Words: Michael Linsky

I’ve been in this industry for over two decades and been fortunate to meet some truly brilliant people, many of whom I’ve crossed paths with at industry events.

These events are where the industry comes together, offering a chance to reconnect with familiar faces, build new relationships, and get a genuine feel for the pulse of the market.

But something stood out this year, and it wasn’t a new product launch or a jaw-dropping stand design. Every time I asked someone how business was going, I got the same kind of response: “Yeah, it’s going well” or “We’re doing good.”

But when they asked me, I decided to be honest: “The market’s totally bollocks at the moment. It’s a real hard push.” And suddenly everything changed. The tone dropped a few decibels. People leaned in. The conversation got real. “Yeah, it’s difficult right now” and “We’re feeling it too.” It was like saying out loud what everyone was thinking gave people permission to drop the act.

Our autopilot response shows up in business, too. We start high-level, keep it polite, and avoid going deeper. But once you break that metaphorical British handshake, the conversation opens up. And when it does, the honesty that follows is often a relief.

As the sociologist Erving Goffman argued in ‘The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life’, we’re all engaged in ‘impression management’, performing a version of ourselves we think others expect.

British culture, with its emphasis on politeness, understatement, and emotional restraint, often reinforces that performance. Add to that what psychologist Lee Ross called the false consensus effect – the tendency to assume everyone else is doing fine because no one says otherwise – and it’s easy to see how we all end up pretending things are better than they really are.

Let’s ask a better question: “What’s going well, and what’s not going so well?” You often get a very different response. It creates space for nuance and realism, not just polite nodding. I’m not saying we should all start doom-mongering or wallowing in negativity. But I am saying honesty creates space for better conversations.

In an uncertain market, we don’t do ourselves or each other any favours by pretending everything’s rosy. If anything, that mindset holds us back because when we’re honest we start talking about what’s really working and what’s not. We also feel less alone in the struggle, swap our survival strategies, open up to collaboration, and build trust.

There’s a phrase I like. When the water goes out of the harbour, all the boats lower together. When the water comes back in, we all float up together. We’re in an ebb tide right now. That doesn’t mean we’re sinking, it means we need to keep perspective. The market isn’t tough because you’re doing something wrong. It’s tough because it is tough.

So, next time someone asks you how business is going, don’t just put on a brave face. Tell them the truth. You might end up with an idea, a contact, or a plan that helps turn things around. After all, we rise and fall together.