The #1 Way to Create Instant Trust
You have to be careful in how you explain and exhibit your credibility. If you launch into a laundry list of your accomplishments or of your education and titles, you might be perceived as a self-centered. Take advantage of less direct or less self-proclaiming ways to show your audience how competent you are.
For example, you can hang your degrees on the wall, have someone else give a brief bio, or have someone else offer his recommendation of you. You can borrow credibility from others using a testimonial or statement from them. Credibility can also be defined as “having expertise, trustworthiness, goodwill, dynamism, extroversion, sociability, composure, or expertise.”(7)
Trust builds with dependability. Do you have a track record? Are you a person of your word? When you make an appointment, are you there on time? When you commit to doing something for someone, does it get done as promised? Do you think they will forget—well they don’t? They usually just won’t bring it up.
When you make a promise, do you make sure it is kept, or are you full of excuses and alibis. Be reliable and follow through with all your promises. Credibility is “the single biggest variable under the speaker’s control during the presentation.”(8)
Another way to boost your credibility is to present yourself in a calm, organized, and authoritative manner. Being overly emotional or flustered throws your credibility out the window. Consider the most highly successful attorneys or CEOs.
Article: Public Trust on the Decline
No matter how rushed or pressured they are, you don’t ever see them running into the room, slamming their stuff down on the table, and throwing themselves into their chairs. No! They are absolutely composed at all times. That’s because they must always convey an air of authority and control. Jury studies show that lawyers who appear well organized are thought of as being more thorough and better prepared than their disorganized counterparts, which of course increases their credibility.