7 things that Builds Credibility and Leads to Success

Website DIVISIONS (Over 600 articles to help you to grow in every facet of your life)

Written by Jimmie Burroughs Email to a friend

Credibility is something that is earned over time. It is up to you to prove to others that you are a person than can be trusted and relied upon. Credibility is one of the greatest attributes of personal development and success. Without it, people will not take you seriously, and your chances for success will be limited. The following is 7 things that build your credibility:

1.   Being on time every time

2.   Doing what you say you will do every time

3.   Speaking only the truth

4.   Looking and dressing your best

5.   Thinking before you speak

6.   Showing respect and kindness to those around you

7.   Having a positive disposition

Being on time every time

There are 5 primary reasons why most people are late that can easily be avoided:

• Oversleeping: To avoid sleeping  late just turn the TV off earlier, and go to bed sooner, and set your alarm earlier.
• Waiting until the last minute to get ready: Start early to get dressed for work or other engagements, and have time after you dress to perform other necessary tasks which are of secondary importance.
• Allowing distractions: During the time you are preparing to leave for an engagement, let your phone calls go to the answering service; people will leave a message if is important. The telephone has become one of life’s greatest distractions. Don’t let your phone control your life. There  are times that you need to turn it off and let calls go to your answering service. I turn my phone off when I dine for a couple of reasons: I don’t want to take away from the pleasure of dining, and if I’m in a restaurant I don’t want to disturb others around me. I never want a phone in my bedroom. I have a limit to the length of time I will spend talking to anyone on the phone. It is your choice: you can be a slave to the phone and allow it to eat up valuable time, or you can take control of your phone, and enjoy other things, which are far more valuable, and then you never have to blame the phone for causing you to be late. Don’t answer the door if you are pressed for time. It’s probably not important, and if it is, they will come back or call you. Don’t get caught up in watching something on TV at the last minute.

• Not allowing extra time for the unforeseen: Road construction; accidents; unusual heavy traffic, and many other things can delay you enough to arrive late.  A good rule of thumb is to leave 15 minutes earlier than it takes to arrive to your destination. It is OK to be early, but not OK to be late.
• Not preparing in advance:  Take your shower in the evening if there is a conflict for who uses the shower in the morning. Lay your clothes out the night before; be sure your car is gassed up the afternoon before.

Developing the habit of being on time every time will do wonders for your credibility and build trust. Remember, there is no such thing as “fashionable late”; it is disgusting to have to waste your time waiting on someone who is late. I set a time limit for waiting on anyone at 15 minutes; therefore, I’ll never waste more time than that on anyone else’s lack of credibility.

Doing what you say you will do every time

Be careful about making commitments, and don’t make them just to be polite for the moment. Think carefully before you say that you will do something. Make sure it is something you want to do in the first place, and check to see if there is anything that might hinder you from keeping a commitment before you make it. If make a commitment, don’t let anything short of an emergency or your death keep you from fulfilling it.

People today are notorious for not keeping their commitments. The fact is if you want to get people to a certain function, you have to ask a dozen sometimes to get two who will keep their commitment. If you are one to keep your commitments, you will stand head and shoulders above the crowd, and your credibility will precede you.

Speaking only the truth

Liars cannot be trusted and, therefore, have little credibility. Liars always get caught in their lie sooner or later because they forget what they said and tell it differently another time. The old saying is true  “You can fool part of the people part of the time, but you can’t fool all the people all the time.”  Are there times that you must tell a lie? Some think so, but the true answer is no! You don’t have to lie, nor do you have to speak at all; although not speaking when you should is sometimes a lie. Also, there is no rule that you have to answer questions if you prefer not unless you are sworn to answer questions in a court of law.

Looking and dressing your best

There are usually exceptions to rules, and in this case I’ll mention one. Abraham Lincoln was a shabby dresser. His clothes fit loosely and were drab, and his hair often looked uncombed, but he was an example of credibility. We, however, are not Abraham Lincoln; therefore, most of us need all the help we can get and dressing well and looking good goes a long way to impress others that you are a trustworthy person, and someone they are willing to listen to.

If you are limited as far as money that you can spend on good clothes, go to Goodwill in an affluent section of town, be selective and find great inexpensive clothes that originally were very expensive. Take them directly to the dry cleaners and when you pick them up they will look new. You can also find expensive used shoes sometimes that look practically new.  Use a disinfectant to sanitize them.

Thinking before you speak

Avoid the impulse to be a talker and dominate the conversation. Talkers develop the reputation of being blowhards who never say anything worthwhile. It is exceedingly difficult for a talker to build any credibility. Here is a rule of thumb: Listen at least twice as much as you speak, and before you speak think about what you are going to say, and how you are going to say it. Don’t just blurt things out off the cuff. Also avoid being a dumper. Don’t use others as a dump for your emotional rubbish. Keep your negative concerns to yourself; be reluctant to share your troubles with others because they will probably not be interested anyway. They generally have enough of their own trouble to be concerned with yours. Use professional counselors, if you must, to discuss problems.

Showing respect and kindness to those around you

It cost nothing to be courteous or show kindness and good manners to those around you. Many carry such a load of baggage around with them that they are too grumpy, and too full of their own problems to be congenial with others. Being kind and respectful to others is a distinct mark of credibility.

Having a positive disposition

The Dale Carnegie course used to teach, in its human relation courses, to avoid the three Cs: “Do not complain, criticize, or condemn.” Excellent advice, but how many people do you know who abide by that rule?  I’m sure you don’t know many who do. People are generally negative. If you are a positive person, your chances of building credibility just improved a whopping 100%. No one has to be negative. It is a choice because there are always many positive things to talk about rather than negative things, but somehow most people don’t think positive things are as captivating. Negative people can get on your nerves quickly, and you try to avoid them, so why be one of them? You enjoy being around positive people because they lift you up emotionally instead of pulling you down.

Conclusion

These 7 Things That Build Your Credibility seem to be simple things; however, they are the simple things that most do not practice. They are not things you are likely to learn even at a prestigious University, but are things that you must determine to learn and practice on your own. When you do development and practice them, it gains the attention of your employer, acquaintances and customers in a positive way. It wins their trust and confidence in you, and your credibility soars in their eyes. I’ll say it again: Credibility is one of the greatest attributes of personal development and success.

Jimmie Burroughs: Founder of Christian personal development.

About the author: Jimmie Burroughs is a motivational speaker and author who has been involved in teaching Christian Personal Development for more than 30 years. There are hundreds of articles to help you on this website ( Website Contents ) in your personal growth. If I can help you personally, please send your concerns via Contact me.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Website DIVISIONS (Over 600 articles to help you to grow in every facet of your life)

To subscribe to blog simply click on the RSS button on the left, and copy and paste the URL of our RSS feed into your RSS reader. ARTICLE INDEX _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ © 2011 Jimmie Burroughs. All rights reserved