Vulnerability and The Voice

Late night spontaneous posts are not typically the best idea. You're sleepy. You're vulnerable. So no better time to write a post on just that subject!

Watching The Voice tonight (guilty pleasure), I saw a particularly inspiring performance by Meghan Linsey and Paul Pfau. In the interviews recorded before the performance, Meghan admits how hard it is to make eye contact with her singing partner--how vulnerable it makes her feel. Pharrell plays counselor and asked her how fear, and the resulting immobility, has worked for her so far. The answer--not well.

On stage, she finds her brave. She locks eyes, and she is a powerhouse. And she is a powerhouse because you can feel that vulnerability in every note, and it's beautiful. See if you agree.

After marveling, the first thing I thought about was how, in their moment on stage, Meghan and Paul do what good actors do. They are fully in this moment together. They aren't acting out a song, they are responding to each other's voice and inflections, reacting to each other, genuinely feeling. And we, the audience, feel with them.

The second thing I thought about was how crisis communications best practices remind companies of the importance of being human. That people are more understanding and more forgiving when they hear a human behind the voice.

Tonight's performance, good acting, crisis communications--all these instances show the power of vulnerability.

But how often, when we are communicating, are we truly vulnerable with each other? And how has fear worked for you so far? Can you be brave enough to tell it like it is? Try it. And, if you're brave enough, tell me how it went in the comments.