Are you WYSIWYG?
WYSIWYG is one of those terms that
made me chuckle when I first heard it. It seemed cute. Actually, it is pretty clever when you realize that it refers to “word processing or desktop publishing in which the screen prints text exactly as it will be printed.” (according to Answers.com)
The term stuck with me as a computer thing for quite some time but recently it took on another dimension. Two things started a thought process. On Twitter, there have been numerous conversations about transparency. Some of the questions center on what is transparency, how much is necessary, and how to use it when marketing.
To add more depth, Chris Brogan, a social media marketing expert and president of New Marketing Labs, (www.chrisbrogan.com) posted “Cafe Shaped Conversations.” The blog post centered on the importance of the human touch when conducting business. This post follows a consistent theme that Brogan writes about how being yourself as an effective business tool. This is illustrated by Carol Jordan of You Are Here Books. His point is to connect with people through social media the way you would connect in-person in a focused and genuine manner.
Many of us have rules about how a business person should look or act. Even if you have been in business in one capacity or another, you may have set up some rules or guidelines which begin something like, “people in my position must…” Fill in the blank.
Now, what would happen if you broke this rule? Would you appear more genuine, more at ease? Would your business development be less strenuous and less stressful?
Is it okay to be “what you see is what you get?” As I look back at the early days of my business, I had rules about what I thought a business owner should be like. Certainly, I was anxious to appear competent, contained, and serious.While this is not the first business I have started, it is the business that best suits me and my talents. Frankly, I did not trust my abilities or my knowledge base. I tried to cram myself into an elevator pitch. I began to feel like I was wearing someone else’s clothes.
Looking at yourself, how would you describe your style? Your business? Being comfortable in one’s skin exudes confidence that we are okay no matter if we are succeeding or failing. It enables us to be authentic and connect with people. We have heard sales trainers and coaches talk about the “know, like, and trust” factor in converting prospects into sales. Instead of a transactional process, what would make doing business more about being yourself and acknowledging the person who wants your products and services?
By using “what you see is what you get,” you cut out silly rules that cramp your natural abilities and personality. What makes you comfortable in your own skin? It is a common fear that someone will find out you are a fraud. However, this is usually an unfounded fear held by extremely competent, intelligent, and ethical people. As entrepreneurs, we continuously push ourselves out of our circle of comfort. Remembering that we come with great abilities and a record of success enables us to settle into our authenticity.
Check your rules. Are they supporting you or thwarting you? Get rid of anything that interferes with your natural connection with people.
Dare to be WYSIWYG!
made me chuckle when I first heard it. It seemed cute. Actually, it is pretty clever when you realize that it refers to “word processing or desktop publishing in which the screen prints text exactly as it will be printed.” (according to Answers.com)
The term stuck with me as a computer thing for quite some time but recently it took on another dimension. Two things started a thought process. On Twitter, there have been numerous conversations about transparency. Some of the questions center on what is transparency, how much is necessary, and how to use it when marketing.
To add more depth, Chris Brogan, a social media marketing expert and president of New Marketing Labs, (www.chrisbrogan.com) posted “Cafe Shaped Conversations.” The blog post centered on the importance of the human touch when conducting business. This post follows a consistent theme that Brogan writes about how being yourself as an effective business tool. This is illustrated by Carol Jordan of You Are Here Books. His point is to connect with people through social media the way you would connect in-person in a focused and genuine manner.
Many of us have rules about how a business person should look or act. Even if you have been in business in one capacity or another, you may have set up some rules or guidelines which begin something like, “people in my position must…” Fill in the blank.
Now, what would happen if you broke this rule? Would you appear more genuine, more at ease? Would your business development be less strenuous and less stressful?
Is it okay to be “what you see is what you get?” As I look back at the early days of my business, I had rules about what I thought a business owner should be like. Certainly, I was anxious to appear competent, contained, and serious.While this is not the first business I have started, it is the business that best suits me and my talents. Frankly, I did not trust my abilities or my knowledge base. I tried to cram myself into an elevator pitch. I began to feel like I was wearing someone else’s clothes.
Looking at yourself, how would you describe your style? Your business? Being comfortable in one’s skin exudes confidence that we are okay no matter if we are succeeding or failing. It enables us to be authentic and connect with people. We have heard sales trainers and coaches talk about the “know, like, and trust” factor in converting prospects into sales. Instead of a transactional process, what would make doing business more about being yourself and acknowledging the person who wants your products and services?
By using “what you see is what you get,” you cut out silly rules that cramp your natural abilities and personality. What makes you comfortable in your own skin? It is a common fear that someone will find out you are a fraud. However, this is usually an unfounded fear held by extremely competent, intelligent, and ethical people. As entrepreneurs, we continuously push ourselves out of our circle of comfort. Remembering that we come with great abilities and a record of success enables us to settle into our authenticity.
Check your rules. Are they supporting you or thwarting you? Get rid of anything that interferes with your natural connection with people.
Dare to be WYSIWYG! 
2 Comments
Excellent post. Authenticity seems to be the alpha and the omega of any good relationship, including the relationship you have with yourself, doesn’t it?
Shakespeare even wrote of this as “To thine own self be true…” But it takes a long time and serious reflection before we can understand what this means.
Thanks for the wonderful ideas.
Elli, nicely done,
We pretty regularly comb the “social” Internet for people who are authentic – and find a only a small fraction willing to be. There seems to be something that happens to people on the Internet – where they will do inauthentic things they would never dream of doing in “real life.”
So I don’t bore your good readers to death I’ll mention just one or two examples. Take, for instance, the way many people approach social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. They’re willing to accept the offers of these companies to send generic email invites to their entire Outlook, Gmail or Yahoo accounts. The equivalent in real life would be attending a convention and simply giving out and collecting business cards by saying “Here’s my card; give me yours” and moving immediately to the next person. The idea in real life is laughable. Yet, online, people are willing to do it.
Most of the folks contacting you on social networking sites are simply counting coup. As one writer has said, “… using Web pages for the mass creation and consumption of relationships feels like the exact opposite of personal communication.”
We look for personal connections and conversations – in business, on the web and in our personal lives. We are definitely WYSIWYG – just wish more folks on the web were willing to trust themselves to be themselves – the way they would be in “real life.”