Choosing your voice
A few days ago, I had a conversation with a professional whose digital presence is already established. She is in the health field, with a following on channels like LinkedIn and Instagram. People turn to her for discernment, guidance, and sometimes direct help. Her online personality is clear: rigorous, fact based, theory supported, and goal oriented.
While working together on her narrative, she asked me a simple but tricky question: could she insert some humour into her communication?
My instinct was to say yes. I know her well, and her humour is intelligent, subtle, and seductive. It surfaces in serious conversations with the power to surprise and disarm. My first impulse was to think: why not share this beautiful gift with her audience? But I paused. I reflected. And then I answered no.
Why? Because her most relevant audience is not in a mood to be entertained. They are in pain, worried about their health. They search for clarity, not amusement. Subtle humour could easily be missed, or worse, sound like a dissonant note in a conversation that they approach with vulnerability and need.
Narrative must always be authentic, but authenticity is not the unfiltered projection of everything that comes to mind. In the conversation we establish with our audience as a personal brand, we choose an angle: the angle of relevancy. It is the perspective that makes our audience feel it is worth spending their time with us, because we have something meaningful to offer.
That angle is defined not only by the information we deliver, advice, insights, news, but also by the way we deliver it. Our voice, our tone, our rhythm: they are all part of the message. And they need to be chosen. Once chosen, unless there is a very good reason, they should be sustained with consistency.
In this case, her warm and professional voice is already trusted. It embodies the seriousness and care that her audience needs. Preserving that voice is more valuable than trying to diversify it with humour.
Philosopher Hans Georg Moeller, with his concept of profilicity, reminds us that in the digital sphere we constantly offer a profile of ourselves to the public. That profile is not a random projection of our whole being, it is a curated face we choose to show, the one that aligns with what our audience needs and expects.
So my invitation is this: make a conscious and ethical choice about your voice. Choose the tone that matches your values and your audience’s needs, and stick with it. Clarity builds familiarity, and familiarity deepens into trust. And trust, in the end, is the most precious asset of any personal brand.
