The Ultimate Soft Skill: Leveraging Etiquette to Explode Professionally with Alison Cheperdak

So I have my first question that I want to ask.

So has being authentic on social media become an excuse for bad manners?

Yes, absolutely.

And I love that question.

And it's not one that gets asked frequently.

But there's a way to be authentic.

And there's a way to be kind.

But when you're saying things like I'm just being honest, or just let me be me, like if it requires a disclaimer, then it's probably rude.

Right, right.

You know, I find that what I'm seeing today in this kind of race to be authentic, in this race to get followers, is people are allowing themselves to say and do all kinds of things.

And, you know, I find it specifically when I think about all of the different kind of genres of content out there, especially in political conversations.

I've never seen, and I don't want to necessarily get into a political conversation, but I've never seen discourse be so vile the way that I'm seeing it now.

And so is this kind of race for authenticity really just an excuse to be rude?

Potentially.

I also see that it can be tempting as a creator to be more hyperbolic and to say things that are a little more wild that are going to get clicks, that are going to get views, that are going to get engagement.

But the extremes are not necessarily representative of what's kind and what's courteous and what's considerate.

And when you look at the long-term growth of your business or of your reputation as a creator, do you want to be the person that's known for the wild, potentially offensive thing that you said, or do you want it to be more someone who was putting in the reps just like you would at the jam on a regular basis and someone that can be a trusted voice? Because I think most of the folks here that are part of the creator method want to be a trusted voice.

I agree.

I think it's constantly trying to find this balance between not being too sensationalized or being a sensationalist in your content, but you're also trying to get attention.

And it's so much harder to get attention through... quality and through kindness over the long run.

So I can understand why people do it, but I definitely think it's not a sustainable thing.

I believe that there's, and we're gonna touch upon it later, there's a difference between creators with followers and personal brands with communities.

And I think the latter speaks to what you're building, And and I don't vilify the first one.

It is what it is.

I mean, it's a different business model.