Designing how you are seen: the strategy behind perception

One of the most important strategic decisions you must make when building your personal brand is deciding what you want your audience to perceive. Perception is not a cosmetic detail; it determines how your reputation, credibility, and legitimation, the three main sources of personal brand power I describe in Descubre tu marca personal, take shape in the minds of others.

Reputation is how people perceive your consistency. Credibility is how believable your message and value proposition appear. Legitimation is the perception that you have the authority and right to act in your field. Together, these three perceptions form the basis of your brand power. They are what make others take you seriously, trust your expertise, and invite you to the right conversations.

Perception also has a direct influence on trust, but that deserves its own discussion, which I will develop in another issue.

Deciding what you want to be perceived for

The first strategic step is clarity: what do you want your audience to think when they hear your name? How do you want to be perceived in comparison with others in your field?

If you are a consultant in commercial direction, for example, you must decide how you want to differentiate yourself. Do you want to be perceived as the sharp analytical mind who brings structure and order, or as the creative partner who unlocks growth? Do you want to project the image of a specialist in one specific industry or of a generalist who can work across sectors?

Once you define your desired differentiation, the next step is to check whether you already have a reputation that supports that positioning. Are you consistently seen behaving and delivering in ways that confirm it? If not, you must work deliberately on shaping that reputation through the quality and coherence of your actions.

Then you need to build credibility by demonstrating evidence that makes your positioning believable: proof points, results, endorsements, and a coherent narrative. Finally, you must gain legitimation, ensuring that your audience recognises you as someone entitled to act and speak with authority in that field.

In short: decide how you want to be different, strengthen the reputation that supports it, reinforce credibility with facts, and gain legitimation through authority and recognition.

My own case

In certain professional circles, I am perceived as a top-tier consultant in personal branding. My reputation there is solid, my credibility strong, and my legitimation well established. However, there are some markets in South America that are particularly interesting from a business point of view where my name is not yet part of the reference list.

If I want to be perceived as a thought leader in those markets, I need to build perception intentionally. And I must do it without betraying who I am. The most visible figures in those regions are often charismatic, assertive, and sometimes theatrical in their public performances. That style does not represent me. I am more reflective and sober, and I have learned that authenticity is not negotiable. Trying to imitate a model that is not mine would be both ineffective and incoherent.

So my strategy must align with my nature. I can, for example, seek endorsements from respected personal brands in those markets whose recognition can transfer part of their legitimation to me. I can also prioritise more intimate formats such as roundtables, private dialogues, or small-scale gatherings where my tone and depth of analysis are better appreciated.

But before stepping in front of any audience, I must first build visibility supported by reputation as a thought leader, and then reinforce that perception with a coherent narrative and verifiable facts that strengthen my credibility and legitimation.

Building a system for perception

Perception does not emerge spontaneously; it can be designed. To influence how others see you, you need to build a system that allows the desired perception to grow naturally. The central element of that system is your narrative.

Your narrative connects identity and perception. It translates who you are into a coherent image that people can understand, believe, and remember. For that, you must combine several tools:

• A coherent story that expresses your positioning and highlights your contribution.

• Facts that support your story, because credibility depends on evidence.

• Signature stories that anchor specific messages in the memory of your audience and make abstract ideas tangible.

• Symbols that evoke the values and messages you want to reinforce and help your public associate them instinctively with you.

• Selective visibility, choosing carefully where and how to appear, both online and in person, to reinforce your positioning rather than dilute it.

The more coherent your signals, the more precise your perception will be. What your audience sees, hears, and feels about you must work together as a system that conveys the same message across different contexts.