Personas

I have been thinking the last couple of days about the concept of a public persona. For most people the phrase “public persona” has a negative connotation. The implication is that a person with a public persona is a hypocrite. They are trying to seem to be one thing when they are really something else. This does not have to be the case. In fact if a person is going to become any kind of a public figure, then a public persona is a survival tool. The public persona protects the private person.

Sometimes the public persona really is a cover-up. When a person is convinced that their “real self” is not fit to be public, then the persona becomes a mask. Some people go so far as to keep the mask persona up at all times. That way leads to loneliness and depression because then the person can never be truly understood or loved. A healthy persona is not a mask. It does not cover up anything. Instead a healthy persona is an aspect of the person. A healthy person knows when the persona is necessary and when to drop it.

Howard very definitely has a public persona. When he is doing an appearance as the creator of Schlock Mercenary, he is “on.” He makes sure to react positively to everyone around him. He maintains high energy. He cracks jokes. He does everything in his power to make sure that the event runs smoothly and that everyone enjoys it. That is his persona. In private he is still the same person. He still is high energy. He still cracks jokes. He still wants to make things run smoothly, but he is also allowed to be tired or grumpy. Outside his persona he relaxes and is able to enjoy himself without feeling responsible to make sure that piles of other people are also enjoying themselves.

And there is the core of why he must have the persona. At a public appearance, Howard will be approached by people all day long. Each of those people want something from him. Sometimes all they want is a signature and 30 seconds of attention. Other times they want to corner him for an hour while they tell him this great idea for a game that would make piles of money if only Howard would donate 100 drawings for it. The public persona evaluates all of these people and figures out how to please the signature person while politely rejecting the idea of the game person without offense. The public persona does this so that the inner Howard does not have to feel the heartache of refusing someone else’s dream. The public persona can keep going long after the inner Howard is ready to curl into a ball and hide.

This is one of the reasons that many conventions have a green room. It is a place where all the guests of honor can go to relax the public personas for a bit. Because of Howard, I’ve met some of those guests of honor when they weren’t wearing their personas. Without exception the ones I’ve met were marvelous people. But for all of them I could almost see the moment that the persona aspect was put away; the moment that they could be themselves without having to be quite so careful.

The public persona is the face you put toward the world. We all have them. The question is whether we are consciously shaping ours to be our best selves and turning the persona into a useful tool, or are we allowing the persona to trap and dominate us. Personally I try to make my persona and my inner self as congruent as possible. But I will not discard the persona entirely. I need it to shield me for those times when I need to look PTA people in the eyes and tell them that I can not give any more time than I already have given.

*Note* I am still forming my thoughts on personas and their value. All opinions expressed in this post are subject to change upon receipt of further information.