The personal brand space tends to default to one of two extremes. The performative relatability of the crying founder video, or the polished professionalism of look how far I’ve come. Neither one is where I operate.
My take: the most trustworthy version of yourself on camera is the accurate, precise version, not one stripped down for sympathy. Show who you actually are, consistently, and the trust compounds on its own without you having to ask for it.
That’s the filter every piece of content runs through. If something feels like a performance of authenticity, it’s the wrong content, no matter how well it might perform.
Accuracy is harder than vulnerability, not easier. Vulnerability just requires admitting something. Accuracy requires knowing yourself well enough to say the true thing instead of the dramatic thing, and to say it the same way you’d say it in a normal conversation, not the way you’d say it if a camera made you feel like you owed the audience a moment.
The test I use is simple. Would I say this the same way if nobody was filming? If yes, it’s right. If it sounds like someone who decided to be real on camera today, it’s not.