HOW TO FASCINATE / ANTHEM

An Anthem is simple to remember, easy to communicate, and incredibly useful to apply.

When you can quickly explain how you add value, you make it easy for others to understand what you bring to the table. Your Anthem gives a clear road map for how you are most likely to solve problems. Customers will see how you contribute. Co-workers will “get” you. Your manager will know how to quickly tap into your natural mode of communication.

You can use your Anthem to describe yourself in a snapshot, such as in a resume or social media bio. Yet your Anthem is more than just a tagline to promote yourself. You can orient your whole career around it, because it points to your personality’s strongest area of performance.

IT’S YOUR CORE SPECIALTY.

FIND THE PERFECT WORDS TO
DESCRIBE YOURSELF

Creating your Anthem isn’t complicated, and once you’ve done it you can center every communication you have around it (like a mantra or a rallying cry). If you haven’t already, watch this quick video to learn why you need to create your Anthem now.

 

SHARE YOUR ANTHEM NOW

Your Anthem describes how you are different, and what you do best.

If you’ve already created your Anthem, download this image to write it in. Then you can share your Anthem with your colleagues, hang it in your office, or even use it to do a “lunch and learn” with your teammates.

Have your teammates created theirs yet? Encourage them to print one out as well!

10 WAYS TO…

START APPLYING YOUR ANTHEM TODAY

1

Update your social media profiles (such as your LinkedIn profile and Twitter bio) to include your Anthem.

2

Share your Anthem with a few co-workers or clients, and ask for input on examples of how you are already applying your Anthem.

3

Post your Anthem on Facebook, and ask for input from friends and followers.

4

Identify one way that you are already living your Anthem at work and at home.

5

Identify one way in which your communication is NOT yet consistent with your Anthem.

6

Encourage other people on your team to create their own Anthem, so you can immediately identify how everyone in your group is uniquely suited to add value.

7

For your next presentation, include a slide with your Anthem. Your listeners will then know how you are going to deliver value.

8

Tweet your Anthem so we can see. Example: My Anthem is STRATEGIC ANSWERS cc: @Sally Hogshead #AnthemInAction.

9

Post your Anthem outside your office, so that visitors can immediately know how to tap into who you are at your best.

10

In many ways, your Anthem is a mission statement. Use it to let potential clients know who you are and what you stand for.

HOW TO CREATE YOUR ANTHEM

Why you need this:

Your Anthem gives a clear road map for how you are most likely to solve problems.

You can use your Anthem to describe yourself in a snapshot, such as a resume or LinkedIn bio, on your company website, in your marketing and every touch point with those who matter most.

Yet your Anthem is more than just a tagline to promote yourself. For many people, it’s increased their confidence in attracting new clients, relieved tension with co-workers who add value differently, increased employee productivity by helping employees understand which tasks are right for them, and so much more.

NEED A LITTLE MORE HELP CREATING YOUR ANTHEM?

Haven’t found the right word to describe what you do at your best? No problem.

Here is an extended list of nouns to help you craft the perfect Anthem.

FINANCE/SALES

  • Selling
  • Management
  • Business
  • Negotiations
  • Banking
  • Profits
  • Administration
  • Tactics
  • Assistance
  • Profits
  • Sales
  • Goal
  • Leverage
  • Impact
  • Investments
  • Solutions

NONPROFIT

  • Development
  • Initiative
  • Conservation
  • Integration
  • Strategies
  • Sustainability
  • Transparency

ADMINISTRATION/HR/TRAINING

  • Objectives
  • Protection
  • Specialist
  • Procedure
  • Policies
  • Relations
  • Alliance Building
  • Management
  • Programs
  • Training
  • Collaboration

MARKETING/DESIGN/ART

  • Writing
  • Presentations
  • Entertainment
  • Illustrator/Illustrations
  • Palette
  • Marketing
  • Trends
  • Techniques
  • Designs
  • Communication
  • Branding
  • Pizzazz

TECHNICAL

  • Solutions
  • Programs
  • Procedures
  • Analysis
  • Assistance
  • Operations
  • Logistics
  • Maintenance
  • Specifications
  • Mechanics
  • Engineering
  • Synergy

LEADERSHIP

  • Management
  • Accountability
  • Achievements
  • Principles
  • Leadership
  • Coaching
  • Framework
  • Engagement
  • Experience
  • Mentoring

PUT ANTHEMS INTO ACTION

Help your employees feel more fascinating at work, and they’re likely to feel more fascinated by work. The more a company understands and celebrates each person’s highest value, the more likely employees are to give more of that value.

When everyone on a team understands how their co-workers are likely to add value, your organization becomes more efficient, with less conflict, and fewer overlapping roles.

GROUP ACTIVITIES WITH ANTHEMS
A few cool ways your team and business can apply Anthems to increase engagement:

A theme for your company’s next off-site meeting: Create your Anthems together in the morning, apply with small group exercises in the afternoon, and host a fascinating activity that evening.

At a luncheon or dinner party, get people to open up by inviting each person around the table to share how they apply their Anthem at work or at home.

In the first few slides of a presentation deck, include your Anthem so that people know ahead of time how you will deliver value in that presentation.

At the beginning of a meeting, rather than asking people the usual question, such as “What’s your home town” or “What’s your most embarrassing moment,” invite people to share their Anthem for a faster and more authentic connection.

At a luncheon or dinner party, get people to open up by inviting each person around the table to share how they apply their Anthem at work or at home.

In the first few slides of a presentation deck, include your Anthem so that people know ahead of time how you will deliver value in that presentation.

List each employee’s Anthem on the company phone list, so people know how the other person on the other end of the phone can add value on the call.

When hosting a conference call with a group of strangers, help people develop rapport more quickly by inviting each person to include his or her Anthem in their introduction.

At a conference, invite every speaker to incorporate their Anthem at the start of their presentation, so that the audience can have a better sense of the outcome, right from the start.

Have Anthem or Advantage T-shirts printed for team events.

Have a group contest with categories such as “Most Creative Anthem” 
and “Most Accurate Anthem.”

Invite attendees at an event to collaborate in small groups and create one 
overall Anthem for the event.

WANT TO DISCUSS THE FASCINATION ADVANTAGES WITH YOUR TEAM?

The most successful teams allow individuals to focus on how they are different, rather than how they are similar.

Once everyone on your team has taken the Fascinate Test, review these questions as a group discussion. See how you are already applying the Advantages, and where you might tap into new Advantages among your group.

HOW WILL YOU APPLY YOUR ANTHEM?

Like a tagline, you can incorporate your Anthem throughout your marketing and communication. Make it the intro for your LinkedIn profile. Add it to your email signature. Put it above your desk, reminding you to always live to your fullest potential. Include it at the top of your “about” page on your website, or on your bio. Use the wording in social media profiles. Here are a few examples of how you can start using it today.

Written Communication

  • Business card
  • Email writing style
  • Email signature
  • Your resume
  • Logo and letterhead
  • Points you outline for an agenda for a meeting

Around the Web

  • Social media profile (especially the “about” section)
  • Social shares, tweets, updates, likes
  • Personal website: your URL, and your choice of fonts, colors, words, and images
  • Your blog and newsletter

Around the Office

  • The design of your reception area: the colors, welcome message, music, office furniture, even the choice of magazines in a waiting area
  • Greeting from receptionist; hold music; voicemail greeting
  • The table shape and size; how chairs are arranged
  • Refreshments served (basic water and coffee, or exotic concoctions?)
YES! I WANT TO BUILD MY ANTHEM NOW

A five-week course all about YOU.

  • Weekly learning modules that help you craft the right Anthem for you
  • Emails each week to guide you through the process, at your own pace
  • Engagement worksheets and practical, practicable tips to immediately help you reshape your communication strategy
YES! I WANT TO BUILD MY ANTHEM NOW