FEARLESS AUTHENTICITY

A guide to more outspoken and honest being and leading.

In her nonfiction debut, broadcasting veteran Sparrow discusses what she refers to as “Fearless Authenticity,” a “holistic approach to how you move through the world and how you find success.” In her conception, everyone is on a constant journey to find their authentic selves, whether they know it or not, although our hyper-connected world can throw obstacles in the way. “We confuse what we think about ourselves and what we need to be based on what other people want and need,” the author writes, “and that blocks our vision of who we truly are.” Drawing on her long experience connecting with audiences and hearing the stories of other people, Sparrow distills her conclusions into three foundations for success. First, there’s “Live It”: “Look at yourself and take it all in,” she advises her readers. “Experience yourself the way other people do.” Next is “Tell It,” which is all about the craft of storytelling. “To make facts stick and get people to remember your ideas,” she suggests, “weave them into a story.” And finally, there’s “Sell It”; here, the author elaborates on one of the most familiar truisms of business-motivation literature: “Everybody is always selling something.” Sparrow punctuates the various sections of her book with interactive exercises for her readers—these “Authenticity Actions” take the form of journaling prompts like, “Write down your beliefs about yourself – what is true and not true?”

The author adopts a tone throughout that’s an attractive combination of seen-it-all professional canniness and genuinely motivational encouragement for readers who, like herself, are “trying to do our best: at work, with family, or by/for ourselves.” This tone allows Sparrow to move comfortably from employment team-building tips to guidance for personal development. She consistently empathizes with readers who are feeling discouraged: “So many of us face rejection and accept it as the final word,” she writes. “Even if we keep trying … there’s a little piece of us that still wonders if that rejection was right and maybe we’ve been fooling ourselves all along and should just give up.” Occasionally, the advice can sound a bit self-serving, as when the author reflects on her time sharing herself with audiences and comments, “It doesn’t really matter how what I say comes out, as long as it’s real” (readers subject to standards of accurate and professional presentations might find this less than helpful). But the overall sense of a seasoned professional imparting hard-won lessons about self-confidence wins out. Some of Sparrow’s reflection-prompts are overly simplistic (and others the require work undertaken over a lifetime), but most of the questions the author asks are familiar precisely because they’re perennially worth raising. Sparrow’s advice on presentation—the art of public storytelling—is the book’s highlight. “What is the emotion?” she repeatedly asks. “What is the essence, the nugget that’s going to be appealing to people?” That passion for emotional storytelling is the core of this work, which contains useful nuggets for readers in all walks of life.

Impassioned counsel from a professional communicator for expressing your true self.