IN CONFIDENCE: EPISODE 50
Why Awkward People Rise Faster with Henna Pryor
Good Awkward: How to Embrace the Embarrassing and Celebrate the Cringe to Become The Bravest You
EPISODE GUIDE
What happens when the fear of looking awkward keeps you from speaking up or trying something new? How do you stop chasing perfection and start building courage instead? And what if awkward moments are actually proof that you are growing?
On this episode of In Confidence, Henna Pryor, workplace performance expert, two-time TEDx speaker, and author of Good Awkward, joins Lisa to talk about awkwardness, the science of discomfort, and the confidence that comes from being brave before you feel ready. Through her research and personal stories from early career missteps to jokes that fell flat onstage she shows how naming awkwardness, lowering the stakes, and improving your comeback rate create more connection, improvement, and possibility.
What we cover in this episode:
* Why our social skills are shrinking and how to rebuild them through small, deliberate interactions.
* The cringe chasm and why jumping is often the only way forward.
* The difference between awkwardness and vulnerability and how both strengthen trust.
* This week’s micro-moment, Try Something New: how embracing discomfort builds real confidence.
Let yourself be a beginner. Release the pressure to get it right immediately and discover the power that comes from showing up, trying again, and recovering faster each time.
00:00 - Intro
01:26 - Meet Henna Pryor
03:53 - Are Our Social Skills Atrophying?
09:47 - Henna's Best-Selling Book, Good Awkward
14:22 - Vicarious Embarrassment & Your Comeback Rate
20:55 - When It's Time to Jump the "Cringe Chasm"
22:32 - Awkwardness vs Vulnerability
26:11 - Are You Playing Not to Lose?
31:16 - What's Really Holding You Back
33:42 - Micro-Moment #7: Try Something New
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This podcast does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the podcast is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being.