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Why Elizabeth Warren’s Love Of Selfies Will Help Her Win

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U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren is increasing in popularity with voters in the 2020 campaign for president. Why? One reason may be her penchant to take selfies. The senator is known to take selfies with anyone and everyone who wants one, staying for hours until she meets the last person in line. It has been reported that Warren has taken over 50,000 selfies.

With the selfie, Warren is delivering visual content, which communicates information quickly, effectively and that is easy to engage with. Ninety percent of information your brain absorbs is visual, and your brain processes visual messages 60,000 times faster than text. And while humans remember only 20 percent of what they read and 10 percent of what they hear, they retain 80 percent of what they see. More and more people are seeing Elizabeth Warren. The more people see something or someone, the more they begin to retain it.

With selfies, you can’t hide behind words. You are the subject. You are in the spotlight. And when you are looking to rise above the competition, you need to be front and center and build trust. The next time you are looking to stand out in your career, remember these four things:

1. Be physically present.

Elizabeth Warren takes selfies with the thousands of people that attend her campaign events. She is putting her “boots on the ground.”

Being present makes communication easier and builds trust between people. While remote work may be easier on you, people communicate most effectively in person. It makes everyone’s job easier. Be in the office. Be present at as many meetings as possible.

2. Talk and connect with a person.

Warren doesn’t leave after she speaks to the crowd. Warren recognizes that her “selfie line” allows her to connect with individual people. Selfies allow her to better listen and understand voters.

Don’t come to work to get the work done and then leave. Speak with people. Start a conversation with the colleague next to you at your meeting. Give yourself the opportunity to experience a meaningful moment. Develop a relationship. Build trust.

3. Capture or record your moments.

“Pics or it didn’t happen.” This is a common phrase used to ask people to prove what they said happened. With selfies, Warren knows she can build trust not only with the people who are present but also with those who aren’t. When you can see something, you are more likely to believe what you see is real. The more people see Warren, the more real her candidacy becomes in the minds of voters. The visual aspect of selfies also provides transparency. You see her emotions and get a peek into what she is thinking.

Take a picture of you and your colleague at a meeting, for example. Or inquire if your media or communications person can be in the room when you give your presentation. Make yourself and your work real to people outside the room. Make them aware of what you are doing and your accomplishments.

4. Let someone else tout you.

People are excited to meet a person who could be the next president of the United States, so they want to share the picture with people.

Data show that tweets with images can earn up to 18 percent more clicks and receive 150 percent more retweets than tweets without images. Facebook posts with images see more than double the engagement than those without images. People are engaging with images of Warren, and this increases her presence and power. 

When you include another person with you in the picture, they will be inclined to want to share the moment and their excitement, as well. And when someone else touts you, it acts like a recommendation, which increases trust. Allow other people to share your moment and increase your influence.


Learn from Elizabeth Warren’s 21st century strategy for building trust with voters. Use the power of your image and social media to build trust and advance your career. Whether it is politics or another career field, part of your success depends on your ability to market yourself. Be present, connect with people, capture the moment and allow others to share the experience. Set the stage to be the focus and build trust.


How do you strategically place yourself in the spotlight? Share with me your thoughts and stories via Twitter or LinkedIn.

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