Choosing Authenticity > Transparency (and how they’re different)
In your business do you find yourself being Authentic or Transparent? Here’s the thing, you have a responsibility to be yourself and to be able to be clear with your audience as to how they can kinda step into your world. It’s okay to agitate and make them a little uncomfortable but you don’t want to completely repel them. There are certain things, frankly, that you don’t need to tell your audience. Depending on your archetype, being overly transparent can be irresponsible. Now, if the personality of your brand is rebellious or what we call a provocateur then being completely transparent with all your drama might be okay, as long as you’re consistent all the way through. But, authenticity should always be your priority because people like real people. People want to see themselves in your story.
For the most part I believe that people go into transparency mode because they think, “Oh that’s the same as authenticity,” and it’s not. Authenticity is being genuine with what you’re willing to share, to take a risk on, and to show your audience you’re willing to go into the fire with them. Authenticity is not sharing everything that you hold dear and private to you with the world, especially if you’re not comfortable with that. Transparency, on the other hand is telling it all and going way past the line of TMI. For example if you and your husband are going through a tough time and you let your audience know how he’s cheating on you with the nanny that’s being transparent. While that might seem kind of extreme and dramatic I actually know people like that who will just word vomit on Facebook and other social media. And I’m not saying that you have to lie and say you’re alright when you’re not either. If you’re going through something, simply saying, hey look, I’m having a bad day, is an authentic way to do so. That’s the difference between transparency and authenticity.
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Thanks for the dilleniation, Jennifer! @4RIISE members, think about this sage advice when you are gearing up for interviews.