There’s a lot I want to say, but I don’t. There’s a lot I
want to write, but I don’t. Perhaps you can relate, especially if you work in
PR and communications like I do. My professional life is about helping others
craft and amplify impactful messages, speak well, tell their stories, promote a
positive brand reputation. But I often wonder: In focusing on helping others share
their voices, what happened to mine?
It’s not that I have suppressed my personality or that I
never speak up. In fact, I have built my personal brand on being honest,
communicating from a place of high integrity, and having the courage to thoughtfully
say the things that need to be said. That is who I am. And yet, in putting my
energy into a brand – an executive’s, a company’s, and even mine – I adopted this
idea that I had to be careful about what I say all the time. Well yes, I do
have to be careful. We all need to be careful about what we say to some extent.
Being cruel or rude or hateful or just tactless is not the way to communicate.
You may incite a lot of passion, but you probably won’t achieve anything positive.
If you are a company spokesperson, every word you say or
post can reflect on that company, even if it’s on your own time and your own digital
feed. Just as there is no such thing as ‘off the record’ with media, there is
no such thing as a ‘private point of view’ in today’s social-media-driven
society. My default has been to take the safe route. I have refrained from
sharing certain comments in public forums because I don’t want to cause a
problem with a friend or limit my career prospects. I’ve refrained from writing
articles with personal observations and posting them online for similar
reasons.
These decisions seem reasonable, but it’s possible to constrain
yourself too much. What if those personal observations could enhance my career
prospects? What if they start compelling conversations? And if they don’t,
what's the big deal? I admire people who thoughtfully share their perspectives,
even when I don’t agree with them. Why should it be any different when it comes
to what I have to say?
It bugs me that in helping others work out how to express
themselves eloquently and authentically, I have felt the need to suppress my
own voice. I want to bring it back. In doing so, I may share ideas not everyone
can relate to. I might say nothing at all. I might say something not quite
right. Because it seems too controlled, less authentic, to try and perfect my own
voice. My voice is most certainly imperfect, but it’s my voice. It’s time to
use it more.
