connecting with others, I found that giving people an interesting reason to engage helped make conversations easier.

For example, one way to do this became my shoes. I loved sneakers—everyone knew it was my thing. While I valued a good sport coat, my Nike collection, especially my Air Jordan 1s, became my signature. Different shoes gave people an easy conversation starter. I believed it was genuine, authentic, and something different.

Making It About Them

The real fun, though, was making conversations about the people I worked with. To be truly interesting, you must be genuinely interested.

I tried to focus on their work, their families and many times even their shoes! This made leadership feel natural rather than forced. Being approachable and showing I cared mattered more than anything I could say.

The Art of Calibrated Questions

As I learned in some negotiation training from techniques developed by the talented Chris Voss, the best approach to conversations are calibrated questions like:

"What does success look like on this project?"
"What's the best way for us to share this with our client?"
"Do you think this work stands out?"

These questions worked better than directives because they invited a response leading to more conversation.

Building Your Unique Leadership Brand

Over time, I think people understood my brand—who I was and how I communicated. For any leader to truly lead, I think you need a personality that people can connect with. They'll get to know you better, find easy entry points into conversations and build camaraderie. Don't be over the top about it—just be genuine. And always strive to work on your body language—after all, that's 55% of the impact you're making.

Every leader should ask themselves: What do I have that is uniquely mine?

Thanks for reading,

Jim