Credibility and trust
Darren Stevenson
Founder and CEO at The Extend Group (TEG). All things education and care.
During his life, Aristotle wrote his Rhetoric, better known today as The Art of Persuasion. The premise was simple: to influence others, your message has to make sense and touch the heart, and you personally have to be trustworthy. Only then can you build positive, two way relationships.
Aristotle said evidence for claims comes in three forms: Logos, Pathos and Ethos.
- Logos - logical or rational appeal. The claim has to make sense.
- Pathos - emotional appeal. The claim has to touch the heart of the audience. We have to feel moved.
- Ethos - ethical appeal. Any promise needs to be grounded in credibility. This refers to the trustworthiness of the person making the claim.
Each time you forge a new relationship, personally or professionally, you’re opening yourself up to some sort of influence. If we have a relationship where the credibility of the other person is in question, the fear of a negative impact on our existing reality increases exponentially.
You would all have been in a situation where a message made sense and touched your heart, but was delivered by someone you didn’t trust. No doubt you’ve seen good ideas disregarded simply because the person delivering that idea was not respected, trusted or valued. Safeguard your credibility. It takes years to build and only seconds to lose. Maintain it every day, because once lost, credibility and trust are extremely difficult to rebuild.
In your personal and professional relationships make sure you’re trustworthy and reliable and ensure you only partner with others who offer the same in return.