Conviction: the mark of confidence

Is anything worth doing if it doesn’t have purpose? I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve left (or started) a meeting certain that it could have been an email. No one should participate, let alone listen, if there is no discernable point.

Why then, without a clear idea backed by any conviction, would we expect anyone to trust or honour anything we say, do or share? To believe in something so strongly that you want to win over others is rare. To share your ideas widely and have others bring them to life is remarkable. And, without conviction, neither is possible.

At least once a week someone tells me that they can’t say that they, or their business/product/skills, are the best. Huh? Not sure about you but I don’t invest time or money in anyone or anything that’s just alright.

Whatever your professional or personal motivation—sales, recruitment, investment, dating (no judgement)—if you don’t believe that yours is the best option, then no one else will.

Quiet confidence

Often, the word conviction evokes a grandstander. The loudest person in the room. A s’plainer. But believing your idea to be true doesn’t require shouting. Conviction isn’t arrogant or alienating. Conviction is the tool of confidence. When presented quietly, great truths can be seen, understood and believed from a distance.

To persuade, not just inform, conviction needs these three values:

1.????Vision: To see what has been, what is now, and what will be with clarity.

2.????Faith: Abiding trust that what you see is the truth.

3.????Courage: A fearless determination to make the truth real.

Commit to certainty

You have vision, faith and courage, now what?

Find arresting statistics. Prove the urgency to do something. Criticize previous inaction. And when everything is put together, you will have defined an irrefutable call to action. One that will withstand the closest scrutiny.

While it’s a team effort (intelligence, humility and empathy are all key players), conviction is the spirit of good character.

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[Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 6.8 | Hemingway Editor Grade: 5 | Time to read: 2 minutes]