What is faking it?  Who fakes it?  When do people fake it?  Is faking a form of dishonesty?

These are the questions I have asked myself when looking for an occasion when I have faked it.

There are a number of occasions when faking it seems to be the actions taken by people.

The first one that comes to thought is acting.  Our actors are always faking it – pretending to be someone else.  And when they are good actors, then we really believe in their character.  If they are bad actors, we do not believe.  Then there are the actors who always play the same type of character – are they really faking it, or are they just playing themselves?  But   I am not an actor.

Another time is when we talk ourselves up – for example exaggerate our experience and qualifications for a job.  It is often suggested that this is more of a male trait than a female trait, but I do not want to make a judgement on this.  I suspect there have been times when I have not done justice to my own strengths, let alone exaggerated them.  So not faking it here either.

Sales is another example of faking it – when talking up the positives of an item, downplaying or omitting the negatives.  I have been involved in selling Tupperware.  I did believe in the product I was selling, so am not sure that I was faking it as far as the selling of the product.  I did not include in any of my demonstrations products that I did not like or find useful.

Exaggeration!  Is this a form of faking it?  Surely, we all do this at times.  I cannot deny that there are possibly times when I have succumbed.

There are also the times when people fake confidence.  For example, when meeting new people, starting a new job or speaking in public.  As a strong introvert, this is the time when I must confess I need to fake it.  In interviews, I am not sure that I faked enough confidence to convince the panel that I had the skills for the job.  But once in a new role, I take a deep breath and enter the “room”.  Of course this may not be a physical room.  It could be approaching a group of people I do not know.  It might be when in the room, and about to speak up on an issue, or lead a conversation. 

So for me, faking it is when I tell myself that I am ready for the challenges that await me and pretending a confidence that I am keeping hidden. ​

​Joy Shirley

What is faking it?  Who fakes it?  When do people fake it?  Is faking it a form of dishonesty? 

These are the questions I have asked myself when looking for an occasion when I have faked it.

There are a number of occasions when faking it seems to be the actions taken by people.
The first one that comes to thought is acting.  Our actors are always faking it – pretending to be someone else.  And when they are good actors, then we really believe in their character.  If they are bad actors, we do not believe.  Then there are the actors who always play the same type of character – are they really faking it, or are they just playing themselves?  But this is not a time when I have faked it.  I am not an actor.  Even at school, I was not one of the people who took on major roles in school productions.  Generally, I was behind the scenes, working on props or in stage management roles.

Another time is when we talk ourselves up – for example exaggerate our experience and qualifications for a job.  It is often suggested that this is more of a male trait than a female trait, but I do not want to make a judgement on this.  I do know that I have seen a number of females who have understated their strengths, and I suspect there have been times when I have not done justice to my own strengths.  So perhaps no faking it here either.

Sales is another example of faking it – when talking up the positives of an item, downplaying or omitting the negatives.  I have been involved in selling Tupperware.  I did believe in the product I was selling, so am not sure that I was faking it as far as the selling of the product.  I did not include in any of my demonstrations products that I did not like or find useful – was omitting these faking it?

The other side of sales is on the receiving end – when it is difficult to get rid of a pushy salesperson.  To get rid of them, I have been known to pretend to be a helpless female who needs to get permission from my husband – this is far from the truth, but normally a salesperson cannot argue against that one.  So I confess I have faked it. 

Then there are the times when people fake confidence.  For example, when undertaking a role that is outside their comfort zone.  This could be meeting new people, starting a new job or speaking in public.  As a strong introvert, this is definitely the time that I fake it. 

​Finally, exaggeration!  Is this a form of faking it?  Surely we all do this at times.  I cannot deny that there are possibly times when I have succumbed.

​So yes we all fake it, and I am no exception I am sure.  I cannot come up with specific times, just these general situations.