I’ve been thinking about what it really means to use your voice. Especially when it feels risky. Across the country, people are facing real consequences for what they say (or don’t say), and the pressure to stay silent is real. Social media has now overtaken TV as the top source of news in the US, 54% of Americans receive news from social media. That means more than half of the population is looking online (and to online voices) for context, clarity, and leadership.
And if you’re a founder, a creator, an exec… they’re looking at YOU. I’m not here to dissect headlines, I’m here to get brutally honest about what it takes to build trust in a high-stakes world. If you take one thing from this edition of my Dopamine Dose, it’s this:
You can’t build trust if you’re too afraid to use your voice.
Your Voice Doesn’t Have to Be Loud. It Just Has to Be Yours.
In the first episode of our new podcast YOUmanize™ Your Brand, Rachel and I unpack one of the biggest questions we hear from clients and our famiLEE:
“How do I speak with integrity without putting myself at risk?”
It’s a real fear. And it’s 100% valid. What I’ve learned (personally and professionally) is this:
- You don’t need to be polarizing to be powerful
- You don’t need to dodge real topics to protect your brand
- You don’t need to be loud to be trusted
A recent Forbes article says companies build trust by consistently doing things right. The same applies if YOU are the brand. What you need is ownership of your story, of your values, of the message you repeat and reinforce. If you’re not saying it, someone else will fill the silence for you. For me, that means being crystal clear on my stance, showing up authentically on my LinkedIn and other social platforms AND being open to conversations that might not align with my viewpoint 100%.
What Actually Makes Your Voice Discoverable (Hint: It’s Not More Content)
These days, people are more skeptical than ever. The moment you show up online, you’re already being lumped into the “just trying to sell me something” bucket. If you want to be known for who you are personally and professionally, that takes more than just posting. It means being CONSISTENT with your messaging and vocal about your values.
If you’re not clear about who you are and what you stand for, the algorithm (and your audience) has no idea how to find you. I’ve been in this online space for a few decades now, and I’ve weathered the social media storms, from Myspace to Facebook to LinkedIn and everything in between, here’s how I’ve made sure my voice doesn’t just get heard, but actually gets recognized by people, by platforms, EVEN by AI. What Builds Trust and Discoverability
🔵 I stay in my lane. I don’t post about everything. I talk about LinkedIn, entrepreneurship, AI, brand trust, leadership, and human-first business. When you stick to your pillars, you train people (and platforms) to understand what you’re known for.
🔵 I repeat myself on purpose. I’ve been publishing Dopamine Dose for over two years, and I’ve said some version of the same message hundreds of times. It’s personal branding.
🔵 I post where it counts. LinkedIn is indexed by both Google and OpenAI. Because I show up there regularly with the same voice and values, I’ve had people discover me just by asking ChatGPT about trusted LinkedIn experts. That happened on purpose and by alignment.
What Breaks Trust and Gets You Ignored
🔴 Trend-hopping. If you change your message every week, people stop paying attention. The algorithm does too.
🔴 Mixed signals. Saying one thing on a podcast, another in a post, and another in a sales call? That’s just confusing and will reflect poorly on you.
🔴 Performing instead of positioning. If you’re just chasing attention with hot takes or viral bait, you might get clicks but not credibility.
I’ve learned that you don’t need to yell to be heard. You need to show up, say what matters, and keep saying it until both your audience and the algorithm know it’s you. That’s how you build a voice that gets remembered.
Why Loud Doesn’t Mean Aligned
I’m not here to tell you what to say or how to say it. But after 20+ years in this game, I’ve tried it all. If you’ve followed me, you know, I chased the clicks, I counted the cash… and I nearly lost myself in the process. The real flex? Showing up with your whole voice, not just your highlight reel.
And honestly, the last few weeks have been a hard reminder of how risky that can feel. From Colbert and Kimmel to Texas teachers and university presidents, people are being punished, not for saying something reckless, but for standing in their truth. I don’t agree with what’s happened to them. Silencing people for showing up honestly isn’t leadership, it’s fear in a costume. Because when you mute your voice to fit in, you lose the very thing people trust you for.
Sooooo… can we stop treating our brands like content factories? Anddddd…. can we start focusing on courageous connection instead? That’s what Rachel B. Lee and I are building with YOUmanize Your Brand . And that’s what I want for you, too. Your voice doesn’t need to be loud. It doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to be true.
In a world suffocating with noise, clarity becomes your breath of fresh air and authority. So if you’re waiting for permission to speak… this IS it. If you’ve ever wondered if your voice matters or you’re scared to use it, I invite you to listen to the first episode of our YOUmanize™ Your Brand Podcast, Brutally Honest Personal Branding Advice to Fix Your Sht Content*.
Your Brand Speaks Before You Do
At StandOut Authority, we help founders, execs, and creators do one thing: Become impossible to ignore. If you’ve built something real offline, we build the system to make sure that authority shows up online. Because in this era, you don’t just need to be good at what you do, you need to be seen for it. That’s why we created Launchpad.
🔵 For leaders who don’t want to play catch up.
🔵 For people who want to lead AI, not fear it.
🔵 For professionals ready to build a personal brand that multiplies their visibility, their voice, and their impact.
We’ve opened up 5 new spots for Q4. If you’re ready to stop blending in and finally take control of your narrative, let’s talk. I’ve also put together a FREE guide to help you tap into LinkedIn’s hidden algorithm, the same one elite execs use to get found by the right people (without posting every day). 👉 Download your copy.
ICYMI
🎙️Episode 2 of our podcast has been released, ‘The LinkedIn Algorithm Just Changed. Here’s What Works Now’. In this episode, Rachel and I unpack The Human Algorithm, the deeper, trust-driven approach to thought leadership that makes your content actually land.
Forget funnels and cold DMs; this is about making people feel seen in a digital world that rewards noise over nuance. This episode is for any entrepreneur, creator, or leader who’s tired of “gaming the algorithm” and ready to build real influence through connection.
You can find us wherever you subscribe to your podcasts, Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.