How to actually be authentic on social media

I was talking to my client J. the other week, and he mentioned something I thought was interesting.

We were chatting about the typical British “niceness” and “politeness”. I mentioned the hardest thing about working with Brits is never knowing what they really think. They smile, they nod… next thing you know, your performance review is being trashed.

This small statement caused quite the reaction in J.

He started telling me how he’d love to be more direct, more head-on and actually say it when he doesn’t agree or dislike something.

(One important thing about J.: he’s an esteemed professional. But his LinkedIn content was very generic and dull (hence he was working with me))

It was then that it occurred to me:

This is not what you expected, was it?

I don’t have any other tips on how to be more authentic or personable on LinkedIn. But ask yourself this:

• How often do you not speak up in real life?

• How often do you feel like saying "no”, but you say “yes” anyway?

• How often do you do things you really don’t want to do?

The list is endless. But if these questions are stirring up a small storm in your head, then we’re onto something.

Authentic posts will always gain a lot of traction on social media. Because people can sense when something is genuine.

But if you hide that authenticity from yourself in real life too, you’ll probably resort to using template posts and trying to sound like someone else.

So… Say the “no”. Be honest about what you think. One small win at a time.

With this completely social media-unrelated unsolicited advice, that’s all this time.

P.S. If I wasted your time with this newsletter, please unsubscribe. And then tell me on LinkedIn why you did. I want to improve.