Everyone is very convincing when they appear genuine. We even admire movie stars for it. In an essay on finews.first, Stefan Bannwart looks at what we can learn from them.

This article is published on finews.first, a forum for authors specialized in economic and financial topics.

Communication between people has the largest impact when it is seen as being authentic. But if that was true, acting in any form would make little sense. Yet that is exactly what professional actors do for a living and they seem very successful at it.

Actors are essentially masters of deception. But they can also teach us a great deal about how to communicate authentically. What we see on the screen or on tv is a stage. Even so, the greatest actors have mastered their art to a level that they can slip in and out of all types of roles believably. Sometimes they disappear into their characters so completely that we don’t even know who or what the person behind the facade is.

«George Clooney has been playing the same self-ironic character in Nespresso advertisements for over 15 years»

But when we look back at the icons of movie history, we also see something else. We always get the impression that they are playing themselves. And often, their public personas serve to strengthen that perception.

For example, some action stars perform their stunts publicly, such as Tom Cruise does. George Clooney has been playing the same self-ironic character in Nespresso advertisements for over 15 years.

«Hollywood stars show us three things»

Our perception of the role and the person start to get confused. Cary Grant, one of the biggest stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age and George Clooney’s genre-defining predecessor, once jokingly said: «Everybody wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant».

Hollywood stars show us three things. First – that we have an instinct to know who someone really is. We can often perceive another’s person inner character. That is even true in extreme cases in places where the exact opposite of authentic communication takes place. The best actors in the world who act out fictitious characters in made up stories.

But it is exactly when they portray something that chimes with their real, inner character, something that gives us the impression that they are playing themselves. That is when they create great art and have the most success.

«The interior and the exterior must match up»

That brings us to the second point. The interior and the exterior must match up. One can take the credo of the design world. Form follows function.

That is not only for actors but for anyone working in a professional environment. Communication and its impact are the keys to our success. We are seen as being authentic when we provide a glimpse of our inner and outer characters.

«Communicating genuinely does not mean we have to appear without make-up»

The third point goes back to Cary Grant and his often cited quote. Ostensibly, one of the most famous romantic leading male actors in the history of cinema was very clear about the effort it took to live up to his own role model in real life – despite the enormous range of skills and tools a Hollywood professional has.

Being authentic does not mean that we should not use those skills and tools. Communicating genuinely does not mean we have to appear without make-up, unprepared, and having thought little about what we were going to say in advance. Make-up, for example, is something that actors normally use, and it can change their appearance so completely we sometimes no longer recognize them.

«That is the only way that we can engender trust»

But it can also emphasize certain facial features and it becomes a critical imperative in live theatres given the intense stage lighting. What is decisive is that it is used in a way that harmonizes with the real person behind the actor. In that way, the real person behind us appears and others get a picture of who we really are and what we are really thinking.

Comprehensive and effective communication is more important than ever in today’s world. That is the only way that we can engender trust. We also are more convincing - in the same way that a Golden Age icon is.

Stefan Bannwart is a communications expert. He established his own consultancy in 2008. He graduated from the University of Basel with a degree in economics, after which he then successfully pursued an MBA in International Luxury Brand Management at ESSEC in Paris. He recently published a book in German: «Authentisch kommunizieren. Überzeugen mit dem inneren Kern».

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