6 Elements to discover your (brand) voice

It can be hard to find your voice. Discover the elements that lead to finding your brand voice.

When I left my corporate job and started as a copywriter, I caught myself writing as if I was still employed by a big corporation. Using far too many nouns ending in -isation, -ness or -iality and using too few verbs.

Just as a rule – using nouns makes sentences longer, confuses people, and makes you sound stiff but not necessarily clever.

My writing style was stiff, impersonal and completely free of any unsettling emotions. Years in a corporate environment had led to some sort of indoctrination that was very hard to shake off.

Some of my clients who have left a corporate career behind and are now trying to discover their voice and feel lost because they don’t know how to peel off the layers that hide their authentic “voice”.

What your authentic voice can do for you (and others)

There are different ways of peeling off the layers. One is to wait and keep writing as your authentic voice emerges more and more.

That process can take years and lead to frustration and overwhelm (and you sound like a poor copy of some other famous entrepreneur).

Another one is to forget about all that “auth

entic voice” stuff and use AI (running the risk of sounding totally generic).

The third option is to work on discovering your authentic voice, gain brand recognition, create a voice that pre-selects your audience – deters those who don’t like your style and attracts those who share your beliefs and values.

Yes – not everyone is going to like you. And that’s exactly the point.

When you polarise people – you create relationships and grow trust with those who matter to you and your purpose.

When you claim your spot by allowing yourself to be your authentic self (and talk about that in your authentic voice) – then you become a fixed and recognisable point in a world where everything else around us is constantly shifting and changing.

But how do you discover your authentic voice?

Discovering your authentic voice is a process that you can direct. There are six elements that I like to clarify with my clients to help them discover their authentic voice and I am sharing them with you so that you can focus on discovering yours.

Element #1 – Your personal strengths

If you are like me, then you believe that you don’t have any particular talents or strengths. But you are very wrong. We all are really good at certain things and naturally work in a way that favours our strengths.

You only need to become aware of your strengths and understand how to use them. If you are not aware of your strengths, I recommend that you start with a strengths test. There are free and paid ones that you can choose from.

Your strengths define your zone of genius, they show you where you can easily accelerate, they define your uniqueness and personal differentiation – AND they influence how you behave and talk.

And besides that – you can boost your confidence and understand how you can use your talents to help others (better than they can because they don’t have the same strengths as you.

Understanding your strengths is part of understanding yourself and has an impact on how you think, behave, and talk.

Element #2 Your values

Your values drive everything you do and say. They define what you believe in and how you behave. They make your behaviour consistent and allow you to take a constant position.

Right now uncertainty and the speed of change can scare people or make them feel like they have no constant force in their lives.

People naturally want to belong and if you live (and talk) true to your values, you can become a force that people rely on. A person, others can trust and rely on.

Sharing your values and beliefs is an essential part of talking in your authentic voice. Although you won’t resonate with everyone, you’ll resonate with those who have similar values and share your beliefs.

So, talk about what you stand for, what you believe in and what you don’t like. It will polarise but it will allow you to authentically stand for what you believe and attract those who matter to you.

Element #3 Your quirky self

For many years, I’ve been saying “own your weirdness”. It is so important to feel good in your own skin and be openly happy about the weird little things you do and like.

I am a knowledge addict and cannot stop reading and learning. I need to fill moments of idleness with reading because that allows my thoughts to expand, my mind to develop, my imagination go crazy, be creative, reflective, and gain insights.

I am also mad about dogs. Having two border collies is mad enough but also teaching them tricks and trying to understand their behaviour to move to a higher level of communication is quite exciting for me.

I am also hopelessly romantic and a dreamer. I see the best in every situation, even when the situation has turned to custard.

But why do I think that this is important to find your voice?

It is hugely important to be recognisable! Sharing your story and idiosyncrasies makes you more human and approachable and you allow your audience to connect with you through the stories you tell.

If you want to read more about storytelling, then head over to another blog post that I have written about finding your origin story.

Element #4 Your WHY

Your WHY is one of the big reasons why you are doing what you are doing. Why your whole business exists and why you are getting up every morning to serve your people.

Knowing your WHY allows you to be you, to create clarity around your purpose and help others to live their true purpose.

Knowing your WHY allows you to create a community of like-minded people that has your back as you have theirs.

Knowing your WHY makes you resilient and purposeful and the clarity with which you talk about your WHY attracts others who have similar motivations.

Element #5 Your opinion

I quite openly talk about what I like or don’t like.

I don’t like templates or blueprints – I like frameworks that people can make their own.

I like to be brutally honest because I believe that it doesn’t help to give people a fluffy and watered-down version of what they need to know. That doesn’t serve people in their progress.

I believe that it’s ok to give away the HOW instead of trying to tease them with the WHY and the WHAT. Even if you give away the HOW, people will still want to work with you because you save them time and you are totally transparent.

I believe in diving deep and understanding what’s going on underneath the surface so that your actions can be deliberate. There are no shortcuts. You simply have to do the work and then be proud of it.

When you allow yourself to voice your opinions and help people understand the mind shifts that they need to make before they start working with you, then you can create a community and safe space for those who think like you. And you attract those who see the value in your opinions.

Element #6 Your zone of genius

Your zone of genius is a combination of your talents, your experience, knowledge, and expertise. It is your secret sauce – something that you are doing effortlessly and that others just can’t get their head around.

I can come up with ideas and strategies at a dizzying speed, I create structure from chaos, connect the dots, and create clarity from confusion.

Once you understand your zone of genius, you know how to talk about it and attract people who struggle with what you’re exceptionally good at.

Your zone of genius is your trademark and it takes courage to talk about what you’re good at because you feel like bragging. Get comfortable with that!

It’s part of your voice.

What’s next?

Where does this leave us (in a world of templates and swipe files)? Finding your (brand) voice is an essential and powerful process and it certainly helps to make you and your business visible, heard, and loved.

And if you need some help with that, then send me a message by filling in the form below!

Categories: Copywriting, Brand Messaging