19/08/2025
𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁
My first corporate speaking gig was a big deal for me.
I’d done plenty of training rooms, but this was my first time in a shiny, glass-walled boardroom, standing in front of people in suits who looked like they had very important things to do.
And I thought: 𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 “𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯” 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺.
So I straightened my posture. Smoothed out my voice. Cut back on the humour. Used the “serious” slides.
I acted the part I thought they wanted.
It was… fine.
Nobody threw me out. Nobody booed. But there was no spark.
Polite smiles, polite questions. And I left knowing I’d been 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, but forgettable.
The turning point
The next time I was invited back, I decided to do the unthinkable:
I ditched “corporate John” and just showed up as… me.
Stories, humour, a little self-deprecation. The same tone I use in smaller rooms.
I spoke 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 them instead of 𝘢𝘵 them.
And something shifted.
People leaned in.
They laughed.
They shared their own stories.
The room felt alive, and the conversations continued long after the session ended.
Why authenticity wins
We often think confidence is the gold standard.
Stand tall. Speak clearly. Own the room.
But confidence without authenticity feels like a performance.
And people can sense when they’re being performed 𝘢𝘵.
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁.
𝗜𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳.
Authenticity builds trust.
Trust creates openness.
And openness makes learning, collaboration, and change possible.
Confidence is useful—it can help you get started.
But authenticity keeps you in the game.
If you have to choose between:
Being confidently “polished” but not quite yourself, or
Being genuine, human, and maybe a little rough around the edges
…choose you. Every time.
Because when you show up as yourself, you give everyone else permission to do the same.
𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 “𝗦𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗢𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗔𝘀 𝗢𝗳𝗳” 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗱𝘆-𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗲
