Welcome to Personal Brand: Executive Perspective with Michelle Madziva, a weekly column dedicated to the art and strategy of personal branding.
Few messages create anxiety like: “Hi. Are you there?” No context. No explanation. You wonder whether good news, bad news or a task that could have been an email is coming.
We carefully choose what to wear and say at meetings. Yet many professional impressions now arrive via a phone screen. We reply while rushing between meetings, sitting in traffic or juggling five things. Digital messages feel informal, but their impressions are real.
Imagine sending a proposal with no email subject and an attachment named “final_final2_revised”. Your work may be excellent, but the recipient first has to figure out what the document contains and whether it is worth their time. Make their job easier by using a clear subject line, giving the document a meaningful filename and briefly explaining what the attachment contains in your email.
Then there are voice notes. You open one and see six minutes. Suddenly, you need a quiet room, and time to listen to it yet sometimes, two sentences would have done the job and clarified the subject message.
The goal is not to turn every WhatsApp message into a legal document or make everyday communication unnecessarily formal. It is to understand that how we communicate is just as important as what we communicate. Convenience should never come at the expense of clarity, consideration and respect. Digital etiquette is not about using impressive words or consistently sounding corporate. It is about respecting other people’s time, making information easy to understand and making every interaction easier, not harder. In a professional environment, even a simple message can reflect your judgement, your attitude and the standard of excellence you bring to your work.
In every digital conversation, whether on WhatsApp, email or even direct message, start with context. Instead of sending “Good morning” and waiting for a reply before revealing your request, try: “Good morning, Tendai. I am following up on yesterday’s proposal. May I have your feedback by Friday?” You save time and make it easier for the recipient to respond.
Respect other people’s time, ask before sending a long voice note, especially when it is not urgent and use email for detailed information that needs tracking and WhatsApp for genuinely quick exchanges. You do not need to answer everything instantly, but when a reply is due, a brief acknowledgement is kinder than silence. Before forwarding a screenshot or joke to a work group, ask yourself, does it belong here and would I attach my name to it?
Proofreading your message before pressing send is not a waste of time. Autocorrect has embarrassed many innocent people by replacing the intended word with something entirely different. A quick review before sending can save you from unnecessary misunderstandings, awkward explanations and avoidable damage to your professional image.
There is an emotional side, too. Many of us have received a blunt message and spent an hour wondering whether we had offended someone. Tone disappears on a screen and what sounds efficient in your head can feel dismissive to the reader. For sensitive matters, call or speak directly rather than letting punctuation handle the conversation.
The more I work around personal branding, the more convinced I am that professionalism is not reserved for a boardroom or a stage. It also shows up on a phone screen, especially when we are rushed and nobody is reminding us to be courteous.
Before pressing send, ask yourself three questions: Is it clear? Is it considerate? Would I be comfortable if this message were forwarded with my name visible?
Your digital footprint is part of your personal brand. Sometimes, the first impression of you is not made when you enter the room. It is made when your message appears on someone’s screen.
Michelle Madziva
Founder & CEO, Grand Curations
Corporate Strategist | Personal Branding Consultant
