Why is naturalness so unnatural to so many
Last week I appeared as a studio guest onto The Vanessa Show on the UK's Channel 5 TV network to talk about confidence. The daytime show is presented by Vanessa Feltz and her fiance Ben Ofoedu.
Now, while Vanessa is an experienced and capable broadcaster with many years of TV and radio presenting to her name, her partner Ben is not experienced. But, despite this daunting prospect of being thrust on national television, he has a warm and positive naturalness on screen that makes him instantly likeable and watchable.
The great thing is that Ben is the same off screen as he is on. And this is one of his key qualities. Whether he is in the studio, in the green room with other guests and assorted others or, I suspect, at his local supermarket, he is himself. He is natural.
But, as in our work and non-work lives, that can be all too rare a quality. It is one that gets suppressed by too many of us in a misguided and insecure interpretation of how we think the world wants to see us.
Ironically, naturalness is one of our most attractive traits and also takes little to no effort to bring to the fore. So strip away your false self and be the self that others can warm to even more. And, in turn, you'll create even more opportunities for yourself.
Now, while Vanessa is an experienced and capable broadcaster with many years of TV and radio presenting to her name, her partner Ben is not experienced. But, despite this daunting prospect of being thrust on national television, he has a warm and positive naturalness on screen that makes him instantly likeable and watchable.
The great thing is that Ben is the same off screen as he is on. And this is one of his key qualities. Whether he is in the studio, in the green room with other guests and assorted others or, I suspect, at his local supermarket, he is himself. He is natural.
But, as in our work and non-work lives, that can be all too rare a quality. It is one that gets suppressed by too many of us in a misguided and insecure interpretation of how we think the world wants to see us.
Ironically, naturalness is one of our most attractive traits and also takes little to no effort to bring to the fore. So strip away your false self and be the self that others can warm to even more. And, in turn, you'll create even more opportunities for yourself.
posted: 31 Jan 11