That’s a very interesting perspective. I never cared much for self-presentation, I’ve always been focused exclusively on substance. I’ve often wondered if that might explain my struggles.

I can particularly relate to the point about other people not believing reality when it doesn’t fit neatly into a stereotypical narrative. Anything which doesn’t fit neatly into such narratives will come across as ‘awkward’ in the eyes of many ‘well connected’ people. I think this is because such people care a lot about peer approval. Unfortunately, humans are not so different from other species of apes when it comes to decision-making. Anything we do needs to be accompanied by primal chest-banging in order to get attention and accrue credibility.

It’s not simply about convincing people that you can deliver, it’s also about convincing them that you can also convince others. I guess this second part is where the optics come in handy.

When we look at CEOs of major corporations, they definitely tend to look like and sound like typical CEOs for their industries. It’s like a beauty contest for serious-looking, serious-sounding people.

I’m definitely willing to try this out.