Communicating With Authenticity
An often-cited building block of successful and enduring client relationships is authenticity – the desire and ability to lay down our shield, open up and let our clients get to know who we are and what’s important to us.
Authentic exchanges can take place during face-to-face conversations with clients and prospects. But, our everyday business writing – in emails, articles, blogs and other Web and print publications – can also be a channel for authentic expression.
Steve Pavlina offers a great post on authentic communication. Describing his visceral reaction to inauthentic written communications, he states: “I just don’t want to spend time dealing with people who aren’t willing to communicate like real human beings.” Pavlina also directs us to John Kinde’s commentary on the power of authenticity.
Kinde, in turn, wraps his thoughts on the subject around inspiring footage of the late Fred Rogers. The footage transports us to a 1969 senate hearing at which Rogers talks about funding for the newly formed Corporation for Public Broadcasting. You can click here to view the clip.
As Kinde points out, what’s remarkable about this interaction is how Mr. Rogers’ authenticity affects the hard-nosed politician he’s addressing. It’s moving and, yes, instructive, to see a person who’s so genuine and so crystal clear about why he’s here and what he stands for.
