Being in business means that you have to sell yourself, literally. A company cannot survive if the business owner does not make his name shine in the business world. One needs to be influencing enough to be known. And influence means how others experience you.
This refers to your credibility, confidence, knowledge, passion, trustworthiness, and how others see you in daily interactions. People want to see the authentic you, of course. And that’s what makes people either drive towards you or just flee. Suppose people consistently have a positive experience with you. In that case, they are likely to take your recommendations and immediately act on what you tell them.
You need to have self-confidence so that people easily listen to what you say. This goes well when, for example, you were to promote a specific product or service. But people feel that you lack confidence in this product or service.
People are likely not going to buy what you are promoting or endorsing. You must be genuinely persuasive and authentic. It helps when you know how to properly speak to others – by making eye contact.
Another example: A needed to find a doctor to treat her skin problems. B, her friend, referred her to a dermatologist. This dermatologist does not have that “influence” or has not built his name yet. I decided to look for a dentist. That has more positive feedback and decided to have the treatment done.
When she was asked why she did see the dermatologist recommended to her the first time. She said that she felt “unsafe” and wanted to find the right dermatologist who could do the job right. Sometimes, even if you have the money to pay for a high professional fee, you just don’t feel right about dealing with the person.
It may likely be that both dermatologists are capable of performing the treatment. However, one might be motivated to do the job because of money. This dermatologist just earned himself, not just one additional patient who trusts him. Still, he can even increase his number of patients by word of mouth. At the same time, one can show his real intention of doing the job right to provide a good service. And by providing an authentic experience.
The way you speak. Your hand gestures. The way you stand in front of a crowd says so much about how confident you are. Optimistic about what you are saying.
One can push himself to be noticed. However, suppose the other person does not feel sincerity or authenticity. In that case, it will be hard to get your message across. You can only change how people respond to you by making yourself have confidence. The proper knowledge of the product and/or service you provide and how you carry yourself to be believable. It is not just by seeing how you look but also by choosing the right words, message, and non-verbal cues.
What people think about you is not limited to your looks. You may wear a watch worth thousands of pesos or even the most expensive handbag, but what matters most is how you deal with people. How you treat them. How you reply to your email messages, etc. You must know how to make eye contact.
Exuding the correct body language makes the other person think of who you really are and not just act out. It creates confidence and connection. The same goes for choosing the right words to say and using the right tone to demonstrate compassion.
Mastering the Art of Speaking
Being in the business means you would be dealing with many people. This involves collaborating ideas, negotiating contracts, closing a deal, providing customer support, and managing employees. An entrepreneur would require a tremendous amount of communication skills to become effective and reach an appropriate level of influence. Unfortunately, not all entrepreneurs may have seen the power of their daily dealings, therefore failing to achieve the work required to improve and prove themselves.
Can you imagine how an individual would be standing in front and presenting an excellent product only to fail? Because he was fidgety while talking or uttered so many jargons that left the audience either yawning or is just itching to leave the conference room? Having the confidence to deliver the message and believing what you want to convey to others is something that the audience can easily detect.
Skills That Will Strengthen Your Influencing Power
As an entrepreneur, you are expected to learn new skills and improve what you already know. The best asset that an entrepreneur should have is being persuasive. And to make that possible is to become an effective speaker that is not only heard but understood and can win the hearts of his stakeholders, employees, and customers.
These are methods that can help to improve the skills that can lead us to increase our influence:
Self-analysis. Having a conscious knowledge of one’s character. We may see ourselves differently compared to how others see us. And we cannot be self-righteous. We need someone that can point to us our shortcomings from someone we trust. And only until then will we become more aware of ourselves and be able to make improvements.
Cohesiveness. What we speak should be in sync with our actions. We can’t be influential influencers if we stand before a crowd with an odd posture while giving a motivational speech. It is also implausible that a person would listen to any advice we impart if we go against what we say in real life. Practice what you preach…. it’s as simple as that.
Character. No makeup can hide your true self (probably unless you are a terrific actor, but in the end, the truth will come out). Show the real you and not put up on a mask that tells your character otherwise. Ideally, a positive attitude, of course.
Impact. We need to use words that can make the listeners connect emotionally, quickly driving them to take action.
The ability to influence others may be an innate characteristic for some. But, those who may not have these skills must learn how to strengthen themselves to become good communicators and reach a level of being a powerful influencer. And only then can we be able to inspire people to take action on what we have to say.
CHECK OUT more advice from Butz Bartolome:
Overseas-inspired family café reimagines new life in the Philippines | Butz Bartolome
Are Business Cards A Thing Of The Past? | Butz Bartolome
CHECK OUT the Philippines’ top mentor Butz Bartolome as he discusses business matters and SHARE THIS STORY with entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs who need the advice.
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