10 years ago while visiting Hong Kong, I was hanging out with some friends on a Saturday night in this famous ex-patriot party area called Lang Kwai Fung. I just flew in from Los Angeles and was accustomed to the Hong Kong smooze and choose deal in that society. Everyone was interested in what you did for a living and since that part of the world has that archaic attitude of "What school did you graduate from?" or " Are your parents...?" I remember meeting some professional that I couldn't care less about. He asked me what I did for a living. Being annoyed by this question and feeling cocky, I answered,"I'm a concert pianist." The funny thing is that he believed me and was thoroughly impressed. I had such an aloof attitude that I had no recollection of name or his significance.
Back then I didn't think to much of the situation or its professional implications but in present time, I can honestly say that people do fabricate or exaggerate something about themselves to impress others. We do this all the time. Why? Because we want to be accepted and also potentially gain some perks and benefits. There is nothing wrong with this since this really is a simple concept of marketing. You are presenting yourself so you can gain something back like friendship, a job, business deal, amusement, etc...
Now if you act to impress*, there are certain limitations as to how far you should act. What ever you do, do not go as far a the Rockerfeller kidnapper. I mean this man went as far as changing is identity and as a result, kidnapping his daughter and look what happened to him. Acting is great for social fun in public places. Professionally, acting plays a good part for business such as acting confident in a job interview or acting calm when resolving conflict. Keep it in mind that you much focus on what you are gaining from this behavior and what is the possible repercussions.
My advice is to pay attention to what type of audience you are dealing with. Depending on who it is and what circumstance, you can either up sell or "act up" to gain something positive from the experience, resourcefully speaking.
*By the way, who ever is reading my blog, can you please make a comment since I'm not sure if anyone reads what I write. Simply, I want to act impressive to sell myself.
