By John Durante
At WordWrite, we advocate authentic storytelling as a key way to build effective business communication. But we also advocate something even more fundamental; to be authentic in your professional conduct. 
One of the more provocative books I’ve recently read is Dick Meyer’s, Why We Hate Us: American Discontent in the New Millennium (Random House; 2008). Meyer has much to say about America from a perch that is seasoned, reasoned and largely consistent. But he has even more to say about the part authenticity plays in our daily lives and the “connectedness” it provides to root us all in something real, culturally tangible and the shared meaning that is communication.
To be professionally authentic from Meyer’s view (and WordWrite’s too) is not some touchy-feely, messy construct subject to 500 different understandings from 600 different professionals. It is pretty simple, actually. To be professionally authentic (something we believe is increasingly essential in today’s PR and communication worlds) you must:
1. Be sincere
2. Guided in your work by a moral component, and
3. Willing to work arduously.
These are hardly new ideas. What the PR pro needs to do to embrace authenticity is pretty clear. In this clarity some critics may find “quaint corniness” — where we sound more like a nagging high school guidance counselor than communication pros ourselves. So be it. But the point remains, to tell your authentic stories (or those of your clients) requires you first “walk the walk” before you “talk the talk.”
For you to tell an authentic client story, how important is it that you are professionally authentic? Do you believe it’s essential? That it matters only some? Or that it doesn’t matter at all?
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John Durante is senior marketing associate for WordWrite Communications.
