Truth is the only meaningful foundation upon which people can make informed and rational decisions. Therefore, truth is the SME’s currency. The more truth an SME possesses, the more influence they can exert and the longer lasting their influence and appeal.

Truth, it turns out, is stubborn and stable. It is blind, fearless, and timeless. Truth does not care about feelings or opinions. It does not bend to political power, societal norms, cultural preferences, or social whims. Truth just is.

Without truth an SME has nothing of lasting value. Without truth they have only theatrical performance or a cardboard façade. Truth is the SME’s primary source of lasting power, authority, weight, and control. Yet, despite the universal influence of truth and the dogged persistence of it, truth is now losing popularity. It is falling out of fashion. It is no longer cool. Truth is old school.

The 2016 Oxford Dictionaries word of the year was post-truth. Many argue that we now live in a post-truth era: a time when objective facts are less influential in shaping opinion and public policy than appeals to emotion and personal belief. Th e appeal of emotion over fact is hardly new. Marketing professionals have known for a very long time that emotions sell products much more quickly than facts. But in our ultraconnected world, more and more messages want to be heard. The way these messages become heard is through heightened emotion. Emotion is pushing truth further and further aside.

This trend away from truth and toward the outrageous and extreme is having an impact on SMEs. They no longer have the luxury of depending on truth alone. The truths that might have won an argument in yesteryear may no longer be enough to win the argument today. Of course, truth still matters—it always will—but SMEs now need more than just truth to maintain relevance. In a post-truth era, SMEs need charisma and presence to maximize their impact. Of course, they still need the skills that other people do not have, but they also need the professional appeal that other people admire. The best experts can wrap truth in an attractive package, top it off with a bow, and deliver it in digestible portions.

We may live in a post-truth era, but truth still matters.