Over the last few weeks of my internship this past summer, I learned that one of a marketer’s main objectives is to build a positive brand reputation. Not only does a good brand reputation ensure a high client retention rate, but it is also essential to attracting new clients. Arguably, the most instrumental factor in brand reputation is the element of trust.  Enter word-of-mouth marketing through in-person conversations.

Which source are you more likely to trust with your money: a random billboard off the highway or your close friend? Most people would answer a close friend, and it doesn’t take rocket science to figure out why — friends have our trust. In a society where it’s becoming increasingly more common to stumble on random billboards, whether it’s a literal billboard or online brand presence, how do companies distinguish themselves as the trusted friend? One simple answer is to build trust through in-person conversations.  

Why In-person Conversations?

Many people may disregard the role of word-of-mouth marketing in building positive brand strategy for several reasons. One of the most legitimate concerns is that it wastes time. For many business owners, time is their most valuable resource. Especially if their company already has a loyal network of clients, these owners may think taking the time for a conversation is not enough value added for the time they would dedicate to it – instead, they would rather focus on implementing client feedback or researching a competitive brand.

Don’t get me wrong, listening to clients and seeing where your company stands in the larger market are both excellent uses of your time. However, so are in-person conversations. If done correctly, in-person meetings and conversations not only expose the listener to your brand and pique their interest, but they also have an edge through face-to-face connection. When humans see the real person behind the message, they are much more likely to care because they see how much you care. The question is: how exactly do you get there?

How to Present Yourself

The first step is knowing how to present yourself. Before you even introduce yourself, many people will infer various facts about you based on your appearance, so making sure your appearance aligns with your message is crucial to in-person conversations. Two main components of presentation to focus on are attire and body language.

Attire

While many people focus on selecting appropriate business outfits, accessories are also key in attire. For instance, while heels are suited for nicer occasions, flats are more practical in casual or quieter environments. Bags are another noticeable factor. If there are papers sticking out of your bag or you have to search around for your business card, you could come off as disorganized. Giving your bag a quick clean before entering an important conversation can help you be more polished and find materials more quickly. Jewelry also reflects parts of your personal life – like relationship status, religion, or causes you endorse – which can either help or harm an initial impression. While many people probably don’t give a second thought to slipping on that wedding ring or cross necklace – it could be beneficial to give them a second glance before walking into a room.

Body Language

While body language is one of the greatest advantages of in-person communication – because it can establish credibility and trust – nonverbal cues like your posture, facial expressions, and fidgeting habits can easily undermine your message. While it is obvious to many people that standing up straight is better than slouching, a smile is better than a scowl, and keeping your hands still sends a good signal, there is a happy medium to be reached. If it’s perfect posture and picturesque smiles all the time, the listener may believe the conversation is more superficial than genuine. By being conscience of your body language, but also making sure there is authenticity behind your communication, your listener will leave the conversation with a greater sense of trust in the person behind the message.

How to Talk About Yourself

After the appearance is down, the next aspect to focus on is what you say. Even the most confident, polished business leaders will lose trust if they don’t handle the conversation in a professional yet engaging way.

A main aspect to focus on is clarity. While passion is positive to display, there are other ways to show it besides rambling for too long about too many aspects of your business. To drive home your brand, your message should center around a few main points so your listener can remember the majority of the conversation after they leave. You also want to make sure you present your message in a way that’s easy to understand for your listener. While there are a time and place for highly intellectual conversations, meeting someone for the first time is probably not one of them. Steer away from using terms that aren’t natural in daily conversation and limit phrases that may not be familiar to someone outside your profession. It is good to show your expertise in the field but make sure your listener can follow what you say.

After clarity is out of the way, have confidence in your brand. Show your listener why you care about the company, why does your listener need your service or product in their life, how will it add value, and what credibility do you have in your field? Hitting on all these points will leave a listener with a more vivid depiction of your service or product and why they should invest in it.

How To NOT Talk About Yourself

At the end of the day, the purpose of an in-person conversation is not about the business owner but about their consumer. One big mistake that a speaker can make is giving an elevator pitch, handing someone their card, and walking away. Even if you have a “wow” pitch, there is an opportunity for trust missing in the interaction. A listener may walk away passionate about your idea, but they don’t have the relationship factor that will lead them to choose your idea over another promising product or service. That is why it is crucial to engage with the listener by asking questions and giving them a chance to talk.

The main reason why we trust our friends is because friendship isn’t one-sided. Having a true friend means both parties have interest in each other’s life and want to help without expecting something in return. By building a personal relationship with your listeners, a business owner can highlight not only the care they have for their company, but also their consumers. By preparing your physical presentation, content of your speech, and questions to engage the consumer, business owners can more successfully establish trust in their listener and help their company stand out.  

Quickly developing technology and an infinite number of daily distractions are making it considerably harder to capture consumer attention. The solution? Using composition methods like balance and visual guides to captivate viewers so the storytelling can begin.

Why Do We Need to Enhance Content?

Technology has a way of both engaging and disengaging society. As new entertainment and services become increasingly more accessible and convenient, people learn to expect immediate gratification and quickly lose interest in activities that require patience, sustained attention, or effort.

One of the most widely cited examples: scrolling on social media. Since the algorithms use strategically personalized content to trap users in dopamine-driven reward loops, other daily tasks can’t compare. AI, one of the newest inventions to society, poses similar issues. Why would someone dedicate hours to writing emails, brainstorming designs, or researching topics if it can be done in 5 minutes with minimal work required? The same is true for delivery services. With groceries, meals, clothes, and products at people’s fingertips, it’s hard to see the appeal of going places in person.

However, technology doesn’t only disengage people from society, it also disengages them from the technology itself. As novelty wears off, people come to expect optimized convenience and speed – minimum effort for maximum reward. Although social media may captivate someone’s attention for hours, the longer they scroll, typically the more bored they become. When AI doesn’t generate a satisfactory response, people who expect instant, high-quality results become easily frustrated. Delivery app customers grow impatient with wait times that previously seemed remarkably fast.

Enter marketing. It’s here, in all this noise, that marketing has to compete for consumer attention. What poses an even greater challenge is that one of marketing’s greatest strengths is storytelling. As people become even more particular with what they deem is worth their attention, how do you convince them that your story is worth it?  My suggestion: using a combination of the composition techniques described below to enhance your content.

Balance Visual Weight

Arguably, balance is one of the most crucial composition techniques, because if your design seems messy, the viewer’s first instinct will be to look away. Instead, a designer’s goal is to make it easy for a viewer to interpret an image, while also keeping the elements interesting enough to hold their attention.

In total, there’s three types of balance: symmetrical, radial, and asymmetrical. Symmetrical balance typically acts as a crutch for most designers, because it is one of the easiest ways to assess if your design is balanced. Typically, as long as all your elements are center-aligned or mirrored on both sides, the result is an overall pleasing visual. Although it is less familiar to most, radial balance is also very comfortable because it involves arranging elements around a center point, so it naturally has many patterns.

With these two alternatives, many people may steer away from using asymmetrical balance, because it can be less straightforward and more time consuming. To make the process easier, I like to lean on the rule of thirds, which I learned while studying photography. The basic principle of the rule of thirds is to divide an image into a three-by-three grid and align the main elements on the intersection of your lines. Although using the rule of thirds does not guarantee asymmetrical balance, it is often an effective starting point for creating it.

Direct Attention with Visual Guides

After creating a balanced image, you want to draw attention to your main subject using visual guides. Again, there are many ways to direct attention, and this composition technique may be applied through a variety of ways.

Leading lines, framing, and depth of field are three popular visual guide techniques for photography. Leading lines involves using lines found naturally in your shooting location to draw attention toward the main subject. Lines can be horizontal, vertical, diagonal or even curved and include both natural and man-made objects. For example, roads, architecture, and mountains can all act as leading lines toward a main subject. Framing shares a similar concept to leading lines, but instead of creating movement through the image, it uses objects to surround and isolate a main subject. Try to lean into storytelling when using framing, by selecting objects that are relevant to your message.

For example, an ornate door or arch provides a sophisticated look, while elements like branches give a sense of calmness. If a shooting environment doesn’t naturally allow leading lines or framing, depth of field is another great method to use when directing attention. By using various camera settings to blur out the background, a photographer can highlight the main subject by keeping it in focus.

Outside of photography, there are many other ways to draw attention to a main subject. Often, designers will use contrast and scale to make certain elements stand out more than others. For example, a common method is using a pop of color in a black and white design to fixate attention on the object in color. Another method is making one element considerably larger than surrounding objects to emphasize an image or text.

Drive Brand Messaging through Storytelling

Although these composition methods help grab and direct attention, ultimately, it’s the message that turns clicks into customers. While creating aesthetically pleasing designs is an important part of storytelling, it is only one piece of the puzzle. To effectively communicate a brand’s message, marketers must showcase not only a product but also an outcome. When combined with strong content, composition techniques can transform a message from something viewers simply see into something they feel, experience, and remember.