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In the 2nd anniversary issue of WordBiz Report I included a note to readers that opined: "Authenticity is key. And by that I mean authentic voice. I often struggle to find just the right tone. When I do, you respond. You even make a purchase. When I lapse into marketing speak, you tend to ignore me. And why not? I don't respond to sales-y copy either."
To be candid, I didn't flesh out the topic of authenticity as a full-blown article because I was up against the deadline and ran out of time. Well, along comes WordBiz reader Stan Halse of thrivingvision to point out an article on The Power of Self Disclosure, in MarketingProfs.
Author Randy Siegel writes that "Communicating without disclosing self is like trying to play tennis without a ball." You gotta reveal some personal stuff, he's saying, in order to be a strong communicator.
If I tell you that my dog is sick - or that I've procrastinated (more likely) - are you more apt to be swayed by what I write?
There's a fine line between being authentic and revealing too much personal information. Too much candor is not necessarily interesting.
I see this line crossed all the time in other e-newsletters. Who cares what the editor thought when she rolled out of bed that morning. Unless the editor or publisher is a well-known figure.
Enough rambling... what do you think about being candid and disclosing the self in online business communications?
Cartoon created by Brad Fitzpatrick and used with permission.
Previous Comments
Stan Halse said on July 28, 2003 at 03:44 AM
Your point about revealing the right information about ourselves to communicate authentically is useful. Maybe we are influenced by those who are most like ourselves, and so we should reveal how we are rather
than what happened to us.
There was a theory that relationships are built on three levels, on the most superficial level between those who behaved similarly (using the same etiquette/ netiquette), more deeply between those holding similar
beliefs, and most fundamentally between those sharing the same values.
So to build a trusted relationship maybe we should reveal where we are coming from in terms of beliefs and values (behavior is self-evident) and this is what should be disclosed for authentic communication.
Another idea is that a communicator should express clearly how they feel about the situations under discussion.
Stan Halse (www.thrivingvision.com - where (research) ideas are in sight)
Tim Patterson said on August 6, 2003 at 04:52 PM
Self-disclosure is important; it humanizes you. The challenge is, of course, to decide what’s appropriate self-disclosure and what’s so trivial and unimportant that people don’t care.
I think it boils down to who you really are. As I recall from a 2-week “Careermakers” course I took a couple of years ago, job interviewers are attracted to (and will therefore be more apt to hire) interviewees that are adept at self-disclosure. So just be yourself. Either people like it or don’t. If they like who you are, they’ll be wanting to find out more - even if it’s how you do the laundry, feed the cat, pester your kids, whatever. And if they don’t like you, it doesn’t matter.
So just be yourself. Some people will find it attractive, some won’t. You don’t want the audience that doesn’t like you anyway, so why try and attract them to you? They’ll find you out sooner or later - might as well make it sooner, and quit wasting your - and their - time!
Debbie Rodgers said on August 7, 2003 at 10:26 AM
I really enjoyed Tim’s comments “So just be yourself. Some people will find it attractive, some won’t. You don’t want the audience that doesn’t like you anyway, so why try and attract them to you?” In an ideal world, that would be so true. But I’m not so sure that I don’t want the ones who don’t like me - as long as they like my work or my products! Still, I do try not to get too “cozy” with my readers while I’m giving them my opinions! This is a fine line, and a very interesting discussion.
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