????2013年的溝通目標應該是真實可信。

????我一直在關注當今世界需要什么，碧昂斯是一個催化劑。和其他人一樣，我也曾為她在美國總統就職日的表現深感震撼，為她的美貌，她的嗓音……因此當有傳言稱，她可能是在假唱，還強迫Marine Corps樂隊一起作假，不免讓人有些掃興。

????我知道這很讓人掃興，但很多藝人都假唱。

????碧昂斯的目標是做到完美。她不想犯錯。但事實是即便她犯了錯，她的表現可能也會讓人驚嘆，像我們很多人那樣錯過幾個音符，只會顯得更真實。

????這讓我想到了包括商界領袖在內的很多客戶，他們同樣擔心暴露真正的自我，擔心把缺點顯現在員工和公眾面前。

????我曾經和醫療保健行業的一位高管合作，他總是堅持使用提詞機，哪怕只是面對小規模群體的非正式講話，因為他相信演講稿撰寫人會讓他的言辭更加得體。我問他如何定義在這些情形下的成功。是做到完美，使用漂亮的零錯誤句法？還是將演講與員工和客戶聯系起來？他承認是后者。我讓他每周練習根據提綱講話。慢慢地，他開始習慣偶然出現磕巴，因為他意識到這就是我們講話的方式。聽眾們告訴他，他從沒講得這么好，越來越連貫。

????還有一位女性，她把零售生意打造成了一家數百萬美元的公司，但始終拒絕演講邀請和媒體采訪機會，因為她害怕自己聽起來不夠入時……擔心“聽起來很土”，用她自己的話說。我讓她聽了一些有口音的領導人視頻，這些人同樣也坦誠自己并不是全然胸有成竹。我提醒她，她必須贏得很多高端聽眾，為她的業務獲得融資。她試了幾次，還通過回放錄像逐步建立信心。如今的她已是個中高手。

????The communication goal for 2013 should be aiming for authenticity.

????I've been looking for what the world needs now, and Beyoncé was the catalyst. Like everyone else, I was in awe of her on Inauguration day--her beauty, her voice...and then it went just a bit flat with word that she was probably lip synching, forcing the Marine Corps band to fake it.

????Oh, I know it was cold, and plenty of entertainers lip synch.

????Beyoncé was aiming for perfection. She didn't want to make mistakes. But even if she had, she would have been amazing, and authentic, missing a few notes like the rest of us!

????It reminds me of so many clients, business leaders and all Type A's who fear showing their real selves, exposing shortcomings to their employees and the public.

????I worked with a top executive in the healthcare sector who would insist on using a teleprompter even with relatively small, informal groups because he said his speechwriter made him sound better. I asked him to define success in these settings. Was it being perfect, using beautiful syntax with no mistakes? Or was it bonding with his employees and customers? He decided on the latter. I had him practice talking from bullets every week. Eventually he got comfortable with a few stumbles because he realized that's the way we speak. His audiences told him he'd never spoken better and connected more completely.

????Then there's the woman who built a retail operation into a multimillion-dollar business and refuses speaking engagements and media opportunities that others would die for because she is afraid of sounding unsophisticated..."sounding stupid," to use her words. I had her listen to videos of leaders who have regional accents, who admit they don't have all the answers. I reminded her that she had to win over many sophisticated audiences to get the financing for her business. She got her feet wet, reviewed tapes to build her confidence, and she is now swimming laps.