Do people believe you? Or do they think you are a bluff? Do they trust the information you bring or do they verify the information you share? Do people around you take your word and trust it to be true?
Why should you care?
We live in an interdependent society, that means people around us affect our existence and we as an individual affect them as well. If you work in office, what you do and what you do not do affects people around you. The actions you take, change the way people think about you. If people believe you, they will believe in your actions. If they believe in your actions, they will support you.
What makes people believe someone?
People will believe you only if you have enough credibility. Credibility is the ability to make people believe in your message. It can do magic for you. It can change your world. If you have good credibility, things become easier and fast. A person who has good credibility in a certain field, doesn't have to convince people as much as someone who has lower credibility in that field.
Let's take an example of the two presidential candidates for this year's election. If John McCain was to thrown an opinion about Vietnam War, he would have to convince less than Barack Obama. People know McCain was in Vietnam War and has more knowledge than Obama.
Let's take a more common example. If an engineer and doctor debate on heart transplant, engineer's views might not be easily believed unless they are verified and are found to be right. However, if those thoughts came from the doctor, people are less likely to verify her views.
How will this help you?
Being credible is absolutely critical for your success. If you have a business or a blog and your credibility is low, people won't trust you and won't buy your products or your ideas. In the US, we have Pepsi and another company called RC Cola, most people will buy Pepsi just because they believe it to be a legitimate brand. Pepsi has credibility.
Even if you do not have a business, credibility is important everywhere. Your work group, your project team, relationships, friendships and family all thrive on credibility. If your credibility starts to worsen, your relationships will start to get weaker, friendships will go through a tough time and your work group too may not believe in you.
Building Credibility?
Building Credibility is like planting a tree. You have to sow the seeds, water them everyday and patiently, then one day you see two tiny leaves popping up from the ground. After that, you still have to take care of those tiny leaves and keep watering them and take their care to see them growing into a plant. And again, it doesn't stop there. It's a continuous process.
Building credibility is a gradual process, as is planting a tree. There are some factors which can accelerate and help you gain credibility faster. Some of these factors are
- Expertise
- Authority
- Consistency
- Confidence
