I was stunned. I barely knew him. It was like he was using X-ray vision to peer into my soul. He told me not to fear making a mistake, just admit it to the audience and move on. “You can’t be afraid to be vulnerable,” he said.

It was what Oprah would call an “aha moment.” I slowly came to grips with the notion that my bravado was having the opposite effect than I intended. When a woman in the Washington bureau reduced me to tears—which, believe me, doesn’t happen often—Brit told me my problem was that I projected zero vulnerability.