An overthinker’s guide to being comfortably, strategically human.
Modern marketing has a strange and sometimes worrying habit.
At some point, a meeting took place. In that meeting, someone said: “What if we made everything… perfect?”
Instead of being shown the door for such an unrealistic idea, they got a budget.
The Pursuit of Flawlessness (and Other Expensive Hobbies)
Chasing perfection is a lot like trying to iron a cloud.
It seems possible at first. It feels productive while you try, but in the end, you just feel a bit lost and wonder where your time went.
Brands chase perfect messaging.
Perfect visuals. Perfect tone. Perfect timing.
Everything gets polished so much that it stops feeling human.
That’s a problem, since the people brands want to reach are human.
The Problem With Being Impeccable
The thing about perfection is that it’s impressive, but people can’t relate to it.
When a brand seems flawless, it creates a weird distance. It’s like meeting someone who has never:
- Sent an email too early
- Said “you too” when a waiter says “enjoy your meal”
- Opened a message, panicked, and decided to reply sometime in 2027
You don’t connect with them. You just watch from afar. Real trust comes from connection, not just admiration.
Relatability: The Slightly Messy Superpower
Relatability, on the other hand, is wonderfully imperfect.
It’s when a brand says something and you think, “Yes, that’s exactly how I feel.”
It doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to show understanding.
Relatable brands:
- Acknowledge reality (even when it’s inconvenient)
- Speak like real people, not like a corporate manual.
- Sometimes, admit that things can get a little messy.
This doesn’t make them weaker.
It makes them believable.
The Myth of “Professionalism”
There is a long-standing belief that professionalism requires a sort of emotional neutrality. A carefully curated absence of anything that might resemble personality.
That’s like hosting a dinner party where:
- The food is immaculate
- The table is perfect
- And nobody is allowed to speak
It might look impressive, but it feels awkward.
People today can easily tell when something feels fake. When they notice, they usually just ignore it.
Why We Trust the Slightly Imperfect
Humans are, by design, not perfect.
We’re inconsistent, sometimes make odd choices, and often decide things based on gut feelings or past luck.
So when a brand shows some humanity, a little imperfection, and honesty, it does something powerful: it brings people closer.
It tells people, “We’re not some distant, perfect company. We’re figuring this out too.”
And that’s where trust begins. Not in perfection, but in familiarity.
A Quick Warning Before Getting Too Comfortable
Of course, this is not an invitation to descend into chaos.
Relatable does not mean:
- Careless
- Inconsistent
- Or “we completely forgot to do it”
There is a difference between being human and being wildly unprepared. The goal isn’t to drop all standards. It’s to stop smoothing out every detail until there’s nothing left for people to relate to.
What Relatable Brands Actually Do
Brands that do this well usually have a quiet confidence.
They:
1. Speak clearly, not perfectly: Because clarity beats cleverness every time.
2. Show personality without forcing it: This is harder than it seems, but it works much better.
3. Acknowledge the real world in which your customers live: Not just the world imagined in strategy meetings.
4. Accept that not everything needs to be flawless to be valuable: Honestly, that’s a relief for everyone.
The Overthinker’s Dilemma
If you tend to overthink (and let’s be honest, most of us do), this can be a problem.
Because you now have to decide:
- Is this good enough?
- Is this too much?
- Is this not enough?
- Should I rewrite this entirely?
The answer, though, is usually simple: “It’s fine. Send it.”
Perfection delays.
Relatability connects.
Final Thought Before I Edit This Again
In a world where brands desperately try to appear flawless, the ones that stand out are the ones that feel real.
Not sloppy. Not careless. Just human.
Because people don’t build relationships with perfection. They build them with things they recognise, and luckily, imperfection is something we all know well.
If this made you reconsider rewriting that post for the fifth time, it’s probably doing its job. And if you enjoyed this, you’ll feel right at home on our latest podcast episode. You can catch the latest episode wherever you get your podcasts. We promise it’s worth your time, imperfections and all.
