On most occasions when I give out my business card to people I meet, I get a look of intrigue from them. Sometimes because of my rather unpronounceable Chinese name (don't ask), but mostly because I have two titles: "Senior Associate" and "New Media Specialist".

The first is a regular PR consultant's title that denotes my "rank" within the organisation, while the other is represents an additional expertise. In this case, an expert on the new/social media. Just in case you're wondering, this was not a title I gave myself.

I dare not claim to be Mr know-it-all about the social media, but I am passionate about the space and dare say I know enough about it for Hill & Knowlton to position me this way in front of our clients.

This brings me to a theory I conceptualised years back that I often call "Plus 1". It came to me when I happened to see a doctor, that I used to visit when I was a kid, on the evening news. He's a general practitioner (GP) based in a neighbourhood that's now too far away for me to visit. What is interesting is that he's taken it upon himself to be an "expert" in family issues and family health so much so that when the caption on the news program was displayed, it said "Family health expert" instead of general practitioner as it should. As a marketing move, I thought that was amazing. First he got to be the one interviewed, and secondly he's now publicly seen as an expert. That's got to be something that will drive business. So now he's doctor + 1, while the rest of the GPs are just doctors.

This got me thinking about myself (a journalist at the time), how I could position myself to be better. It doesn't mean needing two professional expertise like doctor + engineer, but just that little Plus 1 to give you that edge above the rest. It could be the smallest hobby or passion such as photography or organising parties. What I tried for was journalist + technologist because most of the other technology journalists I met could write, but most of them couldn't install Linux, for example, to save their lives. I could do that among other geeky things, so I figured that was my advantage: a real technology journalist.

What I believe is that everyone has that addition skill/passion. Everyone has a Plus 1 that sets them apart from the rest, it's just a matter of making it known and acting on it.

Earlier this week I was talking to Melvin my good friend and co-founder of Scoopasia, and he brought up a similar topic asking me why we in Singapore are so afraid to call ourselves "entrepreneurs" or "business men". It is somehow in our culture to not call ourselves what we're not when in fact we are.

A couple of weeks back I met an Australian architect (designs houses) who also designed a concept computer for a competition. That was such an awesome thing to do, positioning and proving that he was architect + 1. So how does this help his profession? Immediately I think of smart homes where design of integrated computing systems and buildings are critical.

The examples I could give are endless, but enough already from me. I'd like to encourage you to think about that Plus 1 I know you have and begin to apply it to your profession. I'm not a HR expert, but if you want ideas on marketing and positioning your Plus 1, I'd love to hear from you.