What should I do?

I remember a time when I was still working for the guest services department at Resorts World Sentosa. The resort is famous for attracting tourists from all around the world, from different social class, race, religion, ethnicity etc.

I was stationed at the guest services counter situated in an area with high traffic volume. The resort was conducting an island-wide survey about their guests service experience and satisfaction level, and I was tasked to spearhead this initiative. As part of the completion of a survey, guests were given a Resorts World gift bag, containing water bottles, gift vouchers etc.

A lot of visitors come from India and most of them travel in big tour groups. There was a huge communication breakdown while I was conducting the survey as most of them had problem expressing and communicating in english. There was a problem in explaining to them that they had to complete the survey to be entitled to the gifts. They were also insisting that we hand out the gift bags to them and this led to a huge commotion that gathered alot of people. Some wanted to enquire about the freebies while some were queuing to take the survey. I was overwhelmed by the number of people that were trying to attract my attention at different directions.

What should I do?

How do each of these areas connect to your personal branding?

We are all born into this world for a reason. Different people, experiences and encounters along our lives would hatch life lessons that shapes who we are as human beings. This breathes fresh perspectives that influence our values, personality and character. 

We are all a product of our own decisions. This rings true to how these same decisions affect how people view us and a lot of times, label us as a certain "stereotype". 

"Sally speaks really broken english, it seems like she did not receive much education". This, may be a circumstantial branding given to this poor girl. However, for many of us,  we may not be as unfortunate as Sally. We are able to recreate and take control of our circumstance. 

I prefer to strike a balance, ensuring I am both supportive or defensive when the time calls for it. It is about behaving like a chameleon. assessing your environmental and social situation and making a sound decision to adapt and adjust. 

Being supportive does not mean that you are weak. It shows that you are rational, you care and emphatize. Being defensive does not mean that you are aggressive. It just shows that you are clear of what you set yourself up to do. 

This is the form of identity I like to see myself as and the brand I wish to portray.