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My secret is honesty
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Laura Kalbag
May 29, 2013
Design
1
2.4k
My secret is honesty
From a talk at ESAD in Porto in May 2013
Laura Kalbag
May 29, 2013
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Transcript
My secret is honesty Laura Kalbag @laurakalbag laurakalbag.com
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Z Z Z
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A B C
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I can be a bit useless, but I’m honest
What is honesty?
being honest not being dishonest
openness being honest not being dishonest
honesty
honesty
honesty honesty openness
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!#@§%!
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Where I’m open
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laurakalbag.com/blog
24ways.org/2012/design-systems/
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How I’m open
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and I’m sharing right now…
it wasn’t a conscious decision…
“How come you’re ok with sharing that stuff?”
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Examples of my openness
laurakalbag.com/bardowl-the-big-one
laurakalbag.com/women-and-conferences
laurakalbag.com/we-read-with-our-own-contexts
laurakalbag.com/burnout
Not always work-related, but me-related
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Why I’m open
naïvety
encourages others to do the same
being nice feels good
I’m not a brand, I’m a person
I build trust and my reputation, not a brand
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I’ve got nothing to hide
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nobody is perfect
It’s not that I don’t care what people think of
me (I really do)
I don’t want to work with someone who doesn’t like
me
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I can learn more I can improve
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If we can’t admit we don’t know everything, we’ll never
learn anything
it’s compulsive
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oversharing
the response is worthwhile
if you have a problem, people will try to help
you
if you are suffering, people will empathise
people will understand you, they will get to know you
it just seems to work…
Who’s affected by my openness?
my friends and family
clients
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be respectful, be polite
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Why openness helps my business
I don’t assume I know everything
if I don’t know, I’ll ask
transparency and trust builds friendships
understanding more about you makes people feel that they know
you
IRL
clients know what they’re getting
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they can trust me to be honest and work hard
“empathy starts with vulnerability” the-pastry-box-project.net/sara-wachter-boettcher/2013-march-2013/
putting up a front doesn’t just distance you from your
own emotions, but from other people’s the-pastry-box-project.net/sara-wachter-boettcher/2013-march-2013/
when your job is to understand people’s problems, you can’t
afford to be numb the-pastry-box-project.net/sara-wachter-boettcher/2013-march-2013/
“professionally vulnerable” Sara Wachter-Boettcher
What happens when it goes wrong
None
1. accidentally say something which isn’t true (without checking first)
2. being overemotional or overreacting
3. being unkind or rude to others
you probably don’t mean it…
just keep telling the truth
admit your mistakes
apologise
don’t worry about making yourself look good, worry about doing
the right thing
remember that you are human
How to start being open
1. admit the next mistake you make
2. don’t try too hard to be professional, just try
to be good
honesty, hardwork and reliability
3. keep your criticism constructive
#fail
4. keep reminding yourself that you’re human
“fail forward” Aza Raskin
Laura Kalbag @laurakalbag