In Confidence with Lisa Sun: A Gravitas Podcast Episode 50: Why Awkward People Rise Faster With Henna Pryor
Dec 12, 2025
40:46
What happens when the fear of looking awkward keeps you from speaking up or trying something new? How do you stop chasing perfection and start building courage instead? And what if awkward moments are actually proof that you are growing?
On this episode of In Confidence, Henna Pryor, workplace performance expert, two-time TEDx speaker, and author of Good Awkward, joins Lisa to talk about awkwardness, the science of discomfort, and the confidence that comes from being brave before you feel ready. Through her research and personal stories from early career missteps to jokes that fell flat onstage she shows how naming awkwardness, lowering the stakes, and improving your comeback rate create more connection, improvement, and possibility.
What we cover in this episode:
- Why our social skills are shrinking and how to rebuild them through small, deliberate interactions.
- The cringe chasm and why jumping is often the only way forward.
- The difference between awkwardness and vulnerability and how both strengthen trust.
- This week’s micro-moment, Try Something New: how embracing discomfort builds real confidence.